Customize Playback via Parameters

ak

Identifies the name of the application key used to decrypt the digital signature. Upon including this parameter, the signed playback URL will only work with an application key.
Use the syntax 1.ApplicationKeyName (e.g., ak=1.mykey) or mykey (legacy).

allowts

• Live Streaming Only*
  Allows a ts parameter to be appended to a signed playback URL for video scrubbing through a video.
  Key information: Appending a ts parameter to a signed playback URL has the following effect:
  • HLS: If a playback session is passed in the playback URL via the pbs parameter, then the existing playback session will be reset.
  • DASH: If a playback session is passed in the playback URL via the pbs parameter, then the player will be unable to playback the video. Therefore, it is important to remove the pbs parameter when scrubbing through video.
  Example: allowts=1

dash_subtitles_merge

Set to 0 to display only the language tracks embedded within the asset. Learn more.
Example: If an asset contains English and an ad contains Spanish, the viewer may only select English for the main content and Spanish for the ad.

ddp

Set to 1 to include Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) tracks in the manifest file. If missing, only AAC tracks will be served. DD+ setup also requires encoding audio as DD+ via the audio_dolby_# parameter (Live Slicer) or the dolby switch (Slicer).
Example: ddp=1

delay

Determines artificial latency in seconds. Adjust for time zones or reduce latency. Use this parameter to adjust for time zones by introducing an artificial delay (e.g., delay=7200) or to reduce total latency (e.g., delay=20).
Default value: -1. By default, latency is approximately 60 to 66 seconds. Learn more about Live Linear and Live Events.
Example: Shift playback by two hours: delay=7200 for a two-hour shift.

dmm.schemas.break

Set to break_info to add ad break information Dynamic Manifest Markers to a virtual linear playlist.
Example: dmm.schemas.break=break_info

dmm.schemas.top

Adds a Dynamic Manifest Marker (DMM) to the top of a manifest file.
Example: dmm.schemas.top=first_segment_url
timeline
Set to timeline to add a timeline DMM to the top of a manifest file for Smartstart-enabled assets. Add timeline metadata for any virtual linear playlist by combining this parameter with the pltl query string parameter. Learn more.
Example: dmm.schemas.top=timeline

euid

Identifies the current user with a custom ID (i.e., external user ID). This ID is passed to ad decision systems and included in many logging messages. Should be 100 characters or fewer, using alphanumeric characters, underscores, or dashes.
Example: euid=145XnM_0bHt2hZIGw8twtl3ccpjVF5rRVj6VJ_ZgqvtY2KmH

expand

Identifies a comma-separated list of expansion parameters to shorten the playback URL and facilitate parameter adjustments. Sign the playback URL using the expand parameter name / value pair instead of the set of parameters that it represents. An expansion parameter shortens the length of the playback URL, hides parameters from viewers, and facilitates the adjustment of parameters across multiple live channels, live events, or assets.
Configure expansion parameters
From the Parameter Expansion page, go to the Parameter option, define a name for the expansion parameter, then click Save.
Unsupported parameters
linearv, jsonp, pbs, skip_drm, oid, start and stop for channel schedules, stageplayer.
Example
A typical playback URL consists of the following parameters:
rays=efgabcd&delay=7200&ad=
myads&ad.access_level=
1&ad.flex=0&ad.adUnit=midroll&...
Instead of always specifying the above parameters, create the following expansion parameters:

• playback_01: rays=efgabcd&delay=7200
• ad_01: ad=myads&ad.access_level=
1&ad.flex=0&ad.adUnit=midroll

forcecic

• DASH Live Streams Only*
  Set to 1 to always prepend a codec initialization clip to the manifest file. Learn more.
  Example: forcecic=1

fpuseki

• Apple FairPlay Streaming Only*
  Set to 1 to minimize content key requests. Requires encoding profile changes and player update. Learn more.
  Example: fpuseki=1

geo.country.allow

• Requires Geoblocking*
  Restricts access to requests that originate from one or more specified countries. Requests that originate from all other countries will be denied access. Learn more
  Syntax: ?geo.country.allow=Country Code
[,Country Code 2,Country Code n]

geo.country.deny

• Requires Geoblocking*
  Denies access to requests that originate from one or more specified countries. Access is restricted to requests that originate from other countries. Learn more.
  Syntax: ?geo.country.deny=Country Code
[,Country Code 2,Country Code n]

hlsver

Determines the minimum HLS version required by the player. Maximum value is 7. <Tip>You should only set this parameter when your player requires a feature that is unavailable in a lower version. Promote backward compatibility by setting this parameter to the lowest HLS version that supports the desired feature.</Tip>Learn more about HLS versions.
Example: Set to 7 for latest feature support.

