Format of URLs for List of URLs

CaptionSync allows you to submit URLs to your files for Closed Captioning. This article provides detailed information on the URL formats you can submit using our List of URLs feature.

What URL formats can I submit?

1. With the exception of YouTube, Vimeo, Wistia, SoundCloud, 3C Media and Kaltura URLs, you need to provide the URL to the specific media file rather than a generic page (which could contain multiple media files), i.e.:

Direct links to the media files:

http://www.domain.edu/path/to/video_filename.mp4
or
http://www.domain.com/path/to/video_filename.mov

Rather than generic pages:

http://www.domain.edu/path/to/page.html
or
http://www.domain.com/path/to/story-06-15-2017-news

If you're having trouble finding a direct link to a media file located on a web page, check out the tips below.

2. The protocol can be either HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP. Note that there is a size limit for URLs: 511 characters.

3. For HTTP and HTTPS, there cannot be any authentication redirecting to a login page before the download begins, or any other redirect page, like a Playlist. If simple built-in browser username and password authentication is needed (usually a pop-up), the syntax is as follows:

http://user:pass@www.domain.edu/path/to/video/filename.ext

For FTP, the syntax if a username and password is required is similar:

ftp://user:pass@ftpserver.domain.edu/path/to/video/filename.ext

Otherwise the FTP connection is assumed to be anonymous. There may be some delay between when the download is complete and when the submission appears.

4. If you have a large number of URLs which do not have a specific link to the media file, but uniquely identify a video, please open a ticket to discuss adding a custom functionality (like we've implemented for YouTube, Vimeo and SoundCloud URLs).

Dropbox URLs:

If you want to submit a link to a video located in a Dropbox account, it needs to reference the media file just like any other URL described above. Dropbox URLs can be submitted as shared links to the media file, e.g.:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3humcnx8nyes51f/1489927978movie.mp4?dl=1

In our Submitting a Dropbox URL article, we show how to generate a Dropbox link to a media file.

NOTE: If you're going to use our Smart Player feature with the Dropbox URL, please note that only the .mp4, .m4v, .f4v, or .mp3 formats are supported.

YouTube URLs:

YouTube URLs need to be submitted as YouTube formats, e.g.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3PSh13ELIk

The videos must be publicly viewable (i.e. not protected), but they can be Unlisted.
Please do not submit URLs to YouTube Playlists, User pages or embed code; only URLs to individual videos. So the following 4 formats are incorrect:

Incorrect:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=GLXDYI...jt5HxOqRwhB (Playlist)

Incorrect:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UFZq-9ojb35SqTkDbAJGwRPXd (Playlist)

Incorrect:
https://www.youtube.com/user/ASTMargaret (User page)

Incorrect:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/iooV_TfQWs5y (Embed URL)

Also note that some YouTube channels do redirects back to the channel homepage when the URLs are formatted something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/myuniversitychannel#p/c/0/m3qzvKZ0gRE

This can result in either the video failing to download, or more problematically, the same video served up on the channel homepage being downloaded every time. You'll want to make sure you this is not happening to you since our system is automatically fetching these videos and sending them off for transcription at your cost without anyone checking the content. The resolution is to always use the first URL format:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3PSn13ELIk

CaptionSync now has the ability to deliver caption files directly into your YouTube account, when a Transcription/Captioning request is made via our List of URLs feature. We provide step-by-step instructions on how to setup this feature in our YouTube Integration tutorial.

Vimeo URLs:

Vimeo URLs can be submitted as Vimeo formats, e.g.:

http://vimeo.com/81408697

The videos must be publicly viewable (i.e. not protected). Captions can then be associated with the movie and displayed at play time.

Or, if you are a Vimeo Premium, Business or PRO user, then you should submit the Direct link to video files for third-party players instead. Here's an example of what the direct links look like:

https://player.vimeo.com/external/videoID.hd.mp4?s=90c4a4772792f642ad6888b3bf56e916b4c7708c&profile_id=12345

3C Media URLs:

3C Media URLs can be submitted in the following format:

https://www.3cmediasolutions.org/privid/49725?key=175200a62ja1ebe4e413e14340cc1899f98a1d0f

You can get that format by clicking Details & Options, to the right of the video you wish to share, and then scrolling down to the Sharable Links and Embed heading, and copying the Share Link (see detailed description of this process in 3C Media's Sharing Link tutorial). Once results are available, you can associate the .vtt caption output with the video, over at 3C Media.

