Channel Studio
Run your own TV channels. They show at the top of every list in NextGen Cable (Spark TV One is channel 1; the other Spark channels sit in language blocks: Urdu 1-19, Hindi 21-39, English 41-59, Punjabi 61-79) and on the public page tv.bulkbazaar.ca/channel. Everyone sees the same moment, like real TV. TVs pick up changes within about 10 minutes.
How works
- π Library: every programme our daily search finds on this channel's official YouTube sources. Watch any with βΆ Preview. Nothing ever leaves the Library.
- β Next transmission: the programmes you approve from the Library. Only these go on air. Press πΎ Save programmes after changes.
- π Schedule: the next 24 hours, made from Next transmission and mixed with our ad breaks (and trailers on movie channels). Change the order if you like, then π Lock it. A locked day plays exactly as shown; π Unlock only to fix a mistake. Days you don't lock lock by themselves at 10 PM (Toronto time).
- On air: everyone joins what's on now, like real TV. A programme that ends early is filled with our promos, a video that won't play is skipped, and a frozen picture is restarted.
How it works (read this first)
- Videos (step 2): add each video with a direct link to an MP4 file. The length fills in by itself.
- Non-stop loop (step 3): the order your videos play round the clock, like a playlist on repeat. Put ads between programmes here.
- Time slots (step 4, optional): a video that must start at an exact time, e.g. "Every day at 8:00 PM, Cooking Show". It interrupts the loop, and the loop carries on after it.
- Press Save at the bottom. Nothing changes on TVs until you save.
Made a mistake? Press Undo all changes at the bottom to go back to what was last saved. To start again from the ready-made 1-hour test programme, press Load the test programme.
1 Your channel
Tips for the ticker
- Each channel keeps its own Spark logo, and its corner is picked for you so it never covers the video owner's logo.
- The scrolling line is one line of text. Separate items with " Β· ". Leave it empty or untick the box to hide it.
2 Videos
Where do I put my videos? (important)
The free plan can't store video files, so each video needs a direct link to an MP4 file: a link that, opened in a browser, shows just the video.
- archive.org (free, no limit): sign in, Upload, wait for it to finish, open the item, under "Download options" right-click MPEG4 βΊ Copy link. The link looks like https://archive.org/download/β¦/β¦.mp4
- Dropbox: Share βΊ Copy link. Paste it here; the page changes the ending to
raw=1for you. - Live streams (.m3u8): also fine. Leave the length empty; they play until the next time slot.
- Not supported: YouTube, Facebook and Google Drive links. Their players won't run inside TV apps.
- Best format: MP4, H.264 video, AAC sound, 720p or 1080p.
π Free show library: shows you're allowed to broadcast, ready to add
Old films, cartoons, NASA space videos and Blender cartoons that are free to show on TV (public domain or Creative Commons). Tap Add: short shows also go into the loop; long films are best given a time slot in step 4. The licence is under each one.
Everything in your π¬ Media Library (AI dubbed Urdu and Hindi films, stories, and videos you added there) is in this list too, under "Media Library". Pick a section below to see just those.
3 Non-stop loop
Plays from top to bottom, then starts again, all day and night. A video can be in the loop more than once (handy for ads). Total: 0:00
How the loop works
- Use β² βΌ to change the order and β Remove to take a video out of the loop (it stays in your Videos list).
- The row with βΆ ON TV NOW is what viewers are watching at this moment.
- The loop is timed by the clock, so all viewers are at the same place in it.
- If the loop is empty and no time slot is on, the channel shows "off air" with what's next.
4 Time slots (optional)
How time slots work
- A slot starts its video at the exact time, on the days you choose, in the time zone from step 1.
- When the video ends, the loop carries on. If the next slot starts first, it cuts the video short.
- A slot for a date (e.g. Eid) wins over an "every day" slot at the same time.
π Weekly schedule
Your week at a glance, in Toronto time. Blocks are booked shows (time slots); purple ones are weekly shows with episodes (a drama or serial: a new episode each time). The rest of the time the non-stop loop plays. Click an empty hour to book a show there; click a block to change or remove it.
π¬ Coming-up promos for your shows
Every booked show gets its own 20-second promo, like real channels run: quick cuts of the show itself, its name and time, an announcer and our own music. Promos are made by themselves within about an hour after you Save a booking. Add them to the loop and they play in the breaks (each break stays at 60 seconds or less).
π Most watched
What people watch on our channels, counted by the NextGen Cable app (from version 1.9.65) on every signed-in TV and phone. Programme details are for channels you schedule here (Spark TV); channels that play YouTube show only their total. Use it to decide what to put on and when.
Programmes on Spark TV
Best times on Spark TV (darker = more watching)
Our channels
π Ads & montages
Our ads library: montages and the moving logo, Spark TV ads, NextGen Cable ads and our customers' ads, each in its own folder, with where it plays. Press play to watch one. Only ads the owner approved are here; montages take turns, so each break shows a different one.
Loadingβ¦
πΊ Programmes on
How it works, in three steps. π Library: every programme we've found for this channel (our daily search adds new ones); nothing ever leaves it. β Next transmission: the programmes you approve from the Library; only these go on air. π Schedule: the next 24 hours made from Next transmission, mixed with our ad breaks (and trailers on movie channels). Change the order if you like, then press π Lock. A locked day plays exactly as shown and changes only if you unlock it to fix a mistake. Anything you haven't locked yourself is locked automatically at 10 PM (Toronto time).
Sources on air (untick one to keep everything it uploads off the air; its programmes stay in the Library)
}, then press Publish (it's the same rule as for the channel's public page; if you've already added it, there's nothing to do):
// Our channels (Channel Studio): anyone may read them; only you change them.
match /channel/{id} {
allow read: if true;
allow write: if isAdmin();
}