Hosting, usage and JW Platform reference

Learn about how JW Platform calculates storage and usage metrics for your account.


JWP offers transcoding, storage, and delivery services that scale to support millions of videos and billions of streams monthly. JWP measures platform usage differently depending on the services being used. See Current Reported Usage for details on each usage metric.

For more information about how metrics are measured and how to control usage, see the [FAQ] (https://docs.jwplayer.com/platform/docs/hosting-usage-and-jw-platform-reference-draft#faq) section.


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The usage page in the JWP Dashboard.



View usage metrics

To view monthly aggregates of your usage data or export a CSV file for further review:

  1. Access your JWP Dashboard. Click the gear icon on the top right of the page.
  2. Click Usage.
  3. From the Viewing for property dropdown menu, select the property for which you want to view usage details.

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The Current Reported Usage cards to reflect the activity only for active properties as of the current date, while the Usage History table reflects the activity for any properties that were active at any point during the given month.

If a property is deleted in the current month, the totals for the month won’t match between Current Reported Usage and Usage History.


Current Reported Usage

The table below provides detailed information on each usage metric.


MetricDetailsReset Frequency
Storage Combined size of your original video and all conversions created by JWP

If you exceed your account's storage limit, you will not be able to upload without removing existing media or upgrading to more storage.
Does not reset and represents a lifetime total for the account
Playback Total count of JWP plays of all content across all players, both self-hosted and cloud-hosted

This may not match the play count that you see in Analytics, which only shows data associated with valid JWP media IDs.
1st of each month (Eastern Time)
Outstream Impressions Total count of outstream ads displayed across all players associated with your account, both self-hosted and cloud-hosted

All usage metrics are finalized at approximately 10:00am EST the following day.
1st of each month (Eastern Time)
Instream Impressions Total count of instream ads displayed across all players associated with your account, both self-hosted and cloud-hosted

All usage metrics are finalized at approximately 10:00am EST the following day.
1st of each month (Eastern Time)
VOD Streaming Total delivery (in gigabytes) of all streaming content to all players. Calculated from CDN access logs and reflects all bytes delivered, regardless of device or player

If you exceed your account's storage limit, you will not be able to upload without removing existing media or upgrading to more storage.
1st of each month (UTC)
Instant Live Total number of minutes (delivered and transcoded) streamed using Instant Live

This metric does not reset and represents a lifetime total for the account.
Does not reset and represents a lifetime total for the account
DRM Licenses Total number of DRM licenses issuedDoes not reset and represents a lifetime total for the account
Broadcast Live All bytes delivered to end-users, regardless of device or player1st of each month (UTC)


Usage history

Beneath the cards on the Usage screen is a separate Usage History section that allows for a high-level overview of the most vital usage metrics month-to-month.


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The usage history section in the JWP Dashboard.


The table below explains what each metric in Usage History represents.


MetricDetails
Summary Date Month and year in which the usage history report was generated
Max Stored Maximum amount of storage used at any time for the account
VOD Delivered Amount (in bytes) of video on demand delivered to viewers for the month in which the usage history report is generated
Live Minutes Delivered Amount of live content (in minutes) delivered to viewers for the month in which the usage history report is generated
Live Minutes Transcoded Amount of live content (in minutes) transcoded to viewers for the month in which the usage history report is generated
Total Plays Number of plays of all media for the account for the month in which the usage history report is generated
Ad Impressions Number of ad impressions on all media for the account for the month in which the usage history report is generated
DRM Licenses Number of DRM licenses used for all media for the account for the month in which the usage history report is generated
Broadcast Live Streams Amount (in bytes) of broadcast live streams delivered to viewers for the month in which the usage history report is generated

FAQ

How do player settings affect usage?

Learn how player settings contribute to usage with the information in the table below.


FeatureUsage impact
Autostart Enabling autostart causes the player to download media, regardless of whether the user is watching the content.
Looping or Repeating Content Enabling looping content can result in the player downloading content repeatedly, even if the content is not being viewed (such as a background tab that has been open continuously).
Preload Preload settings of metadata and auto tell the player to begin downloading some media without the user interacting with the video. This can improve user experience, but result in higher streaming usage.

How do player embed styles affect usage?

Learn how embed styles contribute to usage with the information in the table below.


FeatureUsage impact
Adaptive Streaming Single-line embeds use adaptive streaming technologies to ensure that users only download at applicable quality based on the size of the player.

The player downloads videos segment by segment, staying only moderately ahead of the current playback position. If a player is embedded with a link to a single quality level, increased delivery costs are possible.
Syndication Outside of JWP JSON and MRSS feeds allow for easy syndication. Feeds are consumable by a wide variety of platforms and players. The delivery of content to these players or platforms will be included in the streaming usage calculation. However, since other players do not send analytics information to JWP Platform, these plays will not be reflected in JWP Analytics.
Unprotected Content Token signing is a mechanism to deter the hot-linking of media to unauthorized sites. This feature allows requiring the signing of requests to JWP Platform and includes an expiration time in generated links.
Page Refresh Behavior Some websites use hard refreshes to ensure updated content is available to users. This type of behavior can result in additional player loads and subsequent media downloads.