General Questions
- I am an instructor. How do I record my class?
- I am a student. Can I record using UCI Replay?
- I am a department staff member. Can I record our weekly meeting?
- Do I need to request anything to register before I can use TechSmith Relay?
TechSmith Relay Recorder
- I got an error saying, “The server is busy.” Can this be fixed?
- I got an error saying, “Out of space.” Can this be fixed?
- What are the differences between TechSmith Relay, Camtasia Studio, and Camtasia for Mac?
- I got an error saying, “Your account has been locked due to too many failed log in attempts.” Can this be fixed?
- I got an error saying, “Invalid Access Level.” Can this be fixed?
- I received a “Do you want the application ‘Mac Relay Recorder.app’ to accept incoming network connections?” window that does not go away.
Recording Presentations
- Why is my video is appearing as a black square?
- Why is my cursor flashing during recording?
- Why won’t my external microphone work?
- Why is there no sound in my recording even though I have ensured that my microphone is plugged in?
- I logged off without pressing Stop. What will happen?
- I logged off without pressing Submit. What will happen?
- TechSmith Relay crashed while recording. What happened to my recording?
- TechSmith Relay crashed before my recording was uploaded. What happened to my recording?
- I logged off immediately after pressing Submit. Will my recording still submit?
- I shut down my computer immediately after pressing Submit. Will my recording still submit?
- I closed my laptop immediately after pressing Submit. Will my recording still submit?
- If I experience a power failure while recording, what will happen?
- How can I record a “test” presentation?
- Why are my presentation’s audio and video not synchronized properly on a Mac?
- Why does this “Do you want to change the color scheme to improve performance?” prompt keep appearing?
Viewing Presentations
- I am a student. Where are my recordings?
- I am a student. How do I download a presentation?
- I am an instructor/TA. Where are my recordings?
- Why won’t my recordings load on my computer (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux)?
- Why won’t my recordings load on my mobile device (iPhone, Android phone, BlackBerry, iPad, etc.)?
- Why is there a black border around my video?
- Why does my screen look smaller when plugged into the projector?
- What is a “Table of Contents”? How do I use it?
Hosting Presentations
- How do I delete a file I submitted?
- Can I edit the file after it is posted?
- How long are files stored on the hosting server?
- How can I view my “test” presentation?
Support
GENERAL QUESTIONS
I am an instructor. How do I record my class?
Check out our comprehensive set of instructions for using UCI Replay.
I am a student. Can I record using UCI Replay?
No, UCI Replay is designed for UCI instructors, teaching assistants, and staff to capture instructional or work related materials for colleagues or students. A student may be able to record and upload content if he or she has a faculty sponsor or staff supervisor that approves it. If that is the case, please email replay@uci.edu with the name of the faculty sponsor or staff supervisor so we may get the appropriate approvals to enable UCI Replay for the student. As an alternative, if you are looking to capture video snippets, there are free services open to you such as TechSmith Jing.
I am a department staff member. Can I record our weekly meeting?
Yes, department staff are able to record using TechSmith Relay. Help on getting started can be found here.
Do I need to request anything to register before I can use TechSmith Relay?
No, UCI Replay is UCInetID-based and will automatically create a profile upon first login. TechSmith Relay recording software must be installed on the computer being used to record.
TECHSMITH RELAY RECORDER
I got an error saying, “The server is busy.” Can this be fixed?
You can click Retry to try again which normally fixes the problem. If that does not fix the issue, please email replay@uci.edu for assistance.
I got an error saying, “Out of space.” Can this be fixed?
This error message is triggered when you do not have enough free space to record. To rectify this, you will need to clear up memory on your hard drive or storage device. When you start a recording or test recording, the amount of free space on your device will be shown. Make sure there is plenty of space for your recording, and delete or move files if you need more space.
What are the differences between TechSmith Relay, Camtasia Studio, and Camtasia for Mac?
TechSmith Relay is a screen/audio capture tool which records and encodes video. UCI Replay uses the TechSmith Relay software for recording and encoding.
Camtasia Studio is a Windows-only video editing program which also captures and encodes video.
Camtasia for Mac is a Mac OS X-only video editing program like Camtasia Studio, but with fewer features.
Neither Camtasia Studio nor Camtasia for Mac is necessary for UCI Replay.
I got an error saying, “Your account has been locked due to too many failed log in attempts.” Can this be fixed?
This error occurs when you have incorrectly entered your password 10 or more times. Please wait 5 minutes and try again.
I got an error saying, “Invalid Access Level.” Can this be fixed?
UCI Replay was designed for UCI instructors, teaching assistants, and staff to capture instructional or work-related materials for colleagues or students. If you do not fall under one of these groups but have a sponsor who does, please email replay@uci.edu with the name of your faculty or staff sponsor so that we may get you the appropriate approvals.
I received a “Do you want the application ‘Mac Relay Recorder.app’ to accept incoming network connections?” window that does not go away.
