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Important Note for Brightcove partners

If you are a Hope Channel partner who is using the Brightcove platform for your media library and have a livestream, you need to have TWO import IDs for each episode:

  1. One import ID is for the call to Brightcove, to download the picture and build the media links. For this import source, the "Import Source" field should have Brightcove and your Hope Channel in it. This is for the media library.
  2. Second import ID is for the schedule import process. This field requires a unique ID that is not used for any other episode. This field should use the "XML" import source. This is for your livestream.

How the schedule process works

For those partners using Livestream and would like to have the schedule available, please read the following notes.

Here is an overview of how the schedule import process works:

  1. The schedule is an XML file, which contains information about the date, time, show title, episode title, import ID and language. Please review the support page which covers the XML file in detail.
  2. The schedule is imported through one of the following mechanisms: FTP, E-Mail or Manual upload.
  3. The import ID in the schedule is used by the import process to look for the episode in the backend of TYPO3.
  4. When the process matches the ID, it knows that the Episode exists in the backend. When the schedule is displayed on the frontend, the data from the Episode is referenced in the backend.
  5. When the process cannot find the import ID, it tries to match on the episode and show title. This process is not as precise as using the ID. It is recommended not to fully rely on this matching process.
  6. When the system cannot find a match, it will CREATE a new Episode and possibly a new Show. This can cause duplicate shows and episodes in the backend. Unless you are using the schedule import process to create the Stub* of the shows or episodes for you, this is something you do not want to have happen. Cleaning up duplicate entries will be a manual effort to review all Shows/Episodes, verifying the correct one is in the schedule and the duplicate is removed.
  7. The recommended best practice is to have each Episode Import ID field filled with a UNIQUE value. The system then matches the correct Episode with the Schedule slot.
  8. If your Hope Channel has a schedule programmer (someone who writes the schedule), ask them for a list of IDs from your schedule. Place these into your Episodes in the proper field.
  9. The Shows and Episodes created by the import process will be available in the schedule. However the Media Library "hidden" checkbox will be checked, so that the Show or Episode is not available in the media library.

    *Stub means that only the title and ID will be set. Someone will still need to fill in all details, upload an image, etc. for the Episode.

Importing updates to an existing schedule

Schedule changes are something to be expected in the process of programming for television livestreams. The system handles updates in the following manner. When the updated schedule is imported, the date & time range for the updated schedule is determined by the system. All broadcasts in this date & time range are then deleted. All new broadcasts are then imported.

Additionally, please pay attention to the case where a show or episode is disabled. If an existing show or episode is disabled, the system will create a new show or episode. In this case there will be orphan entities which may cause issues later in your workflow.

How does my file get imported?

There are currently three ways to import the file into the Backend of TYPO3:

  1. FTP: Hope Media will setup an FTP folder to receive the xml file.
  2. E-Mail: Hope Media will setup an email account to receive the xml file.
  3. Manual: The TYPO3 Backend has a manual import screen.

In all cases, we will need to start with the manual import option, to verify the file format is correct. We can then move to another import mechanism. The FTP option is strongly encouraged as the import method to use.

Tips and Hints

If an Episode is disabled, but it is listed in the schedule being imported, the system will create a new Episode. Please make sure and watch the hidden checkbox as well as the date ranges for the media libary.

If a Show is disabled, but it is listed in the schedule being imported, the system will create a new Show. Please make sure and watch the hidden checkbox as well as the date ranges for the media libary.

If the SHow/Episode should truly be in the schedule, then it needs to be activated in the TYPO3 backend. if the Show/Episode should not be in the schedule, then cancel the import and remove it from the schedule.

MAM Tag Generator

Visit the MAM Tag Generator, which can be used to generate unique ids for the ProgramID field in the XML schedule file.