video create

Delegated Upload

Video upload

Normal

doug.jpg

twitter-brands.svg

Doug Twitter

Doug Sillars

Tutorials

JavaScript

Uploading a video to api.video just got easier!

We have created a [JavaScript uploader](https://docs.api.video/sdks/vod/apivideo-typescript-uploader) script to abstract this code into a single function - allowing you to focus on your code and making the video upload process easier for you and your development team!


## JS Uploader Widget

You can read about uploading a video in the [tutorial](https://api.video/blog/tutorials/uploading-large-files-with-javascript/) describing the code. The JS Uploader widget abstracts the file slice, creating all of the headers, and uploading the files - it also adds retries for segments that have issues!

The new code for uploading is under 30 lines, and most of that is for updating the page during the upload.

First, we add the script to the head (with a defer tag to not slow page load)

```
   <script src="https://unpkg.com/@api.video/video-uploader" defer></script>

```
Next we have a event listener for changes in the file upload form:

```
     input.addEventListener('change', () => {
       console.log("upload commencing");
       uploadFile(input.files[0]);
       function uploadFile(files) {
           const uploader = new VideoUploader({
               file: input.files[0],
               //changed to sandbox, because we cannot have nice things
               uploadToken: "to5PoOjCz98FdLGnsrFflnYo",
               chunkSize: 1024*1024*10, // 10MB
               retries: 10
           });
           uploader.onProgress((event) => {
               var percentComplete = Math.round(event.currentChunkUploadedBytes / event.chunksBytes * 100);
               var totalPercentComplete = Math.round(event.uploadedBytes / event.totalBytes * 100);
               document.getElementById("chunk-information").innerHTML = "Chunk # " + event.currentChunk + " is " + percentComplete + "% uploaded. Total uploaded: " + totalPercentComplete +"%";
           })
           uploader.upload()
               .then((video) => {
                   console.log(video);
                   playerUrl = video.assets.player;
                   console.log("all uploaded! Watch here: ",playerUrl ) ;
                   document.getElementById("video-information").innerHTML = "all uploaded! Watch the video <a href=\'" + playerUrl +"\' target=\'_blank\'>here</a>" ;
               });
       }
     });

```

### Walking through the code

The uploadFile function takes the files and creates an uploader function:

```
 const uploader = new VideoUploader({
               file: input.files[0],
               //changed to sandbox, because we cannot have nice things
               uploadToken: "to5PoOjCz98FdLGnsrFflnYo",
               chunkSize: 1024*1024*10, // 10MB
               retries: 10
           });

```

The chunkSize defaults to 50MB, but I have lowered this to 10MB for the sake of the demo, so you can see multiple chunks uploaded.

The retry count defaults to 5.  

#### During Upload

```
 uploader.onProgress((event) => {
               var percentComplete = Math.round(event.currentChunkUploadedBytes / event.chunksBytes * 100);
               var totalPercentComplete = Math.round(event.uploadedBytes / event.totalBytes * 100);
               document.getElementById("chunk-information").innerHTML = "Chunk # " + event.currentChunk + " is " + percentComplete + "% uploaded. Total uploaded: " + totalPercentComplete +"%";
           })


```

The onProgress updates the video upload every 50ms.  We calculate the % uploaded, and update the browser - so the user is aware that the video upload is underway.

#### Upload complete

When the video upload is complete, the API will reply with the videoId, and links to the video. We take this information to display the url to the user:

```
           uploader.upload()
               .then((video) => {
                   console.log(video);
                   playerUrl = video.assets.player;
                   console.log("all uploaded! Watch here: ",playerUrl ) ;
                   document.getElementById("video-information").innerHTML = "all uploaded! Watch the video <a href=\'" + playerUrl +"\' target=\'_blank\'>here</a>" ;
               });

```


## Conclusion

The new JS video uploader widget weighs in at just 11.5 KB, and as it is not required until after the page loads, will not impact your page speed (as long as you use the defer tag).

It will make building video upload widgets in JavaScript easier, as we've abstracted all the complexity into the library - allowing you to focus on your application, and not on the intricacies of partial uploads of video files.

Read all of the [technical details](https://docs.api.video/sdks/vod/apivideo-typescript-uploader) in our documentation, and [get started](https://dashboard.api.video/register) with your video app uploads today!


New video uploader JavaScript library

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webhooks

Analytics

NodeJS

One of the most satisfying features of livestreaming is seeing a live counter of how many people are watching your live stream.  In this demo, we’ll build a counter that gives a real time count of the number of viewers watching a live stream.

## api.video livestreams

Each livestream at api.video can be used over and over. It is a conduit for your livestreams.  There is a RTMP url that you use to send your livestream to api.video, and a playback url that you can embed in your website.  When you look at a livestream on your [api.video dashboard](https://go.api.video), you’ll see all the connection details (some are obfuscated in the screenshot) to connect your livestream. 

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screenshot-2021-07-22-at-06-12-10.png

 

Right underneath the thumbnail of the livestream, you can see a viewer count.  In the screenshot above it is at 632.  That is the count of historical views for this livestream - a sum of all the views for every livestream that has been run.  While this is an interesting stat, this is not exactly what we want to see during a livestream.

This NodeJS function takes your liveStreamId, and calls the analytics endpoint to get the total number of sessions that have occurred for that live stream:

```
function getLiveSessionCount(liveStreamId){
 
   return new Promise(function(resolve, reject){
       console.log(liveStreamId);
       var pageSize=1;
       var currentPage = 1;
       params = {
           "liveStreamId": liveStreamId,
           "pageSize":pageSize,
           "currentPage":currentPage
       }
       //get all sessions for livestream
       var sessionList = client.rawStatistics.listLiveStreamSessions(params);
       sessionList.then(function(liveSessionList){
           //get total sessoin
           var sessionCount = liveSessionList.pagination.itemsTotal;
           console.log("live sessions" , sessionCount);
           resolve(sessionCount);
       }).catch((error) =>{
           reject(error);
       });
   });
}

```

## Counting the views

To get an accurate count of viewing sessions during a livestream, we need to grab the livestream count when the stream starts (all of the views PRIOR to the current stream).  As the stream progresses, the number will increase, but a simple difference ```currentCount - startCount``` will provide the number of sessions that occurred during the current stream.

### Live stream webhooks

In July 2021, we launched 2 new webhooks: ```live-stream.broadcast.started``` and ```live-stream.broadcast.ended```.  These webhooks announce whenever one of your live streams begin/end broadcasting. 

When the ```live-stream.broadcast.started``` webhook fires, our webhook listener identifies that a live stream has started.  Then it calls the getLiveSessionCount function to get the starting count of sessions.

```
app.post("/receive_webhook", function (request, response) {
   console.log("new video event from api.video");
    let event = request.body;
   let body =request.body;
   let type = body.type;
   let emittedAt = body.emittedAt;
   webhookResponse = "";
   if(type =="live-stream.broadcast.started"){
       liveStreamId = body.liveStreamId;
       liveStreamStatus = true;
       webhookResponse = "event: " +type+ " at: "+ emittedAt+ " LiveStream,Id: "+liveStreamId+ "  has started.";
      
       //change the broadcasting status in the JSON pbject
       broadcastingStatus[liveStreamId]=liveStreamStatus;
       //TODO - get the number of views at start
       startViews = getLiveSessionCount(liveStreamId);
       startViews.then(function(startcounter){
           console.log("number of views when broadcast starts", startcounter);
           viewersAtStartOfStream[liveStreamId] = startcounter;
           webhookResponse = "event: " +type+ " at: "+ emittedAt+ " LiveStreamId: "+liveStreamId+ "  has started. There have been "+startcounter+" at the beginnig";
 
       });
      
    } else if (type =="live-stream.broadcast.ended"){
       liveStreamId = body.liveStreamId;
       liveStreamStatus = false;
       broadcastingStatus[piLiveId]=liveStreamStatus;
       webhookResponse = "event: " +type+ " at: "+ emittedAt+ " LiveStreamId: "+liveStreamId+ "  has stopped.";
    }
  
   //console.log(headers);
   console.log("response",webhookResponse);
 
  
   response.sendStatus(200); 
 });


```

Now, as the streaming progresses, the website polls /getLivecount every three seconds:

```
// Send list of the new count of viewers every x seconds
app.get("/getLivecount", function (request, response) {
 
 
   var LiveId = request.query.live;
   console.log("LiveId", LiveId);
   console.log(viewersAtStartOfStream);
   startCount = viewersAtStartOfStream[LiveId];
   console.log("startCount", startCount);
   //we have liveid get new user count
   var currentCount = getLiveSessionCount(LiveId);
           currentCount.then(function(currentWatchCount){
 
               console.log(startCount + " " + currentWatchCount);
               numberOfWatchers = currentWatchCount - startCount;
               console.log("numberOfWatchers", numberOfWatchers);
               response.send("There are " +numberOfWatchers + " watching this stream!");
           }).catch((err) => {
               console.log(err);
           });
 });

```

And this returns the difference from the start of stream (stored in an array on the server), and the current count.  Voila, a simple view counter!

