Frequently Asked Questions

Q: My Media Manager password is not working. How do I get a new one?

A: Check our Media Manager FAQ page or contact Customer Service.

Q:  How do I get data from IVA?

A: We began offering data through our OData Web Services API in early 2011.  We will continue to support our Legacy Data API for a while longer, however we do not recommend its implementation for new customrs.

Q: What programs do you recommend for looking at the data?

A:  There are two programs we recommend: LINQPad and Sesame Data Browser.

Q: Is the data in the OData Web Service API free?

A: Yes. Anyone with a DeveloperID can access the data. There are limitations on the number of data requests per hour.  Please check the IVA Services  page for specifics on limitations.  See  the IVA OData API 1.0 Documentation for complete details.

Q: How can I tell an old movie from a newer remake?

A: The title field for movies in the IVA database includes a date of release whenever there is more than one movie with the same name.  i.e. Conan the Barbarian (1982), and Conan the Barbarian (2011)

Q: Do you have foreign movie trailers that have been translated into English?  What about foreign translations for Hollywood movies?

A: We have an increasing number of foreign movie trailers.   Some trailers come with English sub-titles, while others have English translations dubbed, and some have neither.  We also have U.S. movies with trailers intended for specific foreign markets; some have translations or dubs, and some have neither.

Q: How do I add video game trailers to my site?

A: The OData API's queries lets you add games to your site by title, by genre, by most popular, by date of release, or by using your own data source to match to game previews. Read the IVA OData API documentation for more information on adding games.

Q: Where can I find a map of Media Types to Media ID's ?

A: You can find the MediaID's and what they are matched to by downloading or querying the MediaTypes Entity in the OData API.

Q: I have the All Media Guide (AMG) ID's. Can I use them to get your ID's?

A: Yes.  IVA matches to a variety of data services including Rovi (AMG), iTunes, IMDB, Gracenote, Amazon, and UPC.  Check out how to use our PInpoint API.

Q: Can I customize the player in this API?

A: You have the ability to control the placement, size, look, and basic functionality of the player. Full functionality , including controlling ads requires a paid subscription.  See our Services page for more information on what features are included with our Free Trailer API.

Q: I don’t want ads before the trailers. How can I get rid of them?

A: Video Detective’s Free Trailer API is ad supported: we control the ads that run in conjunction with video plays. If you’d prefer not to run ads, or want to run your own ads, you might want to switch to our Basic, Professional, or Enterprise editions. Learn more under Services, or Contact Sales to discuss an upgrade.

Q: What is a ‘skin’, and what ‘skins’ are available for players?

A: A ‘skin’ is the name given to the look of a player: what the control bar looks like, which buttons appear, and where. To see the skins that IVA makes available, check out 'Skins" under Player documentation.

Q: Why won’t videos play on my phone?

A: Older versions of our Free Trailer API player did not support mobile,  Our new iframe embed code does.  Make sure you are using the most up-to-date version of our embed code.

Q: How do I change my player’s aspect ratio?

A: The Player API lets you control both the width and the height of your player. The default aspect ratio results in a player with a width of 320 pixels and a height of 260 pixels. The control bar is 20 px high.

Q: How do I make sure that I get the trailer for a new movie?

A: IVA has a team of acquisitions specialists who make sure that we stay on top of all the latest movie releases and have new trailers as soon as they’re released. You don’t have to do anything to make sure you get those new trailers. They are automatically added to the database.

Q: What player should I use?

A: IVA recommends the JWPlayer 5, the most popular open source player on the web. The JWPlayer 5 is a ‘universal player’ in that it not only supports playback of all the Adobe Flash Player formats but also HTML5. The dockable plug-ins enable users to easily share content or make purchases right inside the player saving valuable real estate on your site. IVA tested the JWPlayer 5 on VideoDetective with good results before offering it to clients in the IVA Player API.

Q: What are my options for running video ads?

A: IVA has over 50 ad networks which integrate with our Player API for accounts with paid subscriptions. For more information on what networks are available, visit the advertising section of the Media Manager documentation.

Q: Can I keep using the Classic Player v4 API?

A: This is a legacy product for which IVA support will end on April 30th, 2012.. Most users of the Classic  Player v4  have already switched to our current Cross Platform Player V5. The switch takes just a moment of your time and results in better quality, speed, and stability at no extra cost. If you prefer to keep using the Classic API, you should just know that support will be ending soon, and that none of the ad networks support the  v4 player any longer .

Q:  If I have your Published ID how do I make a secure link to a video?

A: The answer depends on whether you are using the Free Trailer API, using an IVA Player, or using your own player.  Read the documentation under 'Video' in our Support section.

Q: What is Media Manager?

A: Media Manager is IVA's proprietary Content Management System (CMS); it allows customers to easily browse our content and to manage their own proprietary content.  Media Manager also allows customers to create custom flash players, play lists, and to see play reports on the content.

Q: Is there a limit to how many proprietary videos I can add to my database?

A: No.   IVA systems are scalable and are designed to handle an ever increasing number of videos.

Q: Can I get trailers for movies in other countries?

A: IVA has a large archive of trailers for movies from other countries, and the number of titles that we receive every month keeps growing. If there is a particular movie trailer that you are looking for, just send us the movie title, year of release, and country of release to customerservice@internetvideoarchive.com , and we will do our best to get it for you.

Q: How long does it take for my proprietary video to go live?

A: Each new title that needs to be added to the database gets put in a queue each day. Generally it takes 15 - 30 minutes to encode a title in the various formats needed to play on all the various screens. So the turnaround time will depend on where your video enters the queue and how big the queue is on that day. We generally promise that proprietary content will go live inside of 24 hours.

Q: How do I know how many Gigs I’m using?

A: Go to the ‘Reports’ section of Media Manager, and select the tab for usage under 'General Reports". You can review your usage by the day, week, or month.

Q: How can I find out what titles are getting the most plays?

A: Go to the ‘Reports’ section of Media Manager. Select 'General Reports" where there are over 10 different reports under 'Content'. You can adjust the time frame to get exactly the analytics you want . If you want to know what titles are getting the most plays in the IVA network select 'IVA Charts'.

Q: I have a blog on Word Press. Is there a Word Press plugin I can use to put trailers on my blog?

A: Yes. Thank you to Stephen Tallamy from NDS for this. Click here to get the plugin ( works for paying customers and the free player).