Audio Hub
Prime Video allows discrete audio file delivery of localized dubs or descriptive audio of a program’s content globally. Each language requires delivery of a separate audio asset. All assets must conform to the video mezzanine delivered for that title. Content partners have the option to send discrete audio to enable additional languages. This is dependent on the original video being semi-textless. Additional assets can accompany previously delivered video mezzanines. These assets must use the same identifiers as the previously delivered sources. If you require a low-resolution proxy file of the mezzanine previously delivered to Prime Video, contact your operations account manager. The proxy helps you conform audio or timed text in additional languages.
Technical Guidelines for Audio Files and Audio Channel Mapping
Prime Video accepts the following audio source formats:
- PCM (LPCM) audio in a QuickTime .mov container
- PCM (LPCM) audio in an MPEG-2 transport stream
- AAC audio in an .mp4 container
- PCM (LPCM) audio in a self-contained .wav file
Prime Video also accepts .wav files for stereo-only sources, due to the 4-GB size limit of this format.
Only deliver fully mixed program tracks. Additional tracks, like music and effects (M&E) and silent (MOS), must be removed prior to delivery.
Audio Validation
To minimize out-of-spec audio deliveries, you can perform manual or automated quality control testing on audio files before delivery. Some of the common issues are as follows:
- One-hour offset in audio files
- Too many audio channels
- Too few audio channels
- Mismatched video and audio durations (times must be within 2.0 seconds of each other)
- Non-standard sample rates
- Long silent periods
- Multiple languages across audio tracks
- Non-program audio included in audio mixes. music and effects (M&E), silent tracks (MOS), and commentary tracks must be removed.
Descriptive Audio
In our effort to further support blind and visually impaired customers, Prime Video fully supports descriptive audio or narration. Descriptive audio consists of a narrator talking through the presentation. The narrator describes what is happening on the screen or stage during the natural pauses in the audio. If deemed necessary, the narrator sometimes also speaks during dialogue.
For more information about how to write quality audio description, please refer to the Audio Description Style Guide below:
Important: If you deliver a descriptive audio file for a title, dialogue audio in the same language is required. This can be delivered either via audio embedded in the video file, or as a discrete dubbed asset. Prime Video blocks publishing of a title with descriptive audio but no matching dialogue audio file in the same language-locale. For example, if the main mezzanine is en-US but the descriptive audio is en-GB, the descriptive audio will be blocked and any subsequent deliveries of any assets will also be blocked.
To deliver descriptive audio, content partners must adhere to the following instructions for MMC packaging.
Audio in Media Manifest Core (MMC)
The Type must be Narration in the inventory section. The Presentation section must reference the audio track as usual.
<manifest:Audio AudioTrackID="md:trackID:org:prodtest:SKU_xxxx:feature.audio.narration.en-US">
<md:Type>Narration</md:Type>
<md:Language dubbed="true">en-US</md:Language>
<manifest:ContainerReference>
<manifest:ContainerLocation>file://TitanFilms_2589723_Feature.mp4**>
<manifest:Hash method="MD5">2d93c7d99f99229b7c08cbf7ab58b94e</manifest:Hash>
</manifest:ContainerReference>
</manifest:Audio>
