ApsaraVideo VOD provides the short video SDK for iOS and Android. It is a toolkit for video recording, trimming, editing, splicing, and uploading. You can integrate the SDK into your app and customize its open-source UI for your business.
Core advantages
Quick integration and cost-effectiveness
The SDK can be integrated in as little as two hours. This saves you the time and resources for in-house development and helps you quickly add short video features to your app.
Simple and open APIs
The SDK provides simple and open APIs. The Professional Edition includes a fully customizable, open-source UI.
Comprehensive features
The recording feature supports resumable recording, real-time filters, efficient retouching (integrated with Alibaba Cloud's Queen SDK and FaceUnity's AR video effect SDK), and a face sticker API. You can import local videos for compression and cropping. You can also apply advanced features such as themes, animated stickers, subtitles, and music.
Iteratively refined for stability and reliability
The video technology is stable, reliable, and commercially proven in more than 1,000 applications.
AI-powered video creation
You can use high-quality video templates to generate creative videos from your materials with a single click.
Highlights
Alibaba Cloud provides a demo app. You can download the app to try out the video recording and editing features.
Video recording
The SDK supports features such as duet recording, resumable recording, clip deletion, tap-to-shoot, press-and-hold-to-shoot, basic retouching, real-time filters, flashlight, real-time watermarks, camera switching, resolution setting, a built-in library of face stickers, multi-track mixing, and speed adjustment. The Professional Edition can be integrated with third-party face AR capabilities for advanced retouching and skin enhancement features.
Video editing
The SDK supports basic video editing features such as cropping, adding music, and splicing. It also supports adding special effects, including filters (static and animated), transitions, captions (standard and bubble), stickers (static and animated), voice effects, and doodling (with adjustable brush size, color, and a revoke option).
Animated stickers
In the editor, you can add animated stickers at any point in the timeline and adjust their duration.
Drafts
You can save videos as drafts and continue editing them from the draft list. The drafts also support cloud sync.
Feature list
The following table describes the features of the short video SDK and their availability in the Basic, Standard, and Professional editions. A ✓ indicates that the feature is supported. An × indicates that the feature is not supported.
Feature | Description | Basic Edition | Standard Edition | Professional Edition | Module on the Professional Edition purchase page | |
Interface | Default UI | The SDK provides a default UI. You can perform custom development for the layout, interaction, and interface. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Basic support capabilities. |
Custom UI | The SDK provides UI interaction source code for customization. You can replace icons, change background colors, or redesign the UI completely. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Video recording | Resolution and aspect ratio | Supports high definition (HD), standard definition (SD), and ultra-high definition (UHD) recording in multiple aspect ratios, such as 16:9, 4:3, and 1:1. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Some capabilities are basic features. Others are provided free of charge in the Professional Edition. |
Definition | Set the frame rate and quality level, or customize the group of pictures (GOP) and bitrate to generate videos with different definitions. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Multi-segment recording | Supports resumable recording and continuous recording. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Custom duration | Customize the maximum and minimum recording duration. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Speed adjustment | Supports slow-motion and fast-motion recording. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Shooting control | Control recording settings, such as aspect ratio, camera, flashlight, exposure, focal length, and focus. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Photo Capture | Capture the current frame and save it as an image during recording. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Background music | Add music to the recording screen. Music resources are provided by third parties and are charged separately. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Real-time watermark | Add watermarks during recording. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Real-time filter | Switch filters in real time during recording preview. Custom filters are supported. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Real-time effect | Add effects such as jitter and split-screen during recording preview. Custom effects are supported. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Face sticker | Use a built-in facial recognition feature to add stickers and other decorative items to faces. | × | × | ✓ | ||
Facial recognition API | Supports integration with third-party face recognition services to add face stickers. | × | × | ✓ | ||
Custom rendering | Captured data can be custom rendered through callbacks. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Basic retouching | Apply real-time retouching during recording and smoothly adjust the intensity. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Advanced retouching | Supports integration with third-party retouching services to provide effects such as skin smoothing, rosy cheeks, skin bleaching, eye enlarging, and face slimming. Alibaba Cloud's Queen SDK and FaceUnity's AR video effect SDK are supported and are charged separately. | × | × | ✓ | ||
Duet recording | Record a duet with an existing video to create a split-screen effect. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Multi-track mixing | Mix multiple audio tracks in real time during recording. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Echo cancellation | Cancel echo from the recording source during recording. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Audio denoising | Remove noise from audio in real time during recording. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
View recording | Record a specified View to generate a video. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Multi-source recording | Combine the camera view, View recording, and local videos in real time to generate a single video. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Video clipping | Image clipping | Supports clipping of image sizes. Also supports image padding and clipping. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Basic support capabilities. |
Video clipping | Supports clipping of video sizes and duration. Also supports video padding and clipping. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Original ratio clipping | Supports clipping video duration while maintaining the original aspect ratio for faster processing. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Video transcoding | Set the codec, bitrate, GOP, and frame rate to generate videos with different compression ratios. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Video editing (basic editing) | Video import | Import local videos for quick editing. For more information about video editing, see Video editing on Android and Video editing on iOS. | × | ✓ | ✓ | Provided free of charge in the Professional Edition. |
