File formats and encoding

Accepted file delivery formats and options

We require the following format options for high quality uploads to Google. If you have any questions on file formats your PPH will be able to help you.

Files should be free of artifacts, including but not limited to:

  • Aliasing
  • Blocking
  • Unnecessary black frames
  • Visible Timecode (VITC)
  • CEA-608 caption data (Example: Line 21)
  • Interlacing
  • Blended frames
  • Duplicate frames
For now, please don't send files containing symbols for various triggers, such as bright lights, loud noises and emotional distress on-screen. 

4K HDR/SDR Format Options

Delivering 4K content

Resolutions 3840x2160 (16:9 content or 16:9 with letterboxing per matting guidelines below)
Pixel aspect ratio Pixel Aspect Ratio of 1:1 (square pixels)
Frame rates 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 47.95, 48, 50, 59.94, 60

Original frame rate only. Content containing duplicate or telecined frames will be rejected. Mixed content will be considered on a case-by-case basis – please contact your partner operations contact.

Matting 16:9 frame size delivered with letterboxing will be accepted. If content contains pillarboxing (black on left and right), windowboxing (black on all sides), or is 4:3 or 1.43:1 LTBX, the content should be cropped to active pixel area only.

The process of delivering 4K content is slightly different compared to HD and SD deliveries. This section will guide you through this process.

An SDR asset is expected for every 4K delivery if:

  • If the content does not have an HDR master, then the SDR is acceptable as single deliverable.
  • If the content does have an HDR master, the SDR asset is still required as part of that package.

True 4K content is preferred, however Google will accept up-res content from 2K. 

IMPORTANT: All UHD content should be delivered to Google no less than 2 weeks before avail start date to ensure proper time for processing, reviews and publishing.

PPHs: If multiple experiences are being referenced (one for each region), please deliver both UHD and HD sources. If a territory only has HD / SD offers, please reference the HD source and omit UHD SDR / HDR / Dolby Vision from that territory's presentation. This is in order to save the transcoding pipeline.

Only if a territory has UHD offers should a UHD source be used (including HDR / Dolby Vision / HDR10+).

If a single global experience is used this is not an issue since there is only one transcode.

UHD SDR Profile

Video Profile

Attribute Specification
Codec Apple ProRes 422 HQ
Containers QuickTime (.mov)
Bit depth 10 bit
Color primaries BT.709 / BT.1886
Transfer characteristics BT.709 / BT.1886
Matrix coefficients BT.709 / BT.1886
Scan Type Progressive

Audio Profile

Attribute Specification
Codec PCM, 16 or 24 bit, at least 48kHz
Option 1 (5.1 + Stereo) – Preferred

Track 1: L R C LFE Ls Rs
Track 2: Lt Rt

Option 2 (5.1 + Stereo)

Track 1: L
Track 2: R
Track 3: C
Track 4: LFE
Track 5: Ls
Track 6: Rs
Track 7: Lt
Track 8: Rt

Option 3 (5.1 + Stereo)

Track 1: L
Track 2: R
Track 3: C
Track 4: LFE
Track 5: Ls
Track 6: Rs
Track 7: Lt Rt

 

Option 4 (5.1 + Stereo)

Track 1: L R C LFE Ls Rs
Track 2: Lt
Track 3: Rt

Option 5 (Stereo Only) Track 1: Lt
Track 2: Rt
Option 6 (Stereo Only) Track 1: Lt Rt

 

Note on audio channel assignments for Audio Profile - 4K SDR

Channel assignments must be set in the file metadata. Channel assignments in ProRes .mov files can easily be set after export/transcode using QuickTime 7 Pro. "Mono" is not an acceptable channel assignment. For content that is truly 2-channel mono, please assign channels as "Left" and "Right". Channels that are not assigned correctly may result in delays in publishing or in your asset being rejected. Assignments of "Left" (L) and "Right" (R) can be used instead of "Left Total" (LT) and "Right Total" (RT) in stereo tracks.

UHD HDR Profile

Content Upload

HDR Video Master should not contain any audio tracks.

Google Play Movies & TV requires that any 4K HDR content provided is delivered with a 4K SDR version accompanying. HDR and SDR versions should be the identical cut/edit, frame rate and duration with 100% frame accuracy, so that ancillary assets such as closed captions and audio will sync with both. Audio from SDR Master will be used with both SDR and HDR video. 4K content that is not mastered as HDR can be delivered as a single SDR deliverable. HDR Trailers are not supported at this time.

It is Google’s Preference to receive content that is truly 4K, however content that has been up-res’d from a 2K DI will also be accepted.

