How to Use Video Types
What are Video Types?
A Video Type categorizes a video and pre-fills its metadata. Types work like the starting templates in Composer or Photo Center.
Required on every video. When you create a video, you choose a Type and a Primary Website, the two foundational fields of the video.
Pre-fills metadata on the video creation screen.
Can be used to filter videos in Video Center search (the "Filter by type" option).
Managed in Utilities > Types.
Setting up Types in Utilities
Types are created and managed in Video Center > Utilities > Types. Video Center ships with a few default Types (including sample), and you add your own here. Types cannot be deleted. To hide one, clear the Is Visible checkbox.
Fields on a Type
The Type editor is grouped into sections. Required fields are noted; unmarked fields are optional.
Type (top of the form)
Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
Name(required) | The Type's display name. |
Is Visible | When checked (default), the Type appears in the Type picker (the Type dropdown shown when you create a video). Uncheck to hide it (used in place of deletion). |
ID (read-only) | The Type's string identifier. This is the value stored on a video and used by the API. |
UUID (read-only) | System-generated identifier for the Type. |
Empty menu item | (Legacy) Marks this Type as a non-selectable grouping header so other Types can nest beneath it. See the note below. |
Parent Type | (Legacy) Nests this Type beneath a parent that has Empty menu item checked, so the pair renders as a submenu in the Legacy Type dropdown. See the note below. |
Note
Hiding a Type (unchecking Is Visible) does not change videos already assigned to that Type — they keep the Type and are unaffected.
Note
Empty menu item and Parent Type are legacy grouping controls that only affect the Legacy Type dropdown, and the newer editing experience lists Types as a flat list regardless. They add little practical value today, so we don't recommend using them. Leave Parent Type unset and keep your Types as a flat, single-level list.
URLs (legacy)
The Type URL and Vanity URL fields are legacy and are no longer recommended to manage video URLs.
Metadata defaults (pre-filled onto videos of this Type)
Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
Keywords / Tags | Default keywords and tags. |
Backfill Playlist / Playlist tags | Default playlist association. |
Select Website(s) | Default website(s) and section(s) the video is circulated to. |
Owner name | Default owner/credit value. |
Redirect URL | Optional redirect value. |
Ads sets default advertising behavior for the Type.
Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
Enable server-side ad insertion | Turns on server-side ad insertion (SSAI) for videos of this Type. |
Enable server-side fallback | Fallback behavior when SSAI is enabled. |
Enable pre-roll | Plays a pre-roll ad before the video. |
Ad Zone | An identifier you can send via your ad tag to tell the ad server what your stream is about. |
Commercial Ad Node | The ad node that determines the targeting of display ads. |
Watermark: upload a watermark image on the Type (Upload Watermark, PNG or JPG, up to 20 MB) and it applies to every video assigned that Type. This is the only way to apply a watermark in Video Center. For the full how-to and position options, see Adding a watermark to a video.
Related links and Credits (Editor, Source) provide further defaults applied to videos of this Type.
Note
Depending on your organization's configuration, the editor may also show Distributor, Geographic Restrictions, YouTube, and oEmbed sections. Organization-wide Type URL settings (slug length, URL and vanity-URL prefixes/suffixes) are configured separately in the Types feature configuration.
How to Define Types
Types are most useful when they map to the kinds of videos you produce repeatedly.
Classify by kind, then pair with other fields. A Type says what kind of video it is, the Primary Website says which site owns it, and Topics say what it's about. Together they make videos easy to filter and route.
Use Types as guardrails. Build Types that pre-fill the right Credit, distributor, and website or section defaults so videos land with consistent metadata.
Use a dedicated Type for bulk migrations or API imports. It gives every imported video consistent metadata and keeps it separate from manually created videos.
Note
Types are organization-wide. There is currently no way to scope a Type so it is visible to only one site.
Using Types on videos
Manual upload
When you click Create Video, Video Center prompts you to choose the Type and Primary Website before you upload. The Type you choose pre-fills the creation screen with that Type's defaults.
Note
An organization-wide default video category must be set (Utilities > Admin Services > Server Configuration > Default Values > ANS Import > Default Video Category). A separate Default Live Events Type applies to live.
API upload
When importing videos through the Video Center API, set the Type with additional_properties.videoCategory. Its value is the Type's Id, and it must match one of the Types configured in Utilities > Types (sample is available by default).
{
"additional_properties": {
"videoCategory": "sample"
}
}
Videos are imported through the Video Center import endpoint (.../goldfish/video/v2/import/ans) using the Arc Native Specification (ANS). See the developer guide How To Write The Minimum ANS For A Viable Video Document for the full minimum payload.
What happens to a Type after a video is created
A Type stays associated with a video. It is not a one-time prefill that disappears, and you can change a video's Type later.
Note
Changing a Type resets the video's fields. In VOD Edit Legacy, changing a video's Type asks you to confirm: "This will reset all fields of the current video on the screen to new category default values. Do you want to continue?" Confirming overwrites the video's metadata with the new Type's defaults. Change a Type deliberately, especially on a populated video.
Changing a video's Type is currently available only in VOD Edit Legacy.
VOD Edit Legacy: change the Type from the Type field, with the reset-to-defaults confirmation above.
VOD Edit Beta (introduced in Video Center 1.123, opt-in) is a modernized editor. To change a video's Type, use the Switch to legacy video editor option in the ellipsis menu.
Does editing a Type in Utilities change existing videos? No. A Type's defaults are applied to a video only when the Type is assigned. Editing a Type later does not retroactively rewrite videos already created with it.