Use our Channels feature to to create fully customized video channels. With Channels, you can effortlessly group clips and playlists together, aligning them perfectly with your company’s branding and overall webpage strategy.
To learn more about the basics, we would recommend reading our Get Started article where we briefly touch upon the available Channels ‘elements’: player, playlist (grid, slider and carousel) as well as the featured element.
In this article we’ll go over the steps on how to create a Channel and its available settings.
1.0 | Create a Channel
To create a Channel:
- Navigate to media clips
- Select “Channels” in the left menu
- Click “Create new Channel”
Channels might not be accessible in your publication by default. Want to get started with Channels? Please contact your account manager or support@bluebillywig.com.
2.0 | Configure a Channel
The Channels interface contains three tabs: General, Elements and Embed. Embedding a Channel will be discussed below (see section 4.0).
Use the “General” and “Elements” sections to set up a Channel:
2.1 | General Channels settings
Use the general Channels tab to apply settings for the Channel as a whole.
Channel name (required)
The Channel name is not displayed in the Channel itself, but is used for content management purposes. Use a descriptive name that makes it easy to find the relevant Channel in the Channels overview.
Styling
- Color theme
Set a “Light” or “Dark” theme for your Channel. As you switch between the two color theme options, you’ll see that the two fonts and background color settings below are set to default colors. We recommend using the color theme setting as a starting point after which it’s easier to finetune the font and background settings. - Primary font & Secondary font
The primary font applies to:- Channels title
- Element titles
- Video title
- Video description
The secondary font applies to:
- Overlay text placed on top of featured items and thumbnails of videos that are currently playing in the player block:
- Video length displayed in the thumbnails
- Font family: select a popular font from the dropdown menu:
Font color: select a color in the color picker or enter a HEX color code.
- Background color
Select a Channel background preset (dark grey, light grey or white). Alternatively, use the color picker to select another color or enter a HEX color code. - Border radius
Use the border radius to create square corners (0px) or rounded corners (values higher than 0px). See the three examples below with a respective border radius of 0px, 5px and 20px:
- Padding
Use the padding property to determine the padding area on the Channel’s outer left and right side. Set the padding to 0px if you want the Channel to fill up the full width of the element it’s placed in. Please note that the padding setting does not affect the space between the Channel elements.
Player options
- Playout
Select the playout used for the Channel. This playout will be used in all instances where the Channel displays a player. Learn more about playouts. If no playout is specified, the default playout will be selected. - Play content in
When visitors select another video in the Channel, the video can be presented in 4 different ways: a ‘normal’ video player, a page overlay, a deeplink or a Channel overlay. The setting selected here will be applied for each element by default, but it’s also possible to select a different presentation for individual elements. The available options are:
- Player block
The selected video will play in the player block that’s set up in the Channel (see section 1.1). - Page overlay:
A page overlay opens a player covering the full browser window. - Channel overlay:
A Channel overlay opens a player only covering the Channel section of your website. - Deeplink:
Instead of opening the video in a player within the Channel, you can also use the deeplink. A deeplink can be any URL that you would like viewers to visit as they click the thumbnail in the slider, carousel or grid.
- Player block
- Playout
2.2 | Add and edit Channels elements
In the Elements tab, click the “+” icon or “Add components” to add a new element:
There are 4 types of elements available:
- Header
- Video player
- Playlist (Sliders, Grids and Carousels)
- Featured
2.2.1 Header
A Channel can only contain one header element.
- Logo image (optional)
Add an image that displays your company logo or another visual representation of the Channel’s content (png format is recommended). The logo is placed in the header of the Channel (see below for an example). - Title (optional)
Enter a title that is displayed in the header of the Channel (see below for an example)
2.2.1 Video Player
Although you can only select one video player per channel, you can re-use the player block for multiple playlists/featured items.
Content type
Select a playlist, media clip or (interactive) project for your player block.
Show video title / Show description:
Toggle on/off to either show or hide the title and/or description in the player block.
Layout
A player block can be placed as a standalone player or accompanied by the attached playlist:
Show playlist video titles
If the player block displays a playlist on the right or below, use this setting to show/hide the video titles
2.2.2 Playlist
Playlist selection
Select your playlist (learn more about setting up a playlist).
Title
The playlist title will be shown at the top of your grid, carousel or slider
Select type of playlist
Playlists can be shown as sliders, carousels as well as grids:
Show video titles
Toggle on/off to either show or hide the video titles in your playlist display:
Playlist advanced settings
After clicking on a thumbnail in a grid, carousel or slider the video needs to be shown in a player. The “General” tab contains a setting that determines the way these playlist videos are shown for the Channel as a whole (see section 3.1). However, it’s also possible to select a different setting for specific playlists.
We recommend using the general settings for displaying videos from playlists and Featured items as much as possible. As the amount of grids, carousels, sliders and featured items in your Channel grow, it can be increasingly difficult to find the exact setting for specific elements if they are all set individually.
2.2.3 Featured
Featured image (optional)
By default the thumbnail that is set for the selected video will be displayed in the Featured item. Alternatively you can also upload a designated image for a Featured video block (recommended size: 1600x600px).
Featured title (optional)
Enter a title for your Featured item:
Select media clip
Featured items can only contain specific media clips. Select the media clip you’d like to attract extra attention to.
Featured item advanced settings
Just like a grid, carousel or slider, the Featured can be opened in an existing player block, deeplink or overlay player (see section 1.2 above).
After clicking the “Watch Video” button the media clip needs to be shown in a player. The “General” tab contains a setting that determines the way the Featured item clips are shown for the Channel as a whole (see section 3.1). However, it’s also possible to select a different setting for specific Featured blocks.
We recommend using the general settings for displaying videos from playlists and Featured items as much as possible. As the amount of grids, carousels, sliders and featured items in your Channel grow, it can be increasingly difficult to find the exact setting for specific elements if they are all set individually.
3.0 | Embed a Channel
All the regular embed options are available for placing a Channel on your website. Learn more about embedding Channels (as well as media clips, playlists and interactive projects).
Using an iframe to embed a Channel causes limitations with regard to the option to open a playlist item in a ‘page overlay’. By default the iframe does not have permission to cover the full browser window with an overlay. Instead, only the iframe itself will be covered.