Template:VALT 6 - What's New

VALT 6.0 is a major version change for IVS. This article communicates the changes we made in this version update and why. 6.0 accomplishes the following:

• Refactor software code to run on the latest technology, which provides IVS and our customers with a stable platform for future development
• Modernize and declutter the user interface to make VALT easier to use
• Add new features and functionality to help our customers do their jobs better
• Improve overall reliability

So, What’s New?

Tech Stack

VALT 2.0 – 5.x was built on the LAMP stack. The LAMP stack is comprised of the following components:

Operating System	Linux
Web Server	Apache
Database	MYSQL
Application	PHP

We used Wowza as our video engine, Javascript as our UI framework, NODE JS for the messaging service and flash/HTML5 for our video controls. The LAMP stack served us well. Since 2013, we regularly introduced new features for our customers to maintain their investment in VALT. With VALT 6.0 we wanted a technology stack to serve IVS and our customers for another 10 years. VALT 6.0 is built on a similar tech stack, but we upgraded components and added new technology to help with the deployment of VALT in the cloud. The core technology stack for VALT 6.0 is:

Operating System	Linux
Web Server	NGINX
Database	MYSQL
Application	PHP

We replaced much of the JavaScript and NODEJS with Vue.js and RABBITMQ, which helped build a new user interface needed to run faster in the cloud. It also helped develop new features like “comments” to simplify the user experience.

Configuration

A major new piece of technology in the VALT 6.0 technology stack is Docker. Docker is a software development platform that puts operating system files into “containers”, so they are easier to build, deploy and run in any environment. For comparison, in VALT 2.0-5.X each major application had its own configuration file and its own application dependencies that needed to be added to the operating system to function properly. ( VALT, Apache, MySQL, Wowza and Node JS). The quantity of configuration files, each with its own dependencies, made support and upgrading VALT complex since each file had to be updated independently. Now, in VALT 6.0, Docker packages Nginx, MySQL, Wowza, RabbitMQ and VALT with their dependencies in a Docker container and creates a single configuration file. This simplifies support and future upgrades, and increases the reliability of VALT.

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The End User Experience

User Interface

The VALT 6.0 user interface (UI) is simplified. Frequently used features and tools are more visible. Our customers primarily use simple text strings to create markers, so we created a “comments” feature Compared to “markers”, “comments” reduces the number of clicks required to add a note to a video. During live observation users with proper permissions can add, view, and reply to comments, like a live chat. In video playback users with proper permissions can add, edit, and delete comments. Video playback can automatically pause when a user starts to type a comment, and resume playback when a user concludes their comment. In addition, we simplified the ability to add and playback audio comments. When adding an audio comment the video automatically pauses, playing the audio comment, then resumes playing through the recorded video.

Beam Streams

VALT 5.x required an administrator to add a Beam device to VALT and a specific room to view the device. This process created a long room list and alerts for Beam devices not connected to VALT, which cluttered the user interface. VALT 6.0 eliminates this clutter. Rather than adding Beam devices to a room, VALT 6.0 detects live streams from Beam devices and displays them to users with proper permissions in the Observe section of VALT automatically. Beam is unique from our competitors’ mobile offerings in that in addition to video recording we provide live observation by streaming video from the Beam app on the mobile device across a local area network or, if a customer deploys VALT in the cloud, via the internet.

Zoom Integration

Many of our customers use Zoom for remote clinical sessions and remote debriefing purposes but lack secure content management and the ability to evaluate and make comments back to the students in their Zoom recordings.

With the Zoom integration the user initiates the integration in VALT, logs into their Zoom session, and starts recording in zoom. When the user ends recording, the video file is automatically stored to VALT according to the permissions of the user who initiated the recording. They can apply the tools and features of VALT to the stored Zoom video in VALT.