Apps Creator FAQs

On Using Apps Creator & Zype's CMS

Can I use Zype's Video CMS with Apps Creator? 

Yes, absolutely. 

What metadata and information will be available in the Apps Platform to use for my applications? 

If you are using Zype’s CMS, the metadata that you add to your videos will appear inside the Apps Platform. The following categories will sync automatically: Title, Description, Keywords, Categories, Thumbnails, Ratings, Subtitles. You can manage all your content in the Zype CMS and Apps Creator will pick up and display the information in your apps. 

Will all the existing Zype APIs continue to be supported?

Yes, we will not be deprecating any of Zype’s APIs or API functionality. 

Do I have to use Zype's CMS moving forward?

No, you can continue to use your CMS of choice. The Zype Apps Creator will allow you to bring your own hosted solution. We will continue to remain agnostic as to where your content comes from as long as it matches our specifications. 

What are the benefits of using Zype’s CMS?

While you don’t need to leverage Zype’s CMS, the close integration between Zype and Apps Creatormakes using Zype’s CMS more efficient and beneficial for users. 

Zype provides a digital-first, video content management solution. With Zype’s CMS you can easily categorize and organize content into meaningful collections and playlists, and any content configurations that are added to the Zype CMS will be automatically picked up in Apps Creator.  Zype’s CMS provides multiple encoding options and enables content delivery across our multi-CDN network. In addition the CMS offers flexibility when it comes to providing metadata that is seamlessly transferred into your MAZ application. The structured metadata fields allow you to provide detailed support and unstructured fields also offer the ability to provide custom metadata fields within our CMS. 

In addition to the CMS, Zype allows you to create live streams and playout streams that can be ingested directly into the Apps Creator. 

Getting Started

What should I set up in Zype versus set up in Apps Creator?

All content should be set up in the Zype CMS. Playlists can be created in either system, but preference is Zype CMS. If Zype is being used as the subscriber database, users would be stored in the Zype CRM and accessed via the Zype database integration. This is preferred over using the built-in MAZ ID database.

We ingest the metadata from the MRSS feed itself, so if you make changes on the Zype MRSS feed in the Zype dashboard, the updates are pushed into the MAZ dashboard. Updates can take up to 90 minutes. 

Can I have multiple content creators upload through different permissions/temporary credentials?

Yes, in Zype’s CMS you can create multiple users who can all operate the Zype dashboard, add content into those feeds and those feeds would be embedded directly into your MAZ apps.

In the future, will you integrate Zype and MAZ’s dashboards into one dashboard? 

Yes that is on our roadmap for 2022. The integrated Zype Apps Creator dashboard will help streamline their workflows even further. Currently users will have to log into both Zype and MAZ platforms. 

Organizing Content

What metadata and information will be available in the MAZ platform to use for my applications? 

If you are using Zype’s CMS, the metadata that you add to your videos will appear inside the MAZ platform. The following categories will sync automatically: Title, Description, Keywords, Categories, Thumbnails, Ratings, Subtitles. You can manage all your content in the Zype CMS and MAZ will pick up and display the information in your MAZ apps. 

Can my video library be put into folders to keep them organized? 

Yes, in the MAZ dashboard you can set multiple feeds into one folder to help you organize content. That is also the beauty and benefit of creating playlists in Zype’s CMS. It gives you the ability to group content into playlist streams.

What type of content security does Zype Apps Creator offer?

Users are unable to record or take a screen grab of TV apps. If you try on mobile or web you get a black screen. In Q1 we will support Studio DRM as well. 

What kind of support do you offer?

Zype offers all customers basic support. For additional support offerings, please see our Support Tiers packaging page for more detail. 

Building Apps

Do you have a service where Zype oversees the building of apps?

Yes, Zype can handle the app creation and design for you as an add on service. Once the customer sets up a developer account, they will need to connect it to the MAZ dashboard. Once the connection is made, the Zype team can build the app out for you. Customers maintain ownership over the IP and developer account. 

How soon can I launch an app with Zype App Creator?

Our solution can turn around an app build within a week. Typically it takes between 4-8 weeks for most customers to complete their launch, from setting up the initial build to going live in the app store. There are a lot of factors to consider that can delay the process such as: providing initial specs, having content organized and ready to stream, routing designs to your team for feedback, app iterations and final approval, etc. Outside factors beyond just the code production may cause the timeline to stretch. If you need to get an app deployed in a shorter timeline, we offer an accelerated launch pro-service as an add-on. Please contact your account manager for more information.

App Features & Functionality

What platforms can I stream to?

You can use Apps Creator to deliver to a wide range of OTT platforms, increasing discoverability of your content everywhere consumers are streaming. Apps Creator packages are available for Web (Desktop & Mobile Web), Mobile & Tablet, and TV platforms. Streaming apps can be built for: iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, Roku Direct Publisher, Amazon Mobile, Amazon Tablet, Chromecast, Vizio (SmartCast), Samsung (Tizen), LG (WebOS), Web (HTML5), Standalone Web Players, and Xbox.

Is there support for ingesting a live event or playout stream from Zype into MAZ?

Yes. Zype can generate an HLS feed which can be added to MAZ. Currently the live stream will need to be set up by Customer Support (support@zype.com).

Does Apps Creator offer an option to view from web and not just a smart TV and mobile device?

Yes, the web app mimics what you see on a streaming device but within a web browser. Users can register or make purchases inside your web app and it will still be honored across devices using the same credentials. 

Are the App features customizable? How would we add a new feature that would not come out of the box? 

Generally Apps Creator offers a turnkey solution that allows you to create beautiful apps right out of the box. Some custom features may be created as an add-on if customers have a specific requirement. Please see Account Manager for additional information. 

What analytics do you offer?

We currently offer Google Universal Analytics and have other suites in development. We recommend getting analytics from the developer accounts themselves and ask our customers to create their own developer accounts to get full ownership over the apps. From there you get the most precise analytics regarding things like in app purchases. 

Do you offer multi-lingual feature support for apps? 

In the near future we are going to be adding localizations so you can have multi-lingual support within the apps. 

Monetization

Can you insert ads into a live stream?

Yes if you have specific cue points you can insert ads into a live stream.

What kind of ad options are there, and can you limit frequency?

Within the MAZ dashboard you can set a frequency for ads for preroll. Ads can be served as preroll, or you can set a static cue point for a midrolls, or you can set a static cue point within an MRSS feed.

What monetization options are available?

You can set up a subscription paywall, or customers can purchase individual feeds. Customers can also create an AVOD model to monetize content with programmatic ads. 

Can you mix and match monetization methods?

Yes, you can classify different monetization methods according to different feeds, and overlap them. 

Do you have a pay per view option for content?

Yes you can add an individual purchase inside of the MAZ apps. Individual video purchases are available within Zype’s CMS as well.