JWX Ad Server now supports account-level ad operations across multiple properties, with a new Operations role, property targeting, and account-level analytics.

New Features

The new Operations role lets Ad Ops users manage JWX Ad Server across the account without granting broader Admin permissions:

• Operations role: Give users account-wide access to JWX Ad Server, Ad Serving analytics, and Ad Serving custom reports.
• Property targeting: Target all properties, selected properties, or all except selected properties with the new Properties setting in Web targeting rules.
• Account-level analytics: View Ad Serving data across all properties by default, filter analytics by Property or Ad format from the account-level experience.

❗ IMPORTANT: With this change, users who access Ad Serving through the Read Only, Editor, or Manager role will lose access immediately. Assign the Operations role to users who need continued access.

Live and VOD media now use the same trimming and clipping tool in the JWX dashboard. The unified controls, timeline, and workflow make it easier to create precise clips from live events or edit VOD media.

New Features

This update includes the following improvements:

• Unified trimming and clipping tool: Use the same dashboard tool to create clips from Broadcast Live and Instant Live events or trim and clip VOD media from the media details page.
• Frame-accurate clipping: Clips created from Broadcast Live, Instant Live, and CMAF VOD media now begin and end on the exact frames you select, helping you capture the intended moment without padding or re-cutting. 

• Expanded keyboard shortcuts: Keyboard shortcuts are now available for both live and VOD media. Use them to:

  • (New) Zoom in, zoom out, or reset the timeline zoom using =, -, and 0
  • Step one frame backward or forward using , and .
  • Jump five seconds backward or forward using ← and →
  • Set the in and out points using i and o
  • Play or pause using space
• In-tool shortcut legend: View a complete list of keyboard shortcuts directly within the trimming and clipping tool.

NOTE: Frame-accurate clipping and frame-step keyboard shortcuts apply only to Broadcast Live, Instant Live, and CMAF VOD media. Traditional VOD clips and trims remain segment-accurate.

Learn how to trim a video or create a clip, create a Broadcast Live clip, or create a clip from a past Instant Live event.

You can now manage captions and subtitles for CMAF VOD media using the same text tracks endpoints available for Traditional VOD. Upload a WebVTT or SRT file, and JWX automatically packages and delivers the track in streaming manifests and as a sidecar WebVTT file without requiring you to create a .cmft file.

New Features

This update includes the following capabilities:

• Text track management for CMAF VOD: Use the text tracks endpoints to create, upload, edit, publish, unpublish, and delete WebVTT or SRT captions and subtitles. JWX packages each published track as a CMAF text rendition and includes it in HLS and DASH manifests.
• Automatic text track extraction: When you upload CMAF VOD media, JWX automatically extracts captions and subtitles embedded in the source file and creates manageable text tracks from them.
• Sidecar WebVTT delivery: JWX also provides each caption or subtitle track as a sidecar WebVTT file that matches the version delivered in the streaming manifests. Use the direct WebVTT URL for syndication or playback through third-party players.
• Support for pre-encoded .cmft files: Continue using the custom text renditions endpoints when supplying your own pre-encoded .cmft files. These tracks are delivered only through streaming manifests and are not available as sidecar WebVTT files.

This update applies only to captions and subtitles tracks. Chapters and metadata tracks are unchanged.

NOTE: CMAF VOD text track management is currently available only through the Management API v2. Support for managing these tracks in the JWX dashboard and editing text renditions from live-to-VOD captures and CMAF VOD clips will be added in future releases.

Ad optimization lets you deliver different ad experiences to defined audience segments without changing your video application. Using request data, media metadata, and other sources, you can tailor ad loads for audiences such as new and returning viewers, select experiences based on content, and schedule when those experiences apply.

New Features

Ad optimization provides the following capabilities:

• Audience segmentation: Define audience segments using signals from an SSAI request, metadata on the requested media item, or a specified date and time.
• Prioritized evaluation: Arrange audience segments in the order JWX should evaluate them. When a request meets every condition in a segment, JWX applies the outcome configured for that segment.
• Default advertising segment: Define a default outcome that JWX applies when no audience segment matches the request.
• Complete advertising outcomes: Assign an ad config, control bumper behavior, and define stitch mode for each audience segment.
• Independent configuration: Configure advertising, bumpers, and stitch mode independently to tailor each part of the experience to an audience.
• Traffic splitting: Distribute traffic between ad configs to compare different advertising experiences or balance delivery.
• Segment measurement: Measure the performance of individual audience segments, then refine their conditions and traffic distribution.

Learn more about ad optimization. 

NOTE: Ad optimization is currently available as a beta offering. Contact your JWX Account Manager to request access. Use of this feature is subject to the JWX Beta Program Agreement.

You can now control whether a web player displays Motion Thumbnails when creating a web player or configuring Player UX for Dynamic Strategy Rules.

New Feature

Use the Motion Thumbnails setting under Display Settings to control whether the player displays motion thumbnails. The setting is enabled by default. When disabled, the player displays a static poster instead.

Motion thumbnails must be available for the video before the player can display them. Learn how to enable the delivery of auto-generated motion thumbnails.

Learn more about configuring web player display options and Player UX for Dynamic Strategy Rules.

You can now replace the source file of an existing CMAF VOD media item without deleting and recreating it. Re-uploading preserves the media ID, metadata, and delivery URLs. This allows playlists, feeds, and downstream integrations to continue working without interruption.