Wistia URLs:

If you want to submit a URL to a Wistia video you own, you'll need to provide us with a direct URL to the media file, which you can obtain by following the instructions in Wistia's Asset URLs tutorial. We will need a URL that can be opened by someone not logged into a Wistia account, and in the following format :

https://embed-ssl.wistia.com/deliveries/e5b5249854300bc19abc1420b7fa61f9e3bb3e07.mp4

SoundCloud URLs:

SoundCloud URLs can be submitted as SoundCloud formats, e.g.

https://soundcloud.com/harvard/energy-policy-for-our-future

Google Drive URLs:

Google Drive URLs do not point directly to media files, so they cannot be used with our List of URLs feature. You can however use our Google Drive integration to make captioning requests directly from your Google Drive, for MP4, M4V, and MP3 formats.

Otherwise, we recommend downloading the media file from the Drive, and either uploading it directly to your CaptionSync account (if it's smaller than 2 GB); or placing it on Dropbox, and submit it from there.

Once results are ready, you can associate the captions with the media file on Google Drive.

Brightcove Video Cloud URLs:

With Brightcove Video Cloud you can generate direct links to the media file and use it to make Captioning requests via our List of URLs feature, or to generate the Smart Player for existing submissions, as an alternative to setting up the integration. The direct link is available under the Video Files section, in the respective entry in your Brightcove system, by clicking any of the MP4-H264 formats. Here's an example of what the direct links look like:

https://f1.media.brightcove.com/4/775290549001/775290549001_4941825810001_4929419359001.mp4?pubId=775290549001&videoId=4929419359001

Kaltura URLs:

For users with the Kaltura integration or the Kaltura MediaSpace integration configured, Kaltura "Share URLs" (including private videos) can be submitted. We will then process the Transcription and Captioning request, and push back a caption file into Kaltura, once the submission is complete.

You can copy this type of URL from the Share -> Link to Media Page tab on an individual video page. 

Here's an example of the format:

https://12345.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/Test/1_234xyxy

Adobe Connect URLs:

If your file is hosted in Adobe Connect and its URL format is not supported by our List of URLs feature, you can export it by choosing the Make Available Offline option. You'll need access to the account where the session is hosted though, probably as administrator. If you can get the media file, or an audio file with the audio content, in one of the formats we accept, then you'll probably be able to make a submission via the web browser. If it's in a different format, or larger than 1-2 GB, then you can use a converter to change it into one we accept, or into a smaller file.

Panopto URLs:

Although Panopto URLs cannot be submitted for Captioning via our List of URLs feature, you can obtain a direct link to the video to use with the Smart Player. The direct link is available by right-clicking Download Podcast, under Settings -> Outputs -> Video Podcast, in the respective video entry in Panopto:

Here's an example of what the direct links look like:

https://ast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Podcast/Download/52de0083-f1a6-4050-a238-c724d4a1697a.mp4?mediaTargetType=videoPodcast

Additional Notes:

If you're having trouble finding a direct link to a media file that is located in a generic web page (for videos that are not on Dropbox, YouTube or Vimeo), try these tips:

1. Check the website where the video is located and look for a page with a list of videos with direct URLs to the files. Sometimes these pages are called "Playlist", "Vodcast", "Podcast" or "Video Downloads". Examples:

Page where the video is located:

a) http://www.andromedasite.net/news/stories/142708730.html
b) http://www.cyberjupiter.com/blog/team-creates-teleportation

Direct URL (which we use in our List of URLs and Smart Player features):

a) http://www.andromedasite.net/videos/astronomy_2017.mp4
b) http://d18434je6.cloudst.com/videos/team%20teleportation.mov

The original URLs are addresses that point to pages, while the direct addresses point to the media files themselves.

2. Right-click the video player embedded on the web page and see if there is a direct URL to the video. Usually, there will be an option saying Copy Link Location.

3. Check the source code of the web page and look for a URL to the video that ends in a media file extension, like .mp4 (this is the most common format for online videos).

4. If none of the tips above works for videos located on online platforms: if we're not integrated with that platform, or we are but you want to use the Smart Player feature, contact their Support Team and ask for a deep link or direct URL to the video.

If you're able to find a direct URL to the media file, paste it on your browser to see if it indeed points directly to the media file. In this case, you will be either prompted to download the file; or play it on a web page, which usually does not have any other elements but the video itself. Our List of URLs and Smart Player features should be able to work well with such a URL.