---
type: entity
title: GrypsTube
tags: [software, video-service, university-it, video-hosting, elearning, video, hosting, web-service, urz, digital-teaching, e-learning, university-service, media, multimedia, university-infrastructure, service]
related: [universitatsrechenzentrum-urz, video-recording-formats, moodle, digital-teaching, ums, groupware, universitat-greifswald, gdpr-compliance, transcoding, video-embedding, typo3-backend, opencast-studio, video-transcoding, grypstube-visibility-levels, video-visibility-levels]
created: 2026-06-30
updated: 2026-07-01
sources: ["output/rz_uni_greifswald_de_dienste.md", "output/rz_uni_greifswald_de_dienste_studium_lehre_elearning.md", "output/rz_uni_greifswald_de_dienste_studium_lehre_elearning_vod.md", "output/rz_uni_greifswald_de_dienste_webdienste_grypstube.md", "output/rz_uni_greifswald_de_dienste_webdienste_grypstube_datenschutz.md", "output/rz_uni_greifswald_de_dienste_webdienste_grypstube_embed.md", "output/rz_uni_greifswald_de_dienste_webdienste_grypstube_faq.md", "output/rz_uni_greifswald_de_dienste_webdienste_grypstube_loeschen.md", "output/rz_uni_greifswald_de_dienste_webdienste_grypstube_upload.md"]
---

# GrypsTube

**GrypsTube** is the internal, central web-based video service of the [[universitat-greifswald]], provided by the [[universitatsrechenzentrum-urz]]. It is categorized under the university's "Web Services" domain and serves as a platform for university members with active accounts to host, publish, manage, and share educational, institutional, and research video content within the institutional ecosystem.

## Purpose and Role
GrypsTube is primarily used to host and distribute digital teaching content, providing on-demand video streams of digital teaching materials. Within the context of digital teaching, it serves as the central repository for asynchronous lecture materials and acts as the bridge between the recording process and the learning management system.

## Features and Capabilities
- **Video Upload**: Supports various formats via file dialog or drag-and-drop.
- **Public Access**: Videos can be viewed by anyone worldwide; no account is required to watch videos.
- **Storage and Limits**: 
    - There are no data limits for users uploading content.
    - There is a maximum upload limit of 8GB per file.
- **Automatic Transcoding**: The system automatically processes uploaded videos via [[transcoding]] (also referred to as [[video-transcoding]]) into multiple resolution tiers to ensure compatibility, performance, and worldwide availability. Depending on the source material, the tiers include:
    - 1080p
    - 720p
    - 480p
    - 360p
- **Collaboration and Organization**: 
    - **Channels (Kanäle)**: Allow multiple users to collaborate on content and group videos by theme. Only videos set to "public" visibility appear in these channels; private videos and those with private links do not appear in channels.
    - **Roles**: Users added to a channel are assigned the role of **Cutter** to assist in managing the content.
- **Visibility Settings**: 
    - Supports public, private, and private-link visibility.
    - One source version specifies four [[grypstube-visibility-levels]]: Public, Unlisted, Private, and Internal.
    - Another source version specifies four distinct [[video-visibility-levels]]: Public, Unlisted, Private, and Internal.
- **Metadata Management**: Users can assign titles, tags, and descriptions to their videos to provide additional context.

## Content Management
Users can manage their uploaded content through the "Meine Videos" (My Videos) library.

### Video Deletion
Videos can be removed by clicking the "Löschen" (Delete) button in the video library and confirming the action. 

> [!WARNING]
> Deletion is permanent. Neither the user nor the [[universitatsrechenzentrum-urz]] can restore deleted videos.

### Operational Constraints
- **Not a Backup Service**: GrypsTube is explicitly not intended for archiving or backup. Users are required to maintain their own copies of video files on external storage (e.g., network drives or hard disks).
- **Copyright Management**: To protect intellectual property, the URZ suggests combining "Unlisted" visibility with protected access points like [[moodle]].

