Microsoft Stream on SharePoint replaces Stream Classic – What’s New

First, we had Microsoft Video (or was it Office 365 Video?) and then we had Microsoft Stream. Now we have…erm…a new Microsoft Stream. Microsoft has been listening to feedback and understanding key business uses of the platform, leading them to give Stream an overhaul. From February 15, 2024 Stream (now referred to as “Classic”) as we know it, will be retired and replaced by Stream on SharePoint.

Key dates:
– General availability for Stream on SharePoint: October 12, 2022
– You won’t be able to upload new content to Stream Classic after May 15, 2023
– Microsoft Stream Classic will retire on February 15, 2024

Microsoft Stream on SharePoint advantages/benefits vs Stream Classic

Moving forward, you no longer store your organisation’s videos in a central portal, but instead keep them anywhere in SharePoint, where Stream is now baked into the product. Launching a video in SharePoint will launch it within the Stream interface to bring them together.

Personally, I liked the interface between Stream and its channels, as well as the web part that you can add in SharePoint. However, there are some undeniable benefits to this move, including:

• Videos stored in SharePoint, can now be shared externally (something we’ve never been able to do in Stream Classic, but I’ve often been asked about)
• Videos can now be better managed by retention policies
• Security can be far more flexibly managed
• We can make use of metadata against videos for better management
• Staff don’t need to be trained in another product if they’re already familiar with SharePoint

Does the new Stream on SharePoint look different?

It looks very similar, only more personalised to you (the end-user). You can see your recent videos and use the SharePoint search interface to find videos elsewhere that you have access to.

Do we still use the Stream web part on our intranet?

Nope. The Stream web part has now been renamed to have “Classic” in its title and will only look to channels in the Stream (Classic) platform and not to Stream (on SharePoint).

Instead, we need to look at how we can use other web parts to surface videos. There are a few options:

• Embed individual videos using the File web part, which allows for inline playback (meaning it plays within the tile without taking you outside of the page) but requires a lot of management by page authors to keep things updated
• Use the Hero web part
  • The Hero web part allows for videos to be played inline, but you’re limited to 5 tiles and it can be to the detriment of your page experience if you already have Hero web parts in use for other purposes
• The third option, and in my opinion the best, is to use the Highlighted Content web part. This web part allows you to scour your site (or other sites) for content of a particular nature (in this case videos) and display it in a feed. This feed can be tailored far more than previously possible with elements such as:
  • Filter based on properties of the video
  • Sorting options
  • Audience targeting

There is also a selection of layout options to choose from so it can be designed to fit nicely with your page design.

With this in place, any videos you add into a library on your site (you might find it easier to create a dedicated library to hold videos that you want to show) will be automatically displayed where you’ve added the web part.

The (temporary) disadvantage of this is that when you click on a video, it will take you out of the page and into Stream to view it. Not the best experience when you want to keep people in the context of your intranet. This will be fixed soon as Microsoft are updating the Highlighted Content Web Part so that you can play videos in-line, and not need to leave the page. This update is due for release (at the time of writing) in July 2023.

How to migrate from Microsoft Stream Classic to Stream on Sharepoint?

So how can you get all your stuff out of Stream before it goes away? Microsoft has created a migration tool that administrators can use to move things over. The tool can be found in the Stream Admin Centre at the bottom of the left-hand navigation pane. Once launched, you follow a series of tasks to get your content out.

! Before you migrate everything from Stream Classic it’s worth keeping in mind (especially if you have a large number of videos to transfer) that this will now count against your SharePoint storage quotas (previously, videos were held in Azure and managed separately). Be sure that you have sufficient storage available on your SharePoint tenant before beginning migration, and also check any storage quotas on the sites that you’re migrating to.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to migrate from Stream Classic to Stream on SharePoint:

1. Select all the channels you’re interested in, then click the “Scan” button as shown below to build a video inventory

2. Once scanned, choose the channels that you wish to migrate and click the “Add to Migrations” button

3. Now go to the Migrations tab (through the not-very-prominent link under the Stream header at the top)

4. Click each channel in turn and edit the destination value (choosing between OneDrive or SharePoint, then providing a location)

5. For each channel, when you’ve set the destination, you can then select it in the list and click “Migrate” to move the contents over (you can also select multiple channels or all of them)

Your content will now be in SharePoint! But before you do any of this, make sure that you have prepared your staff for the change, and that your communication strategies have been designed/implemented so that staff aren’t left confused when things are changed or disabled.

Microsoft have put together an adoption and strategy pack for the move, which you can access here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/stream/streamnew/migration-strategies

For more information on the upcoming features of Stream (on SharePoint) check out the Microsoft 365 Roadmap here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=&searchterms=stream

Do you need any help with migrating from Microsoft Stream Classic to Stream on SharePoint? Don’t hesitate to contact us.

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