Panopto has announced the availability of the latest version of its free lecture publishing platform, CourseCast 2.1, and several new features including live broadcasting and usage analytics.

CourseCast is a client-server application designed to make it easy to capture and publish lectures and presentations as podcasts and streaming media.

CourseCast 2.1 includes a simplified user interface, the ability to “remember” presenter recording settings, adjustable frame-rate recording, public and private note taking and the ability to attach and view PDF documents directly in the CourseCast player.

Administrators will be able to remotely create and manage recording profiles, deploy a background service that automatically transfers new recordings to the server even when the application is closed, and increase security through enhanced ActiveDirectory support.

Mark Nestor, Chief Information Officer of Miami Dade College’s Medical Campus, said, “We’re very excited about the new features in version 2.1. The redesigned interface and preset configurations will make it even easier for faculty to capture their lectures. The new video podcasting feature allows our students to watch their lectures from their portable media devices like iPhones and video iPods.”

Company officials also announced Live Broadcast, Usage Analytics, MPEG4 video Podcasting, and support for ActiveDirectory groups. Live Broadcast will allow instructors to “broadcast” their presentations and allow students to watch lectures from any broadband-connected computer.

Eric Burns, Panopto’s co-founder and CTO, stated: “We are particularly excited about our new broadcasting support, where anyone can stream live presentations to hundreds or thousands of viewers, right from the desktop.”