Online Video Dictionary - Glossary of Online Video Terms
This list of terms is powered by ReelSEO and VideoBloomCurious what an FLV is, or not sure what BitRate means? Well, that is why we've published this glossary and definition of terms that relate to online video, video advertising, and video marketing. We hope it helps a bit. Keep this bookmarked as we'll be adding to it as time goes on.
. .avi- (Audio Video Interleave)- A multimedia container file format developed by Microsoft to allow synchronous audio-with-video playback.
.flv- Flash video file format; used to deliver video over the Internet.
.mov- A video publishing file format developed by Apple for use with their QuickTime video players.
.wmv- (Windows Media Video)- An audio and video file encoded for use with Windows Media Player.
A Ad Overlays- A small, semi-transparent overlay across the screen (usually on the bottom, but can be anywhere) of an online video, similar to what you'll often see during TV shows. These ads usually show up 15 seconds into the videos they're on and last for 10 seconds.
Analog Camera- A camera that takes non-digital video. The term "analog" in video refers to a recording method that stores red, green and blue waves in a fixed number of rows; analog video is generally less crisp in detail than digital video. With modification, an analog camera can shoot digital video.
A-Roll- Camera footage that focuses on the main subject of the video. In productions with more than one camera, it refers to footage taken by the primary camera. In news, it refers to video that will become the main focus of the clip, such as that of a person being interviewed.
Asynchronous Video Delivery- Non-live video transmission. The delivery of a video file that has been previously recorded and stored.
Autoplay- The function of a video player that starts playing a video automatically without the user needing to click any buttons.
Average view time- refers to the average amount of time the video ad was played by users.
B Bandwidth- The amount of information that can be sent through a connection. Usually measured in bits-per-second. A fast modem can move about 57,000 bits in one second. Full-motion full-screen video would require roughly 10,000,000 bits-per-second, depending on compression.
Bit- The smallest unit of storage used in computing; a digit in the binary numeral system it can be 1 or 0.
Bit Rate- The average number of bits that one second of video or audio data will consume.
Boom Microphone- A microphone designed to go on the end of a boom pole (see Boom pole); often used when a videographer does not want a microphone in the shot, but still needs to amplify certain sounds, such as voices.
Boom Pole- A long pole, usually metal, designed to hold a microphone above or to the side of a scene to capture sound but remain out of the visual field.
Brand Awareness- Research studies can associate ad effectiveness to measure the impact of online advertising on key branding metrics.
Broadband video commercial- The IAB’s 2006 definition of a video ad as a commercial that may appear before, during, and or after a variety of content including streaming video, animation, gaming, and music video content in a player environment. These commercials are generally :15 and :30 video ads that run before , between, and after a video clip is shown. The 2008 IAB Digital Video Committee is renaming Broadband Video Commercials as “In-Stream Video” ads that are either “Linear” or “Non-linear” core video products.
B-Roll- Extra video taken to "color" a story, set an overall scene or add visual detail. In productions with more than one news camera, B-roll is taken by the secondary camera. In news, B-roll is edited in with A-roll to prevent visual boredom.
Buffering Video- A buffer is a temporary holding pen in a computer's memory for data for inputs (e.g., to software) or outputs (e.g., to a printer) until the process can deal with it. Video buffering occurs when a streaming video player saves portions of a streaming video file to local storage for playback.
Bug- An embedded graphic icon or logo used to brand a video program or player. Clicking on it will take the user to a website
Bumper Ad- Refers to a linear video ad with clickable call-to-action; format is usually shorter than full linear ads (i.e. 3-10 seconds) and call-to-action usually can load another video or can bring up a new site while pausing the content.
Byte- A collection of eight bits.
C Captions- Text that appears over a video that labels a scene, identifies a location or person, or narrates dialogue onscreen. Captions can be either open or closed. Open captioning is displayed anytime the video is played; closed captioning is not seen unless it is called up by the receiving equipment (ex. Subtitles that can be turned on for different languages).
CDN- see Content Deliverey Networks
Clickable Video- Online video that is completely interactive. Viewers can move there cursor over the various objects/people/places etc. in the video and click them to obtain more information or interact in some other way such as making purchase transactions straight from the video itself.
