theBox - Transition to theBox

theBox is UNSW's new media management tool.  Content from UNSWTV has been migrated to theBox.

Access to UNSWTV has been disabled.  Please review the section Will UNSWTV embed codes and direct links still work? to ensure places where you have embedded or linked to videos still works.

Will content be migrated from legacy systems and how do I find my migrated content?

UNSWTV

UNSWTV media such as videos and audio files have been automatically migrated to theBox. The privacy settings in both systems are nearly identical, so the permissions on the media in theBox will look nearly identical:

UNSWTV Setting theBox Setting
Private Just Me
Only Staff All Staff
All staff and students All Staff (view section Linking migrated content to Moodle and website section below for instructions on how to reshare videos)
Public Public
By design for simpler use, students can access any theBox resources that are shared with them by the resource owner via their Moodle course, regardless of permissions.

For this reason students can not log into theBox directly, and the "All staff and students" permission no longer exists.

Due to the creation of a new simpler streamlined collection/gallery model, UNSWTV collections were not migrated to theBox and therefore migrated content will need to be reorganised (please see below for how to share groups of videos).

We suggest users log into theBox to confirm their content has been migrated and retire material no longer required.

To access this content log into theBox.

Legacy MyMedia

Legacy MyMedia content will not be automatically migrated to theBox.  Given the age of this content it is appropriate at this juncture that we explore republishing options and we have contacted content owners.

Moodle Media Collection Standard mode

During S1 2015, users had the option of opting into the Moodle Media Collection theBox mode.  As such all previous and new collections created using Moodle Media Collection Standard mode was migrated automatically to Moodle Media Collection theBox mode at the end of S1 2015. The Standard Mode is no longer available.

Will UNSWTV embed codes, direct links and collections still work?

Embed Codes

If you have used UNSW Tv iframe embed codes to share videos from UNSWTV, these embed codes were redirected to the migrated content within theBox and continue to work. However we suggest you review security settings for videos that you are planning on sharing.

An embed code looks like:

Example of UNSWTV Embed Code

UNSW Tv had older un-supported flash based embed links, which were replaced by the newer and supported iframe standard several years ago.

These legacy flash based embed codes do not work, but can be easily replaced by copying/pasting the supported iframe embed codes from theBox, or by manually changing the embed text.

Links to Videos

As students are not able to log into theBox directly, if you have previously shared a direct URL/link to a video in UNSWTV directly (not using an iframe embed code) and the video is not set to public, e.g. was set as All Staff and Students, this will no longer work. You will need to re-share these videos via a supported method (eg. Moodle Media button (easiest) / Media Collection / iframe embed code) or decrease the security so student login is no longer required (eg. Public).

A direct link to a video looks like:

UNSWTV Direct URL

How to directly share theBox resources within Moodle, without a direct URL

  1. Navigate to your course and Turn editing on.
  2. Navigate to the topic, activity or resource you wish to link to a video or audio file in and click the cog  to go into editing mode.

    OR Add a new resource where the text editor is available (such as a Label or Page).
  3. In the text editor click the Insert Moodle media button.
  4. From the File picker choose theBox from the list on the left hand side of the window. 
  5. Use the Search field to locate the item you wish to link to.  You will be able to search for your own video and audio files as well as images other users have made available to staff.
  6. Click on the video or audio file to select it.
  7. Choose Link to the file directly on the resulting dialogue window and click Select this file.
  8. Click Insert.
  9. Save changes to the activity/resource.
  10. Log into theBox and review the security setting for the video.  You can lower the security setting to Just Me and the video will still be playable in the course where you have linked the video.

UNSWTV Collections

UNSWTV Collections have not been migrated over (due to their incompatibility with the newer streamlined collections) and users will need to reorganise their content into theBox collections/galleries.

To embed a single (or multiple) theBox video in a website:

  1. Create a new blank page on your website for the group of videos.
  2. In a separate window, log in to theBox using your zID and zPass.
  3. Navigate to the first video you wish to share.
  4. Click the edit video button or the pencil icon. 
  5. Scroll down to the Restrict access to dropdown and select Public. 
  6. Click Save.
  7. An embed code will now appear on the page.  Click on the embed code.
  8. Select the quality you wish to use.
  9. If you want the video to automatically start playing click the Autostart checkbox.
  10. Click the embed code again and copy it.
  11. In the first window where you created a new page on your website paste the embed code into your website editor.
  12. Repeat steps 3-11 for each video.
These steps can be used to embed videos within an activity or resource description via the HTML editor within Moodle as well.

Organising migrated content

By default, content migrated from UNSWTV will saved not be organised within collections or galleries.  To organise material please read the guide on moving media between collections and galleries.