Content Model & Playback Basics

The content object

A Videograph content object represents an on-demand video you upload or reference by URL. It anchors ingestion, processing, and playback. Creation happens through the contents API, where you provide a title, playback policy, and at least one source URL.

When you create a content object, the API returns a unique contentId along with lifecycle status fields. These update as processing progresses and eventually include a playback identifier.

{
  "content": [
    {
      "url": "https://d19nx8bm4jzw4h.cloudfront.net/Tears-of-steel.mp4"
    }
  ],
  "playback_policy": ["public"],
  "title": "Demo Video"
}

{
  "contentId": "cnt_123",
  "title": "Demo Video",
  "playbackPolicy": ["public"],
  "status": "Pending"
}

Lifecycle: upload through ready

After creation, Videograph retrieves the source file and prepares adaptive streaming outputs. The high-level lifecycle is consistent with the external "Add & Stream Video content" guide.

Stages typically include:

• Upload or URL fetch: Videograph obtains the source file.

• Processing: Transcoding and packaging for adaptive streaming.

• Ready: Playback information becomes available.

A simplified flow:

[Uploaded or URL provided] --> [Ingest] --> [Process] --> [Ready]

Once created, you can poll GET /video/services/api/v1/contents/{CONTENT_ID} to observe changes to the status and, once ready, receive the playback identifier.

Status fields

The contents API exposes straightforward status values so you can track readiness.

Common values:

• Pending: Content was created and is queued for ingest.

• Processing: Videograph is transcoding and packaging the video.

• Ready: Streaming outputs are complete and a playback identifier can be used in a player.

Playback identifiers and URLs

When processing completes, the API returns a playback identifier associated with the content. This value is used to derive the HLS playback URL that Videograph players and any HLS-capable client can request.

Key points:

• A playback ID uniquely identifies the streaming output for a content object.

• The playback URL is an HLS manifest that points to adaptive renditions.

• Compatible players are documented under Playing Videos (Web & App Integration).

What the playback URL represents

The playback URL resolves to an HLS master playlist. Players use this manifest to select renditions dynamically based on network conditions.

Sample representation

https://cdn.videograph.ai/hls/{playback_id}/master.m3u8

The value playback_id is returned only after the content reaches the Ready state.

Next steps

• To upload your first asset, see Uploading Videos (Dashboard & API).

• To monitor processing and lifecycle states, see Monitoring Processing & Content Status.

• To embed and play your processed video, see Playing Videos (Web & App Integration).