Click-through- The action of following a hyperlink within an advertisement or editorial Web site or another page or frame within the Web site content to another
Codec- (COmpressor/ DECompressor) - The technology used to compress an audio and/ or video file for storage or transmission and then decompress for playback.
Companion Ad- Both Linear and Non-linear Video ad products have the option of pairing their core video ad product with what is commonly referred to as companion ads. Commonly text, display ads, rich media, or skins that wrap around the video experience, can run alongside either or both the video or ad content. The primary purpose of the Companion Ad product is to offer sustained visibility of the sponsor throughout the video content experience. Companion Ads may offer click-through interactivity and rich media experiences such as expansion of the ad for further engagement opportunities.
Completes- Completes refer to whether the video played to completion.
Consumer Video Hosting- Online video hosting and sharing sites that allow their users to upload videos, usually free of charge, for viewing by private and public audiences.
Content Delivery Networks- Companies that deliver video streaming to users all over the world.
Contextual Ads- Existing contextual ad engines deliver text and image ads to non-video content pages. Ads are matched to keywords extracted from content. Advertisers can leverage existing keyword-based paid search campaigns and gain access to a larger audience. 3rd party publishers receive a share of the revenue collected from the advertisers.
Conversion- The operation of changing data from one format to another so the output will be displayed in an appropriate manner for the device. Specifically for video this means the changing a video file, which is present in a special codec, into another video codec (eg Divx to MPEG, MPEG2 to Xvid, etc.).
Core ad video- The essential video asset, often repurposed from offline. Can be displayed directly in the player, or in a more customized presentation.
CPA - (Cost Per Action)- A pricing model that allows marketers to be charged by their publishers only when an agreed upon action is taken by their potential customer such as a sale or registration. This model is also referred to as CPI or Cost Per Interaction.
CPC - (Cost Per Click)- A advertiser's estimation of how much it costs for each click on a given advertisement. This number is obtained by dividing the cost of an ad or marketing endeavor, by the number of clicks on that ad or endeavor generated.
CPM - (Cost Per Thousand Impressions)- A pricing model for online advertising based on impressions or views where the advertiser pays the publisher a predetermined rate for every thousand impressions.
Cue Point- User defined points in the playback of a video when an event is designated to occur. In online video you can use cue points to trigger custom, synchronized functionality, such as animations, synchronized ad units, or closed captions.
D Decoding- The decompression or 'un-packaging' of an encoded file for playback or use.
Digital Camera- A camera that does not take analog video; digital video cameras can capture truer color and more details than analog cameras. Digital cameras frequently use digital video tapes, internal hard drives or memory cards. Digital video is not always high-definition.
DivX- A codec based on MPEG-4 Part 2 developed by DivX, Inc. (not to be confused with DIVX
DIVX- An unrelated attempt at a new DVD rental system by Circuit City in the 1990's).
DRM- (Digital Rights Management) - The technology used to control user access to licensed technology.
E Embed- Adding an element from one document to another document; in online video this refers to taking video from a online video provider and transplanting it elsewhere on the web (websites, social networking sites, etc.) through the use of HTML code.
Encoding- The compression of a file through the use of a codec to make it easier and smaller to store and transmit.
Event trackers- Primarily used for click-through tracking today, but also for companion banner interactions and video session tracking (e.g. 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%)..
F File Size- The amount of storage space a file takes up. Measured in bytes, kilobytes (1000 bytes), megabytes (1000 kilobytes), gigabytes (1000 megabytes), terabytes (1000 gigabytes), etc.
Full screen views- Refers to the number of impressions where the video was played in full screen mode (where available)
G Green screen- A screen placed in a video studio images can be projected onto. Television meteorologists frequently present the weather in front of a green screen or blue screen, and producers place maps over the blue portions of video footage, creating the appearance of the meteorologist standing in front of a large map. If the person standing in front of the screen wears the same color clothing as the screen, the projected images will appear on the person's clothing.
H Hand-held Microphone- A microphone designed to be held in the hand.
HDV- A relatively inexpensive high-definition video recording format.
High Definition- (HD) - Technically, any video that is of higher resolution than standard definition.
Hit- a request for a single file from a web server. Hits are also referred to as a Web Request.
Hot Spot- An ad unit that is sold within the video content experience. Mouse action over the video highlights objects that can be clicked. The click action initiates a Linear video commercial or takes the user to a website.
