The look and feel of the Player is changing in December with the Q4 release. Upcoming changes are identified in this article by providing screenshots labeled "Old UI" and "New UI".

A Note on Terminology: Since the editor is primarily designed for video editing, this article uses the term "video" for the media being edited. However, the information and procedures also apply to any audio-only files you may have. It does not apply to interactive media (videos with polls embedded in them). You cannot currently edit the video portion of interactive media; you can only add, remove, or edit the embedded polls, and as such the Edit Media command for interactive media is disabled.

The ability to customize the thumbnail image shown for video or audio media is done through the EchoVideo video editor. By default, the EchoVideo media processor uses a still frame from near the beginning of the recording. For dual-track media, the thumbnail is always pulled from Channel 1 (labeled as Video 1 in the editor).

The thumbnail is what users see on the media tile in the Library or in a Group, and what administrators see on the Captures page. In addition, the thumbnail is also the preview image that users see for media posted or embedded outside of EchoVideo, before playback.

The thumbnail customization feature allows you to peruse the entire media for just the right still moment, then select an image from the video (or from either track for dual track media), OR upload your own custom image.  You can also revert to the original image at any time.

Before you Begin

There are a few items we want you to be aware of before you use the Set Thumbnail feature for your Video/Audio media:

• If you are using Safari, you should stop and use a different browser to set your thumbnail. There is a long-standing issue with WebKit (the browser engine used by Safari) where users cannot select an image from URL-served content (as EchoVideo media is). No other browsers are affected. You CAN upload a custom image to use, but you cannot select an image from the media. Safari is fine for all other EchoVideo media editor functionality.
• As stated in the note at the top of the page, interactive media cannot be edited through the EchoVideo video editor. If you want to have a custom thumbnail for your interactive media, you MUST set that image on the video FIRST, then add polls to the video.
• For custom-uploaded images, we maintain a 16:9 ratio and 1280x720 dimensions. If you upload a larger/smaller image, we will scale the image up or down to meet either the width or height (whichever is closest), then allow you to crop or rotate the image yourself.
• While you CAN select an animated gif as your custom uploaded image, we do not support animation in the thumbnail; we will use the first still image from the gif.

Selecting the Thumbnail and Preview Image from the Media

In many cases, users will want to select a still image from the recording that provides at-a-glance information about the topic or subject of the video. If your video has dual video tracks, you can select the image from either track. In all cases, a preview appears before you finalize setting the thumbnail, allowing you to cancel and find a different one if necessary.

To select a custom image from the media

1. Click on a Video in your Library (or the Admin completed captures list) to open the Media Details page.
2. Click Edit Media option below the preview panel, identified in the below figure.

   Old UI
   New UI

   
   

   The video opens in the editor.

   Old UI
   New UI

3. Play and pause, or scrub through the media to find the still frame you want to use for the media thumbnail image. You can also use the location text box to manually enter a very specific time-location.
4. Click the menu button on the cut marker, then select Set Thumbnail, as shown in the below figure. 
   ALTERNATELY: Click the current thumbnail image located to the left of the media title below the playback panel. The options in the popup are identical.
   

   Old UI
   New UI

   
   

   The Set Thumbnail dialog box opens, showing the current media thumbnail and options for choosing a new one, as shown in the below figure.
   Notice that the current playback location is identified in the Video option. If this is a dual-track video, both video options will have the current playback location, allowing you to select either track's still image.

   Old UI
   New UI

5. Click the Video track option that contains the still image you want to use. Notice that the Preview panel in the popup changes to show that image.

   Old UI
   New UI

6. If this is the image you want, click Set Thumbnail. 
7. If it is NOT the image you want, click Cancel and repeat the above steps.

The image is applied as the new thumbnail, and appears in the thumbnail location in the editor, to the left of the media name, identified in the below figure. You do NOT have to click Save to apply these changes.

The media's new thumbnail appears on the media tile in your Library, as shown in the below image, and in any Group where this media resides, as well as in the captures page for Administrators. If this media is embedded or posted anywhere, the newly applied thumbnail also appears as the Preview image shown to users prior to playback.

If you decide you want a different thumbnail, repeat the above steps to select a different location. You can also revert to the original OR upload a custom image if there is not a still location in the video you want to use.

Revert Custom Thumbnail to Original

In the event you select a thumbnail image and decide you do not want to keep it, you can revert to the original.

To revert a custom thumbnail to the original

1. In the EchoVideo video editor, click the thumbnail image, located to the left of the title, immediately below the playback panel, as identified in the below image.

   Old UI
   New UI

2. In the popup box that appears, select Revert to Original, as identified in the below image.

   Old UI
   New UI

The media editor immediately reverts the thumbnail back to the one originally on the media.

Uploading a Custom Thumbnail Image

If there is no still moment in the video that captures the essence of the media, or you simply prefer to use a stock set of images, you can upload an image file to use as the thumbnail and preview image for this media.

Supported image file types include: .gif, .jpe, .jpg, .jpeg, and .png. Note that while you CAN select an animated gif as your custom image, we do not support animation in the thumbnail; we will use the first still image from the gif.

As stated in Before you Begin at the top of this page, we maintain a 16:9 ratio and 1280x720 dimensions for thumbnail images. If you upload a larger/smaller image, we will scale the image up or down to meet either the width or height (whichever is closest), then allow you to crop or rotate the image yourself.

The Filestack dialog box automatically shows the Crop and Rotate functionality after selecting the image, so that you can see (and tweak slightly) these changes before upload. This also ensures that the image you want to use actually works for this purpose before completing the process. If your selected image does not look the way you want in the Filestack preview, you can select another.

To upload an image for use as media preview and thumbnail

1. In the EchoVideo video editor, click the thumbnail image, located to the left of the title, immediately below the playback panel, as identified in the below image.

   Old UI
   New UI

2. In the popup box that appears, select Custom Image, as identified in the figure below.

   Old UI
   New UI

3. Click the Select File to Upload button that appears in the popup, and is shown in the above figure.
4. In the Filestack dialog box that appears, click the Add File button in the middle to upload from your local computer (default).
   ALTERNATELY: Use the selections on the left side of the dialog box to select a file from a shared drive or cloud location (e.g., Box, OneDrive, GoogleDrive, etc), then follow the instructions given.
   
5. Once the uploaded image appears in the Filestack dialog box, click and drag the Crop frame (and/or its corners) to identify the PORTION of the image to be used as the thumbnail.
   This allows you to be sure the image you have selected will work, without being resized into the wrong dimensions, and without showing the wrong portion of the image.

   Old UI
   New UI

6. If necessary, use the Rotate option from the left to rotate the uploaded image, then adjust the crop frame to the proper location.
7. If the image you uploaded does NOT look the way you want, click the left-pointing arrow located above the preview panel to return to the file selection screen, and select a different file.
8. When finished, click Crop in the lower right corner of the dialog box, identified in the above figure, then click Upload.
   The media editor appears with the uploaded image now showing in the thumbnail Preview. In addition, the upload button now shows the filename of the file you just uploaded. You can click this button to select a different file, should you want to.

   Old UI
   New UI

9. If you are happy with the custom selection, click Set Thumbnail.

The uploaded image is applied immediately to your video, and is now the image that will appear for this media in the media tile in the Library as well as the Groups page.

To CHANGE the uploaded custom file being used, click on the thumbnail to the left of the media title, then click on the button that shows the currently used filename. Repeat the above steps to select and apply a different image.