On a Mac with the firewall active, the above message may appear. If you cannot press “Allow” because the message is flickering on and off too quickly, use these steps to clear the message.
- Open System Preferences
- Open Security
- Click the Firewall tab
- Unlock to make changes
- Turn off the firewall
- Turn on the firewall
The message should no longer appear. |
RECORDING PRESENTATIONS
Why is my video appearing as a black square?
If your video is not being captured or appears as a black square, you may be able to fix this by disabling graphics acceleration. A guide for disabling graphics acceleration on Windows 7 and Windows 8 can be found at The Windows Club. A guide for disabling graphics acceleration on Windows XP and Windows Vista can be found at Pixel Metrics.
Why is my cursor flashing during recording?
If your cursor is flashing during recording, you may be able to fix this by disabling graphics acceleration. A guide for disabling graphics acceleration on Windows 7 and Windows 8 can be found at The Windows Club. A guide for disabling graphics acceleration on Windows XP and Windows Vista can be found at Pixel Metrics.
Why won’t my external microphone work?
Ensure that your external microphone is plugged in. If it is, restart TechSmith Relay. You also need to verify that your external microphone is selected as the audio input. Additionally, do not unplug the microphone while recording, and do not use microphones with an audio jack. For more information on selecting a microphone, see this page.
Why is there no sound in my recording even though I have ensured that my microphone is plugged in?
Before starting to record, ensure that you have selected a microphone. If you do not select a microphone for TechSmith Relay, then it may not capture audio for your presentation. Additionally, do not unplug the microphone while recording, and do not use microphones with an audio jack. For more information on selecting a microphone, see this page.
I logged off without pressing Stop, what will happen?
If you attempt to log off without pressing the Stop button you will be prompted with the following message.
If you press Yes and agree to continue log off or shut down, TechSmith Relay will prompt you on its next start that a recording is recoverable so that you may resume recording.
I logged off without pressing Submit. What will happen?
As long as you did not manually discard the recording before TechSmith Relay shut off, the recording should be recoverable. Run TechSmith Relay again. A pop-up message that reports that an abandoned recording was found should appear. Choose the appropriate option for you.
TechSmith Relay crashed while recording. What happened to my recording?
As long as you did not manually discard the recording before TechSmith Relay shut off, the recording should be recoverable. Run TechSmith Relay again. A pop-up message that says “Incomplete Recording” should appear. Press Recover to recover your recording.
TechSmith Relay crashed before my recording was uploaded. What happened to my recording?
As long as you did not manually discard the recording before TechSmith Relay shut off, the recording should be recoverable. Run TechSmith Relay again. A pop-up message that reports that an abandoned recording was found should appear. Choose the appropriate option for you.
I logged off immediately after pressing Submit. Will my recording still submit?
If you log off immediately after pressing Submit, your recording will still finish submitting. You can check the status of your presentation at https://encoder.replay.uci.edu.
I shut down my computer immediately after pressing Submit. Will my recording still submit?
If you shut down your computer immediately after pressing Submit, your computer will not finish submitting your presentation until you have turned your computer back on. You can check the status of your presentation at https://encoder.replay.uci.edu.
I closed my laptop immediately after pressing Submit. Will my recording still submit?
If you close your laptop immediately after pressing Submit and your laptop goes to Sleep or Hibernate mode, it will finish submitting once you have opened your computer back up and it has connected to the Internet again. You can check the status of your presentation at https://encoder.replay.uci.edu.
If I experience a power failure while recording, what will happen?
If you experience a power failure while recording, there is a chance that you will be able to recover the recording after rebooting your computer. Run TechSmith Relay again. A pop-up message that says “Incomplete Recording” may appear. Press Recover to recover your recording. If the window does not appear, then the recording has been lost.
How can I record a “test” presentation?
If you are interested in trying UCI Replay without listing the recording in Public or UCI-Only, select the “Testing/Temporary” profile, and your test recording will only be accessible via the URL emailed to you. Please note that the presentation will be deleted after 10 days.
Why are my presentation’s audio and video not synchronized properly on a Mac?
If your presentation’s audio and video is not synchronized properly, this may be due to an underpowered computer that is running Time Machine at the same time. Time Machine is Apple’s data backup software that may cause recording issues with TechSmith Relay. You can temporarily disable Time Machine by following these instructions.
- Open “System Preferences”.
- Open “Time Machine” under the “System” category.
- Click the lock icon to unlock and make changes.
- Change the Time Machine slider to the “Off” position.
- Click the lock icon to lock and apply changes.
You should now be able to record without synchronization issues or interruptions in recording.
Why does this “Do you want to change the color scheme to improve performance?” prompt keep appearing?
If a prompt that says “Do you want to change the color scheme to improve performance?” and you are using Windows 7, select the “Change the color scheme to Windows 7 Basic” option. This prompt appears because Windows has determined your computer to be too slow to operate the Aero color scheme and TechSmith Relay at the same time. Changing the color scheme to Windows 7 Basic will not alter the functionality of your computer; it only changes the visual look of Windows. You can resume recording uninterrupted after you change the color scheme.