HTTP Streaming- The default protocol for streaming audio and video over the internet. It involves the simultaneous download and viewing/listening of the file through HTTP. See also Progressive download.
Hyperlinked Video- A video in which specific objects are made selectable by some form of user interface, and the user's interactions with these objects modify the presentation of the video. See also clickable video.
I In-Banner Video Ads- Leverage the banner space to deliver a video experience as opposed to another static or rich media format. The format relies on the existence of display ad inventory on the page for its delivery.
In-Page Video Ads- Delivered most often as a standalone video ad and do not generally have other content associated with them. This format is typically home page or channel based and depends on real estate within the page dedicated for the video player.
In-Stream Video Ads- Played before, during or after the streaming video content that the consumer has requested. These ads cannot typically be stopped from being played (particularly with pre-roll). This format is frequently used to monetize the video content that the publisher is delivering. In-Stream ads can be played inside short or long form video and rely on video content for their delivery. There are four different types of video content where in-stream may play, UGC (User Generated Content/Video), Syndicated, Sourced and Journalistic.
Internet TV- Television distributed through the internet; users can select from a library of shows online and select the show they want.
Internet Video- See Online video.
In-Text Video Ads- Delivered from highlighted words and phrases within the text of web content. The ads are user activated and delivered only when a user chooses to move their mouse over a relevant word or phrase.
Invitation unit- A smallish still or animated graphic often overlays directly onto video content. Typically used as a less-intrusive initial call-to-action. Normally when a viewer clicks or interacts with the invitation graphic, they expand into the ad’s full expression, which might be a simple auto-play video or an interactive experience
IPTV- Generally refers to video programming offered by telecom companies over copper wire. Often misused to refer to PC-based video.
J Journalistic Video- Content that was shot and used by the actual publisher. MSNBC journalist shooting a video and using the video for their own purposes.
K Keyframe- A position on a video timeline when an event occurs.
L Lavaliere Microphone- Also called a "lapel" microphone; a small microphone that clips onto a person's clothing, generally placed within a foot or so of a person's mouth to amplify voice.
Light Kit- A set of lights and related equipment such as tents to focus the light. Light kits vary widely in components and price.
Light Stand- A stand, similar to a tripod, to mount lights.
Linear Video Ads- Experienced In-Stream, which is presented before, between, or after the video content is consumed by the user. One of the key characteristics of Linear video ads is the ad takes over the full view of the video.
M Metadata- Business-critical data such as advertiser name, eCPM goal, format and version information.
Mid-roll- A Linear video spot that appears in the middle of the video content.
MiniDV Tape- A small format digital video cassette.
Monetized Video- Online videos that generate revenue by themselves. This is usually accomplished by advertisements in and around the video content, but can also be accomplished by charging users to watch, download, or subscribe to the videos.
Monopod- A video camera stand that functions similarly to a tripod, but only has one leg.
MPEG-2- An older standard format for digital television signals set by the Moving Pictures Expert Group.
MPEG-4- A more recent standard format than MPEG-2, this format includes most MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 features and also contains support for external digital rights management and interaction.
Multi-title (video) Player- A video player that can play and display multiple videos, see playlist.
N Non-Linear Editing- An editing method that allows the editor to access any frame in a video clip with the same ease as any other. This is opposed to linear editing in which analogue video is physically cut and pasted. Non-Linear editing is with digital video and is therefore non destructive to the original video.
Non-linear Video Ads- A Non-linear Video ad product runs parallel to the video content so the user still has the option of viewing the content. Common Non-linear ad products include overlays which are shown directly over the content video itself, and product placements which are ads placed within the video content itself. Non-linear video ads can be delivered as text, graphical banners or buttons, or as video overlays.
O Online Video- Any form of digital video that is available for use over the internet.
Overlay ad- A banner ad that appears in the bottom 20% of the video window. Click action initiates a Linear video spot or takes the user to a website. Sold on a CPM and CPC basis.
P P2 card- A type of memory card for a video camera.
Page View- a request to load a single page of an Internet site. On the World Wide Web a page request would result from a web surfer clicking on a link on another HTML page pointing to the page in question. This should be contrasted with a hit, which refers to a request for a file from a web server. There may therefore be many hits per page view. Page Views are also called Page Impressions.
