TV Channels are designed to operate like real-world digital tv channels that you would find on your actual television, providing features to upload and schedule media to playout at designated times as well as be interrupted by live streaming content sent by an encoder.
By default, the TV Channel will only broadcast when content is scheduled to play, or a live encoder connects to the service. This allows the on-demand publishing of VOD content at designated times and is especially useful when delivering the broadcast to external publishing points such as Facebook or Youtube.
It is possible to create a 24×7 linear live broadcast with no dead-air by scheduling content back-to-back with no gaps, or alternatively uploading a fallback video that will play while there is no other active scheduled content.
Uploading & Scheduling Content
It is important that the uploaded video files and live encoder are consistent in audio and video format. Inconsistency in format may cause problems with the service such as disconnecting, trouble switching between playlist and live, or desynchronization:
- Video Codec – H.264 ONLY
- Video Resolution – i.e., 720p, 1080p etc
- Video Framerate
- Audio Format – MUST be AAC (AC3, MP3 or others will cause errors)
- Audio Samplerate – 48 kHz
Scheduled VOD to Social Media
When a Fallback Video is not configured, it is possible to schedule specific content to play on social media (or any publisher) at a specific time. The broadcast will start at the scheduled time and finish once there is no more media to play in the playlist.
It is commonly used to schedule a broadcast at one specific time, and then replay the recorded event at another time.