Video Profile

Attribute Specification
Codec Apple ProRes 4444 XQ or ProRes 4444 **ProRes 422 HQ accepted if studio cannot provide 444 master
Containers QuickTime (.mov)
Bit depth 10 bit or 12 bit (If HDR master is also Dolby Vision base layer, bit depth should be 12 bit)
Color primaries BT.2020
Transfer characteristics PQ / SMPTE2084
Matrix coefficients BT.2020 non-constant
Scan type Progressive
Notes *Officially licensed Apple ProRes encoder must be used.
**Edit lists are not allowed as they cause the file to not transcode correctly and/or loss of A/V sync.

Additional Video Metadata - UHD HDR

SMPTE ST 2086 Mastering Display Color Volume Metadata (Content-Specific)

Excerpt from High-Dynamic-Range-HDR.pdf:

SMPTE ST2086 “Mastering Display Color Volume Metadata supporting High Luminance and
Wide Color Gamut Images” will be used to describe the capabilities of the display used to master
the content, which includes the CIE (x,y) chromaticity coordinates of the RGB Primaries and
White Point of the mastering display, in addition to the minimum and maximum luminance of the
mastering display. If traditional mastering practices are followed during content creation, the
range of colors and luminance values encoded in the mastered video signal will be limited to the
range of colors and luminance values that can be shown on the mastering display. ST2086 may
be included in the encoded stream for both SDR and HDR contents.

SMPTE ST2086 should be embedded in the MDCV atom of the MOV container.

"max-cll" and "max-fall"

Also to be included in metadata are "max-cll" and "max-fall" which correspond to the maximum content light level and maximum frame average light level in cd/m^2 (nits) in the video. If Max-CLL / Max-FALL are not calculated, please provide a value of "0" signifying unknown.  Max CLL and Max FALL values should be integers only.

UHD Dolby Vision Format Options

Dolby Vision profile

Dolby Vision Metadata should be provided as a sidecar XML file that references a UHD HDR base video

Dolby Vision Metadata can utilize its own master or the HDR base layer depending on studio intent.

Video profile

Dolby Vision Video Master should not contain any audio tracks.

Attribute

Specification

Codec

Apple ProRes 4444 XQ

Containers

QuickTime (.mov)

Bit Depth

12 bit

Color primaries

BT.2020

Transfer characteristics

PQ / SMPTE2084

Matrix coefficients

BT.2020 non-constant

Scan Type

Progressive 

Delivering HD and SD content

HD Common Parameters (apply to all 3 format options below)

Resolutions 1920x1080 (16:9 content or 16:9 with letterboxing per matting guidelines below)
1440x1080 (4:3 content only)
1280x720 (16:9 content or 16:9 with letterboxing per matting guidelines below)
960x720 (4:3)
Pixel Aspect Ratio Pixel Aspect Ratio of 1:1 (square pixels)
Frame Rates 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97, 30

Original frame rate only. Content containing duplicate or telecined frames will be rejected. Mixed content will be considered on a case-by-case basis -- please contact your partner operations contact.

Matting 16:9 frame size delivered with letterboxing will be accepted. If content contains pillarboxing (black on left and right), windowboxing (black on all sides), or is 4:3 LTBX, the content should be cropped to active pixel area only.

SD Common Parameters (apply to all 3 format options below)

Resolutions 4x3 - 720x480, 720x576, 768x576 (square pixels), 640x480 (square pixels)

16x9 - 720x480 (NTSC 16x9 with anamorphic flag set), 720x576 (PAL 16x9 with anamorphic flag set), 1024x576 (square pixels), 854x480 (square pixels)

*720x404 will be accepted but may result in lower quality outputs

Content should be delivered in its Original Aspect Ratio.
Pixel Aspect Ratio Aspect Ratio flag and/or "pasp" atom (for .mov files) must be set to correct aspect ratio (4:3, 16:9 or 1:1 for square pixels)
Frame Rates 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97, 30

Original frame rate only. Content containing duplicate or telecined frames will be rejected. Mixed content will be considered on a case-by-case basis -- please contact your partner operations contact.

Matting 16:9 frame size delivered with letterboxing will be accepted. If content contains pillarboxing (black on left and right), windowboxing (black on all sides), or is 4:3 LTBX, then content should be cropped to active pixel area only.

HD/SD Format Options

Option 1 - ProRes 422 HQ

Video Profile

Attribute Specification
Codec Apple ProRes 422 HQ
Color Space HD - ITU-R BT.709
SD - ITU-R BT.601
Bitrate HD - Variable Bitrate, expected ~110 Mbps
SD - Variable Bitrate, expected ~40-60 Mbps
Scan Type 23.976, 24, 25 - Progressive
29.97 - Interlaced or Progressive
Notes Edit lists are not allowed as these cause the file not to transcode correctly and/or loss of A/V sync.