Player Controls- The buttons and other controls that operate the features and functions of a multimedia player.
Player Skin- The appearance or look and feel of a multimedia player. Advanced skins may be programmed to increase video player functionality, and may include ads.
Playlist- Online video content can be broken down by content verticals such as news, music, tv shows, movies, sports, UGC, casual games, automotive, travel, business, b to b, careers, communities, technology, education, directories, government, non-profit, family, health, real estate, personals, science, adult and gambling. There are hundreds of sub-content verticals under the aforementioned.
Pop-up- A web page that displays within a new web browser window. Pop-ups are often used on the internet for advertisements, but they can be used to display any sort of online content such as video.
Post-roll- A Linear video spot that appears after the video content completes.
PPC - (Pay Per Click)- Online advertising payment model in which payment is based on qualifying click-throughs. The content publishers get paid a set rate for every click on the advertisers material.
Pre-Roll- To start a tape spinning up to speed before beginning playback or capture to ensure that the operation is synchronized properly.
Pre-roll- A Linear video spot that appears before the video content plays
Professional Video Hosting- These websites provide online video hosting and sharing for viewing by private and public audiences, similar to consumer video hosting, but at a cost. Accordingly, the video content is of higher quality and the users are given greater control of their videos.
Progressive Download- A technique for downloading Internet video and/or audio clips so that they can be viewed at the same time that they are being transferred to your computer. This provides some of the benefits of streaming media without requiring a special streaming server. See Pseudo Streaming and HTTP Streaming.
Promotional Video- Video content that is designed to promote a company, brand, product, etc. These videos do not generate direct revenue by themselves, but when distributed can increase interest in the promotional object and indirectly boost revenue.
Pseudo Streaming- See Progressive Download and HTTP Streaming.
Pure Streaming- The delivery of media content over the internet without needing to first download the media. The media content is delivered directly to the user through a dedicated streaming server. See Streaming Media.
Q Quartile reporting- Refers to whether the video played to its 25% and 75% points.
R Replays- Refers to the number of times a user requested to see the video ad again (where available)
Rich media- Advertisements with which users can interact (as opposed to solely animation) in a web-page format. They may appear in ad formats such as banners and buttons, as well as transitionals (interstitials) and various over-the-page units such as fl oating ads, page take-overs, and tear backs.
RSS- Most recently defined as Really Simple Syndication; it refers to the formats used for the syndication of audio, video, and text content through the web.
Rule of Thirds- This rule involves envisioning a tic-tac-toe board on top of a video shot, so the image is divided into nine squares. The videographer should choose one of the four points of line intersection as a focal point. According to Digital Photography School, "The theory is that if you place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines that your photo becomes more balanced and will enable a viewer of the image to interact with it more naturally."
S Sampling Rate- The sample rate is the number of samples per second used to store a sound; measured in hertz, Hz, or kilohertz, kHz.
Shotgun Microphone- A microphone that looks in shape somewhat similar to a gun. It only amplifies sound that the microphone directly points toward.
Single-title (video) Player- A video player that can only play and display one video.
Skin Ads- Advertisements that appear in a video player skin, i.e. the graphics surrounding where a video plays.
Soft Box- A box that fits around a light that diffuses the light so it appears "soft".
Sourced Video- Content generated by a third party (typically professional) and will denote the source. An example may be a new car review provided by General Motors but hosted on CarTV.com.
Sponsorship Graphics- Components that are displayed as very persistent graphics such as with a player surrounding skin. Sponsorship graphics are generally displayed throughout the entirety of the content play. Sometimes the sponsorship graphic remains interactive and will behave like an invitation unit allowing viewers to explore deeper ad units such as the embedded interactive.
Standard Definition (SD)- For years, this was the common video quality for broadcast television; most television is moving to higher-definition quality video.
Streaming Media- Internet video and/or audio clips that can play directly over the Internet, without needing to be downloaded first onto a computer. Used to view and hear broadcasts, and to interactively play and seek in stored clips. See also Pure Streaming.
Switcher- a device that allows a video producer to switch between multiple cameras to create a more visually interesting video and reduce editing time if the video is not live. Switching is used in most live television broadcasts.
Syndicated Video- Content sourced from a professional third party, examples may include syndicated television shows, news footage from AP or Reuters, etc.
