Upload a video

Uploading a long video is how you get clips from your own content. This article covers which files work, how big and long they can be, the back-catalog option and choosing the spoken language.

How to upload

1. Go to Your videos at /app.
2. Drop a file on Drop a long video here, or press Choose a file.
3. Wait for the bar to reach 100%. The project page then opens and processing starts.

Owners, admins and editors can upload. Viewers and clients see a note instead of the upload box.

Supported files

The upload box takes video and audio files. The app lists MP4, MOV, WebM, MP3 and M4A. Your browser reads the file's length before the upload starts, so if it can't open the file you'll see "This file type isn't supported. Try MP4, MOV, WebM, MP3 or M4A."

The file needs an audio track with speech. Reeltopus clips by what is said, so a video with no sound can't be clipped. If the sound uses a format we can't decode, the app asks you to export the video with AAC audio and upload it again. Nothing is charged in that case.

Size and length limits

You also need enough hours for the video's length. If you don't have enough, the app tells you how much the video needs and how much you have left, before anything uploads. See Hours and usage.

Large files and interrupted uploads

Big files are sent in 16 MB parts, several at a time, straight to storage. The bar shows how much has been sent.

Keep the tab open until the upload reaches 100%. Uploads don't resume after the page closes or the connection drops. If that happens, choose the same file again and the upload starts over. Your hours are only held once the upload finishes, so an interrupted upload doesn't cost anything.

Back-catalog videos

Tick Back-catalog video (counts at half rate) before you choose the file. A back-catalog video uses half the hours a normal upload would. A one-hour video uses 30 minutes of your balance. It shows as "back catalog" in your video list.

Pick the spoken language

Under the upload box, Spoken language is set to Detect automatically. If you know the language, you can pick it from the list instead. Picking it matters for a few languages that automatic detection doesn't recognize: those are only transcribed when you choose them yourself.

For some languages, a second menu lets you choose the script the captions are written in. See Caption languages and translation for the full picture.

After the upload

The project page shows a progress bar while Reeltopus transcribes the video, finds clips and frames the speakers. The page updates by itself. Read How processing works for what each step means. If something goes wrong, see Upload or processing failed.