If You’re Not Using latakoo Pilot NextGen, You’re Missing Out

You know the feeling when you go to the grocery store and they’ve rearranged the aisles? You’re immediately annoyed because now the quick trip isn’t going to be so quick anymore as you struggle to learn the new layout. Why is it so hard to find a loaf of bread?! But with each shopping trip you get a little more comfortable, and can’t seem to recall how things were before. The reasons behind the changes become more clear as you discover new items the store was making room for with the new design. The end goal was to create more options and a better experience for customers.

While latakoo Pilot isn’t exactly a grocery store, it is the spot multimedia teams depend on around the clock to get the files they need. It’s the magical place in the cloud where our community of content creators view, download and share videos, pictures and audio uploaded through latakoo. As our technology and offerings evolve, a new Pilot was needed to grow along with it. October 13, 2021 was an exciting day, to say the least, as we rolled out the new and improved Pilot NextGen to our users.

What Changed?

The before and after is drastic. Not only did the new site get a visual makeover, but the updated Pilot is packed full of new features and functionality that our team thoughtfully designed based on feedback from real users who drive everything we do at latakoo. Turning on the new Pilot for everyone was as simple as the click of a button, but the transformation was years in the making. 

Some of the biggest upgrades include new options that allow users to personalize their Pilot. You can create a custom list of Selected Networks that you access the most, eliminating extra time spent scrolling through a long list of choices. Click on the video below to see how.

The all new List View displays files more like a spreadsheet and is also fully customizable to fit your workflow. The added Bulk Action buttons enable users to delete, download, move and copy multiple files at once. There’s also the noticeably larger and smarter video player that offers a much better viewing experience.

Post-Release Fixes & Enhancements

latakoo Pilot NexGen has now been out for testing for a full month, and we want to thank you for communicating issues you’ve found as you use the new system. Our team has been working diligently to push fixes.

Here’s what our team has resolved to date:

• Improved search results
• Sharing links (direct and embed)
• Saving, moving and copying metadata
• No more % in downloaded file names
• MPEG2 transcodes

These are the improvements coming soon: 

• Ability to rename files
• Audio file thumbnail in certain web browsers
• Group upload file names
• Ability to download individual elements from a group
• Isolate individual audio tracks

Valuable user feedback has already led to latakoo Pilot enhancements. A client asked if it was possible to add a progress bar so they could track the status of files through the entire latakoo system — letting them know the second a file is uploaded to the moment it’s landed in their asset management system. The short answer was: YES! Our team at latakoo has always had access to this data behind the hood, but producing that data in a way that you could easily digest it required quite a bit of designing and building. We are happy to report it’s now available to users through the new File Tracking feature built into latakoo Pilot. Similar to a FEDEX or UPS package tracker, with our Flight Tracker, you get to see the arrival points and times for your file.

When will Classic Pilot go away?

At your grocery store, changes are usually made with zero heads up or adjustment period for shoppers. At latakoo, we wanted our users to ease into this new territory at their own speed, and be able to go back to the old system as needed. That’s why, when Pilot NextGen became the default, we put the “Back to Classic Pilot” button right at the top for users to click on any time and go back to what they were comfortable with.

Our hope is that you’ve started living in the new Pilot full-time. If not, give it a try! Once our team tackles the list of improvements above, Classic will go away and NextGen will become the main Pilot. The important thing to remember is that Pilot NextGen is running on the latest technology with an optimized database, allowing for more speed and flexibility. We will be sure and communicate to you with plenty of notice as Classic Pilot is retired. You can look forward to more updates as we continue to provide the tools and technology to simplify your workflows.