Video on Demand (VOD) lets you host recorded videos in your Bevy community Media Library, choose a thumbnail, add captions or an extra audio track, translate captions or dub the spoken audio into another language when those controls are available, generate video chapters from ready captions, group videos into playlists, control who can watch, attach a pre-watch survey, and place a player on a page—or embed it on an external site.

Before you start

Video on Demand is Bevy’s Media Library for hosting on-demand videos. You add a video once—by uploading a file or sending a Bevy event recording to the library—then viewers can watch it from a video page, an embedded player on a Bevy page, or an iframe on an external site.

Each video has an access level that controls who can watch it. You can choose the thumbnail, add captions or another audio track, and optionally attach a pre-watch survey that appears before playback. When the controls are available, you can also translate captions, dub the spoken audio into another language, or generate video chapters (named sections of the recording, with times) from ready captions. When playlists are available in your community, you can group videos into one ordered playlist with a single player and list.

Where to manage videos

When Video on Demand is on, you manage videos in these places:

• Chapter Media Library — Open Media Library in the chapter dashboard left sidebar. This library holds videos owned by the chapter (including recordings you send to the chapter destination). When playlists are on, the library has a Videos tab and a Playlists tab.
• Event Media tab — Open an event and select the Media tab. This library holds videos owned by that event. The Media tab is available whenever Video on Demand is enabled for your community; the event does not need to be completed. (By contrast, the Wrap up tab appears only for completed events.)
• Global Media Library — A site-wide library for HQ. It appears in the dashboard sidebar only for people whose role includes Manage global media library. That permission is not on by default. See Use the global media library.

Upload, edit access, thumbnails, captions, and survey settings work the same way in each library. The private access options differ for event-owned, chapter-owned, and global videos (see Set who can view your video).

Upload a video

To upload a new video to an event Media library:

1. Open Events from the chapter dashboard left side menu.
2. Open the event (it does not need to be completed).
3. Go to the Media tab.
4. Select Upload Video.
5. Enter a Title for the video. The title is required. Everything else is optional and you can change it later.
6. Add an optional Description to give viewers context.
7. Choose an Access Level to control who can watch the video.
8. Under Video file, drag and drop your video, or click to select a file.
9. Select Upload.

To upload to the chapter library instead, open Media Library in the chapter sidebar and select Upload Video, then complete the same fields.

When the modal says Upload complete!, select Close. The library list shows the new video as Processing… and then as a ready card when processing finishes—you do not need to reload the page. Larger files take longer. Thumbnail frames, Copy to…, and generated captions wait until processing finishes.

Add an event recording to on-demand

If you record a session on Bevy—such as a virtual Meetup or Conference—you can send that recording to the Media Library without downloading and re-uploading it. The recording becomes a video you can title, set access for, and attach a pre-watch survey to.

You need the chapter team permissions that allow you to manage recordings. Without them, you cannot retrieve or send recordings to the Media Library.

1. Open the event in the chapter Event Dashboard.
2. Select the Recordings tab.
3. Under session or stage recordings, find the recording you want to publish.
4. In the Send to Media Library column, select the upload control for that recording.
5. For a session recording, set Captions if you want captions created with the video, then choose the destination: Event (event Media tab) or Chapter (chapter Media Library).

After conversion succeeds, open the video from the event Media tab or chapter Media Library to set its title, access level, thumbnail, captions, and optional pre-watch survey.

For download, delete, transcripts, and other Recordings-tab tasks, see Manage event recordings.

Choose a thumbnail

Open a video and select Edit. In the Edit Video panel, Thumbnail lets you pick a frame from the video or upload your own image.

1. Select a frame, or under Upload your own image choose a file. Recommended size: 1280 × 720.
2. To go back to the image Bevy chose, select Use automatic thumbnail. That button appears only after you have picked a frame or uploaded an image.
3. Select Save.

While the video is still processing, the panel says frames will be available once the video finishes processing. If frames are not available for a video, you can still upload an image.

Add captions and audio tracks

In the same Edit Video panel, Captions and audio tracks lists the tracks on the video. Adding, replacing, removing, or translating a track, generating chapters, or dubbing audio happens right away. You do not select Save on the panel for these actions.

To generate captions from the spoken audio:

1. Under Generate captions, choose the language spoken in the video.
2. Select Generate.

The language list is the set of languages that can be generated. Generation is available only for the first 7 days after the video is created. After that, the panel says to add a caption file instead. Generate captions transcribes the spoken audio. It does not create a second language from an existing caption track—use Translate for that when the control is available.

To add your own captions or an extra audio track:

1. Select Add a track.
2. Set Track type to Subtitles or Audio.
3. Choose a Language, or choose Other and enter a language code (for example, en or fr-CA).
4. Enter the Name shown to viewers.
5. For subtitles, turn on Closed captions (include sound cues) when the file includes sound descriptions.
6. Choose a file, or paste an https link to the file. Caption files are .vtt or .srt. Audio files are .mp3, .m4a, .aac, .wav, .ogg, .opus, or .flac. An uploaded file must be 10 MB or smaller. For a longer audio track, use a link.
7. Select Upload track.