VIEWING PRESENTATIONS
I am a student. Where are my recordings?
Students only get recordings from their instructors. You should contact your instructor/TA directly for a link. You can also try looking for it on https://help.replay.uci.edu/.
I am a student. How do I download a presentation?
If you wish to download a presentation that is hidden from the indices, ask your instructor for the link to the presentation available in the confirmation email sent to them.
If you wish to download a presentation that is listed in the UCI-Only index or the Public index:
- Visit https://help.replay.uci.edu/.
- Select the Public index or UCI-Only index from the links.
- Select the proper quarter of the presentation.
- Select the type of files you want to see next to Viewing Options at the top, and find the file you wish to download.
- Right-click the link of the presentation and click “Save Link As”, “Save Target As”, “Download Linked File As”, or “Save File As” (depending on your browser) and download to your desired location.
You should now have downloaded the presentation onto your computer. |
The video may not play with your video playback software. If the presentation does not play with your built-in media player, try VLC Player. |
I am an instructor/TA. Where are my recordings?
An email will be sent to you automatically after a presentation has been submitted and processed. You can log into https://encoder.replay.uci.edu/ to view encoding status. Only the person whose UCInetID was used when submitting the recording can verify the status. Once encoding is complete, recordings are automatically posted to https://help.replay.uci.edu/.
Why won’t my recordings load on my computer (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux)?
To view the presentations on the default .html pages, the Adobe Flash plug-in is required. The latest version of Flash can be found here. If you have a Flash or ad blocker you will likely need to white list the site.
To view the presentations in MP4 form or to listen to them in MP3 form, you will need a plugin that enables MP4 or MP3 playback such as QuickTime or Windows Media Player. You can also download them and view them with an external video player such as VLC Player or QuickTime Player. More recent browsers are able to view MP4 files without the aid of an external plugin or media player.
Why won’t my recordings load on my mobile device (iPhone, Android phone, BlackBerry, iPad, etc.)?
To view the presentations on mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad, you must navigate to the directory containing the mobile versions of the presentations on https://help.replay.uci.edu/, select the quarter, click Mobile (MP4) in Viewing Options, and click on the desired presentation. We cannot guarantee compatibility with mobile devices. Please check with your device manufacturer for MP4 playback support on your mobile device.
To view the presentations on their default .html pages, your mobile device requires Adobe Flash. Some devices may be able to play Flash content, such as Android phones with Android 2.2 and Adobe Flash Player 10.1 installed. Other devices such as the iPhone and iPad by default do not support Flash. Please check with your device manufacturer for Flash support on your mobile device.
Why is there a black border around my video?
This usually occurs when the resolution on the recording computer is not 1024 x 768. Consider verifying and adjusting the resolution before starting the TechSmith Relay recorder.
Higher resolutions will automatically shrink to 1024 x 768.
Lower resolutions (like 800 x 600) will usually cause a black border around the entire recording.
Wide resolutions will usually only cause black borders to appear on the top and bottom of the recording.
Why does my screen look smaller when plugged into the projector?
Some projectors report a minimum resolution of 800 x 600 to the computer when they actually support up to 1024 x 768. Consider verifying and adjusting the resolution before starting the TechSmith Relay recorder.
What is a “Table of Contents”? How do I use it?
If PowerPoint or Keynote was used in the presentation, an automatic listing of slides will be added to the MP4 of the presentation. Once the presentation has been fully downloaded, this can be used to begin playback from a specific slide. To view the Table of Contents, click on the button that looks like a list. A viewer may click on a slide to jump to that slide in the presentation. To hide the Table of Contents, click on the button again. Note that the Table of Contents is only available in the MP4 with Smart Player version of the presentation and not the iPod and iPhone version or the MP3 version.
HOSTING PRESENTATIONS
I am an instructor who posted a file. How do I delete it?
Users cannot delete presentations on their own. To delete a presentation, please email replay@uci.edu with the details of the presentation including the title and your name.
Can I edit the file after it is posted?
Yes, and you can then resubmit it to UCI Replay. It may also be resubmitted through Camtasia Studio or Camtasia for Mac.
How long are files stored on the hosting server?
Please view the Policies page for the most up-to-date information.
How can I view my “test” presentation?
Test recordings cannot be saved. They are for practice using the software and can only be previewed.
Recordings submitted under the Testing/Temporary profile will be uploaded like normal. After the presentation has been submitted, you will receive an email with a URL directing you to the recording. However, these recordings will only remain on the server for 10 days before being deleted, and they are not listed in the Public or UCI Only directories. If you want others to see these presentations before they are deleted, you will have to send them the links directly.
Getting support
If you require assistance or run into errors, please look at the more detailed Using Replay page. If you do not find the information you are looking for, please email replay@uci.edu.