College Classrooms at University of Rhode Island Adopt Streamlined, User-Centric Automated Video Technology
The University of Rhode Island (URI) ranked as the top public university in New England and 35th best nationally in Wall Street Journal/College Pulse's 2025 Best Colleges in the U.S. In this tech-driven institution, Going incognito is the aim for Katie Babula, manager of ITS-Audio Visual Systems, and her team. They strive to create a no-frills AV experience, letting education take center stage.
However, this inconspicuous approach became a challenge thanks to the team's recent successes in transforming URI into a major force in augmented video spaces in 2020. Since then, demand for lecture capture, video recording, and live streaming has skyrocketed, becoming a universal expectation.
Babula admitted, "For better or worse, if you do good work, everyone wants more from you. We embraced that."
Apart from lecture capture and classroom recordings, Babula and her team support live events, conferences, and broadasts across various auditoriums and presentation spaces. These AV deployments not only facilitate student learning but also engage the local community in Kingston and the surrounding region.
To manage these operations effortlessly and at scale, URI went ahead with automating video capture, recording, and streaming for over 45 classrooms and auditoriums. Key video capture solution requirements included seamless integration with existing AV infrastructure, simplicity for faculty, and efficient deployment and management by a small in-house team.
Their solution of choice: Epiphan Pearl Nexus. Leveraging Pearl's versatile suite of integration options, they paired it with Panopto for content management and Q-SYS for control, creating a fully automated, easy-to-use system.
Now, instructors simply walk into a room and teach as the hardware handles the recording and streaming. Instructors schedule their rooms at the beginning of the semester, and then recordings are captured automatically by the Pearl + Panopto integration.
"Our instructors really love the ability to stream and record their lectures," lead information technologist Jeffrey Levesque said. "With Epiphan and Panopto, that deep integration between the two, it really is set it and forget it for our instructors."
For efficient management, URI also integrated Epiphan Edge for centralized remote management, allowing the AV team to diagnose issues and update firmware across all devices from one dashboard – a massive advantage for their small team.
URI's lecture capture solution brings the myriad benefits of automation, enhancing the educational experience for both instructors and students. With the reliability and efficiency of the Epiphan + Panopto integration, URI's AV team is ready to accommodate growing demands for these services across campus.
"What I really love is how approachable it’s made lecture capture recording to our faculty," Babula remarked. "They do it once and they go, ‘This is great! I want to do it for all my lectures because it’s so easy to do.'"
Components Used:- Epiphan Pearl Nexus- Panopto- Q-SYS- NETGEAR M4250-26G4XF-PoE- Catchbox- Audio-Technica ATND1061- Q-SYS NC Series- Sony VPL-PHZ60- Q-SYS Core 110f / Q-SYS Core Nano- Q-SYS TSC-70-G3- Q-SYS NV-21-HU (for USB-C laptops)- PTZ cameras- Projector
- The University of Rhode Island (URI) has implemented Epiphan Pearl Nexus in their lecture capture solution to seamlessly integrate video capture, recording, and streaming.
- Epiphan Pearl Nexus, paired with Panopto for content management and Q-SYS for control, has created a fully automated, easy-to-use system for URI's instructors.
- URI's small AV team manages these operations efficiently with Epiphan Edge for centralized remote management, allowing them to diagnose issues and update firmware across all devices from one dashboard.
- URI's AV team is ready to accommodate growing demands for products like lecture capture, video recording, and live streaming, thanks to the Epiphan + Panopto integration that has made educational technology more accessible for both instructors and students in finance, education-and-self-development, science, technology, business, and events.
