Playlists

Overview

Playlists are essential organizational tools within Backstage that allow you to group related content for display across platforms. Whether you're curating collections for the homepage, organizing series episodes, or creating thematic content groupings, playlists provide the structure needed to deliver a cohesive viewing experience to users across mobile, tablet, and TV applications.

Backstage supports both Manual Playlists (where you individually select and order content) and Dynamic Playlists (which automatically populate based on tag filtering), giving you complete control over how your content is organized and presented to viewers.

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Playlist Presets

Playlist Presets are predefined templates with customized fields specific to different types of content collections. Each preset is designed to capture the relevant information and organizational structure for that particular playlist type, making content management more efficient.

Example Playlist Presets:

• Series: Used for organizing episodes of a show in sequential order

• Manual Playlist: For hand-picked selections of content with custom ordering

Selecting the appropriate preset ensures that you'll have all the necessary fields to properly categorize and organize your content, which enhances discoverability and the viewer experience.

Details Checklist

The Details Checklist is a progress tracker located at the top of the playlist details page that helps you ensure all necessary information is complete before publishing. This visual checklist makes it easy to see at a glance what's been completed and what still needs attention, helping you confirm you have everything needed before making your playlist available to viewers.

Checklist Items

1. Basic Info - Title, Description, and Publish Date

2. Tags - Content categorization and organization tags

3. Advanced Fields - Additional metadata and custom parameters

4. Thumbnails - Image keys for visual representation across platforms

5. Trailer - Optional trailer or preview content

Status Indicators

Each checklist item displays an icon indicating its completion status:

• White Exclamation Point - Optional field that is incomplete

• Orange Exclamation Point - Suggested field that is incomplete (recommended but not required)

• Red Exclamation Point - Required field that is incomplete (must be completed to publish)

• Green Checkmark - Field has been completed

The checklist updates automatically as you complete each section, providing immediate visual feedback on your progress.

Creating a Playlist

1

Start

• Go to the left side of your screen and click on the "Playlist" tab.

• Once on the playlist page, go to the top right corner of the screen and click on "New Playlist" and select the appropriate playlist preset (Manual for hand-picked content or Dynamic for tag-based filtering).

2

Fill Basic Info

On the playlist creation screen, fill out the necessary information:

• Title: Enter a descriptive name for your playlist (will be visible to users).

• Description: Enter details about the playlist's content or purpose.

3

Manual Playlists

• Click the "Add Media" button to search and select content for your playlist.

NOTE: The button label changes depending if the Preset uses "Media", "Playlists" or "Mixed"

• Arrange content in your desired order by dragging items using the dots on the left side.

• Remove media by pressing the "Trash" icon next to the asset you wish to remove.

4

Dynamic Playlists

• Under "Filter by Tags," configure the "Include" filters to specify which tags the piece of media must have.

• Configure "Exclude" filters to specify which tags will disqualify content from appearing in the playlist.

• Set sorting parameters to determine how content will be ordered (e.g., by publish date).

IMPORTANT: For the "Include" and "Exclude" filters, ensure the proper "Any" or "All" option is selected for accurate filtering.

Any - Only one of the selected tags needs to be present on the piece of content for the filter to apply

All - All tags must be present on the piece of content for the filter to apply

5

Save & Publish

When complete, click "Publish" to make the playlist active in the system. The Publish button will both save your changes and publish the playlist to commit changes. Alternatively, press "Save" to save your work without committing changes.

Managing Tags

Tags are organizational markers that help categorize and direct content throughout Backstage. The tagging system offers flexible input methods and management tools to streamline your workflow when organizing playlists and their content.

Adding Tags

Tags can be added to playlists and video assets using two methods:

Individual Tag Entry:

• Type a tag name in the Tags field and press Enter or click the "+" button to add it to the playlist

• This method works well when adding a small number of tags one at a time

Comma-Separated Value (CSV) Entry:

• Type multiple tags separated by commas in the Tags field

• Press Enter or click the "+" button to add all tags simultaneously

• Example: "test, test 1, test 2" will create three individual tags: "test", "test 1", and "test 2"

• This method is efficient when applying multiple tags to a single playlist

Copying Tags

The Copy Tags feature allows you to quickly duplicate tag configurations from one playlist to another, ensuring consistency across similar content.

How to Copy Tags:

1. Navigate to the playlist that has the tags you want to copy

2. Locate the Tags section in the playlist details

3. Click the "Copy Tags" button

4. All tags from the current playlist will be copied to your clipboard

5. Navigate to the destination playlist where you want to apply these tags

6. Paste the tags into the Tags field using your keyboard (Ctrl+V or Cmd+V)

7. Press Enter or click the "+" button to apply all copied tags

NOTE: When pasting copied tags, the system will automatically parse them as individual tags, maintaining the exact tag names from the source playlist.

Bulk Edit

The Bulk Edit feature enables efficient management of multiple playlists simultaneously, allowing you to update tags or delete up to 100 playlists at once. This powerful tool streamlines workflow when you need to make consistent changes across multiple pieces of content.