##  Conclusion

In this demo, when the live stream begins broadcasting, we utilize the [live stream started webhook](https://docs.api.video/reference/api/Webhooks#create-webhook), which broadcasts that the stream has started. We determine the ‘seed’ number of sessions using the [Live stream session analytics](https://api-video.doctave.dev/delivery-analytics/analytics). Now we know the “0” for this live streaming session.

We can call the same endpoint every 3 seconds and report the growth in the number of sessions.  Each one of these is a new loading of the live stream video player - counting as a new viewer of the stream. This is then added to the page to indicate how many viewers are watching the live stream.

This demo is live at [watch.a.video/broadcast](​​https://watch.a.video/broadcast?streamId=li400mYKSgQ6xs7taUeSaEKr). To begin the stream, head over to [livestream.a.video](https://livestream.a.video) and begin the stream. To grow the number of viewers, you must open [watch.a.video/broadcast](​​https://watch.a.video/broadcast?streamId=li400mYKSgQ6xs7taUeSaEKr) in multiple incognito/private browser tabs (since the session is browser window based).

Try it out, and tell us what you think! If you’d like to look at the code to modify for your app, it is live on [Github](https://github.com/dougsillars/watchLivestream).


Count your live stream viewers with api.video

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Dynamic Metadata

Online video training is huge. There are many companies that offer video training courses where the course follows one video after another. The only way to continue in the course is to finish a video, and when the video is completed, the next video is unlocked. This ensures that the video course is taken in the order designed by the instructor, and that the students are not 'skipping' ahead through the coursework.


Other use cases for this might be a corporate training, where it is required that every employee watches each video in a series to be compliant with the policies of an organization (as a veteran of AT&T, I have taken months of this sort of training)

In this post, we'll walk through how you can build a video training app with api.video. 

## Connecting a session to a user

The first step in any training course will be to login your user. In the case of training a video, we'll skip a secure login form (it is just a demo!) and simply ask you to enter your name:

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When you submit this form, we'll search through the videos connected to the course (in this case, they are hardcoded in the app as an array:

```
var videolist = ['vi47Q8KHXLYyaOoX2Yoznxqh','vi6QvU9dhYCzW3BpPvPsZUa8','vi1DrBc0VkPfedcfTc21U1TP'];
var videoDurations= [91,321,333];
```

Note, we also hardcode the duration of the 3 videos (but in a more dynamic app, you can get the video duration from the [video status](https://docs.api.video/reference/api/Videos#retrieve-video-status-and-details) endpoint.

Now for each of these videos, I have created  dynamic metadata entry:


```
	"metadata": [
		{
			"key": "classUserName",
			"value": "__classUserName__"
		}
	],
```

when the value of a metadata entry has two underscores on either side of the value, any value can be applied to the metadata entry.  In this case, we'll apply the username as the value.  We can search for any video sessions that have the classUserName "Doug" for each of the videos in the training session. (in the code below, I am using the NodeJS client:

```
			currentPage = '1';
      pageSize = '25';
      var metadata = {'classUserName': userName};
      var params = { videoId, metadata, currentPage, pageSize};
      console.log("params",params);
      const result = client.rawStatistics.listVideoSessions(params);

```

This will result in the first 25 sessions where the variable userName (Doug) is saved as the classUsername metadata. (Of course, if you believe that your users might have more than 25 sessions per video, you can expand that number up to 100 - but for a training course, 25 viewing sessions per video per user is probably more than adequate).

The response from this will be every session that the user has had for the video.  For each of these sessions, we want to know if the video was watched all the way through.  We've [written up this analysis](https://api.video/blog/tutorials/video-event-analysis-using-api-video-sessions/) of session events. As soon as we discover a session that has watched the video, we stop looking through the sessions.  

## How many videos to unlock?

This approach will then be completed for each video in the series, until we reach a video that has not been watched.  This is done through the recursive function iterateVideos:

```

function iterateVideos(videolist, videoDurations, userName, videoCounter){
  return new Promise(function(resolve, reject){
      //soo take list of videos, and iterate until we know which video can be watched.
      console.log("testing video "+videoCounter);
      var videowatched  = videoWatched(videolist[videoCounter], videoDurations[videoCounter], userName);
      videowatched
      .then(function(passfail){
    
        console.log("video "+videoCounter+ " "+ passfail);
        if(passfail){
          //video was watched, so lets check the next one
          videoCounter++;
          if (videoCounter < videolist.length){
            var nextVideo = iterateVideos(videolist, videoDurations, userName, videoCounter);
            resolve(nextVideo);
          }else{
            //the last video was watched so, stop and show all the videos...
            resolve(videoCounter -1);
          }
        }else{
          //video was NOT watched start wit this video
          console.log("resolve the counter of the first video not watched", videoCounter);
          resolve(videoCounter);
        }
      }).catch((error) =>{
        reject(error);
    });



  });
```

The videoWatched function checks each session to see if the video has been completed.  

If the video has been completed, it returns true.  Then we check the next video to see if it has been watched. (If we reach the end of the video list - we show all of the videos.).

If the video has not been watched - we know where to stop displaying playable videos, and we can display the page.

### What the user sees

For this simple example with three videos, there are just three potential views:

* If no videos have been watched - the first video will have no sessions, and the session analysis will stop immediately. The page will show the first video as playable, and the subsequent videos as locked.

* If the first video has been completed, but not the second: the page will show the first two videos as playable, but the third video will still be locked.

* If videos 1-2 are completed (or if all 3 videos are completed), all three videos appear as watchable.


### Looking at the HTML

```
<iframe type="text/html" src="https://embed.api.video/vod/vi6QvU9dhYCzW3BpPvPsZUa8?metadata[classUserName]=Doug" width="960" height="320" frameborder="0" scrollling="no"></iframe>

```

See how each video adds the ```metadata[classUserName]=Doug```  this will ensure that any video session that is started on this page will be assigned to the user Doug. Once a video is watched, the user can refresh the page, and all the session data will be recalculated, and the next video will be unlocked.


## Build your own video training app

With api.video, you can easily upload your videos for playback. Using our analytics and dynamic metadata, we can build a training application that unlocks each video as content is viewed. Build your own based on our code on [Github](https://github.com/apivideo/trainingavideo). If you have question, feel free to reach [our community](https://community.api.video/) or [test it now](https://dashboard.api.video/register) in our free Sandbox environment.

Build a self guided training course with api.video

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Erikka Innes

Python

Hello Pythonistas! Today let's learn how to upload a video using Python's Flask and Dropzone.js. 
In this tutorial, we'll use Python (for a version where you use our new api.video client, please see: ) and Dropzone.js. 

Flask is a WSGI web application framework. It makes getting started with building a web application quick and easy. It's based on the Werkzeug WSGI toolkit and the Jinja2 template engine. It's very popular for creating backends for webpages, and that's what I'll be using it for today.

Dropzone.js is an open source JavaScript library that lets you create drag n' drop file uploads with image previews (when available). It doesn't have dependencies on other libraries, and it does a lot of work for you so you can focus on styling and configuration. I'll use a very simple format in this tutorial, but you will be able to style it however you want. 

## Prerequisites 

For this project you'll need: 

* Python installed
* Virtual environment for your project (optional)
* Flask installed
* Project files - https://github.com/apivideo/python-examples/tree/main/videos/Flask%20with%20Dropzone 
* Api.video account - if you do do have one, you can [create one for free](https://dashboard.api.video/register)

## Set up 
To get started, you'll need to do these things: 

1. Grab the code from [Flask and Dropzone.js](https://github.com/apivideo/python-examples/tree/main/videos/Flask%20with%20Dropzone).

2. In my version of the project, Dropzone.js is attached using CDNs. You can also reference these using the static folder and placing dropzone.js and dropzone.css there. Just change the references in **index.html** if you want to do this instead. 