Frame preview | Display the frame at the playhead's position in the preview window as you move along the timeline. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Video snapshot | Render the current frame on the timeline and save it as an image. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Multi-clip splicing | Import multiple videos or images and splice them sequentially to generate a single video file. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Multi-source mixing | Import multiple videos, specify their positions and sizes, and generate a video file with multiple frames. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Picture-in-Picture (PiP) | Overlay a video on the main track to generate a video file with a PiP effect. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Background music | Add music to a video. The music is not affected by time effects. Music resources are provided by third parties and are charged separately. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Local dubbing | Add local audio to a video. Time effects such as fast-motion and slow-motion are supported. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Video editing (special effects) | Time effects | Supports fast-forward, slow-motion, reverse, and repeat operations on videos. | × | ✓ | ✓ | Provided free of charge in the Professional Edition. |
Image adjustment | In the editor, adjust the brightness, white balance, sharpness, vignette, and contrast of the image. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Static filter | Add LUT filters or shader script filters and switch between them in real time in the editor. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Effects filter | Add animated filters such as soul-out and motion trail in the editor. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Transition | Add transition effects such as move, fade in, fade out, and blinds between videos and images. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Frame animation | Animate videos and overlays such as stickers and subtitles with position, scaling, and other transformations. Custom animations are supported. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Static sticker | Add static images in the editor at any point in the timeline and adjust their duration. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Doodle | Supports adjustment of brush style, size, and color. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Outro watermark | Add a watermark at the end of the video with a customizable duration. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Custom rendering | Decoded frame data can be custom rendered through callbacks. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Audio denoising | Apply noise reduction to the audio. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Audio fade in/out | Apply fade-in and fade-out effects to the audio. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Mute audio | Remove the original audio and music from the video. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Voice effects | Transform the original audio with a variety of fun voice effects, such as high-pitched or deep voice. | × | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Animated sticker | Animated sticker | Add an image sequence (animated sticker) in the editor at any point in the timeline and adjust its duration. | × | × | ✓ | Corresponds to Animated Stickers on the ApsaraVideo MediaBox purchase page. |
Theme template | MV | Add and switch MV effects in the editor. | × | × | ✓ | Corresponds to MV on the ApsaraVideo MediaBox purchase page. |
Subtitles | Standard subtitles | Add multiple subtitles. You can set the position, size, angle, color, and font for each subtitle, along with its start and end times. | × | × | ✓ | Corresponds to Subtitles on the ApsaraVideo MediaBox purchase page. |
Bubble subtitles | Add a background image to the text. Animated backgrounds and text borders are supported. | × | × | ✓ | ||
Word art | Multi-colored text styles with artistic effects. | × | × | ✓ | ||
Flipping subtitles | Use combined animations to control text entry and exit times and animation effects based on templates. | × | × | ✓ | ||
Drafts | Draft | Save a video as a draft after recording or editing to resume editing later. | × | ✓ | ✓ | Provided free of charge in the Professional Edition. |
Other | Album selection | Filter videos from the album. You can also filter videos by duration. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Provided free of charge in the Professional Edition. |
Thumbnail | Extract frames at specified time points to generate thumbnails. Fast mode is supported. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Video information | Extract common video information, including resolution, frame rate, and encoding format. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
Upload to ApsaraVideo VOD | ApsaraVideo VOD supports features such as media asset management, cloud transcoding, and content moderation. | ✓ Note The Basic Edition supports integration with the upload SDK to upload videos to ApsaraVideo VOD. | ✓ Note The Standard Edition supports integration with the upload SDK to upload videos to ApsaraVideo VOD. | ✓ Note The Professional Edition supports integration with the upload SDK to upload videos to ApsaraVideo VOD. For editing and composition scenarios, the core upload class is encapsulated for video upload. | ||
Expert support | Technical support for the short video SDK. | DingTalk group | ||||
License management
You must obtain a license before you can use the short video SDK. For more information, see Obtain a license for the short video SDK.
Supported media formats
The following table describes the media formats supported by the short video SDK:
Type | Format |
Video | MP4, MOV, FLV |
Audio | MP3, AAC, PCM |
Image | JPG, PNG, GIF |
Resource description
The short video SDK resources include facial recognition models, filters, and animated filters. You can store these resources on a server or package them directly into your application. To reduce the download size of your app, store the resources on a server and download them when your app starts.
The short video SDK does not load resources from the assets stream. If you package the resources into the APK, you must copy them to an SD card after the app starts. The resource files and usage instructions are available in the SDK download package.
Fill modes
When the aspect ratio of a source image or video differs from that of the output, you need to select a fill mode.
The short video SDK supports two fill modes:
Fill mode | Method |
Crop mode | Maintains the aspect ratio and crops the image to display only the central area. |
Scale mode | Maintains the aspect ratio and scales the image to fit completely, adding color bars to the top and bottom or left and right. |
Encoding methods
The short video SDK supports two encoding methods:
Encoding method | Encoding Details |
Software encoding | Uses the CPU for encoding. It offers more configurable parameters and produces clearer videos at the same bitrate. However, it is slower, has a higher CPU load, and can cause the device to heat up. |
Hardware encoding | Uses dedicated hardware other than the CPU for encoding. It is faster and has a lower CPU load. However, the video quality is slightly lower than software encoding and it may have compatibility issues on some Android devices. |
References
Familiarize yourself with the terms of ApsaraVideo VOD.
To learn how to integrate the short video SDK into your project, see the following topics: