Last Updated: November 17, 2022 9:29:25 AM PST
Every Kaltura user at UCSD has unlimited media storage with our partner Kaltura. For a variety of reasons, however, content will not be kept in the cloud permanently unless it's viewed every so often. Read below to learn the specific data retention policy.
UCSD-Kaltura Data Retention Policy
Your video content will remain in Kaltura's cloud indefinitely, though the content must be viewed briefly at least once every couple of years. This applies to every individual piece of media you own. Below are the two triggers of which to be aware.
- If your Kaltura media has not been viewed for 2 years, the entry's flavors will be deleted. The source (the original file that was uploaded to Kaltura) will remain. The system will send you an email warning you that this will occur one week prior to the 2-year mark.
- If your Kaltura media has not been viewed for 4 years, the entry will be deleted entirely. The system will send you an email warning you that this will occur one week prior to the 4-year mark.
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What are flavors?
Almost all video entries in Kaltura have multiple versions generated on the back end at varying quality levels. Kaltura calls these alternative quality versions "flavors." Flavors exist largely to facilitate a better viewing experience for Kaltura users: if the Kaltura player detects that a user's bandwidth is poor, it may instead present them with a lower-quality version rather than risking them having to stop and buffer occasionally. (Note that users can always override this and manually select their quality level.)
What is the impact if flavors for an entry are deleted?
If the source is playable, viewers can still watch your video.
As mentioned in the FAQ above, "flavors" are alternate quality versions that are generated by Kaltura largely to account for variable user bandwidth. If these are deleted, all that will be left for the player to play will be the source - the original media file uploaded to Kaltura. Given the versatility of the Kaltura player, it's likely that this file will work when a viewer clicks play on the entry. Just know that they'll be streaming / progressively downloading the original file which was uploaded, which could be quite large. Viewers in bandwidth-constrained areas could struggle to get a good viewing experience.
How do I download a video?
How do I restart the clock?
In both of the conditions articulated above, we start with "If your Kaltura media has not been viewed [...]" In order for Kaltura media to be considered "viewed," the video must be watched for at least 10 seconds. This can be done in "My Media," a channel, or anywhere the video is embedded.