Stream on SharePoint is the main Microsoft 365 video hosting solution. You can use it to create video pages, training sites, or portals with user media files.
At the same time, Stream Classis is being retired. If you still have files in the Classic version, it’s a good idea to review those files and migrate them if you need them. In this post, I will show you how you can do this using an out-of-the-box tool.
Stream Classic Retirement
Stream (Classic) was the main home for video files in Office 365. You could upload video files and share them with your colleagues. You could create channels and use them to distribute files by category or target group. Teams recordings were also stored in Stream.
In the last 3 years, Microsoft focused on the new Stream on SharePoint. Now it is a fully featured service, and you can use it to store videos, create video portals, manage media files, and monitor them. At the same time, Stream Classic is being retired. Right now, it is the last part of the retirement process – migrating all old data and disabling the services.
Microsoft Stream Timeline- Important Dates
- February 15, 2023 – Start of six-month and one-year countdown until no new videos can be uploaded and retirement.
- May 15, 2023 – No new videos can be uploaded to Stream (Classic) unless the admin takes action to delay this change. This can be delayed until August 15, 2023.
Upcoming Dates:
- August 15, 2023 – No new videos can be uploaded to Stream (Classic) for any customers
- September 15, 2023 – No new Stream live events can be created, any Stream live event scheduled after September 15, 2023, will be automatically removed.
- October 15, 2023 – Users no longer be able to access or use Stream (Classic) unless the admin takes action to delay this change. This change can be delayed until February 15, 2024.
- February 15, 2024 – Stream (Classic) is fully retired & automatically disabled
Migration to Stream on SharePoint
We are using Stream on SharePoint for quite a while (e.g., Teams recordings are stored on SharePoint/OneDrive since 2021) but Stream Classic is still there and contains a lot of our data. Most people don’t use those files but, in some cases, they might be important.
Examples:
- Training for legacy systems,
- important meeting recordings,
- Archiving company videos.
Now it’s a good time to review those files and migrate them to Stream on SharePoint. Microsoft created a dedicated tool that you can use to migrate Stream Classic files to SharePoint. You should use the tool to prepare and migrate the required files.
All files can be divided into 5 categories and depending on it the tool copies files to a different target location.
However, some sources require additional Admin actions before the migration process.
Microsoft Stream Migration: Some Must-Do Actions
| Source location | Target location |
| Microsoft 365 group | Already existing Microsoft 365 Group SharePoint team site |
| User content | A user’s OneDrive for Business (ODB) |
| Stream Group | None (Admins can choose an existing SharePoint site or create a new one) |
| Company-wide channels | None (Admins can choose an existing SharePoint site or create a new one) |
| Orphaned files | None (Admins can choose an existing SharePoint site or create a new one) |
One more thing – all videos stored on Stream on SharePoint consume SharePoint storage. You must plan the required space before you start the migration process.
Stream Classic to Stream on SharePoint- Migration Process
- Navigate to Stream Classic Admin settings – https://web.microsoftstream.com/admin
- Launch the Migration () tool:
3. The tool shows all containers (channels, groups) and the first load will take some time.
- Select the container which you want to migrate and click the Scan button. The scanning process will take some time (it depends on the number of video files).
- When the scanning process is finished, you can check statistics – the number of scanned videos and storage.
The next step is to add those containers to the migration process.
Select again required containers and click on the Add to Migrations button.
- Open the Migration tab at the top of the page. All your selected containers will get a suggested destination folder.
- Microsoft 365 group will be migrated to a SharePoint site attached to this group
- Stream groups, Company-wide channels, or orphaned videos won’t get any destination folders. You will get a warning and you must manually assign a target location for those files.
- User content is mapped to a user’s OneDrive for Business (ODB)
- To manually assign a target location select a container and click Edit on the right-hand pane
- Now you can select the target destination – it can be a OneDrive folder or a SharePoint document library. Find the destination folder and click the Save path button.
- Check all your containers for any warnings and confirm that all target paths are correct.
- Select containers and click the Migrate button
- Confirm the migration using the Migrate button.
During the migration process, a video can be played in view-only mode. Migrated videos won’t be visible in Stream Classic and will be deleted after 180 days.
- You can monitor the migration process on the same page. You can check it for any errors or warnings. You can check the progress by monitoring the column Migration status
- To check migrated users’ files, the user must open OneDrive and navigate to Stream Migrated Videos.
- To check other videos, navigate to the selected site and document library.
The Final Word:
There are 2 factors that you should consider
- The final deadline for migration – February 15, 2024
- Storage you need to migrate your data. Videos migrated to SharePoint consume SharePoint storage. User’s videos migrated to OneDrive consume OneDrive storage.
Wrapping it Up:
The migration process with the Microsoft toll is straightforward and fast (of course it depends on the video’s size). It doesn’t require any additional license or a dedicated server. You can monitor migration progress, migrate videos channel by channel, or based on your requirements and deadlines. The tool will do the job but the biggest part is checking videos and marking them for migration or not.
At WME, we have the most seasoned Migration experts working for us for more than a decade now. As a leading Professional IT services provider, we have deep expertise in Microsoft products and suites, and we ensure a seamless migration to Stream on SharePoint. Experience hassle-free video management with WME by your side. Contact us now!