T Teleprompter- A screen placed in front of a person from which that person can read text while looking directly into the camera. The trademarked name is TelePrompTer.
Three Charge-Coupled Devices- Camera technology that allows the camera to record red, green and blue light on three separate signals for better video quality.
Tickers- A ticker or crawler is a small screen space dedicated to presenting headlines, promotions and other vital pieces of information.
Timecode- An exact time used to identify a specific frame in a clip or production. Measured in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames.
Transcoding- See Conversion
Tripod- A three-legged stand for a camera to prevent unwanted movement.
U User-Generated Video (UGV)- Content created by the public at large and directly loaded to a site like YouTube or MySpace
V Video Ad- An ad in which the advertising message is delivered through video.
Video ad experience- A term used to describe where the source of the video advertising experience is coming from. This document describes three video ad experiences; In-Stream In-Banner, and In-Text.
Video API- Video Application Program Interface- An API is an interface for letting a program communicate with another program. For example VideoBloom offers a video API that allows businesses to video enable their websites.
Video Assets- The video content of a company, corporation or individual that can be utilized to create or maintain some sort of financial benefit.
Video Bookmarking Services- These services allow users to manage bookmarks to multiple videos across the internet.
Video Compression- The process through which a video file is reduced in size for storing and streaming on the Web.
Video Ecommerce- Using a video as the means for creating an electronic monetary transaction. This can occur through the use of links in/on the video or the video player that take the user to a transaction website or that start the transaction process directly from the player.
Video Format- The file type of a video. Different video formats are used by different programs and/or operating systems. A few of the most popular formats for digital video are .avi (Microsoft), .mov (Quicktime), .wmv (Windows), and .flv (Flash)
Video Montage- A video created from photos through the use of transitions, and voiceovers. This is similar to a photo slideshow but is different in that a video montage is more sophisticated.
Video on Demand (VOD)- Usually refers to services offered by cable companies through set-top boxes.
Video Player- media player used for the playback of digital videos from media including optical discs (DVD, VCD), and computer files
Video Publishing and Management Platform- A complex software system used to create, edit, host, play, manage, organize, publish, stream and distribute online video according to consistent rules. Video publishing and management platforms are frequently used for storing, controlling, versioning, publishing and distributing video assets of all types. The digital video content managed may include videos, pictures, ads, metadata and other Web content.
A video publishing and management platform may support the following features:
- identification of all key users and their video management roles;
- the ability to assign roles and responsibilities to different video content categories or types;
- the ability to track, email, embed, edit, resize, stream and distribute multiple videos;
- the ability to publish video content in various formats and video players
- the ability to add advertising overlays, various types of Web content and track statistics of video usage
- Services that seek to index video content from multiple sources and allow users to search across all content.
Video SEO- (Video Search Engine Optimization) - The process of maximizing the indexability and ranking of a video within search engines.
Video Size- The amount of hard drive storage space a video file takes up. Measured in bytes, kilobytes (1000 bytes), megabytes (1000 kilobytes), gigabytes (1000 megabytes), terabytes (1000 gigabytes), etc.
Video Takeover- When video content replaces a previous medium for conveying information. For example when a video interview replaces a written interview. This is a rapidly growing trend on the internet.
Viral Videos- Video content which has become popular through online sharing via email, forums, blogs and other web sites.
Visits- A series of requests to a Web site from the same uniquely identified visitors with a set timeout. A visit is expected to contain multiple hits and page views.
Vlog - (Videeo BLog)- A video enabled blog; users can post video entries which are presented in reverse chronological order. A typical vlog entry combines an embedded video or video link, along with supporting text and images.
VOD- Video on demand- permits a customer to browse an online catalogue, to watch trailers and to then select a selected recording for playback
W Web TV- see IPTV
Web Video- See Online Video
Webcast- A non-interactive, live broadcast over the web. An online distribution of audio and/or video to multiple viewers or listeners at the same time.
Widget- A standardized on-screen representation of a control that may be manipulated by the user. Scroll bars, buttons, and text boxes are all examples of widgets.
Z Zoom (optical, digital)- Optical zoom relies on the camera's lens to bring the subject closer in the recorded video. Digital zoom does not use the lens, but rather enlarges a portion of the image digitally. While digital zoom can be more powerful than most optical zoom features, digital zoom may cause grainy images.
