Delivery
Quality control checklists for transactional movies
Quality is important at Apple. To ensure we receive the highest-quality assets, your content must meet our technical specifications and style guide. For additional information on assets, see the Apple Video and Audio Asset Guide.
Before you deliver your content to us, you should perform a full linear quality control check of your content. Here, we provide a general overview of areas you can review.
Asset pre-check
To find asset issues early, we recommend that you review all content before you deliver it to Apple.
| Item | How to verify |
|---|---|
| Source quality | Assets must be the highest quality that exist in the marketplace. |
| Video file | Check the video file for defects at the beginning, middle, and end. |
| Video frame rate | The video’s native frame rate must be the same as the source frame rate (HD, PAL, NTSC) and match our specifications. |
| Cannot open/corrupt file | Make sure all asset files in the package can be opened, viewed, and played. |
| Incomplete file | Verify that all files in the package are complete. |
| Taglines, logos, legalese | No logos, ratings, advisories, or FBI warnings are allowed. |
| Native field dominance | Determine if the video source is progressive or interlaced, and make sure the tag is accurate in the header information. |
| Audio | Check audio levels. Ensure the language is tagged correctly and is in linear pulse-code modulation (LPCM) format. |
| Metadata | Make sure your metadata is formatted correctly and complies with our style guide. Use an appropriate locale to represent the language. |
| Artwork | Artwork should meet our specifications and style guide. Some territories require additional minimum requirements. |
| Preview | Previews should be appropriate for each territory and comply with our specifications and style guide. Make sure to meet minimum storefront requirements. |
Video (full and preview)
| Item | How to verify |
|---|---|
| Aspect ratio | Feature video assets must be the original aspect ratio. Find more about video assets in the Movies Style Guide. |
| colr, fiel, gama atoms | Atom tags within video asset headers should be set and corrected as needed. |
| Cropping | Video assets should not be cropped. Proper crop values must be specified in the XML to allow movies to be presented properly across devices. |
| Digital hits | Examples are rectangular color blocks or splits within a frame, and are a reason for QC rejection. |
| Dropped/duplicate frames | Movies with sequential frames that contain no distinction or movement will be rejected. |
| Encode/display bounds | Video assets must have correct display measurements and can’t distort the aspect ratio. |
| Interlacing | Interlacing artifacts must be removed. |
| Motion/image lag | Ghosting effects, moving image doubles, or image overlaps will be rejected. |
| Native frame rate | Current frame rates of video assets should match the original native format. See the Film Content Profiles section of the Apple Video and Audio Asset Guide for more information. |
| Video codec | Video assets must be encoded in ProRes 422 HQ format. We also accept ProRes 4444 or 4444 (XQ). |
Audio
| Item | How to verify |
|---|---|
| Audio missing | The package should include the appropriate audio file (Stereo, 5.1, 7.1 or Atmos). |
| Crackle/hiss/pop/ static/ticks |
Audio assets must be high quality without any errors. |
| Distortion | Audio assets should be clear and not distorted. |
| Drop outs | Audio assets can’t drop out during playback. |
| Dubbed audio missing | All provided dubbed audio should represent all dialogue present in the content. |
| Labeling | Audio configuration labeling should include the correct channel designation for stereo, 5.1, and 7.1 audio as listed in the Apple Video and Audio Asset Guide. |
| Sync | Audio dialogue and sound effects need to be in sync with the movie’s action. |
| Locale | The language tag provided for both primary and alternate audio files must correctly reflect the language spoken. |
Subtitles, closed captions, and SDH
| Item | How to verify |
|---|---|
| Multi-language synchronization | Subtitle files synchronization verification is required for the entire video. To validate, use the video source file or the scratch encode of the existing movie from iTunes Connect or lookup metadata mode through Transporter. |
| Locale | The language tag provided for closed captions and timed text assets must correctly reflect the language of the text provided.
The language of the forced subtitles must match the playback audio language. |
| Closed captions | Movie packages for the United States require a closed caption (CC) file that is synchronized and complete. Movies for other English speaking territories should also include a CC or SDH file when available. See the Film Closed Caption Profile in the Apple Video and Audio Asset Guide for details and be sure to comply with our style guide. |
| Subtitles/forced narratives | Video assets with subtitles or forced narrative files should be complete, in sync, and correctly translated. Use the appropriate locale to represent the language. |
| Burned-in subtitles | Burned-in subtitles should be complete, in sync, and correctly translated. Use the appropriate tagging as burned-in subtitles and a locale to represent the language. |
| Burned-in forced narratives | Burned-in forced narratives should be in sync and correctly tagged as a burned-in narrative to supplement the plot of the story. Use the appropriate locale to represent the language. |
Metadata
| Item | How to verify |
|---|---|
| Title | The title should be accurate and match the feature. See the Titles section and Multi-Language File (MLF) Best Practices in the Movies Style Guide. Use the appropriate locale to represent the language and also be sure to meet minimum storefront requirements. |
| Synopsis | Synopsis should be accurate and in the correct language. The language in the movie must be consistent with the language tag. Read more about Multi-Language File (MLF) Best Practices in the Movies Style Guide. |
| Cast/crew | Ensure the format, spacing, and spelling comply with our style guide. Sources for accuracy include the movie’s credits, for example. |
| Genre | Appropriate genres should be provided and formatted to the Apple Transactional Film Specifications. |
| Chapters metadata | Chapter-related metadata should be reviewed thoroughly. For example, review title formatting, locale, order of chapters, and time codes. |
Quality control notes
Provide quality control (QC) notes when you have additional information regarding the quality of your content. QC notes can be provided using the <comments> tag in the XML when the notes are less than 4000 characters (for standard 8-bit alphabet characters). Delivering QC notes as a PDF file is also supported.