## What's in index.HTML

1. Let's start by walking through the HTML file **index.html**. It's in the **templates** folder. 

2. First add the scripts and stylesheets you'll need for the project. I'm using Dropzone with bootstrap. So I've added the scripts and stylesheets for that.

3. Next let's skip ahead to the body of the HTML code and look at the way the form is set up. I place the form between the body tags, and I'm using a simple form, so it looks like this:

4. I add a form action to show where I want the information to be sent to. In this case I'm using "/" as the route. Next, I add the class **dropzone**. This tells Dropzone where to add the drag n' drop zone. In the form I add an ID, because I'll have to make some changes to how Dropzone is set up, and I specify that it's going to be a POST request to "/". Along with sending files, I want to send the API key, so I add a field for that, and I want everything to send when I press **Submit** so I add a button for that. 

5. Now let's take a look at customizing the dropzone. By default, Dropzone wants to upload your file the second you drop it in the zone. I don't want that to happen, because I'll get an error. The file (or files) need to be sent with my API key in order to be posted on the api.video servers. So the first thing I'm going to do is set up to configure some Dropzone options. In order to reference my Dropzone, I use the ID written in camelcase. The zone ID I chose is **my-dropzone** so that becomes **myDropzone**. I chose to add the script directly to the HTML in the head tags, but you can reference it from a separate file if you prefer.  

6. To prevent Dropzone from trying to upload files right away, I set **autoProcessQueue** to **false**. I want users to be able to upload multiple files, so I put **true** for uploadMultiple. **parallelUploads** I set to 10 max and I set the total number of files you can add at one time (**maxFiles**) to 10.
 
7. Next I set up the submit button. The code here tells Dropzone to process the files after the user hits **Submit**. And that's it for the script! Let's set up the backend next.

## What's in app.py
Here's what's set up for the backend: 


1. I start with imports for features of Flask, the os library, and the requests library.
 
2. Add limits to what kind of files a user can upload with the line: ```app.config['UPLOAD_EXTENSIONS'] = ['.mov', '.mp4', '.m4v', '.jpm', '.jp2', '.3gp', '.3g2', '.mkv', '.mpg', '.ogv', '.webm', '.wmv' ]``` 

3. This demo only handles files up to 199 MiB so let's add an error handler route (@app.errorhandler(413)). 

4. When you start up the app, I want you to see the **index.html** template. So that template is returned for @app.route('/').

5. To process the file and API key, they must be retrieved from request.files and request.form. request.files can contain more than one file, so I'm assigning the files to my_files. 

6. Assign the API key from the form to api_key. 

7. You'll recognize the set up after this from previous tutorials - it's setting up to retrieve an access token with the API key, then creating the headers with the token so everything is ready to start posting files. 

8. Because my_files could have one or many files and I want to be sure to process them all, I'm using a for loop. The code here creates a video container to upload to and adds the title. It retrieves the video_id so a video can be uploaded to the container. Then it sets up the request and posts the video into the container. It will loop through every video and send it, so long as the video is under 200 MiB. 



That's it! You now have a way to upload videos using Dropzone and Flask without using the Python client. In the next tutorial, we'll upload using the Python client. The client will allow us to automatically handle chunked uploads and handle videos of any size. 
Don't hesitate to reach us on [our Community](https://community.api.video/)!

### Resources 

To build this tutorial, I used this documentation, and it might help you too: 

1. [Handling File Uploads with Flask](https://blog.miguelgrinberg.com/post/handling-file-uploads-with-flask) - A great tutorial that shows how to set up with a basic Dropzone. 
2. [Dropzonejs.com](https://www.dropzonejs.com/) - Details about how to customize Dropzone. 

Use Flask with Dropzone.js to upload videos under 200 MiB

Use Flask with Dropzone.js to upload videos under 128MB

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Use Flask with Dropzone.js to upload videos under 200 MiB (no client)

Video Sessions (Analytics)

How much of your video is being watched?  With api.video analytics, we can tell you exactly how much of the video was watched.  In this post, we'll walk through how to parse video session data in order to add up how much of the video was watched in a session.

## A video Session

A video session occurs when an api.video player is opened in a browser.  As long as the same window is used, each viewing of the video will be added to that one session.

You can get a list of your video sessions by using the [analytics endpoint](https://api-video.doctave.dev/delivery-analytics/analytics) for a given videoId. In my code (using NodeJS), it looks something like this:

```
var params = { videoId, metadata, currentPage, pageSize};
  
const result = client.rawStatistics.listVideoSessions(params);
  result.then(function(videos) {
        var sessionList = videos.data;
        console.log("Number of sessions to test " , sessionList.length);

          for(i=0;i<sessionList.length;i++){
            //get each session ID, and figure out how long each session watched the video
            var sessionId = sessionList[i].session.sessionId;
            pageSize = '100';
            console.log(sessionId);

```


The Node endpoint takes my parameters (including the videoId I wish to analyze) and sends it to the ```client.rawStatistics.listVideoSessions``` endpoint.  This returns an array of the sessions that can be analyzed. 

The log will list a count of sessionIds, and then list each sessionId. Here is an example output from this code snippet:

```
Number of sessions to test  8
ps5orCkYsuaMw08btQmsW8vp
ps24iGEi011m9xKPqdTnIOvZ
ps7ODtZR04dfRBQCcarOIhv7
ps19mQmv5CTQwdeb75n8lLWr
ps1UdYeHbp6tQ21vrGUI8gXw
ps6xqBySKoSQfmG4zjcyZtWU
ps3cLLchT0Os75lzXovlCqTe
ps3MpNgw5Ax5EQ4GSAVyODRh
```

## get Session Events

In each session, the video player records each event, and sends it back to api.video.  Using the [Session event](https://docs.api.video/reference/get_analytics-sessions-sessionid-events) API endpoint, we can retrieve each of these events.

```
 var sessionParams = {sessionId, currentPage, pageSize}; const sessionData = client.rawStatistics.listSessionEvents(sessionParams);
    sessionData.then( function(lastSessionData) {
      //this is the session data
      console.log("session events", lastSessionData);

```


The response of this endpoint looks something like this:

```
session events RawStatisticsListPlayerSessionEventsResponse {
  data: [
    PlayerSessionEvent {
      type: 'ready',
      emittedAt: 2021-06-17T19:00:54.000Z,
      at: 0,
      from: undefined,
      to: undefined
    },
    PlayerSessionEvent {
      type: 'play',
      emittedAt: 2021-06-17T19:00:55.000Z,
      at: 0,
      from: undefined,
      to: undefined
    },
    PlayerSessionEvent {
      type: 'end',
      emittedAt: 2021-06-17T19:02:27.000Z,
      at: 91,
      from: undefined,
      to: undefined
    },
    PlayerSessionEvent {
      type: 'pause',
      emittedAt: 2021-06-18T10:59:03.000Z,
      at: 91,
      from: undefined,
      to: undefined
    }
  ],

```

In this case, the video is ready at time =0, begins playing, and then reaches the end at 91s.  The window is closed a day later, sending a pause event.  (this is just evidence that your author has a browser tab problem).

Using this data (and with the knowledge that the video is 91 seconds long), it's pretty easy to determine that the entire video was watched in this session.  from ready to the first pause is 91s, so the video must have been completed. But what about more complicated viewing patterns?  Let's look at an example:


```
  data: [
    PlayerSessionEvent {
      type: 'ready',
      emittedAt: 2021-06-21T12:33:06.000Z,
      at: 0,
      from: undefined,
      to: undefined
    },
    PlayerSessionEvent {
      type: 'play',
      emittedAt: 2021-06-21T12:36:13.000Z,
      at: 0,
      from: undefined,
      to: undefined
    },
    PlayerSessionEvent {
      type: 'pause',
      emittedAt: 2021-06-21T12:36:18.000Z,
      at: 81,
      from: undefined,
      to: undefined
    },
    PlayerSessionEvent {
      type: 'resume',
      emittedAt: 2021-06-21T12:36:19.000Z,
      at: 81,
      from: undefined,
      to: undefined
    },
    PlayerSessionEvent {
      type: 'seek.forward',
      emittedAt: 2021-06-21T12:36:19.000Z,
      at: undefined,
      from: 5,
      to: 81
    },
    PlayerSessionEvent {
      type: 'end',
      emittedAt: 2021-06-21T12:37:19.000Z,
      at: 91,
      from: undefined,
      to: undefined
    },
    PlayerSessionEvent {
      type: 'pause',
      emittedAt: 2021-06-21T13:10:18.000Z,
      at: 91,
      from: undefined,
      to: undefined
    }
  ],
```


In this session, we again start playing at time = 0, but the next set of events occur at 81s (pause/resume). So the video stopped and restarted at t=81. The next event tells us how we got to t-81 - the view skipped ahead (noted as a 'seek.forward' event) at t=5, to t=81. The video paused because the video had to load, and then from t=81, it played until the end at t=91.  

