Steamworks Documentation
Video Management

Overview

Once Steam has received the upload of your video file, it is run through the video processing system to prepare it for playback. Once processed, the Video Management tab will allow you to preview the video and configure language settings and subtitles as necessary. The documentation below highlights the functionality of the Video Management page.

Video Management Tab

To manage your video, navigate to the landing page for the video and click Manage Video & Steamworks Settings, then click the Video Management tab.

Depending upon the processed state of the video file you will see one of the following:
  • The featured video file has not been processed.
  • The video has been processed and is currently uploading into the Steam servers. You will be able to manage it once the upload is complete.
  • An indication the file has been processed and is available to manage, for example:

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Preview Processed Video

To preview the processed video, click the Preview Video button. A pop-up window will open and the video should begin to play.

For full functionality that matches the Steam Client playback, please use the most recent version of Google Chrome.

Replacing a Video

There may be cases where a new version of a video needs to be uploaded, for example, replacing an incorrect file or updating a tutorial chapter.

Start by uploading the new video, and once processed, select the new video version from the preview video drop down and click the Set As Live button.

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Enter a reason for the switch and the new video will become the video live for customers.

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Subtitle and Caption Management

Upload Subtitle Files

Once a video file has been processed, you will be able to upload any associated subtitle or caption files through the Video Management tab.

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For each subtitle file that should be attached to the video:
  1. Click Choose File or Drag-n-Drop a WebVTT (*.vtt) file into the Upload File input field.
  2. Set the language of the subtitle file.
  3. Set the type from subtitle, closed caption or forced narrative.
  4. Click Upload.
  5. The file will be uploaded and the page will refresh the list of subtitle files attached to the video. You can then use the Preview Video button to select and review the subtitles uploaded.

Notes:
  • You cannot upload a file with the same language and type as an existing track. You will first need to delete the track. This is to protect you from accidentally overwriting a subtitle incorrectly.
  • Forced Narrative should be used in place of burned in subtitles along with textless video tracks. The forced narrative will automatically display for a user when an audio track in the users language is selected.
  • Deprecated: A subtitle file defined as None can only have the role of Subtitle. (Please use Forced Narrative moving forward)

Manage Subtitle Files

This section allows you to review each subtitle file that is attached to the processed video.

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Notes:
  • The Track ID can be used when communicating with Steam about issues with your subtitle or caption tracks. It is an internal ID only.
  • Click the Delete X icon to remove an existing subtitle or caption track.

Subtitles vs. Captions

It is important to understand the difference between a subtitle and a caption file when preparing your content for Steam. Please visit http://screenfont.ca/learn/ for a detailed explanation of the differences.

Video Track Management

Use this section to configure the various video tracks that are associated with the featured video. This will include the source video and could include language dubs, alternate angles, or other aspect ratios.

Changes are immediately made on the video when Save Track Changes is clicked.

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Original Language Track

Steam uses the language of the video track to automatically enable the correct video track for an end-user when appropriate. To ensure this functionality works correctly, configure one of the video tracks with the correct Language and the track role of Original.

Language Dub Tracks

Steam will also look for video tracks specified as a Language Dub in auto-selecting an appropriate video track for a user. If the featured video has a video track in a different language than the Original video, set the correct Language and the track role to Language Dub.

Aspect Ratio Tracks

If the featured video has video tracks that are different aspect ratios (2.35:1 vs. Pan-and-Scan), the video track can be marked as Aspect. Enter the Aspect Ratio, e.g. 2.35:1, and it will appear in the player as "2.35:1 Aspect Ratio".

Alternate Tracks

If the featured video has other video tracks that don't fall into one of the above categories, the video tracks can be marked as Alternate. The description will be displayed by default as Language (Alternate) or a description can be explicitly set in the text box.

Purchase Only

If a video track should only be available to customers who purchase the video (instead of rent), then you can mark the track as purchase only using the checkbox. Tracks do not need to be marked purchase only when a video has no rental option.

Guess Language Dub

When clicked, an attempt to determine which language a video track is will be made. The guess is made based on the filename for the video track. For example, to detect German, include _DE_ somewhere in the filename. The two-letter country codes or where appropriate four-letter country-languages codes (e.g. _PT-BR_) will be used. When a language is detected, the track role will be set to Language Dub automatically. You may need to correct the original track type at that time.

Audio Track Management

Use this section to configure the various audio tracks that are associated with the featured video. This could include the original audio, language dubs, commentary tracks, or other alternate and supplementary tracks.

Changes are immediately made on the video when Save Track Changes is clicked.

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Original Language Track

Steam uses the language of the audio track to automatically enable the correct audio and subtitle track for an end-user when appropriate. To ensure this functionality works correctly, configure one of the audio tracks with the correct Language and the track role of Original.

While it's possible to specify no Original audio track, the video player will not play any audio for the watcher. A warning will be shown when no Original track has been selected. In addition, only one Original audio track should be configured at a time.

Language Dub Tracks

Steam will also look for audio tracks specified as a Language Dub in auto-selecting an appropriate audio track for a user. If the video has an audio track in a different language than the Original audio, set the correct Language and the track role to Language Dub.

Commentary Tracks

If the video has commentary tracks that are in sync and the exact same length as the Original audio track, those can be added to the video during processing. The audio tracks can then be configured with the correct language, track role (set as Commentary), and a description can be either typed in or selected from the dropdown box that appears in the Display In Player As column. Descriptions selected from the dropdown will be localized automatically.

Alternate and Supplementary Tracks

If the video has other audio tracks that don't fall into one of the above categories, the audio tracks can be marked as Alternate or Supplementary. The description will be displayed by default as Language (Track Type) or a description can be explicitly set in the text box.

Requires Subtitle

If the content you are releasing on Steam requires a subtitle to be displayed when a particular audio track is enabled, you can use the Requires Subtitle dropdown. For example, if a user selects a Japanese audio track and your licensing requires the English subtitle to be turned on automatically, set the Audio Track language to Japanese and the Requires Subtitle value to English.

Note: The dropdown contains a list of the currently uploaded subtitle track languages. Caption files are not selectable.

Purchase Only

If an audio track should only be available to customers who purchase the video (instead of rent), then you can mark the track as purchase only using the checkbox. Tracks do not need to be marked purchase only when a video has no rental option.

Guess Language Dub

When clicked, an attempt to determine which language an audio track is will be made. The language is hinted by including a language code in the filename of the audio track. For example, to detect German, include _DE_ somewhere in the filename. This system accepts the "Web API language code" which you can find the complete list from Supported Languages. When a language is detected, the track role will be set to Language Dub automatically. You may need to correct the original track type at that time.

Track Selection in Player

This is an example of a video configured with multiple video and audio tracks in the Desktop video player. The user can access this dialog by clicking the settings icon in the control bar. There is an equivalent settings dialog in Big Picture as well.

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