This guide presents a comprehensive comparison table for MyMedia, MS Stream, and YouTube.
Uploading your recordings to a hosting/streaming service will allow you to archive your recordings for re-use, and create links that can be easily shared with your students. If you are looking to upload and share video content to students, the three major options available to U of T faculty members are:
- MyMedia - U of T Developed Solution (see our MyMedia guides)
- Stream (on SharePoint) - part of Uof T's Microsoft 365 suite (see Microsoft Stream FAQ).
- YouTube (Google) - not an institutionally supported tool at U of T (see Tips to safely implement un-vetted tools in your course)
While the tools can be used in a variety of ways, this guide provides an overview and feature comparison of these three services, focusing on their functionality in terms of video hosting (not live broadcast/streaming).
Microsoft has rolled out an improved and modernized version of Stream. As part of the transition, Microsoft Stream (Classic) was retired for the University of Toronto on May 6, 2024. As of this date, you no longer have access to videos on Microsoft Stream (Classic).
For details and FAQ about this transition, please visit the U of T Stream Classic Retirement page.
We do not encourage uploading video content directly to Quercus. Not only will this chew through your course's storage quota, Quercus is not optimized for video playback and does not archive your videos for re-use. Please select a video hosting service instead.
Jump to
1. Overview of Video Hosting Services
1.1. MyMedia
MyMedia is a simple and reliable video hosting solution developed by U of T and available to all U of T faculty, students and staff.
What are some of the benefits of using MyMedia?
- MyMedia viewing permissions for videos can be set to Public for sharing with individuals outside of U of T.
- MyMedia accounts are available to all faculty, staff, and students with an active UTORid. Students can upload content to MyMedia and share the link with others.
- Instructors can request course-based MyMedia accounts that are linked to a user name and email (instead of an individual UTORid). If you are uploading video content for a course we recommend requesting a MyMedia account specifically for each course versus uploading video to a personal MyMedia account. This option is especially helpful if you have multiple people uploading videos for one course.
What are some considerations for using MyMedia?
- MyMedia does not auto-generate captions. However, they can be added separately if created using another tool (e.g., MS Stream or YouTube). You can upload your video to any of these platforms to generate captions for your video and then upload the file with captions to MyMedia. See How do I add automatic captions for MyMedia videos?
- It is not possible to limit video access to specific groups of people - visibility can only be set to Private (only visible by you), U of T (users logged into MyMedia), or Public (anyone with the link).
1.2. Stream on SharePoint
Stream on SharePoint is one of the Microsoft 365 apps and is available to all U of T faculty and staff for hosting, captioning, and sharing videos recordings. This is a new and modernized version of Microsoft Stream that leverages OneDrive and SharePoint as its underlying platforms.
Microsoft has rolled out an improved and modernized version of Stream. As part of the transition, Microsoft Stream (Classic) was retired for the University of Toronto on May 6, 2024. As of this date, you no longer have access to videos on Microsoft Stream (Classic).
For details and FAQ about this transition, please visit the U of T Stream Classic Retirement page.
What are some of the benefits of using Stream (on SharePoint)?
- You can record your screen, web cam, and annotate with text, inking, & images (learn more about Microsoft Stream screen recorder).
- You can enable automatic captioning and then edit those captions (see View, edit, and manage video transcripts and captions)
- You can access detailed video analytics, such as who watched a specific video or unique visitors over time.
- You can add interactive elements to your videos, including callouts and MS Forms (see How can I add Microsoft Forms and Callouts to a video in MS Stream?
Learn more about Stream on SharePoint features: Current features and upcoming roadmap for Microsoft Stream (on SharePoint)
What are some considerations for using Microsoft Stream (on SharePoint)?
- Video permissions are based on the same permissions and sharing method you use for any other Microsoft 365 file. For example, granting access to videos stored in your OneDrive needs to be done manually for each video or video folder (see How to create a shared, editable folder). Videos you store on a SharePoint site, or a Team are usually available to everyone with permissions to the site or Team, but you can share specific videos or video folders with people who don't otherwise have access to the site by providing them with a temporary link.
- If you need to share a Stream video with users outside of the U of T community, the link to the video will only be valid for up to 2 years. After the link expires, you will need to re-generate it in Stream and update it everywhere it was shared.
