Call us: 1.800.513.1740

Playout Graphics and Editing

Home Playout Graphics and Editing

Playout Graphics & Editing

Automated Editing at Scale to Create Personalized Video Content

Playout is a fundamental component of video production and is most often conducted using purpose-built broadcast playout hardware. There are a few main playout capabilities; graphics insertion, subtitling, audio insertion, and aspect ratio conversion.

Encoding.com has developed a suite of playout features designed to automate the manipulation of your video content in a highvolume media processing workflow. These are initiated via our API based on a customer’s content requirements, whether inserting a custom logo or implementing a multi-step workflow that involves concatenating different source files, adding customer video or text overlays, and muxing closed caption files.

Cloud based playout capabilities allow media and entertainment companies to automate customization of content. Google used these features to launch their Hangouts product inserting text overlays to allows users customize the Hangouts experience. ESPN used insertion features such as text concatenation, split screen, and overlay to to create a dynamic and personalized experience for their Fantasy Football launch.

This guide outlines all of the playout capabilities that Encoding.com offers. Through utilization of our unique playout features, you can create automated custom workflows that will make your encoding workflow more powerful and more efficient.

Playout Capabilities

The capabilities below all center around the integration of video, imagery, and audio into existing content.

Video Watermarking

Watermarking is a visible embedded overlay on a video consisting of text, a logo, or a video copyright disclaimer. The purpose of a watermark is to identify the work and discourage its unauthorized use. Though a video copyright disclaimer can’t prevent unauthorized use, it makes it more difficult for those who may want to claim someone else’s video as their own.

Encoding.com supports automated watermarking through our API. It’s a helpful tool for adding logos, credits, or imagery to large content libraries. Simply specify the source and opacity and the X and Y coordinates to position your watermark. More details can be found in our API documentation.

Watermarking Case Study: The Food Network

Watermarking content for purposes of protection is the most popular use case. Food Network came to Encoding.com for help with over 3,000 videos that needed to be watermarked with their logo. Using the Encoding.com API they were able to automate the source, position, and appearance of watermarks across all 3,000 videos.

Concatenation

The Encoding.com concatenation feature allows you to combine multiple videos into one file. This is helpful for companies looking to connect several disparate piece of video.

Concatenation is available via our API. Encoding.com supports concatenation of video from multiple source locations and multiple video formats. More details on implementing a concatenation workflow can be found in our API docs.

Star Wars: A New Hope

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: A New Hope + Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Creating Thumbnails

Thumbnails are screen captures of source video. They are often used to generate static images and scrubber rollovers for video players.

Encoding.com has several options for creating thumbnails that are compatible with popular players such as JWplayer.

The two most common thumbnail formats are VTT and JPG files. Encoding.com supports the creation of both of these file types. Adding a single parameters enable thumbnail captures in our API and are easily added to any player from there. The Encoding.com API supports setting of a time interval for captures as well as a percentage interval. You can also control the width and height of the thumbnail capture. The Encoding.com API documentation outlines everything you need to know.

VTT Thumbnails

.JPG Sprite

Video Rotation

Video rotation is most commonly used to ensure correct orientation of your video, especially on mobile and tablet devices. The Encoding.com API can specify rotation in 90 degree increments. When the video is served to phones or tablets, the device OS will determine the correct orientation based on the position of the device.

Simply specify your rotation in degrees ( 90, 180, 270, 360 ). A rotation of 0 degrees will tell players to ignore rotation data. More details on rotation can be found in the Encoding.com API docs.

Video Cropping

Cropping of video allows customers to select top, bottom, left, and right crop dimensions of any source content. For more details, see our API docs.

Video Clipping

Easily clip out a specified portion of your source. We support a few methods for this. The first method is to specify a starting point and duration in seconds. Not including a starting point with the duration will start clipping form the beginning of the source. Alternatively you can specify a start and finish using the timecode with frames (HH:MM:SS:FF) or whole integers. .

Video Fading

Fading allows customers to fade to black or fade into the next piece of content. Just set the fade in and fade out starting times, and the duration for each. For more details, see our API docs.

Audio/Video/Closed Caption Muxing

Multiplexing or muxing is the process of merging streams of video with audio or closed captions. In many cases, this involves downgrading your resolution and quality. Muxing is currently only supported for two sources.

Check out Encoding.com API to learn more about muxing.

Embed Video MetaData

MetaData is the descriptive text associated with your video. Encoding.com offers ways to embed metadata in your video. This is often used to provide information such as source, author, artist, publish date or copyright information.

Encoding.com supports the following MetaData parameters: Author, Title, Album, Description, Copyright. Check out the Encoding.com API docs to learn more about embedding metadata.

Get a Free API Key & Start Encoding Today

Split Screen

Encoding.com supports a wide array of split screen configuration, combining multiple source in the same screen. Just specify the columns, rows, padding, and sources, and you’re all set. For more information about split-screen support, see the Encoding.com API docs.

Programmatic Editing Case Study: ESPN Fantasy Football

For the past several NFL seasons, in conjunction with ESPN and Weiden+Kennedy, Encoding.com has supported an innovative campaign that utilizes several of our programmatic editing features. Split Screen, Video Overlay, Text Overlay, & Concatenation are all used in this sophisticated workflow. The application emulates a live interview between the participant and John Anderson, ESPN sportscaster. The details of this workfloware outlined here.

Text, Audio & Video Overlay

If you need to place a full motion video or digital graphics, text, or audio over an existing display screen of video, we can help with our overlay feature. Select your source, set the X & Y axis of the overlay, the size, the start time, and the duration. All of this can be automated via our API!

Image to Image Conversion

This editing feature allows you to both convert and resize your source image to a new format and or size. You have control over input and out formats, sizing, aspect ratio, image quality, and embedded metadata. All the details for image2image conversion can be found in our API docs.

Video Slideshow Creation

Easily convert an image library into a video slideshow with this feature. Simply specify your source images and enable the slideshow output in our API. It’s that easy!

Burnt-In Time Code

Add a timer to any video with this feature. This is useful for monitoring test outputs. Just specify the position on the screen and the starting time of the timer in our API.