## Integration and Embedding
GrypsTube videos can be integrated into other university platforms using several methods:

### Moodle Integration
Videos can be added to [[moodle]] as:
- **Links**: Using the direct URL of the video.
- **Embedded Players**: Using the HTML `<iframe>` code provided in the "Share" $\rightarrow$ "Embed" dialog. This requires using the source code editor (`< >` button) in the Moodle editor.

### TYPO3 Integration
For university web pages managed via [[typo3-backend]], a specialized "GrypsTube-Video" content element is available under the "Special Elements" category. This element requires the **VideoID** (the unique alphanumeric string at the end of the video URL) to function.

### Playback Customization and Constraints
When embedding videos, users can customize the player's behavior via the "Share" dialog:
- **Timestamps**: Set specific "Start at" and "End at" times.
- **Behavior**: Enable **Autoplay**, **Mute**, or **Loop**.
- **Constraint**: The **Loop** function is disabled if start or end timestamps are specified.
- **Quality Setting**: When embedded in [[moodle]] or [[typo3-backend]] via `<iframe>`, the "auto" quality setting may cause playback failure; users are advised to manually select a resolution or use a direct link.

## Workflow and Account Management
### Content Workflow
Instructors typically follow this process to integrate video content into their teaching:
1. **Recording & Upload**: Content is recorded in various [[video-recording-formats]] and then uploaded to GrypsTube by authenticated university members.
2. **Metadata**: The service supports the addition of descriptions and links within the video metadata/descriptions to provide additional context.
3. **Distribution**: The hosted videos are then embedded or linked within [[moodle]] courses for student access.

### Account Types and Access
Publishing requires a university account with the **GrypsTube Serviceflag** enabled in the central identity management system, managed via the [[ums]]:
- **Personal Accounts**: Standard accounts for university members. Approval workflows differ by role:
    - **Lecturers**: Can self-approve their requests.
    - **Students/Student Assistants**: Require approval from a responsible teacher.
- **Functional Accounts**: Shared accounts used when multiple people need access to the same video resources without having individual accounts. These are provisioned as functional accounts in the [[ums]] with a specific GrypsTube service flag; requests must be made via email to `grypstube@uni-greifswald.de`.

## Data Privacy and Security
GrypsTube adheres to [[gdpr-compliance]] with the following policies:

### Legal Basis
- Processing is justified under **Art. 6(1)(e) GDPR** as a task in the public interest.
- The service is further supported by the University's Data Protection Statutes and the URZ Regulations.

### Data Collection
The system collects the following information:
- **Technical logs**: IP addresses and URLs.
- **Media data**: Audio and visual content.
- **User identifiers**: Usernames and email addresses.
- **Interaction data**: Likes and comments.

### Retention and Sovereignty
- **Technical logs**: IP/URL data are purged after **seven days**.
- **User-specific data**: Personal data associated with the account is deleted upon the deletion of the user's central university account.
- **Data Sovereignty**: Data is not shared with third parties.

## Technical Limitations and Troubleshooting
### Technical Constraints
- **Browser Compatibility**: Requires modern browsers; specifically, Microsoft Edge version 81+ is necessary for playback.
- **Timeouts**: Session timeouts occur after 20 minutes, which may interrupt large uploads.

### Known Issues and Errors
- **WEBM Compatibility**: Videos in WEBM format (often produced by browser-based recorders) may encounter "Unknown Errors" or processing failures during transcoding due to missing metadata.
- **Upload Errors**: 
    - An "Unknown Error" may appear while the upload is actually continuing in the background.
    - A "Server error" at 100% upload often indicates that the file (e.g., from [[opencast-studio]]) lacks required runtime metadata and needs post-processing.

## Support
Support for GrypsTube is provided by the [[universitatsrechenzentrum-urz]]. Technical issues, including transcoding errors, are handled via:
- The [[groupware]] ticket system.
- The URZ hotline (ext. 1420).