Uploading Videos and Managing Your Media Library

Introduction

Your media library is the foundation of everything you stream on playout.video. It's where all your videos, audio files, and images live: organized, processed, and ready to be added to playlists and compositions.

This guide covers everything you need to know about uploading content, organizing your files, and managing your library efficiently.

Supported File Formats

playout.video supports a wide range of media formats:

Video

• MP4: the most common and recommended format

• MOV: Apple QuickTime format

• MKV: Matroska video container

• AVI: Audio Video Interleave

• WebM: open web media format

Audio

• MP3: standard audio format

• WAV: uncompressed audio

• AAC: Advanced Audio Coding

• OGG: open-source audio format

Images

• PNG: lossless images, great for logos and overlays

• JPG/JPEG: compressed images

• WebP: modern web image format

• SVG: vector graphics for logos

Uploading Files

From the Dashboard

1. Navigate to your Dashboard

2. Scroll to the Media Library section

3. Click the Upload button

4. Select one or more files from your computer

5. Wait for upload and processing to complete

From the Media Library Page

1. Navigate to Media Library from the sidebar

2. Click Upload in the top-right corner

3. You can also drag and drop files directly onto the page

Upload Tips

• Batch uploads: Select multiple files at once to upload them all simultaneously

• Large files: There's no strict file size limit, but larger files take longer to upload and process. A stable internet connection is recommended for files over 1GB

• Best quality: Upload your source files at the highest quality available. playout.video will handle transcoding for your stream output quality

File Processing

After uploading, each file goes through automatic processing:

1. Upload: the file is transferred to cloud storage

2. Transcoding: the video is optimized for streaming playback

3. Thumbnail generation: a preview image is created automatically

4. Ready: the file is available for use in playlists and compositions

Processing time varies based on file size and duration:

• A 5-minute 1080p video: ~1-2 minutes

• A 30-minute 1080p video: ~5-8 minutes

• A 1-hour 4K video: ~15-20 minutes

You can continue using playout.video while files process in the background. You'll see a processing indicator on files that aren't ready yet.

Organizing Your Library

Grid and List Views

The media library offers two viewing modes:

• Grid view: visual thumbnails, great for browsing

• List view: compact table with file details (name, size, duration, date)

Folders

Keep your library organized with folders:

1. Click New Folder to create a folder

2. Give it a descriptive name (e.g., "Music Videos", "Intros", "Backgrounds")

3. Drag files into folders or move them using the context menu

Folder ideas for common setups:

• Intros & Outros: bumper videos for your stream

• Main Content: your primary streaming videos

• Background Music: audio tracks for compositions

• Overlays: logos, watermarks, and overlay images

• Jingles: short clips that play between videos

Search and Filter

Finding files is easy:

• Search by file name using the search bar

• Filter by file type (video, audio, image)

• Sort by name, date added, size, or duration

File Details

Click on any file to view its details:

• Name: editable file name

• Duration: for video and audio files

• Resolution: video dimensions (e.g., 1920x1080)

• File size: storage space used

• Format: file container and codec information

• Date added: when the file was uploaded or imported

• Thumbnail: auto-generated preview (for videos)

Storage Management

Every playout.video plan includes 100GB of cloud storage. Here's how to manage it effectively:

Check Your Usage

Your current storage usage is visible in your account settings. You can see:

• Total storage allocated

• Storage currently used

• Remaining space

Free Up Space

If you're running low on storage:

• Delete files you no longer need

• Remove duplicates: check for accidentally uploaded copies

• Optimize source files: compress large source files before uploading if you don't need the original quality

Expand Storage

Need more space? You can add storage in 100GB increments:

• Monthly: $25 per 100GB

• Annual: $250 per 100GB (save ~17%)

Storage add-ons are managed in your billing settings.

Importing from YouTube

In addition to direct uploads, you can import videos from YouTube with a single URL. This is covered in detail in Importing Videos from YouTube.

Using Files in Your Streams

Once files are in your library and processed, you can:

• Add to playlists: select files when building a playlist for any live stream

• Use in compositions: add videos, images, and audio as overlay elements

• Set as background music: use audio files as continuous background tracks

Troubleshooting

Upload fails or gets stuck?

• Check your internet connection — large files need a stable connection

• Try uploading smaller batches if you're uploading many files at once

• Refresh the page and try again — the upload will resume if partially completed

File shows "Processing" for a long time?

• Large files (especially 4K or long-duration) can take 15-20 minutes

• If processing seems stuck after 30 minutes, try deleting and re-uploading the file

Video plays with no audio?

• Make sure the source file contains an audio track

• Some screen recordings may not include audio by default

Thumbnail is black or incorrect?

• Thumbnails are generated from the first few seconds of the video

• If your video starts with a black screen, the thumbnail may appear black

• This doesn't affect streaming quality

Next Steps

• Importing Videos from YouTube — import existing YouTube content

• Building and Managing Playlists — use your uploaded files in playlists

• How to Create Your First 24/7 Live Stream — complete setup guide