ifo

Set to 1 to include a playlist containing only I-frames, useful for trick mode.

• Your player may leverage this I-frame playlist to support trick mode. Trick mode allows playback at different speeds.
• An I-frame playlist will only be generated if your encoding profile supports it. Please contact your account manager to upgrade to an encoding profile that supports I-frames.
• HLS: Automatically included in protocol version 4 or higher. Set this parameter to 0 to prevent an I-frame playlist from being generated. Learn more .
• DASH: Required for I-frame playlist generation. Learn more .

maxfps

Limits the maximum frames per second (FPS) in the manifest.
Example: maxfps=59 to exclude rays with 60 FPS or higher.

needscors

Determines CORS support for the manifest response.
0 allows requests from any site. 1 leverages CORS with specific headers.
Default values: HLS 0, DASH 1.

opaqueid

Uniquely identifies a viewer. Use this parameter along with the up.max_concurrent_sessions parameter to limit the number of concurrent sessions that may be launched by the current playback URL. Legitimate viewers may be prevented from playing your content when the same identifier is shared between multiple viewers.
Example: opaqueid=joe-smith-001

pltl

Set the Playlist Timeline parameter to 1 to add a timeline DMM for assets in a virtual linear playlist. This could lead to a large timeline when your playlist contains multiple assets or when there are many ad breaks between assets. This parameter requires the dmm.schemas.top query string parameter. Learn more.
Example: dmm.schemas.top=timeline&pltl=1

plts

Set the Playlist Timestamp parameter to specify a seek position in seconds from the start of the playlist. Only content counts towards seek times. Specifically, ad breaks are excluded from this calculation. This parameter is exempt from digital signatures.
Example: plts=300 to seek 5 minutes into the playlist.

ptid

Tags playback with an organizational group or category. This case-sensitive value may consist of up to 32 alphanumeric characters, dashes, and underscores. Although tracking data is logged, it is currently inaccessible. However, it will eventually be exposed via log data. If this parameter has not been defined in the playback URL, then content playback will be tracked under the unknown category.
Example: ptid=MyChannel

rates

Restricts playback to rays within a specified range of bitrates.
Syntax: rates={Low}-{High}
Omit either the starting or ending value to extend the range to 0 or infinity, respectively.
Example: rates=600- to restrict to rays 600 Kbps or higher. This parameter is ignored when the rays parameter has been defined in the playback URL. Use one or more of the following parameters: rates, resolution. Playback will be restricted to the set of rays that satisfy all of the parameters defined in the playback URL. <Warning>Restricting rays may adversely impact adaptive streaming capabilities. Additionally, you may inadvertently break playback when rays are unavailable due to the parameters defined in the playback URL.</Warning> All rays are allowed. By default, our system suggests that clients play the d or e ray.

rays

Restricts playback to specified rays. Specify the letter corresponding to each desired ray.

• Restricting rays may adversely impact adaptive streaming capabilities.
• The letter a represents the lowest quality ray.
• The order in which rays are listed provides a hint to the player as to which ray it should try when initiating playback. Listing a lower ray first will force playback to start at a low quality, while listing a higher ray first will suggest that playback start at a higher ray. A player may still opt to use a lower ray when network conditions are poor.
• Our system ignores a character when a corresponding ray doesn't exist.
• By default, our system suggests that clients play the d or e ray.
• The a ray is usually excluded on non-iOS platforms, since this ray is extremely low quality and only exists because the Apple AppStore requires it.

repl

Identifies the replacement plugin to be loaded.

resolutions

Restricts playback to rays within a specified range of resolutions.