In this case, even though the playback started at t=0, and ended at t-91, no one would consider this video fully watched, as the viewer skipped 76s of the video.

## Calculating the time watched

To calculate the time watched, we'll add up the time between every play/resume event and every pause/end event.  Then we'll subtract any time in a 'seek.forward' event.

```
 for(j=0; j< numberOfEvents; j++){
        if(lastSessionData.data[j].type == "play" || lastSessionData.data[j].type == "resume"){
          //start time measure
          starttime = lastSessionData.data[j].at;
          counting = true;
          console.log ("start" , starttime);
        }else if(lastSessionData.data[j].type == "pause" || lastSessionData.data[j].type == "end"){
          if(counting){
            endtime = lastSessionData.data[j].at;
            counting=false;
            console.log ("stop" , endtime);
            console.log ("added time" , endtime-starttime);
            summedtime += endtime-starttime;
            
          }
        }else if(lastSessionData.data[j].type == "seek.forward"){
          console.log("seeked forward", (lastSessionData.data[j].to - lastSessionData.data[j].from));
          summedtime -= (lastSessionData.data[j].to - lastSessionData.data[j].from);
          //if there was a seekforward, the max time previously calculated previously is no longer valid and needs to be recalculated.
          maxWatchedTime = 0;
        }
        console.log("summedtime: ", summedtime);
				
				
}

```

We can log the math that happens as we iterate through the events:

```
summedtime:  0
start 0
summedtime:  0
stop 81
added time 81
summedtime:  81
start 81
summedtime:  81
seeked forward 76
summedtime:  5
stop 91
added time 10
summedtime:  15

```

Comparing these events - we can see that from the first start to the first pause is 81seconds, but then we encounter the seeked forward of 76 seconds - leading to a summed time of 5 seconds.  After the last 10 seconds are watched, we have a total of 15 seconds of the 91 second video watched.


## Playback totals

When watching required training videos, it is often mandatory that the time watched is logged and and recorded. With the api.video session data, we can track each user's viewing to know if they have completed a video, or if they must re-watch the video.

In a future post, we will combine this video watching algorithm with code to 'unlock' subsequent videos in a training series.

Video event analysis using api.video sessions

large_screenshot-2021-06-21-at-13-06-24.png

medium_screenshot-2021-06-21-at-13-06-24.png

small_screenshot-2021-06-21-at-13-06-24.png

thumbnail_screenshot-2021-06-21-at-13-06-24.png

screenshot-2021-06-21-at-13-06-24.png

The first demo we published on a.video was a demo on how to upload a video (check it out yourself at [https://upload.a.video](https://upload.a.video). This is a great little demo that will take your video, break it into smaller chunks (1 MB in this case), and upload them into api.video. Once the uploads are complete, you get a link to the url where the video will soon be available for playback. You can read the [post describing how we built the app](https://api.video/blog/tutorials/uploading-large-files-with-javascript/).

## More than one video

What if you'd like to upload a few videos? You could use this interface multiple times, but that would be slow and tedious.  

To resolve this, I've created a new version of the uploader at [https://upload.a.video/many.html](https://upload.a.video/many.html) that allows you to upload more than one video at a time. It only took about 5 lines of added code to make the change from one video to many.

Let's walk through what I did to make this happen.

### Input

First, we need to allow the form to accept multiple files.  This is a one word change:

```
	<input type="file" id="video-file" style='display:none'>
```

to

```
	<input type="file" id="video-file" style='display:none' multiple>
```

This basically tells the browser that users can select more than one file at a time. With this line added, you can select multiple adjacent files while holding the shift key, or multiple non-adjacent files holding the command (on a Mac) key.

### Uploading multiple files

In upload a video, only one video could be uploaded at a time. When you add files via a form, they are placed in an array, so once the button to upload was clicked, we defined the video and the video name based on the file in index 0 of the array:


```

			const file = input.files[0];
			const filename = input.files[0].name;
			
			<upload stuff>

```

There's just one file, so grab the file in index 0, grab the filename and upload the file to api.video.  Extending this to more than one file is easy: create a loop over the array of files (incrementing index i), and upload each file in the array by referencing file i in the array:

```
  const numberofFiles = input.files.length;
	for( i=0;i< numberofFiles; i++){
			//do the upload for each file.

			const file = input.files[i];
			const filename = input.files[i].name;
			<upload stuff>
			
	}

```


### Make the UI look nice

So that was probably the 5 lines of code I promised, (6 if you count the comment).  But the UI was weird, since the notifications and text were updating and overlapping for each file being uploaded - and you couldn't read anything as the text was changing so quickly.  So, let's fix that.  I changed 3 lines of code here:

First: the upload information is changed to show information for each video by appending the HTML and adding the video number: 

```
			document.getElementById("video-information").innerHTML += "Video "+ i +" will be uploaded in " + numberofChunks + " chunks.<br/>"

```


Second: as the videos upload, so the upload information should update for each video:

```
document.getElementById("chunk-information").innerHTML = "Video: " +i+" Chunk # " + chunkCounter + " is " + percentComplete + "% uploaded. Total uploaded: " + totalPercentComplete +"%";
```

This one just overwrites itself all the time.  I could probably make this look nicer, but for a demo, it's ok.

When the upload is completed, we add the completed upload notice, along with the url where the playback can be watched:

```
	document.getElementById("video-information").innerHTML += "Video " +i+" is uploaded! Watch the video <a href=\'" + playerUrl +"\' target=\'_blank\'>here</a><br/>" ;

```

All three of these lines were already in the code, I just updated them to fit the multiple upload function of the application. That said, with a grand sum of 8 lines of uploaded code, we've modified [https://upload.a.video](https://upload.a.video) to [https://upload.a.video/many.html](https://upload.a.video/many.html), allowing for more than one video to be uploaded at once.

## Try it out

With ~10 lines of modified code, I've taken a page built for a single video uploaded a page that can now handle many videos, and show the links to the videos when they are completed.

That said, since this is a live demo, I have placed a limit of 3 files per upload, just to keep my account from filling up with videos.  These videos will also be stored in the sandbox: so watermarked and deleted after 24 hours.

```
var maxUpload = Math.min(numberofFiles, 3);

		for( i=0;i< maxUpload; i++){
			<file selection & upload stuff>
		}
```

The code is live at [https://upload.a.video](https://upload.a.video), and available on [Github](https://github.com/dougsillars/blobUpload/blob/master/many.html). Give it a try, and let us know what you think!

Upload many files at once with HTML and JavaScript

medium_maxresdefault.jpeg

small_maxresdefault.jpeg

thumbnail_maxresdefault.jpeg

maxresdefault.jpeg

A chyron is the text that appears at the bottom of the TV on news channels telling viewers the topic being discussed.  You might want to add a chyron to your live stream or to your video on demand (VOD).  In this post, we'll walk through the steps to add a chyron to your video.





a sample chyron from a new story (with a pun on underwear).

small_boxers.jpeg

thumbnail_boxers.jpeg

boxers.jpeg

## Chyron a video

The application (which will soon be published at chyron.a.video) extends https://record.a.video. You can read about how we built record.a.video in a [series of blog posts](https://api.video/blog/tutorials/grabbing-camera-streams-with-mediadevices-getusermedia/).  This application allows you to share your camera and your desktop, and creates a live stream or VOD recording of what you have shared.

We'll extend this by adding an icon to the left of the chyron (in the same approach as [watermark.a.video](https://api.video/blog/tutorials/watermarking-your-videos/). We'll then add a stripe over the video that the text will appear on.

