Media Manager v2: An Overview

Great news! We’ve updated the Media Manager core tool.

PocketPlatform’s Media Manager CoreTool brings you the power and flexibility of a world-class Content Delivery Network for hosting and serving your sermons, providing direct links to a compressed, efficient MP4, m3u8 playlist, MP3 audio file, and even a text transcription, all from just uploading a single source video file!

After a newly uploaded sermon video has completed processing, both the audio and video version are automatically assigned to the appropriate sermon, all you have to do is enable the completed attachments and you’re ready to go!

PocketPlatform Media Manager

Opening the Media Manager CoreTool

Starting the transcription process in MinistryPlatform is very simple. First, you need to open the CoreTool for the sermon for which you are adding media.

  1. Open the Sermon Page View.
    • In MinistryPlatform, open the sermons page under PocketPlatform
  2. Select a Sermon.
    • Select the sermon record to which you would like to attach a media file. Please Note: You can also enter the sermon series directly.
  3. Open the Media Manager CoreTool. For some of you, it might be listed as ‘Media Manager V2.’
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PocketPlatform Sermons List in MinistryPlatform

Starting the Transcoding Process

Building and managing the proper video and audio files for use online can be daunting and complex. That’s why we took all the guesswork out of the process! By uploading just one video file to the PocketPlatform Media Manager, we will create all the formats you need to properly distribute your media through your PocketPlatform app and other online destinations.  All files are available for you to download after conversion too.

By this point, you should have already opened the Media Manager CoreTool for the sermon that you are managing. If you do not have this window available, please follow the previous steps in Opening the Media Manager Core Tool above.

1. Select your source file

Use the File Selection field to select your video file, and click “Next.”

2. Choose which types of links to generate

MP3 and MP4 (selected by default): By default, the Media Manager selects MP4 and MP3. We base all other files off of the MP4 format; PocketPlatform apps do not serve the MP4 files. Therefore, if you want to make the video streamable (which you probably do), please select HLS.

The MP3 selection will generate a link with a Sermon Link Type of ‘Listen’ and end in .mp3.

HLS: To generate a video link, select the ‘HLS’ option. Be sure to select this option if you are using the Roku and Apple TV apps.

The HLS selection will generate a link with a Sermon Link Type of ‘Watch’ and end in .m3u8.

Transcription (optional): This is an optional service that will not appear for everyone. Unless you want to use the transcription file, we recommend you do NOT check this option. The transcription process is resource-heavy and can slow the overall processing.

If you would like to enable the transcription option, please reach out to our support team.

YouTube (optional): This is an optional service that will not appear for everyone. If this option is available to you, sign in to your YouTube account and select this option to upload your content to your YouTube channel.

If you would like to enable the YouTube option, please reach out to our support team.

Once all options have been selected, click ‘UPLOAD.’

3. Upload the file

During this time, leave the window open. If you close the window while the file is uploading, your upload will be canceled.

4. Wait for your media to process

Once your file has been uploaded, you will receive an email alerting you that your upload has been received and is currently processing. At this point, you may close the window. If you choose to leave the window open, you can see the status of each item.

When processing is complete, you will receive an email alerting you that your sermon has completed processing. The status will also be reflected in the window.

5. Change the Link’s Status to ‘Published’

Links are uploaded with Status = Draft. For the link to appear in the app, you must change the Status to Published. At this time, also double-check that your Sermon record Status = Published.

6. Verify your content appears in the app

A Final Note

We’re in the process of rolling out this tool to the community, but if you’re eager for the upgrade, please reach out to our support team.

Frequently Asked Questions

I forgot to select the HLS option. Do I have to start the whole process over again?

No, you don’t! Just select the Sermon record you want to modify and reopen the Media Manager (v2) from the Tools menu. Select the HLS option and click ‘UPLOAD,’ then continue from step #3 above. You might need to refresh the cache to see the link reflected.

To refresh the cache, click “about” in the top right corner of your screen. In the window that opens, click the left-most button, “Refresh Cache.”

How do I update the thumbnail image?

The Media Manager uses a still from your video to create a default thumbnail image. You can replace this image by following these steps.

  1. Open your Sermon record. Click “Attach File” and follow the prompts to add your image as an attachment.
  2. Open the Files dropdown by clicking the arrow in the corner.
  3. Click the checkmark icon in the top-right corner to make it the default image.
  4. Verify that the “DEFAULT” label appears at the bottom of the image.

Note: You might need to refresh the screen in the app to see this change reflected.

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