Each track shows its type, language, and status (Processing, Ready, or Failed). Generated captions are marked Auto-generated. The video’s original audio is marked Original audio and cannot be replaced or removed. A chapters row is labeled Chapters. You can remove it. You cannot replace it by uploading a file. For any other track, use Replace or Remove.

Translate a caption track

When caption translation is turned on for your community, a ready subtitle track shows Translate. Use it to create a caption track in another language from an existing ready track (including auto-generated captions).

1. Open the video and select Edit.
2. Under Captions and audio tracks, find a ready subtitle track and select Translate.
3. Under Translate to:, choose the target language.
4. Select Translate again to start the job, or Cancel to close the panel.

The new track appears in the list while it is Processing, then as Ready when translation finishes. Viewers can pick that language in the player’s captions list. You cannot translate a track that is still processing, a failed translation row, or the original audio track. If the video already has captions in the language you pick, the job is refused and the panel shows that message.

Generate video chapters

Video chapters are named sections of the recording, with times. They are not community chapters. When chapter generation is turned on for your community, Captions and audio tracks can make them from a ready caption track. The player then shows those chapters on the video.

Chapters need ready captions. If the video has none, the panel says chapters are made from ready captions, and to add or generate captions, or wait until they are ready. Generate captions and Translate create caption tracks. They do not create chapters.

1. Open the video and select Edit.
2. Under Captions and audio tracks, next to Generate chapters from the captions in:, choose the caption language. If the video has only one ready caption language, that language is already selected.
3. Select Generate chapters.

If the video already has chapters, confirm New chapters replace the chapters that the video has now. You cannot undo this. While chapters are being made, the panel says this can take a few minutes, and you cannot replace or remove the caption tracks that job is reading. When the chapters are ready, the panel says Chapters are ready. Viewers see them in the player. A Chapters row also appears in the track list. Select Remove to delete it.

If making chapters fails, the panel shows the error and Dismiss. One failure message is Mux made the chapters but could not save them, and the video has no chapters now. Try again. After you dismiss the error, select Generate chapters again.

Dub the spoken audio

Dub audio creates a new spoken-audio track in another language. It does not upload a file, and it does not translate captions. Use Add a track with Track type set to Audio when you already have an audio file. Use Translate when you only need captions in another language. The original audio stays.

Dub the audio into: and Dub audio appear when dubbing is turned on and the video has audio that is ready to dub.

1. Open the video and select Edit.
2. Under Captions and audio tracks, next to Dub the audio into:, choose the language.
3. Select Dub audio.

The new track appears in the list while it is Processing, with a name that ends in (Auto-dubbed)—for example, Spanish (Auto-dubbed)—then as Ready. Viewers choose it from the player’s audio menu. The original audio remains and is still marked Original audio. You can Remove a dubbed track the same way as any other added track.

The language list leaves out a language the video already has audio for, including the language spoken in the video. If that audio is already there, the job is refused and the panel shows that message.

Create and manage playlists

A playlist is a Media Library item that holds an ordered list of videos from the same library. Viewers open one playlist URL (or one page block) and pick which video to play from the list. Playback does not advance to the next video automatically—the viewer selects the next entry.

When playlists are available, the chapter or event Media Library shows Videos and Playlists tabs.

1. Open the library and select the Playlists tab.
2. Select New playlist.
3. Enter a Title (required). Add an optional Description, set Access Level, and optionally configure a pre-watch survey for the playlist.
4. Under Add a video, select videos from this library to add. Under Videos in this playlist, drag entries to reorder them, or remove an entry.
5. Select Save playlist.

To change a playlist later, open Playlists, select Edit on the playlist card, update the entries or settings, and select Save playlist.

• A playlist can only include videos from the same library. It cannot include another playlist.
• A playlist’s pre-watch survey applies only when someone watches through that playlist. Opening a video on its own page uses that video’s survey settings.
• Viewers only see playlist entries they are allowed to watch. If no entry is visible to them, they cannot play the playlist.
• If a listed video still cannot play, the player says Unable to play this video. Please try again. Select Try again.

A long playlist can page or scroll instead of listing every video at once. On the media_library_item page block, set playlistOverflow. On an event or chapter media player in Page Builder, the same control is labeled Long playlists. A carousel ignores it. A single video ignores it.

Set who can view your video

Each video has an access level that you set when you upload or edit it:

1. Open the video and select Edit.
2. Set Access Level to one of the options below.
3. Select Save.

A new video in the global library starts as Private: library managers until you change it. Access is always checked when the video plays. If a viewer does not meet the access level, the video will not play for them—even through a shared link or an embedded player. Playlists use the same access levels; each entry is still checked on its own when the viewer plays it.

Add a pre-watch survey to your video

A pre-watch survey is a short set of questions that can appear before a video plays. Use it to collect information from viewers—such as their name, role, or how they heard about the video.

