Assets¶
The Assets page is where media enters CanvasPro. Anything you can put on screen starts its life here: video files, still images, HTML5 pages, NDI streams, SDI feeds, data-driven graphics.
Assets are reusable across scenes, channels and queues. The same asset can appear in dozens of scenes without being uploaded again.
Upload¶
Drop a file onto the upload zone, or press the upload button and pick files from your local machine. Multi-select to upload many at once.
A progress bar appears at the bottom right while uploads are in flight. Each asset is transcoded into an internal playback format on ingest; the original file is retained for re-encoding when needed.
NDI sources on the local network are auto-discovered and tagged automatically; you do not need to upload anything to use them.
For the full list of supported codecs and resolutions, see Supported formats below.
Custom assets¶
Some sources are not files. Use Add live source to register them.
Live stream¶
Many live stream formats are supported: MJPEG (with a preview), RTSP, RTP. HLS and YouTube require a specific template to play correctly.
Video feed¶
A video feed is typically a physical connection to a CanvasPro device: for example, a BlackMagic HDMI input. Configure the inputs in the device's settings first, then create a Video Feed asset numbered by the order of the inputs.
NDI¶
NDI sources are usually discovered automatically. Add one manually when you need to register a source from a different subnet or with a custom name.
Text and JSON¶
Text assets render strings into a scene. JSON assets drive data-bound graphics: pricing tickers, scoreboards, live event metadata.
Search and filter¶
Type into the search box to filter by name. Click the filter button to filter by tag, kind, resolution or duration.
Metadata¶
Select an asset and open the metadata tab. CanvasPro shows resolution, duration, codec, colour space and any container-level metadata extracted on ingest.
NDI and custom-created assets do not carry traditional metadata; the tab is most useful for movies and stills.
Tags¶
Assets are tagged automatically on upload using extracted metadata: codec, resolution, kind. Tags are how the filter view groups things, and how integrations target subsets of the library.
Open an asset and use the Tags tab to add custom tags or remove auto-tags. NDI assets carry a tag that indicates whether the source is currently connected.
Asset expiry¶
By default, an asset that has not been used in any scene for one year is queued for automatic deletion. This is opt-out housekeeping for long-running estates.
To change the policy for a single asset, open it and use the Asset expiry tab. To change the default for the whole instance, see Configure.
Supported formats¶
The codecs, containers and colour spaces CanvasPro can ingest, store and play back. Resolution is bounded by the underlying graphics engine and the host GPU, not by CanvasPro itself: assets are stored as uploaded and played at the engine's full capability.
The lists below cover the formats CanvasPro is regularly verified against. Ventuz, the engine CanvasPro renders through, accepts a broader long-tail of containers and codecs through FFmpeg (see Ventuz's Supported Formats page for the full set); they generally play back, but only the entries below are explicitly recommended for production.
Video containers¶
| Container | Notes |
|---|---|
| MP4 | Recommended for H.264/H.265 deliverables |
| MOV | Recommended for ProRes, HAP, NotchLC masters |
| MKV | Matroska, general-purpose |
| WebM | VP8/VP9 web deliverables |
| TS / M2TS | MPEG-TS streams from broadcast workflows |
| MXF (Enterprise) | Avid DNxHD/HR, XDCAM. Requires Ventuz Enterprise licence |
Video codecs¶
| Codec | Notes |
|---|---|
| H.264 (AVC) | NVIDIA NVDEC hardware-accelerated |
| H.265 (HEVC) | NVIDIA NVDEC hardware-accelerated where available |
| AV1 | NVDEC hardware-accelerated on Ampere / Ada / newer NVIDIA GPUs |
| VP8 / VP9 | Web-style codecs in MP4/WebM |
| MPEG-1 / MPEG-2 / MPEG-4 | Legacy formats; play back, not recommended for masters |
| ProRes 422 / 4444 | Recommended source master format; 4444 retains alpha |
| HAP | GPU-decoded intermediate, low CPU cost |
| HAP Alpha | Standard HAP with an alpha channel |
| HAP Q | Higher quality HAP at ~2× the bitrate |
| HAP Q Alpha | HAP Q with an alpha channel |
| HAP HDR | HAP variant carrying values above 1.0 for HDR pipelines |
| HAP R | BC7-based HAP, highest quality with alpha |
| NotchLC | GPU-decoded, 10-bit, modern alternative to HAP Q / HAP Q Alpha |
| Avid DNxHD / DNxHR | Broadcast intermediates. Requires Ventuz Enterprise licence |
Codecs with an alpha channel (in addition to ProRes 4444, NotchLC and HAP's alpha variants): HuffYUV, FFV1, FFVHuff, Lagarith, QTRLE. All useable for source masters where lossless alpha matters.
On ingest, CanvasPro can auto-convert source video to HAP for GPU-native playback. The original file is retained so you can re-encode later if needed.
Still images¶
| Format | Alpha | HDR / wide colour | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PNG | ✓ | Most common upload format | |
| JPEG | sRGB or Display-P3 recommended | ||
| WebP | ✓ | Lossy and lossless variants | |
| TIFF | ✓ | Common DCC export target | |
| BMP | ✓ | ||
| GIF | Animated GIF is not supported. Use MP4/HAP instead | ||
| TGA | ✓ | ||
| QOI | ✓ | Compact lossless format | |
| DDS | ✓ | ✓ | Direct GPU texture, BC1 / BC3 / BC6H / BC7 |
| AVIF | ✓ | ✓ | Modern HDR-capable format |
| EXR | ✓ | ✓ | OpenEXR floating-point |
| HEIC | ✓ | HDR / Apple ecosystem | |
| HDR | ✓ | Radiance HDR, .hdr files | |
| SVG | ✓ | Rasterised into template variable slots |
On ingest CanvasPro auto-converts to DDS (BC7) for GPU-native sampling. As with video, the original is kept.
Live sources¶
| Source | Standards | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| NDI | NDI 6 | Auto-discovery on the local subnet |
| SDI | 12G, 6G, 3G, HD | Requires capture hardware |
| HTML5 | Modern Chromium | Full DOM, WebGL, Web Audio |
| URL | SRT, RTSP, RTMP, MJPEG, HLS | Network sources via URL |
Colour¶
CanvasPro handles colour space conversion on ingest and on output.
- Input. sRGB, Display-P3, Rec.709, Rec.2020 (BT.2100 PQ and HLG)
- Output. Matched to the connected display's reported capability