• Specify this range from low to high using shorthand numbers (e.g., 480, 720, and 1080).
• Omit either the starting or ending value to extend the range to 0 or infinity, respectively. (e.g. resolutions=720-)
• This parameter is ignored when the rays parameter has been defined in the playback URL.
• Use one or more of the following parameters: rates, resolution.
• Playback will be restricted to the set of rays that satisfy all of the parameters defined in the playback URL.
• Restricting rays may adversely impact adaptive streaming capabilities. Additionally, you may inadvertently break playback when rays are unavailable due to the parameters defined in the playback URL.
• All rays are allowed. By default, our system suggests that clients play the d or e ray.

show_dash_subtitles

• DASH Only*
  Set to imsc to enable fragmented TTML (IMSC1) for DASH streams.
  Example: show_dash_subtitles=imsc

show_vtt

• HLS Live Streams Only*
  Set to 1 to enable WebVTT for HLS live streams.
  Example: show_vtt=1

smartcic

• DASH Live Streams Only*
  Set to 1 to prepend a codec initialization clip only when the main content contains WebVTT subtitles.
  Example: smartcic=1

srs

• DASH Only*
  Determines how media segment start times and duration are represented in a DASH manifest. Valid values:
  • template: Inserts media segment start times and duration withinSegmentTemplate tags.
  • templatetimeline: Inserts media segment start times and duration withinSegmentTimeline tags. Each SegmentTimeline tag is contained within a SegmentTemplate tag.
  • Tizen Only
    tizentemplate: Inserts media segment start times and duration within Tizen AVPlay-compatibleSegmentTemplate tags. Consult with our technical customer support prior to implementing this configuration if you are leveraging our multi-CDN solution to deliver your content.
  • VOD Only
    list: Inserts media segment start times and duration within SegmentList tags.
  Default value(DASH Live Streams):templatetimeline
  Default (DASH VOD Streams): template

sstart

Sets the starting point for playback in slice numbers (0-based). Content prior to the starting slice will be excluded from playback. This parameter is incompatible with live channel playback.
Example: sstart=15 to start playback at the 16th slice.

sstop

Sets the stopping point for playback in slice numbers (0-based).
Example: sstop=20 to stop playback after the 21st slice.

start

Sets the playback start offset in seconds, rounded down to the nearest slice boundary.
Example: start=95.3 to start at the slice containing the 95.3 second.

staticomsdk

Set to 1 to insert a static JSON payload into the manifest for ad verification workflow testing. Content prior to the starting slice will be excluded from playback. This parameter is incompatible with live channel playback.
Example: staticomsdk=1

stop

Sets the playback stop time in seconds, rounded up to the nearest slice boundary. The specified offset will be rounded up to the nearest slice boundary. Content after this offset will be excluded from playback. This parameter is incompatible with live channel playback.
Example: stop=110.9 to stop playback after the slice containing the 110.9 second.

subtitle_placeholders_off

Set to 1 to display only available language tracks, overriding the dash_subtitles_merge parameter. Learn more.
Example: subtitle_placeholders_off=1 If your asset contains an English track and an ad contains a Spanish track, then a viewer may only select English when viewing your main content and Spanish when viewing that ad.

thumbsray

Set to 1 to include trick play thumbnails in the manifest file. Trick play thumbnails, which add visual cues to a scrub bar, require the use of Adaption Sets with @contentType="image" within the MPD. Alternatively, you may include trick play thumbnails for an entire playback session by passing the thumbsray query string parameter when requesting the Preplay API. This feature is compatible with the following players:

• HLS Only: Roku OS 9.4
• HLS Only: Roku OS 9.3 when playing VOD content that does not contain discontinuities (e.g., ads).
• All DASH players, except Roku, that comply with the DASH Industry Forum's implementation guidelines for interoperability points as described in Guidelines for Implementation: DASH-IF Interoperability Points V4.3.

