Feed Filters

Build as many targeted feeds as you need from a single library. Each feed gets its own stable URL and updates automatically as you publish.

How feed filters work

When you create an Automated feed in VideoNest, you are defining a persistent query — not a static export. Filters are the rules that determine which videos appear in a given feed each time a partner polls your feed URL. Your library is never modified; filters only affect what each partner sees.

Each filtered feed:

• Has its own stable, permanent URL that never changes
• Evaluates filter rules in real time on every poll cycle
• Updates automatically when you publish, unpublish, or update videos
• Can combine multiple filter types simultaneously — a video must satisfy all active filters to be included
• Can have per-feed field overrides on top of its filter rules, so partners receive customized metadata without touching your library

To create a filtered feed: go to Media → Feeds → Create Feed → Video, select your platform preset (MSN, Amazon Fire TV, etc.) or a generic Video feed, then choose Automated mode. All filter settings are available when Automated is selected.

All filter types

VideoNest supports ten filter dimensions. Any combination can be applied to a single feed.

Language filters

Language filtering is the standard approach for publishers with multilingual libraries. If your channel produces content in more than one language, you can create a separate feed per language and give each distribution partner the feed that matches their audience — without restructuring your library.

Language is set on each video at Media → Library → [Video] → Metadata → Language. Values use ISO 639-1 two-letter codes:

To create a language-specific feed, go to Media → Feeds → Create Feed → Video → [Platform] → Automated, then under Filters set Language to the target code. The feed URL will contain only videos tagged with that language.

Language filter use cases:

• A bilingual news publisher with English and Spanish content can provide MSN with a lang=en feed and a Latin American partner with a lang=es feed — each partner sees only what their audience expects
• A media company with regional offices can maintain separate CTV channel feeds per country, ensuring each channel's content is in the local language
• A digital signage operator with screens in multiple countries can route language-appropriate content to each location's feed without creating separate library structures
• A podcast publisher distributing in multiple languages can give Spotify or Apple Podcasts a language-filtered RSS feed for each market

Duration filters

Duration filtering separates your library into content tiers by clip length. You can set a minimum, maximum, or both, in seconds. The bounds are independent — a filter of min: 300 with no maximum includes everything over 5 minutes.

Duration filter use cases:

• A digital signage feed limited to clips under 90 seconds so every video fits within a tight loop schedule without cutting off mid-playback
• A news partner (MSN, Yahoo) filtered to 30 seconds – 10 minutes, the standard range both platforms prefer
• A CTV channel filtered to videos over 5 minutes so the channel presents as a full-length programming destination rather than a clip reel
• A vertical social feed filtered to under 60 seconds for platforms that enforce a short-form format
• A "shorts" partner feed containing only clips under 60 seconds, running alongside a full-length CTV feed — both served from the same library

Tag filters

Tags are freeform labels attached to individual videos in your library at Media → Library → [Video] → Metadata → Tags. A video can carry as many tags as needed. Tag filters let you build feeds around these labels with three matching modes:

• Match any (OR logic): include a video if it has at least one of the specified tags — useful for broad topic groupings where any relevant label qualifies
• Match all (AND logic): include a video only if it carries every specified tag — useful for precision targeting where multiple conditions must be true simultaneously (e.g., tagged both approved-for-syndication AND english)
• Exclude tag: exclude any video carrying a specified tag, regardless of other filter matches — useful for blocking content flagged as do-not-syndicate or internal-only

Tagging strategies for distribution:

• Add an approved-for-syndication tag to every video that has been editorially cleared for external partners. Use this as a required AND filter on all outbound feeds — new videos never reach partners until they have been reviewed and tagged
• Tag promotional and sponsored content separately so you can include or exclude them per partner. Some platforms prohibit sponsored content; others accept it. The tag lets you control this at the feed level rather than by restructuring your library
• Use a do-not-syndicate exclude tag as a safety valve. Apply it to any video that should stay off partner feeds regardless of other tags or playlist membership
• Tag by content format (interview, explainer, highlight, tutorial, short, long-form) to build partner feeds around content types rather than just topic categories
• Tag seasonal or campaign content (holiday-2026, product-launch-q2) and use fixed publish date windows alongside tag filters to build time-bounded feeds that automatically expire

Tags are the most flexible filter type because they are independent of playlist and collection structure. You can retroactively tag a batch of existing videos to add them to a filtered feed, and remove the tag to pull them out — the feed updates on the next poll.

