Alibaba Cloud ApsaraVideo VOD provides short video SDKs that allow you to perform operations on videos. You can use short video SDKs to record, crop, edit, merge, and upload videos. This topic describes the benefits, usage scenarios, and features of the short video SDK. You must obtain a license to use the SDK.
What is the short video SDK?
The short video SDK is a developer tool that allows you to record, crop, edit, and upload videos. The short video SDK provides easy-to-use, stable, and unified API operations. Developers can use the features that are provided by the short video SDK based on their business requirements. The short video SDK also provides an open source user interface (UI). Developers can customize the UI based on business requirements for secondary development.
Benefits
Quick and cost-effective integration
You can integrate the short video SDK into your services in a minimum time period of 2 hours. This way, you can quickly use features provided by the short video SDK in your applications without self-development.
Easy-to-use APIs
The short video SDK provides easy-to-use API operations. The Professional Edition allows you to customize your UI based on your business requirements.
Comprehensive features for various usage scenarios
The short video SDK allows you to perform resumable recording, apply filters in real time, and add retouching effects. You can use the retouching effects provided by Queen SDK and FaceUnity SDK. The short video SDK also provides API operations to recognize faces and add face stickers. You can import local videos, compress videos, crop videos, and add advanced effects such as theme templates, animated stickers, subtitles, and music to videos.
High stability and reliability based on service iterations
The short video SDK is stable and reliable, which has been tested by more than 1,000 applications.
Intelligent production for quick video creation
High-quality video templates are provided based on Adobe After Effects. You can upload media materials and produce high-quality and creative videos based on the video templates with ease.
Scenarios
The short video SDK is suitable for recording and producing short videos. The short video SDK can also be used in various interactive scenarios related to entertainment, social interaction, family bonding, education, and news.
Features
This section describes only the major features provided by the short video SDK. For more information about categories and description of the features, see Feature list.
UI
A default UI and source code of the UI are provided. You can customize the UI based on your business requirements.
Video recording
The short video SDK provides various features such as duet recording, resumable recording, video clip deletion, tap to shoot, tap and hold to shoot, flash setting, camera switching, and resolution setting. When you record videos, you can apply common retouching effects, filters, watermarks, and face stickers from the built-in face sticker library in real time. You can also mix audio streams and use speed ramping effects. In addition, the Professional Edition can integrate with third-party facial augmented reality (AR) services to support advanced face and skin retouching.
Video editing
The short video SDK supports basic editing features. You can crop videos, add music, and merge video streams. The short video SDK also allows you to add effects on the editing UI. The effects include static and animated filters, transition effects, regular and bubble subtitles, and static and animated stickers. You can also change voice with voice effects and draw doodles. The doodle feature supports custom line widths and colors and the undo operation.
Animated stickers
You can add animated stickers to videos on the editing UI. After you add an animated sticker, you can adjust the display duration of the animated sticker and the point in time when you want to display the animated sticker.
Templates
You can create templates by using Adobe After Effects and use the templates to produce videos in specific styles. You can select videos and images from your local PC, edit text, and specify a template to create a video in a quick manner.
Subtitles
You can add regular subtitles and bubble subtitles. You can also use word art for subtitles and flip subtitles on the editing UI.
Draft box
You can generate a draft after you edit a new video or edit the video that is stored in the draft box. Multiple drafts are listed in the draft box. Editing changes to a draft video in the draft box are synchronized to the cloud.
License version
Feature list
The following table describes the features of the short video SDK.
Feature | Description | Remarks | |
UI | Default UI | Provides a default UI. You can modify the layout and UI for secondary development. | You can use this feature free of charge. |
Custom UI | Provides the complete source code for UI interaction. You can customize the UI based on your business requirements. You can also replace icons and change the background color. | ||
Video recording | Resolution and aspect ratio | Supports recording in standard definition (SD), high definition (HD) and ultra-high definition (UHD), and provides the following video aspect ratios: 16:9, 4:3, and 1:1. | To use this feature, you must select the Recording feature when you purchase the short video SDK on the buy page. |
Definition | Allows you to specify the frame rate and quality level, or configure custom Group of Picture (GOP) settings and bitrates to generate videos at different resolutions. | ||
Multi-clip recording | Supports resumable recording and continuous recording. | ||
Custom duration | Allows you to set the maximum and minimum recording duration. | ||
Speed ramping | Supports fast-forward and slow-motion effects. | ||
Recording control | Allows you to switch frames, switch cameras, use flashlight, specify the exposure level, change the focal length, and configure the focus mode. | ||
Photo capture | Captures the current image, and saves the image as a photo. | ||
Background music | Allows you to add music on the recording UI. Music resources are provided by a third party at an additional cost. | ||
Real-time watermarks | Allows you to add watermarks when you record videos. | ||
Real-time filters | Allows you to switch filters in real time during video preview. You can also create a custom filter. | ||
Real-time effects | Allows you to add common effects such as dithering and screen split during preview. You can also add a custom effect. | ||
Face stickers | Allows you to add effects such as face stickers by using the built-in facial recognition feature. | ||
Facial recognition APIs | Supports integration of third-party facial recognition services to allow users to add face stickers during recording. | ||
Custom rendering | Supports custom rendering for the collected data that is returned in callbacks. | ||
Basic retouching | Allows you to add retouching effects in real time and change the retouching level during recording. | ||
