Ministra does not store your files. It stores an address for each of them, and hands that address to the set-top box when somebody presses play. The URL template is how vodmatic turns a file on your media server into that address.
This is the setting most worth getting right first. A wrong template produces a catalogue that looks perfect and fails on every play — and you find out from a subscriber, not from the portal.
The template
Each library folder has its own template. It is a URL with tokens in it:
{relpath} |
The file's path below the folder's base, URL-encoded. This is the one you want almost always. |
{rawpath} |
The same, not encoded. Only if your server wants it that way. |
{dir} |
The directory part. |
{filename} |
The file name with its extension. |
{basename} |
The file name without its extension. |
{ext} |
The extension. |
A typical template:
https://media.example.com/vod/{relpath}
So Drama/Vikings/Season 01/Vikings.S01E01.mkv becomes https://media.example.com/vod/Drama/Vikings/Season%2001/Vikings.S01E01.mkv.
Testing it before you commit
Use the Preview screen. Pick a folder, and it shows you real paths from it, the URL each one produces, and the result of actually fetching that URL.
What you want to see is 200 OK and a sensible file size. What you do not want:
404 Not Found |
The address is wrong. Usually the base part of the template does not match how the web server exposes the folder. |
403 Forbidden |
The file is there but the web server will not serve it. Directory permissions, or a rule blocking that extension. |
401 or a login page |
The path needs authentication. Set-top boxes will not log in — the media path has to be open, or signed (below). |
| A timeout | The host in your template is not reachable from outside. Check it is the public address and not an internal one. |
Signed addresses
If your media server checks a signature, vodmatic can produce one. Set a signing secret under Settings and use {token} and {expires} in the template:
https://media.example.com/vod/{relpath}?t={token}&e={expires}
Be careful with expiry. An address that expires while somebody is watching stops the film mid-play.
Changing it later
You can, and it does not break anything — but existing portal entries keep the address they were written with. Changing the template affects new files only.
To bring the old ones across, use Missing files. It walks the catalogue, finds every entry whose address no longer leads anywhere, and offers to repoint each one at the file it can see. Every change is recorded and can be undone.
The one thing to check today
Open Preview, run one file through it, and confirm you get a 200. It takes ten seconds and it is the difference between a catalogue that works and one that looks like it does.
