About thumbnail options for your Vimeo OTT videos

Every video in your Vimeo OTT catalog has a thumbnail image, which viewers see when they are browsing your content. Thumbnails should be engaging and representative of the content, as this is the primary visual that viewers see when deciding what to watch.

In this article:

• File sizes for thumbnail images
• Replace primary thumbnail image
• How to upload Featured images for mobile

File sizes for thumbnail images

Default thumbnails are formatted in the 16:9 aspect ratio and are automatically generated every time you upload a video.

You may also upload alternative images to your content to provide a variety of image types. Below is a table of the image sizes that can be added to each of your videos. Once you have provided these images, you can then configure your Categories to display those images instead of only using the 16:9 standard thumbnail.

*These sizes are recommended but not required. JPG and non-transparent PNG formats are supported as filetypes.

These alternative images are entirely optional and not required to run your OTT Service. 

If you provide the Featured Carousel images, the Title, Description, and Calls to Action that are shown on your site's browse page by default will be hidden, giving you full control over the canvas area and messaging that is displayed. Be mindful of this when configuring your Featured Category.

Replace primary thumbnail image

When you upload a video, OTT will automatically generate a 16:9 thumbnail for the content. This will also automatically generate Vertical and Square images based on that thumbnail. 

If you wish to replace your Primary Thumbnail, navigate to Content, select the video, extra, or collection you want to edit, then scroll down to find the Primary Thumbnail. Hover your cursor over the image and click the More Options (•••) icon in the top right of the image and choose Replace.

Select a new file and your Primary Thumbnail and alternative images will automatically update with new imagery.

If you wish, you can then customize even further by providing different image files for the Vertical and Square key art images. On the Edit page under General > Thumbnail, scroll down a little further to find the alternative thumbnails.

To replace an image, hover your cursor over the image, click the More Options (•••) icon in the top right corner of the preview, and choose Replace. 

Once your custom images have been uploaded, you can select the More Options (•••) icon in the top right of the image and select Crop to open up our cropping tool. This will allow you to maintain the aspect ratio of the image but select a different portion of it to display to customers on your site.

Drag the blue selection area to the zone you want to crop to and drag the corners of the blue outline to change the size of the crop area. When you’re satisfied, click Done and be sure to save your video's settings.

💡Tip: If you need to download your images (e.g. onto a different computer), you can do so by hovering your cursor over the image, selecting the More Options (•••) icon, then Download.

How to upload Featured images for mobile

You have the ability to set the Featured category appearance on mobile to be the Default (16:14) or a Vertical (2:3) Featured thumbnail. Follow these steps to learn how:

1. Navigate to your Featured category > Discovery.
2. Under Mobile App Category appearance, select from the three options (Default, Vertical, or Square).
   
3. Now, under Content > Videos, select the video you would like to feature.
4. On the Edit page under General > Thumbnail, scroll to find Featured mobile image.
5. Upload your asset according to your chosen aspect ratio (16:14) or (2:3). If you’ve chosen the default option, the Primary Thumbnail will be displayed.

Additional information

• The Default option will display 16:14 artwork on mobile when you have added them to the video or collection asset. If 16:14 artwork is not added, the featured category will default back to the 16:9 primary thumbnail.
• The Vertical option will utilize the “Featured Carousel Mobile - Vertical (2:3)” thumbnail from the Carousel Images section of a video or collection’s General settings. 
• On TV and web, the Featured category will default to the 16:6 Featured image thumbnail. If 16:6 artwork is not added, the featured category will default back to the 16:9 primary thumbnail.

16:14 Thumbnail	2:3 Thumbnail

To configure a Featured Video Thumbnail, see 'About featured thumbnail videos on Vimeo OTT'.