## The code

The HTML adds 2 fields to the form: one for the logo url, and the 2nd for the text to be placed in the chyron. Along with some CSS, we style the form:

```
    <div class="settingHeadings">
                Chyron<br/>
            </div>
            <div id="watermark">
                <label for="watermark-url">image for chyron</label> 
                <input type="text" id="watermark-url" value="http://localhost:3037/API.PNG"><br/>
                <label for="chyron-text">text for chyron</label> 
                <input type="text" id="chyron-text" value="Your text here.">
            </div>
```

medium_screenshot-2021-06-01-at-14-14-23.png

small_screenshot-2021-06-01-at-14-14-23.png

thumbnail_screenshot-2021-06-01-at-14-14-23.png

screenshot-2021-06-01-at-14-14-23.png

### Starting the playback

When the stream is started, we add a few features to the canvas:

```
//chyron
        canvas.drawImage(watermarkImg, watermark_x, watermark_y);
        canvas.fillStyle='#fa4b2a'; 
        canvas.fillRect(chyron_x,chyron_y, chyron_length, chyron_height);
        canvas.fillStyle='#ffffff'; 
        canvas.font = "60px Arial";
        ctx.fillText(document.getElementById("chyron-text").value, chyronText_x, chyronText_y);
```

First we draw the icon (with variable name watermark) with the x,y positions hardcoded inthe JS.  We assume the size of the icon is 100x100.

Next we add a rectangle with fill color #fa4b2a (orange) that appears across the bottom of the screen.  

Then we change the fill color to white (#ffffff), and add the text from the form field.

These canvas events are all within a loop that fires every 20ms, or about 50 frames per second.  Since our video is capturing at a lower framerate than that, it will appear to update instantaneously.

## See it in action


In the video above, as the text on the browser window changes, so does the text in the chyron.  With 2 displays, you can now produce a live stream or VOD video with a chyron bar at the bottom of the screen.

## Try it yourself

The code for chyron a video is on [Github](https://github.com/dougsillars/chyronavideo). It's super easy to launch locally with NodeJS, and by changing the variables for the canvas colour and fill, you can easily adjust the font and look of the chyron to fit your requirements.

In this post, we've gone through the steps taken to convert record.a.video into a video with a chyron.  You may have even learned what a chyron is :).

Let us know what you think, and how you've changed the app to customize your chyron in you VOD or livestream in our [developer community](https://community.api.video)

Adding a chyron to your video: Look like the news!

live - create

Videos - Upload a Thumbnail

When publishing a video on the web, sometimes it is desirable to add a defining mark on the video, often called a watermark.

When you use api.video in the sandbox, we add a watermark to show that the videos are being played back in our test environment:


medium_screenshot-2021-05-25-at-06-50-01.png

small_screenshot-2021-05-25-at-06-50-01.png

thumbnail_screenshot-2021-05-25-at-06-50-01.png

screenshot-2021-05-25-at-06-50-01.png

Perhaps you want to add your corporate logo in the corner of the video.  Or perhaps the class name.  There are a number of different reasons you might want to add a watermark to your video, and in this post, I'll walk through two approaches to add a watermark to your videos. 

NOTE: We now have watermarking available as part of the API. Check out the new way to update content here: [https://docs.api.video/reference/api/Watermarks#upload-a-watermark](https://docs.api.video/reference/api/Watermarks#upload-a-watermark)
 
## The watermark

In this study, we'll be adding the api.video logo as our watermark.  I (randomly) chose to insert the logo in the top right corner of the video.



logoorange100.png

Your watermark should be appropriately sized for the space in the video.  In this case 100x100 pixels to fit inside a 1920x1080 video (~5%x10% of the screen). 

I have adapted the [record.a.video](https://record.a.video) app to add a watermark and you can test it at [watermark.a.video](https://watermark.a.video), and in this app, I have provided 2 ways to add the watermark: the frontend and the backend.  

medium_screenshot-2021-05-25-at-07-50-14.png

small_screenshot-2021-05-25-at-07-50-14.png

thumbnail_screenshot-2021-05-25-at-07-50-14.png

screenshot-2021-05-25-at-07-50-14.png

If the box is checked, the watermark is inserted on the frontend. If unchecked, the watermark is added on the backend.  The field allows you to change the image being added as a watermark.  

## Frontend Watermark

In the watermark.a.video application, the screen (screenCaptureAPI) and the camera (MediaRecorded API) are drawn to a canvas.  I've [described this process in detail](https://api.video/blog/tutorials/building-record-a-video-the-screencapture-api/) with code samples. The canvas is refreshed every 20ms, giving 50 FPS video on the canvas.  

To add a watermark, I simply load the image into the app, and instead of only drawing the screen (videoElem) and the camera (cameraElem), I add the watermarkImg:

```
        console.log("FE watermark", canvasWatermark);
        //load watermark image
        var watermarkImg = new Image;
        watermarkImg.src = canvasWatermark;
            //draw the 2 streams to the canvas
            drawCanvas(videoElem, cameraElem,watermarkImg,ctx);

```

Inside the drawCanvas function, I draw the watermakrImg on top of the other 2 elements (by placing it last in the list of things drawn):

```
    function drawCanvas(screenIn, cameraIn,watermarkImg, canvas){
        var textLength = 60;
        canvas.drawImage(screenIn, screenX0,screenY0, screenX1, screenY1);
        canvas.drawImage(cameraIn, cameraX0, cameraY0, cameraX1, cameraY1);
        canvas.drawImage(watermarkImg, watermark_x, watermark_y);
```

For this demo, I have hardcoded the watermark to be in the upper right corner, so watermark_x = watermark_y = 25.


## Backend Watermark

Perhaps the watermarking for your videos needs to be hardcoded into your process, or you do not want your users to be able to modify the watermark. Adding a processing step in the backend to insert a watermark makes this easy.

> Note that this approach oly works on a live stream, and not with the video on demand.  The VOD recording is done completely on the front end.

In the [record.a.video](https://record.a,video) app, livestreams are sent to a NodeJS server, where the WebRTC video recorded by the browser is converted to RTMP for ingestion into the api.video livestream server.  This conversion is done with FFMPEG.  We can simply modify the FFMPEG command insert the watermark on top of the video while it is being transcoded.  

```
			var ops = [
				'-i', socket._watermarkUrl,
				'-i','-',		
         '-preset', 'ultrafast', '-tune', 'zerolatency', 
			       '-r', framerate, '-g', framerate*2, '-keyint_min',keyint_min, 
				'-filter_complex', '[1:v][0:v] overlay=25:25',
     				'-c:a', 'aac', '-b:a','44k', '-ar', 44100, 
			        '-f', 'flv', socket._rtmpDestination		
		
		];

```

The FFMPEG options for watermarking has 2 lines added to the code from record.a.video.

```
				'-i', socket._watermarkUrl,
```

We have to give the URL of the image to add as the watermark.

```
	'-filter_complex', '[1:v][0:v] overlay=25:25',
```

The filter complex tells FFMPEG the order of the overlay.  Since I add the watermark first (index 0), and then the video stream(index 1) - we place the video stream first, and then the watermark on top, with an offset of 25x25.

FFMPEG reads the image file and just inserts it on each frame encoded to the api.video server.

### Watermark addition

In both cases, the live video that is sent to api.video has the watermark added. In the first case it is added in the browser as the video is being recorded, and in the second case, it is inserted by FFMPEG during a transcoding step.

Here's what the resulting video looks like:




In either case, you can see that we have successfully added the api.video logo as a watermark in the upper right corner.  Try out the demo: [watermark.a.video](https://watermark.a.video).  If you want to add watermarks to your videos - try out [api.video](https://dashboard.api.video/register). Feel free to fork the repo on [Github](https://github.com/dougsillars/watermarkavideo) and try it out yourself! And you can check out all the API reference documentation here: [api.video API Reference documentation](https://docs.api.video/reference). If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know on our [communtiy forum](https://community.api.video/). 



Watermarking your video or live stream

large_1024px-watermarksample.jpeg

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Chapters

Player SDK

When reading a book, chapters help the reader understand a change has taken place - perhaps a new narrator, or a different point of view is used in each chapter.


Chapters in videos can be used in much the same way. If you need a specific moment in a long video, chapter titles may help you quickly find the part of the video you were looking for.  Here at api.video, we have a native chapter ability in our video player:

In the above version of Big Buck Bunny, I have added several chapters.  This is done with a VTT file.  It looks like this:

```
WEBVTT

1
00:00:34.000 --> 00:01:17.000
Bunny wakes up.

2
00:01:17.000 --> 00:02:30.000
Butterfly 1

3
00:02:30.000 --> 00:04:12.000
Plotting
4
00:04:12.000 --> 00:05:15.000
Construction

5
00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:42.000
Bow

6
00:05:42.000 --> 00:06:35.000
Falling Stuff

7
00:06:35.000 --> 00:07:42.000
Flying Squirrel


8
00:07:42.000 --> 00:09:41.000
Kite

9
00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:42.000
Post Credits

```

These intervals in the VTT file are shown as sections on the playback line at the bottom of the player, and clicking the chapter button lists them all.

