Updates to the iTunes Package Film Specification.

We’ve updated the iTunes Package Film Specification to make it easier to manage your movies on the iTunes Store. Version 5.2.12 includes the following updates:

• ISAN Requirements for Switzerland
• Crop Dimensions Update

ISAN Requirements for Switzerland

ISAN is now required for some movies sold in Switzerland. You will need to provide an ISAN or V-ISAN by August 1, 2017 for any titles on your account that meet the following requirements:

1. The film is over 60 minutes long; and
2. The film was released on iTunes (EST or VOD) after 1 January 2017; or the film already has an ISAN

ISAN values can be delivered to iTunes via a metadata update (XML) in Transporter or in iTunes Connect. ISAN values can only be added through Transporter if a value doesn’t exist already. ISAN values can be updated at any time in iTunes Connect. To deliver an ISAN value through iTunes Connect, go to the Worldwide Metadata tab of the movie you wish to update and click the edit button.

ISAN (International Standard Audiovisual Number) is an industry standard used to uniquely identify audiovisual works. The ISAN Registry is free in Discovery Mode (limited information) and anyone can access the full descriptive metadata if they sign up to the ISAN registration Agency. For more information on ISAN, see www.isan.org.

Crop Dimensions Update

Crop dimensions are required for films that are matted and contain inactive pixels. When sending crop dimensions, send accurate dimensions and avoid unnecessary cropping, especially horizontally. If your video does not contain inactive pixels (that is, it is not matted), you can set all the crop values to zero, or omit the crop dimension attribute tags. If you do not supply any crop dimensions, iTunes will default to 0,0,0,0.