IMPORTANT: Once a bulk edit operation begins, it cannot be stopped and must complete before you can make changes to any other playlist metadata. Monitor the progress bar at the top of the page to track the operation status.

How to Use Bulk Edit

Selecting Playlists for Bulk Edit:

• Navigate to the "Playlists" section on your left sidebar.

• Click the checkbox next to each playlist you want to include in the bulk edit operation. You can select up to 100 playlists at once.

• Once you've selected at least one playlist, the "MANAGE TAGS" button will appear at the top of the page alongside a "DELETE SELECTED" option.

Managing Tags in Bulk:

• After selecting your desired playlists, click the "MANAGE TAGS" button.

• The Add/Remove Tags modal will appear, displaying two filter options:

  • All: Shows all tags currently applied to any of the selected playlists

  • Shared: Shows only tags that are common across all selected playlists

• To add tags:

  • Use the search field at the bottom of the modal to find an existing tag, or type a new tag name

  • Click the "ADD" button to move the tag to the "Adding" column under the "Changes" section

  • Repeat for any additional tags you want to apply

• To remove tags:

  • Click the "X" next to any tag displayed in the modal

  • The tag will move to the "Removing" column under the "Changes" section

  • Tags removed will be deleted from all selected playlists that currently have them

• Review your changes in the "Changes" section, which displays:

  • Adding: Tags that will be applied to all selected playlists

  • Removing: Tags that will be removed from all selected playlists

• Click "APPLY" to execute the bulk edit operation, or "CANCEL" to discard your changes.

Deleting Assets in Bulk:

1. After selecting your desired assets, click the "DELETE SELECTED" button.

2. Confirm the deletion when prompted.

3. All selected assets will be permanently removed from the system.

Bulk Edit Status Messages

1. The system provides real-time feedback on your bulk edit operations through a banner at the top of the page:

2. Bulk Edit in Progress (Blue): The operation is currently running. A loading indicator will display alongside this message.

3. Bulk Edit Completed (Green): The operation finished successfully and all changes have been applied.

4. Bulk Edit Failed (Red): The operation encountered an error and was unable to complete. Contact support if this issue persists.

NOTE: During bulk edit operations, you will not be able to edit individual playlists or start another bulk edit. Wait for the current operation to complete before making additional changes to your video library.

Adding Content to Playlist

Manual Playlist

• Navigate to the "Playlist" tab on the left side of the screen.

• Search for your playlist by name in the search bar and click on it to open.

• Click the "Add Mixed" button on the upper right side of your screen.

NOTE: The button label changes depending if the Preset uses "Media", "Playlists" or "Mixed"

• If using "Mixed" media, use the Playlists/Videos filter in the top right corner to filter the below list

• Search for the content you want to add. Backstage will allow you to click the asset and it will be highlighted with a checkbox when selected.

• Click the "Add" button at the bottom right of your screen to add the selected content to your playlist.

Playlist "Add" Modal

• Once added, you can position the asset in whatever order you prefer by hovering your mouse over the dots on the left side of the asset and dragging it up or down in the list.

• To remove content from a playlist, click the trash icon to the right of the asset.

• Click "Publish" to apply your changes. The Publish button will both save and publish your updates. If the playlist is active on the homepage, your changes will appear immediately.

Dynamic Playlist

• Navigate to your dynamic playlist and locate the "Filter by Tags" section

• Configure your Include filters:

  • Select the tags or custom parameters that content must have

  • Choose "Any" if content needs just one of the selected criteria

  • Choose "All" if content must have every selected criteria

• Configure your Exclude filters to prevent unwanted content from appearing

• Set your sorting parameters to control the order content appears (e.g., by publish date, alphabetical)

Dynamic Playlist Examples

Example 1: Network Content with Premium Exclusion

• Include Tag - Any: A, B

• Exclude Tag - All: premium

• Result: Shows any content tagged with A or B, but excludes any content marked as premium

Include Tag Configuration

Exclude Tag Configuration

Example 2: Christmas Special Collection

• Include Tag - All: Christmas, Special, 2026

• Exclude Tag - All: inActive

• Result: Shows only content that has all three tags (Christmas AND Special AND 2026), while excluding any content marked as inActive

Include Tag Configuration

Exclude Tag Configuration

NOTE: Remember that for Include and Exclude filters, ensure the proper "Any" or "All" option is selected for accurate filtering results.

Image Keys Matrix

Playlist images are used to create landing pages by combining multiple image assets into a complete hero display. All specified image keys must be implemented to ensure proper visual presentation across platforms. When developing new show landing pages, verify display quality across mobile, tablet, web, and TV platforms.

Please refer to the screenshots below, which outline the necessary image keys for new shows:

Image Number Key	Image Key	Sample Resolution	Platform
#1	imgSeriesDesktopBg	1920x1080	Web, CTV, Roku
#2	imgSeriesLogo	1161x400	Web, CTV, Roku
#3	imgSeriesMobileBg	1242x1491	Mobile
#4	imgSeriesLogoMobile	1161x400	Mobile

IMPORTANT: The dimensions and naming conventions are critical for proper display across all platforms. Always use the correct size and key for each image type.