Advanced retouching | Integrates Queen SDK and FaceUnity SDK to use retouching effects, including skin smoothing, rosy cheeks, skin whitening, big eye, and face thinning. You are charged for using FaceUnity SDK. | ||
Duet recording | Allows you to record a duet that consists of a video that is being taken by the camera and an existing video. | ||
Mixed audio streams | Supports real-time mixing of multiple audio streams during recording. | ||
Echo removal | Supports echo removal from the recording source during recording. | ||
Noise reduction | Supports noise reduction during recording. | ||
Screen recording | Allows you to record a screen and generate a video. | ||
Multi-source recording | Combines videos that are recorded by cameras, videos that are recorded for a screen, and videos from local devices to generate a video. | ||
Basic video editing | Video import | Allows you to import local videos and edit the videos. | To use this feature, you must select the Import feature when you purchase the short video SDK on the buy page. |
Photo cropping | Allows you to crop photos by image size. The padding and cropping modes are supported. | ||
Video cropping | Allows you to crop videos by image size or video duration. The padding and cropping modes are supported. | ||
Cropping at the original aspect ratio | Allows you to crop videos by duration based on the original aspect ratio. This helps reduce the time that is required for video cropping. | ||
Video transcoding | Allows you to configure the encoding format, bitrate, GOP settings, and frame rate to generate videos based on different compression ratios. | ||
Preview by frame | Allows you to view the frame image on which the reference cursor appears in the preview window when you move the timeline. | ||
Video snapshots | Allows you to render the current video frame and save the snapshot as an image based on the current timeline. | ||
Stream merging | Allows you to import and merge multiple images and video streams to generate a video file. | ||
Layout for multiple videos | Allows you to import multiple videos and specify the position and size to generate a video with multiple images. | ||
Picture-in-picture (PiP) | Allows you to add videos that overlap each other on the main video track to generate a video file with the PiP effect. | ||
Background music | Allows you to add music that is not affected by time effects. Music resources are provided by a third party at an additional cost. | ||
Dubbing by using local audio files | Allows you to add local audio files to a video. You can also add time effects such as fast-forward and slow-motion effects. | ||
Video effects | Time effect | Allows you to add the fast or slow motion, reverse playback, and repetition effects to videos. | You can use this feature free of charge. |
Image editing | Allows you to change the brightness, white balance, sharpness, vignette, and contrast of an image on the editing UI. | ||
Static filters | Allows you to switch between a Lookup Table (LUT) filter or a shader script filter on the editing UI in real time. | ||
Animated filters | Allows you to add animated filters such as out of body and phantom on the editing UI. | ||
Transition | Allows you to add transition effects such as translation, fade, and shutter between adjacent videos or photos. | ||
Frame animation | Allows you to shift, zoom, and modify animations such as stickers and subtitles, on videos and images. | ||
Static stickers | Allows you to add static stickers to a video in time on the editing UI. After you add a static sticker, you can change the display duration of the static sticker and the point in time when you want to display the static sticker. | ||
Doodle | Allows you to adjust the style, size, and color of the paint brush. | ||
End watermarks | Allows you to add end watermarks to videos. You can specify the display duration of the end watermarks. | ||
Custom rendering | Supports custom rendering for encoded frame data that is returned in callbacks. | ||
Noise reduction | Supports noise reduction for audio clips. | ||
Audio fade-in and fade-out | Supports audio fade-in and fade-out effects. | ||
Mute | Allows you to mute the original audio of the current video and music. | ||
Sound effects | Allows you to use voice effects such as lolita and male voices to edit the original audio on the editing UI. | ||
Animated stickers | Animated stickers | Allows you to add a sequence of frames that contain animated stickers to a video at a point in time. After you add an animated sticker, you can adjust the display duration of the animated sticker and the point in time when you want to display the animated sticker. | To use this feature, you must select the Sticker feature when you purchase the short video SDK on the buy page. |
MV | MV | Allows you to add MVs and switch among MVs on the editing UI. | To use this feature, you must select the MV feature when you purchase the short video SDK on the buy page. |
Subtitles | Regular subtitles | Allows you to add multiple subtitles. You can configure the position, size, angle, color, and font of subtitles. You can also specify the display duration of the subtitles, and the point in time when you want to display the subtitles. | To use this feature, you must select the Subtitle feature when you purchase the short video SDK on the buy page. |
Bubble subtitles | Allows you to add a background to subtitles. You can add animated backgrounds and configure subtitle borders. | ||
Word art | Supports the multi-colored text style that uses art effects. | ||
Subtitle flipping | Allows you to combine subtitle effects. You can manage the effects and specify the point in time based on your business requirements. | ||
Draft box | Draft | Allows you to save the videos that you record or edit as drafts. You can directly edit the drafts when you want to use them. | You can use this feature free of charge. |
Draft list | Allows you to add edited videos to the draft list. | ||
Synchronization of drafts to the cloud | Allows you to upload and download video drafts. | ||
Others | Album selection | Allows you to filter videos by album or by video duration. | You can use this feature free of charge. |
Thumbnails | Allows you to extract frames from a video at a specified time point and generate thumbnails by using the frames. You can quickly generate thumbnails when you use the fast mode. | ||
Video information | Allows you to extract common information about a video, including the resolution, frame rate, and encoding format. | ||
Upload to VOD | Integrates the core classes that are used for video upload in the short video SDK and supports video upload by using the upload SDK. You can use ApsaraVideo VOD for media asset management, cloud-based transcoding, and content moderation. | ||
Customer service
Intelligent customer service is an intelligent chatbot that Alibaba Cloud provides for the short video SDK. The intelligent chatbot can answer your questions about the short video SDK and its usage.