Creating a Video Playlist Channel on Dacast’s Streaming Platform: A Walkthrough

By Rich Jenkins

5 Min Read

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Rich Jenkins

Director of Product at Dacast with experience in enterprise, start-ups and everything in-between. Believes coffee and kale do compete and enjoys consuming both.

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    Today, we’ll give a thorough walkthrough of creating a playlist channel on Dacast.

    You can also check out the Video tutorial here

    Creating a Playlist Channel

    Playlists are found on the main menu (left side), just below FOLDERS. To create a playlist, click CREATE PLAYLIST:

    Now enter a name for the Playlist, then click “Create.”

    Configuring your Playlist

    The next steps will get your Playlist set up. Keep in mind that there are plenty of preferences that can be set after your Playlist is up and running. Check it out here:

    Video Playlist Channel - Configure a Playlist

    General

    Under the General tab, you can change or obtain the following: 

    • Playlist Status (online/offline)
    • Title/Description/Folders
    • Dacast Share Code/Embed Codes (iframe/JS code)
    • Image Publication (Thumbnail/Splash Screen/Poster)

    Setup

    The Setup tab allows you to manage what content will appear on your Playlist.  To begin adding videos, simply put a checkmark on the video, then press the “>” to transfer that video onto the playlist on the right side of the screen:

    Video Playlist Channel - setup Playlist

    Click on the “Save” button on the bottom left to save any changes.

    In addition, there are three options for the placed videos on the playlist:

    Video Playlist Channel - Preview Playlist

    Option 1 – Sort: Helps you arrange videos on the playlist in Ascending or Descending order (A-Z/Z-A/Newest Date created/Oldest Date created)

    Option 2 – Settings: Helps you set a limit to the number of videos you wish to put on your playlist (e.g. Maximum 100 videos)

    Option 3 – Preview: Helps you preview the saved playlist in its entirety.

    Paywall

    This option allows you to monetize your playlists, and make edits and revisions as follows:

    Prices

    • Paywall Enable: To enable or disable the paywall on the playlist.
    • Paywall Theme: Either choose a created paywall theme or the default Dacast paywall theme.
    • Video ID: You have the option to include a short video before any purchase is made on the playlist by your viewers.
    • Prices: Lets you set price, currency, type (PPV/Subscription), duration (hours/days/weeks/months), start method (upon purchase/scheduled).

    Promos

    The Promos option helps you create specific promos you wish to give to your selected viewers.  Here are some of the options:

    • Promo Code Name: specific name for your promo code
    • Promo Type: either subscription or PPV type
    • Alphanumeric Code: the specific promo code you give to your selected viewers
    • Discount:  specific percentage of the promo code (100% or your specific percentage)
    • Limit: specific limit of the distribution of your promo code, based on your preferences

    Associated Group 

    Associated Group pricing grants your viewers access to multiple pieces of content by paying only once, rather than for each individual piece of content. You can attribute one price to several pieces of video content.  This sort of subscription gives the viewer access to each piece of content that you’ve included in the group content list.

    Engagement

    A wide variety of ad servers and ad networks can now be used directly with your Dacast player. The Engagement tab lets you configure/override them one by one. 

    Security

    Video Playlist Channel - Security Settings

    Before we dive into the security setup of creating a playlist channel, please remember to always click on the padlock icon to revert to your global settings instead of the default settings. With that in mind, check out these Security options from Dacast:

     

    1. Password Protection: option to require that viewers enter a password before viewing. In this example “Password123” is the option you wish to use:

    Video Playlist Channel - Password Protection

     

    2. Content Scheduling: gives you the option to put start and end (date/time/timezone):

    Video Playlist Channel - Content Scheduling

     

    On the available tab, you can also opt to not set a date and time, and it will just be available anytime. Preset options, naturally would just be “Always” and “Forever”:

    Video Playlist Channel - Content Scheduling Options

     

    3. Geo Restriction: This gives you the option to restrict access from specific locations by creating Geo-restricted groups.  These can be preset and made under the Security settings of your Dacast account. If you have not set a specific Geo-Restriction Group, the preset option lets you choose all countries:

    Video Playlist Channel - Select Geo Restriction

     

    4. Domain Control: This gives you the option to restrict specific domain names on the internet, these can be managed also under the security settings of your Dacast account, via Domain Control Groups.  Unless you have stated specific domain names to be included, the preset option will appear as basically all referrers:

    Video Playlist Channel - Select Domain Control Group

     

    5. Theme: You can choose the default theme options or customize it yourself:

    Video Playlist Channel - Channel Theme

     

    By selecting “Advanced,” the following options will appear:

    1. Offline Message: If you have made a customized theme (on the Theming section of your account), by clicking on “Advanced” (top right), you will be redirected to this tab, where you will have the option to change and edit the Offline Message.  Wording and positioning. In this example, we chose to put “No Content Available” and chose the top position of the player. The viewers will see this customized offline message and the exact position we chose, and that is how it would appear on the player:

    Video Playlist Channel - Edit Channel Theme - Offline Message

     

    2. Delivery Method: This gives you complete control over the delivery method of your videos. Choose the setting that’s right for the type of content you create.

    3. Compatible Delivery: This option will push the content to start again when it reaches the end.

    4. Secure Delivery: This option will attempt to play the content under any if all circumstances. The fallback position, once all efforts have been exhausted, will be Flash delivery:

    Video Playlist Channel - Edit Channel Theme - Delivery Method

     

    5. Region Settings: Refers to either standard delivery or premium delivery methods, more specifically in China. You may contact us for further information on this option:

    Video Playlist Channel - Edit Channel Theme - Region Settings

    Video Playlist Channel - Channel Theme - Region Settings Edit

    Here are the rest of the options available for editing/customization: Controls: Player controls, Big Play button, and Thumbnail:

    Video Playlist Channel - Edit Channel Theme Controls

    Actions: Allowing/restricting viewers to Download button, Social sharing code, and Embed code:

    Video Playlist Channel - Edit Channel Theme Actions

    Appearance: Gives you the option to change the Overlay Color (primary color) and Menu Color (secondary color) of the player:

    Video Playlist Channel - Edit Channel Theme Appearance

    Behavior: Option to change playback (Autoplay/Looping) and sound (Start Video muted):

    Video Playlist Channel - Edit Channel Theme Behavior

    Playlists: Gives you the option to adjust thumbnail position (position of links on Playlist), allow Continuous playback, and allow video skipping:

    Video Playlist Channel - Edit Channel Theme Custom Playlists

    Please remember to click SAVE after each edit made. Otherwise, the following popup will appear, and you will still have the option to completely leave the editing phase or stay on the page to continue or save the revisions you have done:

    Video Playlist Channel - Edit Channel Theme Unsaved Changes

    Once you’ve completed all of these steps, your playlist channel is ready to go. At this point, you can either preview the content or go to “Monetization” to set up pay-per-views, subscriptions, and other features to further customize your streams.

    For more information about video preferences, follow this link. If you are still having issues please contact our support team in chat or via email support@dacast.com.

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    author avatar

    Rich Jenkins

    Director of Product at Dacast with experience in enterprise, start-ups and everything in-between. Believes coffee and kale do compete and enjoys consuming both.

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