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This guide explains how to password protect imported videos on an Infomaniak VOD service.
Playing a video within a player configured on the VOD service will require a password without which viewing will not be possible. It is not possible to specify multiple different passwords for the same video.
Protecting a video with a password
Password protection can be configured in different ways.
1. Password at the import folder level
If the password is set once and for all at the destination folder level, all new media imports will automatically include this password for playback. However, it is still possible to modify the visibility of each individual video (see below). To configure this folder:
- Log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser like Brave or Edge
- Click on the icon in the top right corner of the interface (or navigate through the left sidebar menu, for example)
- Choose VOD/AOD (Streaming universe)
- Click on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table
- Click on Media in the left sidebar menu
- Click on Media management in the left sidebar menu
- Click on the icon to create a New folder
- Give a name to the folder
- Click the blue button to Create folder
- Click on Configuration
- Choose the encoding rules for the videos that will be imported and proceed to the next step
- Configure the folder options in step 2 and proceed to the next step
- Set the password that must be entered to view a protected video
- Click the blue button once the desired restrictions have been configured
- Upload new videos to this folder to have them password protected during playback
2. Password manually set on each video
To change the visibility of a video on a VOD service:
- Log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser like Brave or Edge
- Click on the icon in the top right corner of the interface (or navigate through the left sidebar menu, for example)
- Choose VOD/AOD (Streaming universe)
- Click on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table
- Click on Media in the left sidebar menu
- Click on Media management in the left sidebar menu
- Click on the relevant video
- Click on Edit in the Status section
- Click on Password, set a password
- Click the blue button to Change status
- The video becomes password protected:
Other access restrictions can be enabled and concern file access: token + geoip.
If you use the player (online video player), the logo appears superimposed over the video. The logo is only added by the player at the time it is displayed. The advantage of this method is that the logo can be changed whenever you wish, and this allows you to have several players directed to the same video without any problem. This is the recommended method in order to have a solution that is easy to work with and is upgradeable.
The overlaying of the logo that is present in the folder section is, as its name indicates, an actual overlay in the video. This is far less flexible since once it has been overlaid, you cannot change it at all. It goes without saying that there will be no point in regretting overlaying a logo once it changes a few years later...
These two methods are different and do not work at the same time, and so if you activate them simultaneoulsy, you will have the logo of the player on top of the overlaid logo.
This guide explains how to automatically start playing a video or audio stream when loading a web page.
Automatically starting media
The autostart option is enabled via your Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) in the player that broadcasts your media.
Important: this option is now limited by certain browsers and devices. These restrictions have been established by publishers and manufacturers to limit advertising abuse. Some of them allow automatic playing but disable the sound by default; users must then click on the icon to enable sound. Others simply block the media autostart feature. In this case, users must manually start your media.
This guide explains how to live stream a list of videos from the VOD service using the Video Streaming product.
What's the purpose?
This feature allows using the VOD service to create a video playlist and then using the Video Streaming service to broadcast it live, for example in the context of a music video channel, teleshopping, documentaries, etc. It's possible to insert advertisements between each video, manually or using VAST tag. The playlist will be looped infinitely until the user stops it.
Some usage examples
Streaming a playlist can serve as a fallback solution as soon as a live stream cuts off (voluntarily or involuntarily) and in this case, take over the air. As soon as the live encoder pushes a stream again, it takes control of the playlist. This allows broadcasting alternative content if there's an issue with the live stream or if the user only streams live content in the evening, for example, they can automate playlist content broadcasting for the rest of the day.
It's also possible to schedule playlist broadcasting from the Video Streaming scheduling tool. Thus, you can choose single or different playlist broadcasting time slots in advance, or recurrently. The live streaming encoder will be automatically disconnected during the entire playlist broadcasting period; once the time slot ends, the encoder will reconnect, and its content will be streamed.
A VOD playlist can be created and edited manually (by selecting the video to add to the list) or be dynamic if automatically composed by a batch of videos located in a specific folder and added as needed. In both cases, stop and restart the live streaming to take into account any new video added to the playlist - note that this will no longer be necessary in a future tool update.
Prerequisites
- Own a VOD service (at least the free VOD space with the Video Streaming service)
- Own a Video Streaming service in the same organization and managed by the same account
Live Streaming a VOD Playlist
Building the playlist from a few imported videos
Import the videos to the VOD space:
- Log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser like Brave or Edge
- Click on the icon at the top right of the interface (or navigate through the left side menu, for example)
- Choose VOD/AOD (Streaming universe)
- Click on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table
- Click the Select button (in the Quick Import section)
Once the videos are imported:
- Click on Media in the left side menu
- Click on Playlists / WebTV in the left side menu
- Click the button to add a new playlist
- Name the playlist and determine if it should be automatic (linked to a folder) or manual
- Choose the folder or specific videos to use for building the playlist
- Click the Create live button
- Choose the Video Streaming stream that should broadcast the playlist and adjust your preferences:
By default, 2 different thumbnail sizes are generated for each video. However their sizes aren't directly cutomizable. The first thumbnail has a fixed size of 200x120 pixels and the second depends upon the encoding resolution you want. In other words:
- Small sized thumbnail: 200x120
- Big sized thumbnail: maximum output resolution requested
The size of these thumbnails doesn't depend upon the source but upon the exporting formats that have been set. The preload image takes the size of the largestt format to be encoded. This allows to have a preload picture corresponding to the video that you wish to integrate (same resolution, format, ...).
