Add an animated preview clip to a video in Wowza Video

Animated previews in Wowza Video help viewers quickly assess content by providing a short clip that showcases a key scene or a highlight when the viewer hovers over the video screen or a thumbnail of the video. This enhances user engagement and decision-making by supplying a visual snapshot of the content before a user commits to watching the video.

The preview clip is generated as a looped WebP image and an MP4 video file that don't contain audio. They're generated by taking a 5-second video sample starting from the position the user selects on the Preview player.

The WebP file, by default, is used with the player. More information about the WebP format can be found here.The URLs and downloadable files for the animated previews display in the Manage Files page under the Animated Preview Files list. 

Your video may already have an animated preview clip if you have Automatically Generate Animated Previews on Video Uploads checked in Org Settings. The platform autoselects the part of the video to animate.

Review the Video Details page UI reference article for animated preview configuration options and definitions.

Add an animated preview clip

To create an animated preview clip:

1. Click Videos in the navigation.
2. Select a video from the Videos list.
3. Click Create Animated Preview in the Video Details page.
4. Click the Play button on the Preview video player. You'll see the player control bar.
5. Use the player control bar to move the player video to a spot where you want to generate a preview clip. You can click the control bar and drag horizontally either way to move the video forward or backward.
6. Click the Pause button on the player.
7. Click Generate Preview Clip. The clip generates, then displays a preview of the animated clip for you to review.
8. Do one of the following:
   • If you want to keep the clip, click Save Preview Clip on Video.
   • If you don't like the clip and need to generate another one, click the trashcan icon on the preview and repeat steps 5-6.

Wowza Video will automatically display the preview clip when a user hovers over the video.

Delete an animated preview clip

To remove a preview clip assigned to a video:

1. On the Video Details page, click Edit Animated Preview.
2. Click the trashcan icon on the Current Preview Clip.
3. Click Remove Preview Clip From Video.