timedmeta.events.ads

Inserts tracking events from the ad response into the manifest file. Use a comma to delimit each event. Learn more.
Valid values are: videoview | slotimpression | defaultimpression | start | firstquartile | midpoint | thirdquartile | complete
Example: timedmeta.events=complete,midpoint

timedmeta.extensions.ads

Inserts custom VAST extensions from the ad response into the manifest file. Use a comma to delimit each extension. Learn more.
Example: The following parameter adds complete and midpoint tracking event data to the JSON payload included in the manifest file: timedmeta.extensions=waterfall,geo

timedmeta.schemas.ads

Set to omsdk to insert ad viewability data into the manifest file. Update your player to send this data to an ad verification system via the Open Measurement Interface Definition (OMID). Learn more.
Example: timedmeta.schemas.ads=omsdk

ts

Sets the start time for playback in Unix time. This feature cannot be used any farther back in time than the schedule and assets for the linear stream exist.
Example: ts=1368529129 for playback starting at 2013-05-14 10:58:49 UTC

up.max_concurrent_sessions

Limits the number of concurrent sessions to the specified value. Specify the opaqueid parameter to limit the number of concurrent sessions by viewer.
Example: Limit the number of concurrent sessions for the viewer identified by the opaqueid parameter to 2: up.max_concurrent_sessions=2

ad

Identifies the ad configuration that determines the ad decision server from which ads will be obtained during playback.

• Specifying an ad configuration that does not exist will prevent playback.
• Omitting this parameter allows playback without ads.

ad._debug

Tags a playback session for the purpose of tracking ad insertion data. Set this parameter to the desired tag.
Example: ad._debug=campaign2

ad.breakend

Prevents ads from exceeding an ad break's duration. Valid values are: chop, drop

Passing this parameter also affects how ad break duration is calculated. Specifically, it reduces the duration of the ad break by the number of seconds that the current playback session is behind playback delay. Learn more about ad break duration adjustments.

chop
Switches over to content upon reaching an ad break's adjusted duration.

• Once the ad break's adjusted duration is reached, the stream will cut back over to content regardless of whether that causes the ad to only be partially played.
• An ad may extend slightly beyond an ad break.

ad.caid

• Multiple asset playback URLs only*
  Defines the asset ID that will be sent to an ad decision server.
  Default behavior: Our system sends the ID of the first asset listed in the playback URL to the ad decision server. Use this parameter to send a different asset ID to the ad decision server.

ad.cping

Set this parameter to 1 to enable the Ping API.
Example: ad.cping=1

ad.flex

Set this parameter to the number of seconds that an ad break may extend beyond an ad break's duration.
Use this parameter to introduce flexibility for the enforcement of ad.breakend's chop and drop modes.
Syntax: ad.flex=Seconds
Default value: 4 seconds
Learn more.

ad.kv

Defines the key-value pairs that will be sent to the ad decision server. Use commas to separate keys and values.
Example:
ad.kv=key1,value1,key2,value2

ad.Parameter

Pass ad decision server-specific parameters to the ad decision server.
This parameter requires the ad parameter.
The ad. prefix is removed from the name that is passed to the ad decision server when acquiring ads for playback. In the following example, our system will pass the account and ctxid parameters to the ad decision server.
Example:
ad.account=vz1234&ad.ctxid=MA_99_174

ad.prbd

Set this parameter to the name of the Prebid configuration that identifies your Prebid server and provides bidding instructions.
Learn more.
Syntax: ad.prbd=Prebid Config Name
Example: ad.prbd=myPrebidServer

is_ad

Manually forces an asset to be reported as an ad in the asset_play_started event (push logs).
This parameter is unnecessary when the system automatically inserts ads.
This parameter is useful when ads are managed and inserted by an external system, since it allows our push logs to reflect that the asset was played back as an ad.
Example: Report playback as an ad in the push logs: is_ad=1

• DASH Streaming Only
• If you are streaming content via DASH, then you must also pass the ck parameter : &ck=1
• A player should request a cleartext key from the following URL when playing content that is not protected by Studio DRM: https://content.uplynk.com/ck
• This parameter is the equivalent of clearing the "Require studio approved DRM for playback" option for this playback session.
• This parameter is typically used to allow playback of specific rays or configurations of protected content without requiring DRM.

• 1: Allow AirPlay.
• 0: Disallow AirPlay.

• 1: Allow mirroring.
• 0: Disallow mirroring.