## But what if you want an External button?

Super easy.  Using the Player SDK, you can seek to any time you wish.  So, as an example, you can create a series of buttons:

```
    <button id ="bunnyWakes">Bunny wakes</button><br/>
        <button id ="Butterfly">Butterfly</button><br/>
        <button id ="Plotting">Plotting</button><br/>
        <button id ="Construction">Construction</button><br/>
        <button id ="Bow">Bow</button><br/>
        <button id ="Falling">Falling Stuff</button><br/>
        <button id ="FlyingSquirrel">FlyingSquirrel</button><br/>
        <button id ="Kite">Kite</button><br/>
        <button id ="Post">Post Credits</button><br/>
```

Now, we can use an eventListener on these buttons, and using the api.video Player SDK, we can seek to the required time.  Here's the JavaScript that makes this magic happen:

```
      window.player = new PlayerSdk("#target", { 
            id: "vi1UQBDAMqAPCRxB3dmw1thc", 
            autoplay:true,
            muted:true
        });
        
        window.onload = function(){
            document.getElementById("bunnyWakes").addEventListener("click", function() {
                player.setCurrentTime(34);
            });
            document.getElementById("Butterfly").addEventListener("click", function() {
                player.setCurrentTime(77);
            });
            document.getElementById("Plotting").addEventListener("click", function() {
                player.setCurrentTime(150);
            });
            document.getElementById("Construction").addEventListener("click", function() {
                player.setCurrentTime(252);
            });
            document.getElementById("Bow").addEventListener("click", function() {
                player.setCurrentTime(315);
            });
            document.getElementById("Falling").addEventListener("click", function() {
                player.setCurrentTime(342);
            });
            document.getElementById("FlyingSquirrel").addEventListener("click", function() {
                player.setCurrentTime(395);
            });
            document.getElementById("Kite").addEventListener("click", function() {
                player.setCurrentTime(462);
            });
            document.getElementById("Post").addEventListener("click", function() {
                player.setCurrentTime(581);
            });

        }
```

First, we create a player with the player SDK, and insert the Big Buck Bunny video.  Then the eventlisteners work as fastforward/rewind buttons to the exact starting points of each chapter.  Note that the VTT file is in HH:MM:SS.000 time format, while the player.setCurrentTime is in seconds.

With these buttons (and a little CSS to make them pretty), you can build a web interface to your videos that incorporate a chapter skipping functionality, just like inside the api.video player.



Video Chapters: Using external buttons for controls

medium_1599px-chapteronesign.jpeg

small_1599px-chapteronesign.jpeg

thumbnail_1599px-chapteronesign.jpeg

1599px-chapteronesign.jpeg

With so many of us wearing headphones all day for calls, music, podcasts, etc, no one likes having the volume unexpectedly blast their ears. Using the api.video player SDK, you can set a warning when the volume is inadvertently set too high. Let's walk through how it works!


## Setting up the SDK

In this simple HTML page, we have a div for the video, and a paragraph for text:

```
<head>
    ...
    <script src="https://unpkg.com/@api.video/player-sdk" ></script>
</head>

<body>
	<div id="target" style="align:center;width:75%;"></div>
	<p id="text"></p>
</body>
</html>
```
We add a script to load the player SDK.  Now we can instantiate the player with JavaScript:

```
   <script type="text/javascript">
        window.player = new PlayerSdk("#target", { 
            id: "vi4blUQJFrYWbaG44NChkH27", 
            autoplay:true,
            muted:true
        });
     
    </script>

```

This creates the video, using the videoId and tells the player to autoplay the video while muted.  (This is the way to ensure that autoplay works in all browsers, but sadly is muted).

## Volume control

When a video is muted, the user will click/touch on the volume control. In this case we do not want them to accidently turn the volume too high, so we're going to set an initial maximum volume of 50% (in reality, this is kind of low, but test for yourself.)

We do this by setting the event listener for ```volumechange```, so whenever there is a change in volume, we can apply our script.

Here's the code for the volume change:

```
            var warning=false;
            player.addEventListener('volumechange', function(volume) { 
            var vol = volume.volume;
                console.log(`volume has changed: ${vol}`); 
                if(vol >0.50){
                    console.log("too loud!");
                    if(warning){
                        //they've been warned
                        document.body.style.backgroundColor = "red";
                        document.getElementById("text").innerHTML= "THIS IS LOUD";
                    }
                    else{
                        //warn user
                        warning=true;
                        player.setVolume(.5);
                        document.getElementById("text").innerHTML= "Are you sure? Loud volumes can damage hearing";
                    }
                }else if(vol<.50){
                        warning=false;
                        document.body.style.backgroundColor = "green";
                        document.getElementById("text").innerHTML="Nice and soft.";
                    }
		                else{ //exactly 0.5
                    document.getElementById("text").innerHTML= "Are you sure? Loud volumes can damage hearing";
                }

            });

```

First, we declare the boolean ```warning``` as false.  If the player detects a volume change, we look to see if the volume is over or under 50%. 

### High volume

If the volume is set to over 50%, we initially reset it to 50% and ask, "are you sure?", and the warning boolean is flipped to true.  If the user tries to go over 50% **again**, we let them set the higher volume (and change the page background to red).

### Low volume

If the volume is set to under 50%, we change the background to green.

## That's it

The code is on [Github](https://github.com/dougsillars/videoVolume), and the demo is live at [volumewarning.a.video](https://volumewarning.a.video/).  

Here's a video of the demo in action:








Volume warnings

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Cédric Montet

Product updates

At api.video, our goal is for video to be easy and affordable for anyone to build, be it individuals or organizations. We understand that achieving this goal means reducing costs at some stage of the video streaming process. That’s why, we now offer adaptive bitrate encoding for your videos at zero cost. 

&nbsp;

Yes, you heard me right. 

&nbsp;

**Encoding videos will be absolutely free for all video qualities (1080p or 4K) at [api.video](https://api.video/) - no hidden calculations, footer notes or tricks.**

(Check out this [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouosgLbW7Ts) for more details) 


## A step towards making video streaming affordable

Video encoding is crucial as it makes it possible for videos to be shared and played smoothly on the internet. It is why we are easily able to consume various types of video media, whether it’s a YouTube video, our favorite shows on Netflix, or even catching up with friends across the globe on Zoom. Video encoding basically makes the world go around in regards to anything related to video and video content.

&nbsp;

We at api.video recognize that. From [increasing the transcoding and playback speed ](https://api.video/blog/product-updates/2021-in-review/)to building [specialized hardware like ASICs](https://api.video/blog/video-trends/the-comeback-of-specialized-hardware/) cards to increase our transcoding capacities, we've been working to make video streaming easier for you every day. And after dedicating ample time to engaging with our customers and learning about their concerns, free encoding seemed to be the next step in this direction. 

&nbsp;

So, we worked tirelessly behind the scenes to give you what no one else will - free encoding for all video qualities, be it 360p or 4K. 

## How does free video encoding benefit you as a customer

The benefit is straightforward: you save a LOT of money!

&nbsp;

- With free video encoding, you will have one less thing to worry about. As you know, you pay for three things for streaming videos — encoding, hosting, and delivery – out of which encoding is the most expensive, especially if you have a lot of videos. Free video encoding will allow you to focus your attention and resources to what is most important.

&nbsp;

- As the video needs of your app users grow, you might need to scale up your encoding capacity. Free video encoding services will give you the power to scale without any additional costs, meaning your users can handle more videos without increasing your expenses.

&nbsp;

- You can [migrate from your previous provider to api.video](https://api.video/compare/azure-media-services/) without paying an ‘entry tax’ to us. With free video encoding, you no longer need to spend money on encoding videos with a new provider when you have already paid for encoding with an older one.

&nbsp;

Now with all the saved cost, you can allocate your resources and money to a place where it is actually important – building your product and delighting your users. 

## How to get started

To use the free video encoding benefit, getting started is easy. 