For the other resolutions, you can retrieve the maximum picture via Curl/wget and resize it on your website.
Actions to be carried out
- open the Manager (Manager.Infomaniak.com)
- go to VOD/AOD
- click on the VOD space concerned
- in the left side menu click on Players
- under the video reader you use then under General Options
enable one of the sharing options.
Facebook
- If you enable the "Player embedded in Facebook" option, any user using the sharing button overlaid on your video will post your video directly on Facebook (Fig. 1) via an iframe, with viewers not being redirected to any site unless they click on the title under the video: then, the user is redirected to the URL set as the "Backlink" (Fig. 2).
- If you do not enable this option, what the user will post to Facebook is a block of information (Fig. 3) (thumbnail, title, description) linked to the video in question; the posted information can be edited in your Infomaniak control panel. This block of information is clickable and redirects to the URL you have set as the "Backlink" (Fig. 2). Any visitor clicking on it is then redirected to that URL, which will automatically have 2 parameters added to it: "folder" and "file" (Fig. 4), allowing the video owner to see that the visitor arrived at their site via Facebook and that they clicked on that video. By using the VOD API, they can easily deduce this information and, for instance, display just the required video on a specific page depending on where the video came from!
"Twitter Account Name" allows you to specify the Twitter username that will appear at the end of the message after the @ character.
"Twitter Backlink" allows you to specify a site URL, which will automatically have 2 parameters added to it allowing you to identify the video following redirection (folder=ID_FOLDER&file=ID_FILE) (Fig. 3).
"Related Twitter Accounts" allows you to suggest other Twitter accounts that people tweeting might follow".
Illustrated steps
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Actions to be carried out
Log in to your administration panel
Go to VOD and open your VOD space
Go to Folders
Select or create the folder where the videos will be uploaded
Click on Use a recommended setting
Select Import without processing
This guide explains how to protect videos imported into an Infomaniak VOD service with a unique key.
Protecting a Video with a Unique Key
You have the option to protect all media in a folder by creating a token. This will be unique for each of your visitors and must be passed as a parameter to your media to limit its viewing. Only you will be able to generate the unique key required by each user to view the videos. This key therefore allows only individuals previously verified by you to be authorized.
This allows you to control access to the videos and only allow certain people, while others are denied. Useful in cases such as pay-per-view or limited broadcasts. However, please note that it is your responsibility to develop the integration into your existing system.
If the hash is not valid, accessing the video will return a "403 Forbidden" error page.
Enabling Restriction on Import Folder
When the password is set once for all at the destination folder level, all new media imports will automatically have this mode enabled when played. To configure this folder:
- Login to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) using a web browser like Brave or Edge.
- Click on the icon at the top right of the interface (or navigate via the left side menu, e.g., here).
- Select VOD/AOD (Streaming universe).
- Click on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table.
- Click on Media in the left side menu.
- Click on Media Management in the left side menu.
- Click on the icon to create a New Folder
- Give a name to the folder.
- Click the blue button to Create the folder.
- Click on Configuration
- Select the encoding rules for the imported videos and proceed to the next step.
- Configure the folder options in this second step and proceed to the next step.
- Enable restriction with a unique key.
- Click the blue button once the desired restrictions are configured
1. Create a VOD API Token
To access the VOD API, you must first authenticate with an application token. This step only needs to be done once. The application token will be common for all folders you wish to protect. To create this application token, read this guide and the documentation at https://developer.infomaniak.com/getting-started#authentication.
2. Create the Playback Token
This step must be done on your website/application, and this token must be unique, hence generated for each visitor.
It is therefore important that the page responsible for token generation does not have a cache, to ensure the uniqueness of the token.
POST https://api.vod2.infomaniak.com/api/pub/v1/channel/channel_id/share/share_id/token
channel_id
= 1227share_id
= the ID of your video
Example: https://api.vod2.infomaniak.com/res/embed/1jhvl2uqa5rdf.html
The list of parameters is available in the documentation at https://developer.infomaniak.com/docs/api/post/channel/share/token
3. Using the Unique Token on a Media
The token obtained in step 2 above will then be passed as a parameter to the media, it will be unique and therefore different for each visitor:
<iframe frameborder="0" width="720" height="360" src="https://api.vod2.infomaniak.com/res/embed/1jhvl2uqa5rdf.html?token=st=1637143497~exp=1637143797~acl=/hls/1jhvl2uq4dnra/1jhvl2uq4dnmd/*~hmac=914aa838bdba141ec85db74266b54278572a1353a49e8851e4fd096dc6372127" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Additional access restrictions can be enabled: password + GeoIP.
Depending upon the client SOAP settings, you may not need to wait for the answer of the SOAP server when the functions are called. This prevents the call from blocking and therefore allows to make more successive calls quite quickly without waiting.