Category filters

Category filters narrow a feed to a single editorial category from your library's category taxonomy. Categories represent top-level content groupings — Sports, News, Entertainment, Technology, Finance — while tags handle more granular labeling.

To set a video's category: Media → Library → [Video] → Metadata → Category

Category filter use cases:

• A multi-vertical publisher with separate distribution agreements per topic area — sports content goes to one partner, finance content to another, from a single library
• A news organization feeding only their Technology category to a tech-focused partner, while their full news feed goes to general news platforms
• A lifestyle brand maintaining separate feeds per editorial vertical (Food, Travel, Fitness) for platform-specific distribution deals

Category filters work in combination with category mapping in field overrides: the filter selects videos by your internal category, and VideoNest maps that category to the partner's required taxonomy on output. Your library categories and your partners' taxonomies do not need to match.

Playlist filters

Playlists are manually curated lists of videos you maintain in your library at Media → Library → Playlists. A playlist filter restricts a feed to only the videos explicitly added to a named playlist, giving you direct editorial control over every partner's content without any automatic selection logic.

Playlist filters are the preferred approach when:

• You need deterministic, editor-controlled output — only exactly the videos you have explicitly selected
• Your library contains content that must not reach certain partners, and you prefer an allowlist (what's in the playlist) over a blocklist (tags or exclude rules)
• You are managing CTV channels, FAST channels, or digital signage loops where curation is core to the product
• You want a review-gated publishing workflow: videos only reach a partner after an editor adds them to the partner's designated playlist

The playlist feed updates automatically when you add or remove videos — no feed URL change, no re-integration with the partner. Multiple playlists can map to multiple feeds: a signage operator can maintain a lobby-content playlist, a waiting-room playlist, and a outdoor-screens playlist, each connected to its own feed URL and its own signage zone.

Collection filters

Collections group content by topic, series, or production set — typically organized by theme rather than manual curation. Collection filters work identically to playlist filters but pull from your collections structure rather than your playlists.

Use collections when your library is already organized around groupings like "Q1 2026 Campaign," "Brand Documentary Series," or "Product Tutorials," and you want to create feeds that map to those groupings automatically. New videos added to a collection immediately appear in any feed filtered to that collection on its next poll.

Aspect ratio and orientation filters

VideoNest supports four aspect ratio values as feed filters: 16:9 (landscape), 9:16 (portrait/vertical), 1:1 (square), and 4:3. A publisher with both horizontal and landscape video in their library can maintain separate feeds for separate destinations without splitting their library.

A common use case for digital signage operators: a network with mixed-orientation screen hardware can maintain one library, one playlist per location type, and two feeds per playlist — one 16:9 and one 9:16. The signage platform receives the correctly oriented feed for each screen without any manual content splitting.

Resolution filters

Resolution filtering sets a minimum quality threshold for feed inclusion. Videos below the threshold are excluded from the feed, preventing low-quality uploads from entering platforms that enforce resolution requirements.

Amazon Fire TV, Roku, and Samsung TV+ all require a minimum resolution for channel submission. Setting a resolution filter on your CTV feed means any video added to your library below that threshold is automatically excluded — you will not fail platform validation because of an accidental low-resolution upload.

