Video Player

Pressing Play anywhere in the channel opens the full-screen video player. The overlay appears when you pause or press OK, and hides itself while you watch.

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Player Controls

• Title bar - the current title, year, and content rating, with a badge showing how the stream is being delivered (Direct Play when the file plays untouched, Remux when the video is copied but another track is converted, Transcode when the server is re-encoding the video).
• Cast - on a movie, up to six of the billed cast line the left and right edges of the picture, with their names and characters, while the overlay is up.
• Timeline - press Left or Right to move a marker along the timeline, 15 seconds a press and faster while held (the rewind and fast-forward buttons move it a minute at a time). Press OK to jump to the marker, or Back to stay where you are. Once preview thumbnails have been generated for the title, the marker shows the scene at that position; a note on the readout tells you when previews are still being generated on a first watch. When the file declares chapters, the timeline is split into one segment per chapter and the box above the marker names the chapter at that point.
• OK - play or pause.
• Down - opens the options menu: subtitle track selection, audio track selection, and a playback info dialog with the technical details of the current session. The subtitle list includes image-based tracks such as the PGS subtitles common on Blu-ray rips, which the channel draws over the picture itself; picking one for the first time prepares it, and the menu says so while you wait. On a title with nothing to choose between, the menu opens straight on playback info.

When a Title Ends

At the end of an episode, an Up next card offers the next one, with a 15-second countdown and Play now and Cancel buttons. The next episode starts by itself when the countdown runs out, unless you press any button first, which stops the countdown and leaves the choice to you. With Autoplay next episode turned off in your Account preferences, the card appears without a countdown. After the last episode of a series, the card offers a More like this row of similar series instead.

At the end of a movie, a panel offers the next movie in its collection under Up next in this collection, above a More like this row of similar titles. Nothing on it starts by itself: choosing a title opens its details page.

When Sovereign knows where a title’s credits begin, it doesn’t wait for the end. The episode card appears as the credits start, and a movie gets a single suggestion rather than the full panel, both over the still-playing picture. Back puts either away so you can keep watching the credits.

Playback Quality

Sovereign picks the delivery method for each device: a file the Roku can decode plays directly, and anything else is transcoded on the server. When it has to transcode, the playback info dialog carries a Reason line saying why in one sentence; Transcoding explains each one. The player reports your position as you watch, so a title you stop partway through resumes at the same point here or on any other client.

If the stream stalls, the player reconnects by itself and carries on from where it was. When that doesn’t work, an error screen offers OK to try again and Back to leave.

On a server showing a licensing notice, a short notice video plays before the title, and seeking stays unavailable until it finishes.