While almost everybody has a pretty good idea of what to expect when it comes to viewing and interacting with text content on an eDiscovery platform, not many people know what to expect when it comes to audio and visual file types, especially when completing a first-time eDiscovery project. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, a great many changes have occurred within the eDiscovery and wider legal industry over the past few years. Some of the most noticeable changes have come in the form of significant increases in the amount of data collected, greater variety of file types collected, and an altered weighting of file types in comparison with pre-pandemic collections.
The rise of Zoom, Teams, and Google video conferencing has seen a dramatic shift in the quantities of audiovisual files being collected for review, and as such, has led legal professionals to speculate on the capabilities of their document review platform. How platforms handle large quantities of such files, and how we might expect review practices to change as audio and video files make up larger percentages of our material are key concerns for the modern reviewer and project manager. With this being said, let us enlighten you as to how video and audio files are presented within RelativityOne.
The first thing to know about audio/video files in RelativityOne is that they are both supported within the platform and have a default maximum file size of 1024 bites - however, this can be changed within your instance settings if you wish. When opened within the platform, both file types are displayed in the document window (left), either as the video or the audio clip with all your pre-determined coding options on the right side of the screen. When wishing to view the video simply click play in the document window and observe the content. If the video has audio this will also be available while watching and not imported as a separate file. The same goes for audio files, simply press play and listen.
Should you wish to observe the video on a larger screen you also have to option to download the native file from the platform and watch on whichever application you have available to you. Audio file natives can also be downloaded from the platform. This is especially useful if you have audiovisual files that are particularly large, downloading and watching them in native applications will improve the smooth running of your platform. For the video and audio files within the platform, all electronic document tools/processes are available to use, you are not limited due to the nature of the file in this respect.
Some Considerations:
1. One thing to be aware of is the compatibility of your web browser with the relativity platform and audiovisual files. There are some restrictions on certain browsers that will make the smooth running of your project more difficult when reviewing these file types. This list of browsers and their compatibility can be found on the Relativity website.
