Background
AVA is a product creative application built by Netflix for creating instream stills, which can then be used to promote the title on (on potentially off) the Netflix streaming service.
Media Center is a public-facing site for Netflix press releases and also another Netflix application. As such, it also serves as a media platform for limited early content access for marketing and public relations purposes. Media Center is connected on the backend in way that allows the Netflix Publicity team to assign advanced screeners to journalists or talents on the Preview Content row on Netflix Service. Depending on the Publicity deadline, the team cannot wait until the IMF (which is delivered into Backlot) passes QC and leverage the IMF for the screeners. In these scenarios, Publicity ensures external showrunners are comfortable with sharing a non-final version of screeners and Post works with production to deliver “pre-final” materials into Content Hub in order to kickoff the releasing to the Publicity domain in Content Hub, which then triggers a workflow automation that makes that media then available in Media Center.
Media assets that get released and eventually sent to both AVA and Media Center require the same technical specifications, which is why they are grouped in this article.
Once the cut or pre-final asset is ready, your Netflix point of contact, likely the Studio Post Production Management lead will be responsible for releasing the asset downstream (either the Publicity domain for Media Center or the Product Creative domain for AVA).
Technical Specifications for the Cut or Pre-final Asset
When preparing your media file, these specifications need to be adhered to or the release will fail and you will need to re-deliver.
- Feature applies to assets that are ProRes 422 HQ.
- Container: MOV
- Dynamic Range: SDR
-
Supported resolutions:
- Maximum 4096x2160
-
Minimum 1920x1080
- Resolutions in between must be divisible by 4 in both horizontal and vertical pixel count
-
Audio
- Codec: PCM
-
Sample Rate: 48 kHz
- Audio Track & Channel Layout Options (*audio channels must be properly tagged within the MOV container):
Single Track (Mixdown of all channels into a single track if necessary)
| Tracks: | Track 1 |
| Channels: | Stereo: L, R |
| Channels: | Stereo (Matrixed): L, R |
| Channels: | Interleaved 5.1 + Stereo (Matrixed) : L, R, C, LFE, LS, RS, LT, RT |
2-Track (Mixdown of all channels into two tracks if necessary)
| Tracks: | Track 1 | Track 2 |
| Channels: | Discrete Stereo: L | Discrete Stereo: R |
| Channels: | Discrete Stereo (Matrixed): LT | Discrete Stereo (Matrixed): RT |
| Channels: | Interleaved 5.1 + Stereo Matrix Interleaved: L, R, C, LFE, LS, RS | LT, RT |
3-Track (Mixdown channels as necessary)
| Tracks: | Track 1 | Track 2 | Track 3 |
| Channels: | Discrete Stereo (Matrixed) + Interleaved 5.1 : L, R, C, LFE, LS, RS | LT | RT |
7-Track (Discrete 5.1 + Interleaved Stereo Matrixed)
| Tracks: | Track 1 | Track 2 | Track 3 | Track 4 | Track 5 | Track 6 | Track 7 |
| Channels: | L | R | C | LFE | LS | RS | LT, RT |
8-Track (Discrete 5.1 + Interleaved Stereo Matrixed)
| Tracks: | Track 1 | Track 2 | Track 3 | Track 4 | Track 5 | Track 6 | Track 7 | Track 8 |
| Channels: | L | R | C | LFE | LS | RS | LT | RT |
Delivering the Cut or Pre-Final Asset
For specific instruction how to deliver a cut to Netflix, you can:
- Check out this help article: Content Hub - Delivering a Cut to Netflix
- Or take this short, self-guided course: Content Hub - Delivering Cuts to Netflix
For specific instruction how to deliver another pre-final media asset via the Delivery to Netflix page, you can:
- Check out this section with several Delivery to Netflix help articles: Delivery to Netflix
- Or take this short, self-guided course: Content Hub - Delivering Archival Assets To Netflix