Content rating filters

Content rating filtering restricts a feed to videos at or below a specified rating threshold. VideoNest supports two rating systems simultaneously on every video:

• MPAA ratings: G · PG · PG-13 · R · NC-17
• TV Parental Guidelines (V-chip): TV-G · TV-PG · TV-14 · TV-MA

A content rating filter of "TV-PG and under" includes TV-G and TV-PG but excludes TV-14 and TV-MA. Filters apply a ceiling — any video rated above the threshold is excluded from the feed regardless of other filter matches.

To set a video's ratings: Media → Library → [Video] → Metadata → Content Rating. Set both MPAA and TV Parental Guidelines ratings if you distribute to platforms that require each format (Fire TV uses MPAA; Roku accepts both; MSN uses a simplified safe/general-audience flag).

Content rating filter use cases:

• A family-friendly CTV channel that must exclude mature content — a TV-PG ceiling ensures nothing above that rating enters the channel regardless of what else is in the library
• Digital signage in public spaces (lobbies, retail environments, waiting rooms, airports) where general-audience content is required
• Partners with explicit audience demographic commitments (children's platforms, brand-safe environments) where a missed rating could trigger a compliance issue
• A news or educational publisher that distributes to both general-audience and adult platforms — one feed per audience tier, both served from the same library

Publish date filters

Publish date filtering restricts a feed to content published within a defined time window. Two modes are available:

• Rolling window: include only videos published within the last N days. The window moves forward continuously — as videos age out of the window, newly published videos replace them. The feed always contains the most recent content up to the defined limit.
• Fixed date range: include only videos published between two specific dates. The feed contents are stable once set, making this appropriate for archive feeds, campaign-specific distributions, or legal holds.

Publish date filter use cases:

• A news syndication partner (MSN, Yahoo) that wants only the last 7 days of content — older videos are removed from the feed automatically as they age out, and you never have to manually prune it
• A FAST channel operator who wants to keep the channel catalog fresh by rotating in only the last 90 days of content, ensuring new viewers always see current programming
• A publisher archiving a specific campaign run: a fixed-window feed containing only content published during the campaign period, permanently available for reporting and partner review
• A sports publisher giving a partner feed access only to content published during the current season, with a fixed window that ends on the season finale date

Combining filters

Every filter type can be combined. A video must satisfy all active filters simultaneously to appear in a feed. There is no limit to the number of filters applied to a single feed. Combined filter sets are where the real precision of VideoNest's distribution system becomes apparent — each partner gets exactly the content they need, and nothing else.

Examples of combined filter sets used by VideoNest publishers:

Per-partner feed strategy

Every distribution partner your channel works with can receive its own dedicated feed URL with its own filter set. This architecture gives publishers precise control over each relationship without creating separate libraries or manual content packaging workflows.

Key properties of per-partner feeds:

• Partners see only what they should see. A news syndication partner receives editorial video; your digital signage operator receives loop-ready clips; your CTV partner receives long-form content. None of them see content intended for the others.
• Filters can be updated without notifying the partner. The feed URL never changes. If you tighten or adjust filter rules — adding a language requirement, changing a duration ceiling, swapping to a different playlist — the partner picks up the change on their next poll without any re-integration work on their end.
• One library, many destinations. Adding a new distribution partner does not require reorganizing your library. Create a new feed with the right filters and hand off the URL. Remove the feed to terminate the relationship; the partner's URL stops returning content immediately.
• Filter changes take effect on the next poll. Most partners poll every 15–60 minutes. A filter change you make at 2:00 PM will be reflected in a partner's content within the hour, with no action required on either side.

A typical multi-channel publisher might maintain feeds like these — all driven by a single VideoNest library:

• 1 feed per CTV platform (Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, Samsung TV+)
• 1 feed per news partner (MSN English, MSN Spanish, Yahoo)
• 1 feed per language for regional distribution
• 1 feed per signage zone (lobby, waiting room, outdoor, retail floor)
• 1 podcast audio feed per show
• 1 short-form vertical feed for social partners
• 1 internal feed for team preview or review workflows