Audio Profile

Attribute Specification
Codec PCM, 16 or 24 bit, at least 48kHz
Audio Depth 16 bit or 24 bit
Option 1 (5.1 + Stereo) – Preferred

Track 1: L R C LFE Ls Rs
Track 2: Lt Rt

Option 2 (5.1 + Stereo)

Track 1: L
Track 2: R
Track 3: C
Track 4: LFE
Track 5: Ls
Track 6: Rs
Track 7: Lt
Track 8: Rt

Option 3 (5.1 + Stereo)

Track 1: L
Track 2: R
Track 3: C
Track 4: LFE
Track 5: Ls
Track 6: Rs
Track 7: Lt Rt

 

Option 4 (5.1 + Stereo)

Track 1: L R C LFE Ls Rs
Track 2: Lt
Track 3: Rt

Option 5 (Stereo Only) Track 1: Lt
Track 2: Rt
Option 6 (Stereo Only) Track 1: Lt Rt

Note on audio channel assignments

Channel assignments must be set in the file metadata. Channel assignments in ProRes .mov files can easily be set after export/transcode using QuickTime 7 Pro. "Mono" is not an acceptable channel assignment. For content that is truly 2-channel mono, please assign channels as "Left" and "Right." Channels that are not assigned correctly may result in delays in publishing or in your asset being rejected. Assignments of "Left" (L) and "Right" (R) can be used instead of "Left Total" (LT) and "Right Total" (RT) in stereo tracks.
Option 2 - H.264 Codec

Video Profile

Attribute Specification
Containers .mp4
.mov
Codec H.264
Profile Hi422P
Bitrate SD (fewer than 720 lines) - 15 Mbps
720 lines - 50 Mbps
1080 lines - 60 Mbps
Scan type Progressive
  • Original frame rate content should be deinterlaced.
  • Telecined content should be inverse telecined to original frame rate.

Note: Content with blended frames or interlacing artifacts will be rejected.

GOP Structure IBBP (M=3, GOP Length not to exceed ½ of frame rate)
Color Space 4:2:2 (preferred)
If 4:2:2 color space is not available, please use 4:2:0
Notes Edit lists are not allowed as these cause loss of A/V sync.

moov atom must be present and at the front of the file.

Audio Profile

Attribute Specification
Audio Codec PCM (preferred)
AAC-LC
Audio Depth 16 bit or 24 bit
Audio Bitrate Minimum of 192 Kbps for Stereo
Minimum of 384 Kbps for 5.1
Audio Sample Rate 48kHz
Audio Configuration PCM
Stereo
  • Stream 1 (Lt/Rt)
Stereo + 5.1
  • Stream 1 (Lt/Rt)
  • Stream 2 (L/R/C/LFE/Ls/Rs)
 
AAC-LC
Stereo
  • Stream 1 (Lt/Rt)
Stereo + 5.1
  • Stream 1 (Lt/Rt)
  • Stream 2 (C/L/R/Ls/Rs/LFE)
Option 3 - MPEG-2 Transport Stream

Video Profile

Attribute Specification
Containers MPEG-2 Transport Stream (.mpg, .mpeg, .ts)
Codec MPEG-2
Profile SD: 422P@ML
HD: 422P@HL
Bitrate SD (fewer than 720 lines): 50Mbps
HD (720 lines or higher): 80Mbps
Scan type Progressive
  • Original frame rate content should be deinterlaced.
  • Telecined content should be inverse telecined to original frame rate.

Note: Content with blended frames or interlacing artifacts will be rejected.

GOP Structure IBBP (M=3, GOP Length not to exceed ½ of frame rate)
Color Space 4:2:2 (preferred)
If 4:2:2 color space is not available, please use 4:2:0.

Audio Profile

Attribute Specification
Audio Codec s302m
MP2
MPEG-1 Layer 2
Audio Depth 16 bit or 24 bit
Audio Bitrate Minimum of 192 Kbps for Stereo
Minimum of 384 Kbps for 5.1
Audio Sample Rate 48kHz
Audio Configuration s302m
Stereo:
  • Stream 1 (Lt/Rt)
5.1 + Stereo:
  • Stream 1 (L/R/C/LFE/Ls/Rs/Lt/Rt)
 
MP2 and MPEG-1 Layer 2 (Stereo Only)
Stereo:
  • Stream 1 (Lt/Rt)

Aspect Ratio Examples

 

Files should be delivered at the original aspect ratio, not squeezed or stretched.