New Features

CMAF VOD now supports the following re-upload capabilities:

• Media re-uploads: Use the re-upload endpoint to upload a new source file for an existing CMAF VOD media item. JWX preserves the media ID, metadata (such as the title and description), and delivery URLs. Playback switches to the new version after processing is complete.
• Automatic rendition regeneration: By default, JWX generates new renditions using the transcoding config from the media item’s previous version. If your site has multiple transcoding configs, you can specify a different config for the re-upload.
• Hosting type conversion: Use a re-upload to change a media item’s hosting_type from hosted (Traditional VOD) to renditions (CMAF VOD), or from renditions to hosted.
• Re-upload status: Use the media versions endpoints to confirm that a re-upload succeeded.

The existing re-upload limitations for audio and caption tracks still apply.

This update helps you:

• Deliver corrected masters, edits, and compliance cuts without breaking playlists, feeds, or integrations
• Maintain a consistent rendition ladder across re-uploads
• Manage CMAF VOD media using the same re-upload workflow available for Traditional VOD

NOTE: CMAF VOD re-uploads are currently available only through the Management API v2. Support for re-uploading through the JWX dashboard will be added in a future release.

Seek thumbnails for CMAF VOD media are now generated at intervals that scale with video duration, at most 10 seconds apart, providing more accurate previews as viewers scrub through content on web, mobile, and connected TV (CTV) devices.

Previously, JWX generated a maximum of 80 seek thumbnails per video, which could result in sparse previews for longer content. CMAF VOD media now has no thumbnail limit.

New Features

This update includes the following improvements for CMAF VOD media:

• More frequent thumbnails: JWX generates seek thumbnails at intervals based on video duration — at most every 10 seconds for long-form content and as often as every 2 seconds for shorter videos.
• No thumbnail limit: Long-form content is no longer restricted to 80 thumbnails per video.
• Improved cross-platform previews: Viewers receive more accurate seek previews across web, mobile, and CTV.
• New Delivery API endpoint: Retrieve the WebVTT thumbnail track directly using GET /v2/sites/{site_id}/media/{media_id}/thumbstrip.vtt. The track also remains referenced in delivery endpoint responses.
• Automatic support for existing media: The improvement applies to existing CMAF VOD media without requiring reprocessing.

This update helps viewers navigate long-form content more precisely and quickly identify the section they want to watch.

To learn more, see the Delivery API reference.

NOTE: This update applies only to CMAF VOD media. Seek thumbnails for Traditional VOD media are unchanged.

Android SDK 4.27.0 adds caption styling and positioning APIs, fullscreen exit reasons, and new offline DRM capabilities. This release also improves offline-download reliability, upgrades AndroidX Media3 to 1.10.1, and fixes issues affecting captions, Chromecast, fullscreen playback, advertising, and media controls.

New Features

• New CaptionsConfig APIs let you customize caption font, size, text color, background and window colors, edge style, and placement.
• New caption positioning options let you configure caption box width, horizontal position, alignment, and vertical placement.
• FullscreenExitReason lets apps identify how fullscreen was exited.
• Offline DRM now supports process-scoped MediaDrmCallback registration, retrieving the remaining duration of an offline license, refreshing renewable licenses without re-downloading media, and improved license handling when downloads are removed or replaced.
• AndroidX Media3 has been upgraded from version 1.10.0 to 1.10.1.

Bug Fixes

• Captions no longer appear too small in letterboxed portrait layouts.
• Offline downloads no longer crash on Android 14 and later and now resume after a requirements wait, process restart, or reboot when supported by the Android version.
• Fixed potential crashes when selecting captions shortly after connecting to Chromecast or requesting fullscreen after the player had been destroyed.
• Fixed advertising issues affecting Google DAI pause and resume events, fullscreen VAST playback, and mid-roll playback after seeking while paused.
• The lock-screen scrubber no longer advances while playback is paused.
• Improved Picture-in-Picture and media-button broadcast receiver handling.
• Added missing consumer rules for optional dependencies that could cause minified host-app builds to fail.

Offline downloads on Android 14 and later

Apps using offline downloads and targeting API level 34 or later must declare android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE and android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_DATA_SYNC.

For additional technical details, see the Android Changelog.

Vertical Video now responds to layout changes after load in Single player and Full screen display modes.

New Feature

Single player and Full screen display modes now scale with their containing element while maintaining a 9:16 aspect ratio as layout dimensions change. This includes viewport and orientation changes on mobile.

Learn more about configuring the Vertical Video experience.

You can now connect ad performance to the content, placements, and player experiences that generate impressions and revenue.

New Feature

JWX Ad Server customers can now analyze ad performance using additional media, placement, and player dimensions in Ad Serving analytics.

The following dimensions are available in Custom Reports and Ad Serving Sessions Data Sharing datasets:

• Media and Placement to analyze ad performance by content and inventory placement
• Player Name and Experience Type to compare performance across player experiences
• Ad Slot Type to analyze impressions and revenue by ad position

These dimensions are available in Data Sharing at daily and monthly granularity. Media dimensions use the same content fields as Playback Analytics, making it easier to connect content performance with monetization data.

Player Name is unavailable for Strategy Rules inventory. Ad Slot Type is null when the slot type cannot be determined.

Learn more about Ad Serving Data.