1. Open the video from your library and open its survey editor (Add survey or Edit survey on the video card).
2. Add one question at a time. For each question, choose a field type and enter the question text. Available field types include:

3. Mark any question as required if viewers must answer it.
4. On the video edit panel, set how the survey behaves for this video. Choose a Survey Display option:

Then choose a Survey Requirement:

5. Save the survey, then select Save on the video edit panel.

Display text fields (such as a welcome message or terms) are shown to the viewer but do not collect a response. You can also attach a pre-watch survey to a playlist; that survey applies only inside the playlist.

View survey responses and view counts

On the video card, a link such as 3 viewers appears when someone has watched the video or the video has a pre-watch survey. Open it to see each person. The list includes a Views column for how many times that person watched, and survey answers when the video has a survey.

Use the global media library

The global media library is one library for the whole community. HQ uses it for videos that should be available beyond a single chapter or event.

1. Ask an HQ admin to add Manage global media library to the role that should manage it. The permission is separate from chapter team roles, and it is not granted automatically.
2. Open Global Media Library in the dashboard sidebar. The link stays available when you are not inside a chapter. If you do not see it, Video on Demand is off for the community, or your role does not include the permission.
3. Select Upload Video and complete the same fields as a chapter or event upload. A new global video starts as Private: library managers. Change Access Level before you expect members or the public to watch it.

Copy a video to another library

Copy to… appears on a video card after the video has finished processing. It copies the video into another library you manage. The original stays where it is. The copy is a new video, so you can set its title, access, thumbnail, and tracks on their own.

1. On the video card, select Copy to….
2. Under Library, choose Global library, a chapter (Chapter: and the chapter name), or an event (Event: and the event name).
3. Select Copy.

If you do not manage another library, the window says you do not manage another library that this video can be copied into.

Place a video or playlist on a page

To play one video or one playlist from any library—including the global library—add the media_library_item component in the page editor. The media list puts global library items first. Each choice shows the title, then the library and the access level in parentheses. A global video that anyone can watch shows the title, then global, anonymous.

When the selected item is a playlist, set playlistLayout to control how the playlist lists its videos under the player:

When the selected item is a playlist, also set playlistOverflow for a long list or grid. The choices are default (or leave it unset), paginate, scroll, and all. See Create and manage playlists for what each choice shows. A carousel ignores playlistOverflow.

A single video ignores playlistLayout and playlistOverflow. The item plays only for a visitor who meets that access level. If they cannot watch it, the component shows nothing. Visitors who are not signed in see a video only when its access level is Anyone.

Add your video to an event page

Sending a recording to the Media Library stores the video—it does not automatically place a player on the event or chapter page. To show an event’s own video on an event page, add the media player in Page Builder.

HQ admins can add the Event Media Player component to the global event template or an individual event page. Chapter team members with page builder permissions can add it to individual event pages.

1. Open the event page (or event template) in Page Builder.
2. Add the Event Media Player component.
3. Choose the player source:

4. If the source is a playlist, set Playlist layout (List, Grid, or Carousel) and Long playlists (Layout default, Pages of 8, Scroll, or Show all). Layout default scrolls a list and pages a grid. A carousel ignores Long playlists.
5. Save and publish the page.

The video plays on the page for anyone who meets its access level (and any survey requirements). For Page Builder component basics, see Components — Event Page Builder and Page Builder for Event Pages.

Embed a video on another page

If you want to show a Bevy video on a website outside your community—such as your company site, a blog, or a landing page—you can embed the player. HQ admins and organizers can do this. The embedded player shows only the video (no community header or footer), so it fits cleanly on the other page.

Access rules still apply. Viewers must meet the video’s access level (and complete any required pre-watch survey) before they can watch.

To embed a video, paste an embed link into your outside page’s embed or HTML block. Build the link from your community website address plus one of the paths below:

• A specific video or playlist — Use /media/VIDEO_ID/embed/, and replace VIDEO_ID with that item’s ID. Use this when you always want the same recording or playlist to play.
• The latest video for an event — Use /media/event/EVENT_NAME/default/embed/, and replace EVENT_NAME with the event’s URL name (the part that appears in the event page link). This plays the most recent event video the viewer is allowed to watch.
• The latest video for a chapter — Use /media/chapter/CHAPTER_NAME/default/embed/, and replace CHAPTER_NAME with the chapter’s URL name. This plays the most recent chapter video the viewer is allowed to watch.

Example: if your community is at https://community.example.com and the video ID is 12345, the embed link is https://community.example.com/media/12345/embed/.

If you are not sure which link to use, start with a specific video ID when you need one fixed recording, or use the event or chapter “default” link when you want the player to stay current as you add new videos.

Troubleshoot playback issues

If the video does not load or play:

• Refresh the page and try again.
• Make sure you completed any sign-in or survey steps first.
• Confirm that your account meets the video’s access level.
• Try opening the player again—playback links expire after a set time, and a fresh link loads when you reopen the page.