Updates to the iTunes Package Film Specification.

The following updates have been added to the iTunes Package Film Specification.

Preview and Chapter Art Images
You can now specify which frame to display as the preview image thumbnail on the iTunes Store. Specify a frame from the feature using the image_time attribute, or specify a frame from a separately delivered trailer by using the <preview_image_time> tag. When specifying a frame from a separately delivered trailer, make sure the frame is taken from within the preview. If the tag is not supplied for separately delivered trailers, the preview image will default to 45 seconds. For preview clips, the first frame will be used as the default image.

In addition to providing chapter art images, you can also now specify which frame to use for each chapter image using the <artwork_time> tag. Only frames from within the chapter may be used.

Support for EIDR
Entertainment Identifier Registry (EIDR) values are now supported as an optional field to include with your movie deliveries. Any level of EIDR is supported per Movie Vendor ID, and these can be delivered by XML.

Once you've delivered EIDR values for your movies, you'll see them in iTunes Connect. You can also obtain a list of delivered EIDR values for your movies by downloading a Catalog Report.

For more information on Entertainment Identifier Registry values, visit http://eidr.org.

Locale Tags for Audio Descriptions
As a reminder, a <locale> tag specifying the language must be supplied when delivering an audio description (AD) file. The locale of the AD file must match either the locale of a corresponding source audio, or the locale of an alternate audio file.

Deprecation of Outdated XML Schemas
Support for 4.x and earlier XML schemas will be discontinued starting September 1, 2016. Deliveries that use 4.x and earlier XML schemas will be blocked. To ensure successful delivery of your movies, make sure that the tags and requirements conform to a 5.0 or higher schema. We recommend that you use the latest published specification version, which is currently film5.2.

QC Code Revisions
To make it easier to manage your movies on iTunes Connect, we're updating our Video Quality action codes. The new codes will provide more detail, and will help improve reporting. Look for changes to be reflected within future QC notification emails, as well as in iTunes Connect.