MediaBeacon FAQ

1. What is MediaBeacon?
2. What integrations are being planned for MediaBeacon?
3. Where is MediaBeacon content stored?
4. How much does MediaBeacon cost?
5. How is MediaBeacon different than WebDAM?
6. When can I get access to MediaBeacon?
7. I have a lot of files. Wouldn’t uploading via MediaBeacon’s web UI be slow?
8. What types of files and file names does MediaBeacon support?
9. Can I upload patient data to MediaBeacon?
10. What if MediaBeacon goes away? What happens to my data?
11. Where can I find more information about MediaBeacon?

1. What is MediaBeacon?

MediaBeacon is a web based asset management system for videographers, photographers, and other content creators designed to solve the problem of those dusty old hard drives under your desk. MediaBeacon encourages content creators to store image and video data centrally that Duke has invested to develop. You get the benefit of having the data backed up, secure and available should the creator change positions, plus the tremendous search and organizational power of Media Beacon at no additional cost. View OIT's main service page for MediaBeacon here: https://oit.duke.edu/service/mediabeacon/

2. What integrations are being planned for MediaBeacon?

Current planned integrations include: WebDAM, Warpwire, DukeFlyer, Facebook, and YouTube.

3. Where is MediaBeacon content stored?

MediaBeacon uses OIT’s Network Attached Storage (NAS) for fast performance and backups. For general information on NAS performance, see this link.

4. How much does MediaBeacon cost?

OIT is paying central licensing costs for MediaBeacon. There is no charge to Duke users for use of the application at this time. Customers pay storage costs for MediaBeacon. Pricing information for OIT storage is here: https://oit.duke.edu/help/articles/kb0025199

5. How is MediaBeacon different than WebDAM?

WebDAM supports curated collections of photos and videos intended for sharing throughout the Duke community. While MediaBeacon also supports sharing, it has the benefit of housing all your media in one location. OIT is planning to integrate MediaBeacon with WebDAM in the future so that you can export curated collections from your working space in MediaBeacon.

6. When can I get access to MediaBeacon?

MediaBeacon is available now, and you can request access via this form.

7. I have a lot of files. Wouldn’t uploading via MediaBeacon’s web UI be slow?

For initial onboarding of extremely large projects, OIT can help you find assistance copying your files to the NAS via SCP or SFTP.

8. What types of files and file names does MediaBeacon support?

You can upload just about any file type to MediaBeacon. Refer to this document for a full list of supported file types that will render previews. Files that are not supported can still be uploaded, but the thumbnail will be a generic gray. Please note that the following characters should not be used in files uploaded to MediaBeacon as they can cause problems with processing and preview generation:

• < (less than)
• > (greater than)
• : (colon)
• " (double quote)
• / (forward slash)
• \ (backslash)
• | (vertical bar or pipe)
• ? (question mark)
• * (asterisk)

9. Can I upload patient data to MediaBeacon?

Media Beacon cannot be used to record, store, or distribute any media that must comply with HIPAA requirements. For more information about MediaBeacon policies, visit https://oit.duke.edu/about/policies/media-beacon-policies

10. What if MediaBeacon goes away? What happens to my data?

Since all content is stored on the Duke NAS, we would be well-positioned to migrate to another system in the event Duke switched to a similar product. We expect to be able to export metadata for content from the MediaBeacon DB as well.

11. Where can I find more information about MediaBeacon?

Visit https://www.mediabeacon.com/en/mbu for the current documentation on MediaBeacon, called MediaBeacon University. Visit https://www.youtube.com/user/DAMBillofRights for MediaBeacon’s video channel on YouTube with helpful videos on all aspects of the tool. Visit https://www.mediabeacon.com/en for the main product page for MediaBeacon maintained by Esko.