&nbsp;

- If you’re a new user, [sign-up](https://dashboard.api.video/register) for a free sandbox account and start uploading your videos
- If you are looking to migrate from another vendor, [import](https://import.api.video/) your videos from your current vendor
- If you have any questions, [talk to us](https://meetings.hubspot.com/diego398/cc-talk-to-us?__hstc=54467703.754940701eda85e3c99a902d8ab0b988.1687266643206.1694417789132.1694427271479.149&__hssc=54467703.3.1694427271479&__hsfp=3654297906) by booking a slot in our calendar

&nbsp;

To know more about our[ features](https://api.video/features/), [pricing](https://api.video/pricing/) or ask any other questions, [talk to our team ](https://meetings.hubspot.com/diego398/cc-talk-to-us?__hstc=54467703.754940701eda85e3c99a902d8ab0b988.1687266643206.1694162373815.1694167498585.144&__hssc=54467703.1.1694167498585&__hsfp=3654297906)and we will help you out. 

&nbsp;

Or, you can straightaway [sign-up](https://dashboard.api.video/register) for a free sandbox account and check our product out for yourself. 


Huge pricing update: Introducing video encoding at no cost

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api.video team

Video trends

Modern technology has been helpful for an increasingly fast and simple method of consuming various types of video media, whether it’s a YouTube video, our favorite shows on Netflix, or even catching up with friends across the globe on Zoom. Despite the relative ease of doing anything related to video, a few complex processes take place behind the scenes, away from public view. One such process is video encoding.

Video encoding basically makes the world go around in regards to anything related to video and video content. Thanks to the technologies behind the video encoding process, it has become much easier for people and companies to share video content on the internet. But what exactly is video encoding, and what happens during the process? We’ll take a closer look at this and much more in this handy guide to video encoding.

## What is video encoding?

In a nutshell, video encoding occurs when you take raw video footage, either from a digital camera or an analog film camera, and digitally compress it to make it a more manageable file size. Video encoding happens daily in both professional and personal capacities, and many people don’t realize it.

But, without encoding, services like Netflix and YouTube would not exist – or, at least, not in the same way that it does today. Without it, we couldn’t send videos of our beloved pets to our friends and family as easily as we can today.

## Why is video encoding used?

There are a variety of reasons why video encoding is used, but all factors point to the single function of video encoding – **compression**.

This is done to ensure optimal performance and compatibility with a selected suite of software and hardware, be it for DVD/Blu-ray playback, mobile viewing, online video streaming, or general video editing. A file's video and audio information undergo transformation and compression during the encoding process, all in accordance with the requirements of the selected encoding standard.

On a professional level, the ability to compress raw video into more manageable sizes makes it easier to transmit video content such as training, promotion, presentation, and so on over the internet. 

On a personal level, video encoding makes it much easier to send videos taken from your phone directly to friends and family. Most modern-day personal devices have built-in video encoding capabilities to allow for this to happen without a second thought.

To put things in perspective, uncompressed or unencoded video can have a data rate that’s as low as 3,000 Mbps and as high as 12,000 Mbps, depending on the length and quality of the video recorded. 

**Without encoding, it would take up to days for anyone to not just transmit video, but to be able to consume it, too.**

## Differences between video encoding and video transcoding

You need to be familiar with two more [essential terms related to video encoding](https://api.video/what-is/) – transcoding and codecs.

Transcoding relates to the conversion from one digital encoding format to another. It takes the already encoded video file, decompresses it, and then alters it before re-encoding or compressing it into a different codec. Codecs are what allow encoding to occur in the first place. They are software or hardware that gives us the ability to compress video to make them more easily stored and delivered tightly.

While you may hear “encoding” and “transcoding” used interchangeably, the two terms actually mean different things. Putting it succinctly, encoding is the initial process of compressing a video from a source – such as a camera – into a codec, while transcoding takes an already encoded video file to convert it into a different codec.

## Examples of video codecs

In order to understand video encoding, you must first be familiar with two interrelated terms: [video codecs and video formats](https://api.video/blog/product-updates/every-video-format-codec-and-container-explained/). These also tend to be used interchangeably, but much like the terms encoding and transcoding, they refer to two different things.

Video formats are the type of files in which the compressed video/audio is stored. Also known as a “container”, you can tell what a video format is by looking at the file’s extension — the three to four characters that sit after a period in a file name. Here are some of the most common video formats used today:

* MP4
* FLV
* MOV
* MKV
* LXF
* MXF
* AVI
* WebM
* QT

On the other hand, **the codec is short for “Coder / Decoder” (compression / decompression)** and relates to the video compression algorithms that allow encoding to happen. Over the years, codecs have gone through multiple iterations as it coincides with the increasing sophistication and rise in the quality of filmmaking. 

If you’re a content creator, you might be aware of some of the video codecs that exist today:

- **H.264 – also known as AVC, this is the most widely-used video codec available on every platform and mobile device.**
- H.265 – also known as HEVC, stands for High-Efficiency Video Coding, and it’s slowly overtaking H.264 as the standard. This codec can compress video much more efficiently than its predecessor.
- **VP9 – is an open-source, royalty-free codec developed by Google and is considered the direct competitor of H.265. The video compression codec VP9 was created to reduce file sizes, making streaming videos simpler.**
- **AV1 – is another royalty-free, open-source codec released in 2019 by the non-profit Alliance for Open Media. It was developed to become the successor to Google’s VP9 and contend with HEVC more directly.**

## How do different technologies handle video encoding

As you may have suspected, there are a majority of ways that different technologies handle the video encoding process. Let’s take a look at the most common technologies that use video and how video encoding works on each of them:

### Video editing software

When it comes to video content creation, a majority of people will use one of two video editing software — Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple’s Final Cut Pro. Both of these video editing software handle video encoding in very similar ways: when exporting the finished video.

Depending on which device the video content is recorded on, it will already be encoded and formatted according to the settings of the device. For those using iPhones recording 1080p video at 25 frames per second (FPS), for example, the iPhone will automatically encode the video using H.264 and contain it in a .mov file format. The video editing software will “open up” the container to get to the encoded, compressed video file within so the editing process can begin.

After editing the footage is complete, it will need to be exported, which typically concerns video encoding. The edited raw media taken from a recording device such as a camera will be encoded via the codec of the person’s choosing before being put into a .mp4 container once they’ve hit “export”. As we’ve mentioned before, the most common codec used in video content creation is H.264 for HD videos, with 4K videos using H.265. 

### Websites

Different websites utilize different techniques to handle video encoding – with a majority of the major sites like YouTube, Netflix, and so on using their own technologies to handle the process. A majority of social media websites allow you to upload video files directly onto the site to share, although most of them require the files to be saved in specific containers. 

These websites will take your video file and transcode it before using their own systems and serves to re-encode it to match multiple display resolutions. This process will happen regardless of your video file's original codec and settings. Different websites have different processes, but companies that don’t have the capacity to build their own video encoding systems can use a third-party application programming interface (or API) to handle this process. These APIs act as [dedicated video encoder](https://api.video/encoding/) that allows companies to add on-demand videos to their websites more efficiently.

Using [api.video](http://api.video) as an example, all of the videos submitted to the platform will be transformed into H.264 codec in an MP4 container. This may be done using transmuxing and/or transcoding.

We expect the video bitrate to be lower than 16 Mbps for up to 1080p resolution and 50 Mbps for up to 4K resolution. We accept any bitrates, however, we will scale them down to the limits mentioned because anything above is usually challenging for most viewers’ connection to watch.

### API

The ability to generate, store, and distribute video is made possible via a video API. [api.video](http://api.video)’s solution can be tailored to suit any specific need. 

The backend process of video on demand (VOD) is exceptionally complex, even if you’re a software programmer specializing in video. It is necessary to encode, package, and typically transcode the data before sending it to any of several possible destinations. All of these things, and more, may be done with minimal fuss using api.video.

Our API basically keeps the complexities of streaming media hidden from view, so you can rapidly develop apps with as much control as you need. This saves time and effort so developers can concentrate on making the product.

## Conclusion

As you can see through this video encoding guide, a lot of work goes into making the video you watch and the video you share possible. Without video encoding compressing raw video footage, it could take days to upload and transmit video content over the internet and perhaps even longer to be able to download and enjoy them. 

The best part about encoding at api.video is that is offered at ZERO cost. You will only be charged for delivery and hosting of your videos, and the encoding will be free. Now integrate your videos in minutes with api.video or [contact us](https://api.video/contact) for more information.