• -1: HDCP is not enforced.
• 0: HDCP type 0 content streams is enforced. This allows the stream to be transmitted by the HDCP repeater to all HDCP devices.
• 1: HDCP content type 1 (HDCP version 2.2 or later) is enforced. Streams may not be transmitted by the HDCP repeater to HDCP 1.x-compliant devices or HDCP2.0-compliant repeaters.

• This countdown starts upon the acquisition of the Content Key.
• This parameter requires offline playback. Set fp.persistence to 1.
  &fp.persistence=1
• This parameter may be combined with fp.rental_duration.

• 1: Allow offline playback.
• 0: Disallow offline playback.

• This parameter requires:
  Offline playback. Set fp.persistence to 1.
  &fp.persistence=1
  iOS 11 or later
  Your application's user agent should identify the OS as iOS 11 or later.
• This countdown starts upon initial playback.
• Use this parameter for offline playback or lease renewals only.
• A license will not expire when this parameter is not specified or if it is set to 0.
• Once playback is successfully initiated, it will be allowed even if playback extends beyond the rental duration.

• This countdown starts upon the acquisition of the Content Key.
• This parameter may be combined with fp.lease_duration and fp.persistence.
• A Content Key will not expire if this parameter is not specified.
• Once playback is successfully initiated, it will be allowed even if playback extends beyond the rental duration. However, the client will not be allowed to restart playback with an expired Content Key.

ck

Cleartext Key

Disables DRM by passing the Content Key in cleartext. Decryption will take place outside of a Content Decryption Module (CDM). Valid values are:

1: All players. Our system will check the User-Agent request header to identify the requesting player and then use this information to determine how the Content Key will be presented to the player.

4: Exoplayer only. Our system will present the Content Key in a format recognizable by Exoplayer.

Key information:
A prerequisite for this parameter is that Studio DRM must be disabled on the desired content. Please also include the drm_optional parameter in the query string.
Request cleartext Content Keys from the following URL:
https://content.uplynk.com/ck
Once DRM is disabled on a playback session, the player must request a cleartext Content Key instead of a license. This means that you must use the above URL instead of a license acquisition URL.

Syntax: &ck=1&drm_optional=1

noadredir

Disable Ad Redirects

• VOD Only*
  By default, ads within VOD content will be represented as a list of segments. This allows ad impressions to be injected via redirects on every other segment. Disable this functionality through this parameter.
  
  Key information:
  Audio and video slices for VOD ad content are represented within the manifest file through a list of segments (SegmentList). If your player does not support this type of manifest, then you must disable ad redirects. This will generate a manifest file that contains a set of templates (SegmentTemplate) for VOD ad content.
  Disable ad redirects by performing either one of the following actions:
  Pass this parameter.
  Leverage our Ping v2 and Preplay APIs to track ad impressions.
  
  Syntax: &noadredir=1

nielsen

Nielsen

Advertises to the DASH player that the manifest may contain Nielsen data encoded within the emsg box.
This parameter is required when the manifest contains Nielsen data.
Please also set the Nielsen parameter within the Live Slicer configuration file.

Syntax: &nielsen=1

• 100: No security. This level allows the client to pass content to analog video outputs without restrictions.
  This security level is solely provided for testing purposes.
• 150: A client must attempt to engage Copy Generation Management System - Analog (CGMS-A) CopyNever for analog video outputs. Regardless of CGMS-A, the client may pass content to analog video outputs.
• 200: CGMS-A is required when a client passes content to analog video outputs.
• 201: Prevents a client from passing content to analog video outputs.

• 100: No security. This level allows the client to pass compressed digital audio to digital audio outputs without restrictions.
• 301: Prevents a client from passing compressed digital audio to digital audio outputs.

• 100: Allows the client to pass content to digital video outputs.
• 250: A client must attempt to engage HDCP for digital video outputs. Regardless of HDCP, the client may pass content to digital video outputs.
• 270: A client must attempt to engage HDCP for digital video outputs. If HDCP cannot be engaged, the client may pass content to digital video outputs when the effective resolution is less than or equal to 520,000 pixels per frame.
• 300: HDCP is required when a client passes content to digital video outputs.
• 301: Prevents a client from passing content to digital video outputs.