Using video overlays - MediaConvert
Adding video overlaysFeature restrictions

Using video overlays

With the Video overlays feature, you can replace video frames from your input with frames from another video. Video overlays do not affect audio or captions from your underlying input, which continue uninterrupted. This is useful when you want to quickly replace video content without spending time configuring multiple inputs or input clips. Common workflows might be to blank out content captured during a live broadcast, to blank out content that you don’t have the rights to, or to provide alternate footage for a scene.

When you add a video overlay, you specify its duration by providing the timecode that it starts and ends within the underlying input video. If your video overlay would end before the end timecode, your video overlay will repeat to meet the total duration.

Additionally, you can specify one or more clips to use from your video overlay file using Input clips. You can include up to 99 video overlays and 99 input clips in each video overlay.

How to add a video overlay

Video overlays are specific to individual video inputs. For example, if your job settings include three video inputs, you can add an individual video overlay to Input 1, Input 2, and/or Input 3. You cannot however add a single video overlay that spans across all three inputs.

To add a video overlay by using the MediaConvert console:

  1. Open the Create job page in the MediaConvert console.

  2. Specify an input video. For more information, see Step 1: Input files in Configuring jobs.

  3. In the settings for your input, next to Video overlays, choose Add overlay.

  4. Specify an Input file URI.

  5. Specify a Start timecode.

  6. Specify an End timecode.

  7. Optionally add any Input clips for your video overlay.

To specify a video overlay using the API, SDK, or AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI), include VideoOverlays in your job settings JSON.

The following is an excerpt of a job settings JSON that specifies a video overlay at timecode 00:10:00:00 for one minute from a clipped input:

{
  "Settings": {
    "Inputs": [
      {
        "VideoOverlays": [
          {
            "Input": {
              "FileInput": "s3://DOC-EXAMPLE-BUCKET/overlay.mp4",
              "InputClippings": [
                {
                  "StartTimecode": "00:10:00:00",
                  "EndTimecode": "00:11:00:00"
                }
              ],
              "TimecodeSource": "EMBEDDED"
            },
            "StartTimecode": "00:01:00:00",
            "EndTimecode": "00:02:00:00"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Video overlay feature restrictions

Video overlay files inherit the color information from their underlying input video. For example, if your input video uses a Rec. 601 color space, MediaConvert assumes your video overlay also uses a Rec. 601 color space.

For consistency in color and formatting in your output video image, we recommend that you specify video overlay files with similar characteristics as their underlying input videos.