A Guide to Video Encoding & Video Codecs

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Encoding and transcoding are often used interchangeably but they have slightly different definitions. **Encoding is the initial process of converting raw video files into a specific digital format or codec.** It involves compressing and packaging the video data, often to reduce file size while maintaining acceptable quality. Encoding prepares the video for storage, transmission, or playback.

&nbsp;

**Transcoding, on the other hand, involves converting a video from one digital format or codec to another.** This is typically done to optimize the video for different devices or platforms, adapt to varying network conditions, or ensure compatibility with specific playback requirements. Transcoding occurs after encoding and often involves changing resolution, bitrates, or formats without altering the content itself.

## What goes on behind encoding a video?

It's easy to say that encoding is when you go from an _uncompressed source_ to a _compressed source_, but you may ask, what exactly do compressed and uncompressed sources mean?

&nbsp;

Uncompressed sources are video files that contain data that comes directly from a camera sensor vs. encoded video. In the digital space, it's SDI (Serial Digital Interface) or HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface). Both of them are popular standards. You'll find HDMI in places like your GoPro camera, or a mini camcorder. These days, you might also find HDMI in professional settings, but SDI is more common due to its reliability. Another example of an uncompressed source would be something analog, for instance, VHS tapes.

&nbsp;

A compressed sources, on the other hand, are video files that have undergone compression during the encoding process. Compression involves reducing the file size by removing unnecessary information or encoding the data in a more efficient format. This process results in a smaller file size, making it more manageable for storage, transmission, and playback.


## What are the types of transcoding methods?

There are three types of transcoding, depending on what you are trying to do to get a video to suit a particular browser, player, or platform:

* **Lossless-to-lossless** - This type of transcoding maintains the quality of your video across formats but allows you to take advantage of better hardware or compression algorithms. 
* **Lossless-to-lossy** - This type of transcoding will decrease your video in quality, but it will benefit you in ways such as – you will get a smaller and/or faster playing file, or a file that is compatible with the requirements of a particular platform, player, or browser.
* **Lossy-to-lossless** - Sometimes people think this means they are regaining quality. This isn't the case in this type of transcoding. If you transcode from a lossy format to a lossless format, all that it means is that you will not lose additional quality in the conversion process. You will not regain data you already lost through compression.

## Codecs for encoding and transcoding

For both encoding and transcoding, you will need to make use of codecs. A codec's job is to compress and decompress video files. It's right there in the name -  **co**mpress **dec**ompress or encode decode. So basically, codec is an algorithm that takes the video and shrinks it or changes it into a format that makes it compatible with the requirements of wherever you want the video to play. There are many codecs because there are many ways to compress a video or livestream for playback.



## What is transmuxing?

Now that you know the difference between encoding and transcoding, let's throw one more term in there - transmuxing. Transmuxing is when you change the container for a video instead of the format. It's a way of repackaging a video to make it compatible somewhere without changing what's in the file. 

&nbsp;

This process is faster than encoding or transcoding and takes less computing power because you only change the container, not the file. It's great when you need to quickly make something available, but the downside is that it doesn't handle things like making multiple video resolutions available. If you choose a container type that's incompatible with your video file, you may also cause compatibility issues, resulting in not being able to play the video.

## In closing

* **Encoding** - Encoding happens when you compress a raw data file from a video camera sensor or an analog source like a VHS tape. 
* **Transcoding** - Transcoding happens when you take an already compressed video file and change it to another format.
* **Transmuxing** - Transmuxing happens when you change the container of a video file but leave the video file untouched. 

We hope that explains the difference between encoding and transcoding clearly. 

_If you are looking for an affordable video API solution that does not burn a hole in your pocket for transcoding and encoding videos, check out our offerings on our [homepage](https://api.video/) or [sign-up for a free account here](https://dashboard.api.video/register)!_

Encoding and transcoding: what's the difference? 

Encoding and Transcoding - What's the Difference?

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Once I upload my video, how quickly will it be ready to be viewed?

Our reply to this question has always been “it's really fast.”  And it is really fast. But, the dev team gave me access to the backend database, and pointed me to a few tables that might be helpful (thanks to Thomas Persohn for your patient help!)

Thus armed, I waded into a sea of data to better understand how fast our videos are encoded at api.video

## Encoding

When a video is uploaded to api.video, it is re-encoded to a HLS stream, with several different video dimensions and bitrates.  This allows api.video to deliver properly sized video to all users - no matter the device or network connection. (Read our post on [Responsive video delivery](https://api.video/blog/video-trends/responsive-video-delivery/) to learn more.)

> Summary:  All videos are encoded at 240p, 360p, 480p, 720p, 1080p and 2160p. However, the videos are only encoded up to the initial size of the video (so if the original video is 720p, there will not be 1080p or 2160p versions available). 

**FYI:** For our customers, encoding is absolutely free – we offer adaptive bitrate encoding at zero cost. 

How long does this step take? If a customer uploads a video to our service - they want to know how efficient api.video creates the content for viewing.

### Data in the study

We are constantly making adjustments to our infrastructure to speed the encoding step of our video (and that is one reason this post is dated 2H 2020 - we expect to be faster in early 2021). The last major adjustment was made in mid October, so the data presented in this study from every video uploaded to the api.video service between 15 October and 2 December 2020.

### Parameters that affect encoding

There are 2 major parameters that affect the speed of encoding a new video stream: the output dimensions and the length (duration) of the video.  

#### Dimensions

The output video dimensions have a huge impact on video creation - a 3840 × 2160 (or 4K or 2160p) video has millions more pixels than a 320x240 (240p) video, so it takes a lot longer to create.  In general, the videos exit the encoding process from smallest to largest.

#### Duration

If a video is 30 frames per second, and is 60 seconds long, there are 1800 frames to be created.  If a 30 frame per second video is an hour long 3600s), there are 108,000 frames to be created, so the longer the video - the more time for creation.

## Analysis

To better understand the encoding time, I divided the data by the size of the output video size, and looked at 2 lengths of video  - those under 5 minutes, and videos that are 45-75 minutes long (we are often asked how long a 1 hour video takes to encode).

I calculated encoding time for each bucket of video using percentiles.  

> Quick review - percentiles break the data into 100 evenly sized segments, so the 25th percentile is when 25% of the videos have been encoded. The median is the 50th percentile, and is when 50% of videos have been encoded.  We report here to the 95th percentile for video encoding.

### Short videos - under 5 minutes long

Many of the videos uploaded to api.video are short - under 5 minutes long.  These videos are generally ready to play in a few seconds:



The above chart has a lot of data, the 25, 50, 75, 90 and 95th percentile encoding times for all 6 variants of the video that api.video creates.

The median video is ready to play (at 240p) in 5.6 seconds, but a 720p version will be ready in 15s after encoding begins, and the 4K version will be ready in 37 seconds.

95% of all videos (under 5 minutes) will be playable in 32.6s, and will have 1080p versions ready in just over 2 minutes (140s).

### Long videos - 45 - 75 minutes long

Our most frequently asked question on encoding is "how long for a 1 hour video to be encoded and ready?"  Here are the numbers:


Observant viewers will see there are no 4K videos in this report. At this time, there are very few 4K streams that reach the 1 hour timeframe, and the data was quite noisy.  Hopefully, more of our 'long uploads' will add 4K support, so we can add this metric in our next update.

The median hour long video (red line) will be ready to play (at 240p) in just over 9 minutes (555s), and a 720p version will be ready about 18 minutes after encoding begins (1099s).

95% of hour long videos will have a 240p version ready in 33 minutes, and 720p in 54 (3230s).  the 1080p version will be available for 95% of videos in 108 minutes,

## Conclusion

Short videos will be ready to play - even at high resolution - in under a minute: the median 4K encoding for a short video is 37s. 

Hour long videos take longer to encode, and the median 720p video will be ready in 18 minutes.  95% of 720p videos will be ready to play in 54 minutes.

This is really fast! You can have responsive streaming video ready for your customers in just a few minutes with a simple upload!

That said, our team is working hard in the background to improve our infrastructure to make our encoding speeds even faster! 

We're really excited to have hard numbers to share with you on our encoding speeds, and we cannot wait to re-benchmark this data in 2021 to see how much faster your videos will be encoded as we improve our service.

Do you have questions about api.video or video encoding? Reach out on our [community page](https://community.api.video).


How fast does api.video encode video? 2H 2020 data

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Huge pricing update! Introducing video encoding at zero cost

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Huge pricing update! Introducing video encoding at zero cost