  • 16x9 letterboxing or 16x9 pillarboxing will be accepted. However, letterboxing and pillarboxing in the same file (Example: windowboxing), or letterboxing on 4x3 content, won't be accepted.
    • Windowboxing and 4x3 letterboxing should be cropped to active pixels.
    • 16x9 pillarboxed content should contain no Full Frame logos, as it won't be cropped correctly by our system.
  • Letterboxing should be free of bugs, logos, text, and other elements.
  • Incomplete scan lines and blurry edges from tape or film should be cropped to allow for smooth borders.
  • Masters should be delivered at the original frame rate in which they were produced. Don't modify the frame rate away from the original-in frame rate unless you've discussed it with your Partner Operations contact in advance.

The following images are not to scale, green borders represent cropped pixels.

Acceptable and will pass:

Aspect format Example
16x9 Full Frame
16x9 Letterboxed (Uncropped)
16x9 Letterboxed (Cropped)
16x9 Pillarboxed
4x3 cropped for HD / 4x3 Full Frame for SD

 

 

Unacceptable and will fail:

Aspect format Example
16x9 Windowbox
4x3 Letterbox
4x3 Windowbox                              

Captions

When you need them and how to format them for delivery

A subtitle or closed caption file contains both the text of what is said in the video and time codes for when each line of text should be displayed. Some files also include position and style information, which is especially useful for deaf or hard of hearing viewers. Any US content broadcast on television after September 30, 2012, must have closed captions per FCC Regulation.

Even when these are not required, we recommend providing captions as a best practice whenever they are available, as this provides a better, more accessible experience for our users.

How to format your captions

Scenarist Closed Caption (.scc file extension) files are our preferred file format. These files have an exact representation of CEA-608 data, which is the preferred format whenever captions are based on CEA-608 features.

As recommended by SMPTE RP 2052-10:2012, we also support the SMPTE-TT format. Refer to the appropriate techniques described in paragraph 5.10 of the SMPTE RP 2052-10:2012 document to "tunnel" CEA-608 data, or to use only "pop-on" captions. iTunes Timed Text (.itt) format, a subset of TTML, is also supported. Using arbitrary TTML against RP 2052-10:2012 guidelines is discouraged, and can prevent your captions from displaying properly. Image-based TTMLs are not accepted.

Japanese subtitles can be delivered in Lambda CAP.

Burned-in captions will only be accepted in certain circumstances, and should be discussed in advance with your Partner Operations contact. If subtitles or closed captions must be burned into the video master, burned-in captions should be visible at all times and shouldn't extend outside the active picture area. Furthermore, burned-in subtitles must not obstruct or otherwise conflict with separately delivered subtitle files.

Captions must be in sync with content and at the same frame rate as the video source. They must contain only legal characters per EIA-608 character set, and should be accurate and free of typos.

For the best customer experience, Timed Text should generally be 2 lines of text, as it is harder for customers to read if the text moves too fast, is too long, or begins stacking (covering more of the video).

It’s acceptable if there are a few instances where 3 lines of text are visible in the video, but if there are instances where 4 or more lines are visible our QC Team may ask you to redeliver.

 If 3 or more lines of text are constantly visible throughout the video, our QC Team may ask you to redeliver.

Forced subtitles and narratives

Google Play requests that forced subtitles should be delivered for the scenarios outlined, but not limited to, below. In both scenarios, forced subtitles should be provided:

  • Any instance when the dialogue shifts to a language that is different from the primary audio language of the feature.
  • When onscreen text is not in the same language as the primary audio of the asset and important to understanding the plot of the asset.

If the content is being made available with its original audio language and will contain translated subtitles delivered as a separate file, forced elements do not need to be burnt into the video as long as the forced elements are also included in that subtitle transcript.

Original audio language Made available in Type of localization order Are there any forced subtitles? Should forced narrative be burned in?
English Italy Subtitles Yes No - Forced elements will be in the subtitle track and the CSV should contain “yt:cc=on”.
English Italy Subtitles No N/A (Separate subtitle file is fine)
English Italy Italian dub Yes Yes
English Italy Italian dub No N/A

 

 

 


 

 

 

Learn more about Google Play and YouTube supported caption formats here.

 

For non-English-language titles in English territories, please set captions/subtitles on by default. To do so, add the tag "yt:cc=on" to Keywords for the video in the delivery XML.

Example: <keyword>yt:cc=on</keyword>

Bonus content

We're currently not accepting extras and bonus material and there are no imminent plans to add this feature.
 
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