Quiver recommends that every video file delivered to Quiver is textless. A textless file will drastically reduce the time that it takes Quiver to process and deliver a title to retailers.
Please Note: Failing to provide a textless video file may result in a title missing it's EST/VOD start date.
What is textless?
Textless is a term that describes video files that do not have burned-in subtitles or translations. Burned-in subtitles include:
- Burned-in text that translates dialogue/text into a language other than the original spoken language of the video.
- Text that translates foreign dialogue in a video into the video's original spoken language.
Here is an example of a file that is NOT textless:
This file would be flagged by Quiver and all processing for the title would stop until a new textless file is provided.
What text is allowed in a textless file?
A textless file can still include the following text elements:
1. Title Card
2. Opening/Closing Credits
3. Forced Narrative
Please Note: Forced narrative is any text element in a file that adds to the story but DOES NOT translate any dialogue or on-screen text into another language.
Why are textless files so important?
For Native Speakers: Reading burned-in text that is not in the file's original spoken language is annoying. In the above video example, a customer who understands English does not need French subtitles. It's too much information and will result in a poor customer experience.
For Non-Native Speakers: Textless files are important for titles with multiple language options. For example, if Quiver is delivering a Spanish subtitle file for the above video example, then below is what a customer will see when the Spanish subtitles are turned on:
Again, it's too much information and will result in a poor customer experience.