1.3. YouTube (Google)
YouTube is a public video-sharing platform and is not U of T-licensed. Before using YouTube, please read Tips to safely implement un-vetted tools in your course.
What are some of the benefits of using YouTube?
- You can enable automatic captioning (and then edit those captions) (see Use automatic captioning)
- You can organize your videos into course-specific channels and/or playlists (see Create & manage playlists)
What are some considerations for using YouTube?
- YouTube is not accessible to students in certain geographic locations. If your students are geographically distributed, we do NOT recommend the use of YouTube as the sole service to share content to students. If you are using YouTube, please also share your content via MyMedia or Microsoft Stream.
- Depending on the video privacy setting you select, inappropriate video recommendations may appear after your video.
2. What should I consider while making this decision?
3. Comparison table of different video hosting services
|
MyMedia |
Stream on SharePoint |
YouTube |
|
| Tool in Brief | Developed by U of T Libraries; basic usage analytics; intended for archival purposes, fairly basic functionality |
Part your MS 365 subscription; features like chapters, transcripts, comments; improved analytics: see who and when viewed your video. | Public platform; not institutionally licensed; not accessible in all geographic locations |
| Set up Effort | Low |
Medium (see How to upload videos to Stream (on SharePoint) |
Medium - High (if using Channels) |
| Supported at FASE | Yes; UTL developed video and audio archival system |
Yes; Part of UofT O365 access |
No; external, non-vetted tool |
| Cost | Included w/ U of T Staff/Faculty Status |
Included w/ U of T’s Office 365 Subscription | Free; Requires Google Account to Upload video content |
| Viewing Permissions | Three layers of permissions: Public (anyone can view), UofT UTORid Authentication (anyone with a UTORid can login and view, if they have the link; not searchable), Private (only account owner can view) |
Videos are treated the same way as any other file Microsoft 365, including permissions and sharing methods. Files stored on a SharePoint site or Team are available to everyone with permission to the site or Team but can
be shared with people who don't otherwise have access to the site. |
Three layers of permissions: Unlisted (anyone with the link can view), Private (only the account holder can view), and Public (anyone can view; available in search results) |
| Administrative Video Access | Account owner only, but you can request a course account (see How can I request a MyMedia account for my course?) |
Video viewing permissions
can be granted by account owner; the account owner can allow others the ability to download and edit
the content |
YouTube account owner |
| Browser Compatibility | All |
All | All |
| Uploadable Files Types | Video and audio files only (mp4, mp3, mov, wav, etc.) |
Video and audio formats (MOV, MP3, MP4, etc.) See full list |
Video formats only (MOV, mp4, FLV, etc.) |
| Max. Storage Capacity | Unlimited |
OneDrive: Up to 1 TB (shared storage with other OneDrive files); SharePoint: Individual file size limit 100GB. Site storage quota is 250GB, can be increased on request |
Unlimited number of videos (each video up to 256 GB or 12 hours) for verified users |
| Automatic Captioning/Subtitling | No; but you can upload a .vtt transcript file (see how to add captions to MyMedia) |
Yes |
Yes |
| Adding Chapters | Yes; (see How to Add Chapters to MyMedia Videos) |
Yes; (see Using manual chapters with videos on Stream) |
Yes; |
| Creating Playlists | No | Yes; (see How to create a playlist for Stream videos) |
Yes; (see Create & manage playlists) |
| Viewing Analytics | Limited; views and interactions analytics (see What analytics can I view for videos I'm hosting on MyMedia?) |
Yes; (see Video analytics for Stream) |
Yes |
| Quercus Integration | No - Share URL to course or embed iframe into Quercus pages (see How can I copy the embed code for my video? MyMedia) |
No - Share URL to course or embed iframe into Quercus pages | No - Channels can be iframed into Quercus pages for easy updating (see How do I link to a YouTube video in the Rich Content Editor as an instructor?) |
| Customization Options | No |
Video thumbnail customization | Video thumbnail customization, personalized banners, channels and playlists |
| Content Longevity | Forever; you can manually remove content |
Forever; you can manually remove content. (Note that if a video is shared in a Team and this Team is deleted at some point, the video will also be deleted) |
Forever; you can manually remove content |
| Built-in capture tool | Yes (but has limitations) |
Yes; built-in screen recorder |
No; (but you can livestream and record; unsupported by ETO) |