To ensure playback on all devices and bandwidths, each media clip is automatically transcoded (or encoded) to different formats upon upload. These formats are called assets and can be accessed via the “More options” button in the media clip details sidebar.
The specific assets generated by the online video platform can vary by publication settings, but we maintain a standard set that will be used in most publications.
1.0 | What asset will be displayed to the viewer?
The Blue Billywig Player determines what asset to use based on a number of factors, to ensure the best viewing experience.
1.1 | Device/Browser compatibility
First, the player determines what assets can be played on a specific device and browser. The resulting list is also featured in the quality selection list in the player.
1.2 | Bandwidth
The player also measures internet connection speed. The asset with the highest bandwidth that fits within the available internet connection speed will be selected. The player also applies adaptive streaming. This means playback quality will be automatically adjusted as soon as the bandwidth changes. As a result, the user is served with the best quality media with the least amount of loading delay or buffering.
Using the quality selector in the control bar, a user is still able to manually select an asset that has a higher bandwidth than the available internet connection speed.
1.3 | HLS adaptive playback
Alongside the regular MP4 assets, the OVP automatically generates an HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) asset. HLS is an adaptive bitrate streaming format that uses an M3U8 manifest file: a playlist that references multiple quality variants of the video, each encoded at a different resolution and bitrate.
When a viewer starts playback, the player loads the HLS manifest and selects the most suitable quality variant based on the current bandwidth. As network conditions change during playback, the player seamlessly switches between quality levels in the background, without the viewer having to manually choose a quality.
This is different from the manual quality selector: HLS switching happens automatically and continuously behind the scenes. The HLS asset itself does not appear as a selectable option in the player’s quality menu; instead, the individual quality levels within the HLS manifest are used to populate the quality selector.
HLS is particularly important for playback on iOS devices and Safari on macOS, where it is the primary streaming format supported natively by the browser.
2.0 | Manage source file and assets
To manage the source file and media assets:
- Open “More options” in the media clip sidebar
- Click “Resources”
2.1 | Replace the source file
In the Resources interface, replace a source file:
- Click the “Replace video” button:
When replacing a video, new assets will be generated. If the clip is already embedded on your page, viewers will be served the new version as the clip ID remains the same after replacing the source file. The historic statistics will also remain intact, even though the old version will not be available anymore after replacement.
When a video has been exported to a YouTube channel: replacing the video in the Online Video Platform will not automatically replace the video in your YouTube channel. Remove the video manually in the “Social” tab and re-export the video to your YouTube channel.
2.2 | Download the source file
In the Resources interface, to download the source file of your media clip:
- Click the “Download Source File” button:
2.3 | Copy source file URL
In the Resources interface, to copy the URL to the original source file:
- Click the “Copy To Clipboard” button:
The source file URL links directly to the original uploaded file. Opening the URL in the browser will either start playback using the native browser player or prompt the download process.
2.4 | Preview assets
In the Resources interface, to preview individual media assets:
- Click the ‘eye’ icon next to the asset:
Although the Online Video Platform allows every asset to be previewed, you may find that some assets are unplayable in the Online Video Platform depending on the device and/or browser.
2.5 | Download assets
In the Resources interface, to download individual media assets:
- Click the ‘download’ icon next to the asset:
2.6 | Copy asset URLs
In the Resources interface, to copy individual media asset URLs:
- Click the ‘copy’ icon next to the asset:
The asset URLs link directly to the .mp4 files otherwise loaded by the player. Opening the URL will trigger playback of the file in the browser native player. Please note that neither the Blue Billywig player will be used when sharing these URLs, nor will any statistics be logged onto your account.
2.7 | Delete assets
In the Resources interface, to delete individual delete assets:
- Open the asset editor menu by clicking the ‘pencil’ icon and use the ‘delete’ button:
We strongly discourage deleting assets, as this might result in unplayable media on some devices. However, when an asset is deleted, the player will attempt to select one of the remaining assets. When replacing a media clip’s source file, deleted assets will be re-transcoded. Assets that have been accidentally deleted can be recovered by re-uploading the source file.
3.0 | Inspect technical clip details
To inspect the technical details of the uploaded source file:
- Open “More options” in the media clip sidebar
- Click “Technical information”:
4.0 | Trim media
Use the OVP to trim your video content, by stripping away parts of the beginning and/or ending.
By default, live stream recordings are generated by the OVP in m3u8 format. Before you are able to trim these recordings, it’s necessary to generate an mp4 version. To generate an mp4 version: click “Generate mp4”.
- First, open “More options” in the media clip sidebar.
- Click “Trim media” in the “More options” menu:
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- In the trimming interface, use the left and right handles in the resize bar to change the start and end point of the video:
- The trimmed content can be saved as a new clip or can be used to replace the current media clip.
Live stream recordings can only be saved as a new clip.
When replacing the current version, new assets will be generated. As a result the viewer will see the new version. After replacing, the old video will no longer be available.
Only the media will be trimmed. Subtitles, audio tracks and interactivity with specific timestamps may need to be edited manually.
When a video has been exported to a YouTube channel: replacing the video in the Online Video Platform with the trimmed version will not automatically replace the video in your YouTube channel. Remove the video manually in the “Social” tab and re-export the video to your YouTube channel.