Alexa.RemoteVideoPlayer Interface 3.1

Implement the Alexa.RemoteVideoPlayer interface in your Alexa skill so that users can request Alexa to search and play video content. You can identify the public and private catalogs that your skill supports in the discovery response. For the list of languages that the Alexa.RemoteVideoPlayer interface supports, see List of Alexa Interfaces and Supported Languages. For the definitions of the message properties, see Alexa Interface Message and Property Reference.

Utterances

The Alexa.RemoteVideoPlayer interface uses the pre-built voice interaction model. After the user says one of the following utterances, Alexa sends a corresponding directive to your skill. The following examples show some user utterances:

Handle search criteria

When a user requests Alexa to search and display or search and play video content, Alexa sends the search criteria to your skill. The Alexa.RemoteVideoPlayer directives might include multiple entity types. For example, the customer might say, and the resulting directive includes the content title in the Video entity object and the director’s name in the Director entity object. Entities rely on resolved catalog values. You might have specialized catalogs about specific entity types, such as movie catalog or genre catalog, or a data model that facilitates structured queries. Even with the included entities, the request might be ambiguous. For example, the customer might say, and the resulting directive contains only the Genre entity object. Despite ambiguity, you decide how to act on a request. For example, you might:

Play a popular comedy (SearchAndPlay directive)
Generate a list of the top 10 comedies and randomly select one for the customer (SearchAndPlay directive)
Display search results for the ambiguous entity (SearchAndDisplayResults directive)

You choose how to respond. However, Amazon recommends that you accommodate a customer’s request if possible. Along with entity types, the search directive might contain searchText to represent a transcribed version of the user’s search query. This version doesn’t contain action verbs. For example, the utterance, returns the search text, content provider movies. The utterance, returns the search text, content provider comedies. Use searchText if you want to focus on keyword searches. The transcribed searchText has the following limitations:

There’s no word order guarantee in the transcribed text.
The content of transcribed text might change over time or by directive. For example, the same request might return top ten comedies or top 10 comedies.

Performance requirements for search

The following table shows the latency limits for search responses by call percentage.

Call percentage	Latency limit in milliseconds (ms)
50 percent	50 ms
90 percent	100 ms
99 percent	200 ms

Reportable properties

The Alexa.RemoteVideoPlayer interface doesn’t have any reportable properties.

Discovery

You describe endpoints that support Alexa.RemoteVideoPlayer by using the standard discovery mechanism described in Alexa.Discovery. The Alexa.RemoteVideoPlayer interface doesn’t have any reportable properties. Set retrievable and proactivelyReported to true as appropriate for other interfaces that you implement in your skill. Use TV, STREAMING_DEVICE, GAME_CONSOLE, or other appropriate display category. For the full list of display categories, see display categories.

Configurations object

In addition to the usual discovery response fields, for Alexa.RemoteVideoPlayer, include a configurations object that contains the following fields. The configurations object is required.

Property	Description	Type	Required
`operations`	Identifies the directives that your skill supports. If you don’t include this property, Alexa assumes that your skill supports all directives. Valid values: `SearchAndPlay`, `SearchAndDisplayResults`.	Array of strings	No
`entityTypes`	Identifies the entity types that your skill supports. If you don’t include this property, Alexa assumes that your skill supports all entity types. For valid values, see `Entity types`.	Array of string	No
`catalogs`	Identifies the public and private catalogs that your skill supports. You can report different catalogs per endpoint and customer. If you don’t have a catalog, include one object in the array with `sourceId` = `imdb` and `type` = `VIDEO_PUBLIC_CATALOG_IDENTIFIER`.	Array of Catalog objects	Yes
`catalogs.type`	Type of catalog. Valid values: `VIDEO_INGESTION_IDENTIFIER`, `VIDEO_PUBLIC_CATALOG_IDENTIFIER`.	String	Yes
`catalogs.sourceId`	Uniquely identifies the catalog. When `type` is `VIDEO_INGESTION_IDENTIFIER`, set sourceId to the partner ID that you used for catalog ingestion. For details, see Partner field in Catalog Data Format file. When `type` is `VIDEO_PUBLIC_CATALOG_IDENTIFIER`, such as IMDb, set to `imdb`.	String	Yes

Discover response example

The following example shows an Alexa.Discover.Response message for a television that supports the Alexa.RemoteVideoPlayer, Alexa.PlaybackStateReporter, Alexa.PowerController, and Alexa.EndpointHealth interfaces. In this example, the endpoint supports searching for content with MediaType, League, Sport, and SportsTeam entity types in the IMDb public catalog and the ABCDE private catalog.

{
    "event": {
        "header": {
            "namespace": "Alexa.Discovery",
            "name": "Discover.Response",
            "payloadVersion": "3",
            "messageId": "Unique identifier, preferably a version 4 UUID"
        },
        "payload": {
            "endpoints": [{
                "endpointId": "Unique ID of the endpoint",
                "manufacturerName": "Manufacturer of the endpoint",
                "description": "Description to be shown in the Alexa app",
                "friendlyName": "Living Room TV",
                "displayCategories": ["TV"],
                "additionalAttributes": {
                    "manufacturer": "Manufacturer of the endpoint",
                    "model": "Model of the device",
                    "serialNumber": "Serial number of the device",
                    "firmwareVersion": "Firmware version of the device",
                    "softwareVersion": "Software version of the device"
                },
                "capabilities": [{
                        "type": "AlexaInterface",
                        "interface": "Alexa.RemoteVideoPlayer",
                        "version": "3.1",
                        "properties": {},
                        "configurations": {
                            "operations": ["SearchAndPlay"],
                            "entityTypes": ["MediaType", "League", "Sport", "SportsTeam"],
                            "catalogs": [{
                                    "type": "VIDEO_INGESTION_IDENTIFIER",
                                    "sourceId": "ABCDE"
                                },
                                {
                                    "type": "VIDEO_PUBLIC_CATALOG_IDENTIFIER",
                                    "sourceId": "imdb"
                                }
                            ]
                        }
                    },
                    {
                        "type": "AlexaInterface",
                        "interface": "Alexa.PlaybackStateReporter",
                        "version": "1.0",
                        "properties": {
                            "supported": [{
                                "name": "playbackState"
                            }],
                            "proactivelyReported": true,
                            "retrievable": true
                        }
                    },
                    {
                        "type": "AlexaInterface",
                        "interface": "Alexa.PowerController",
                        "version": "3",
                        "properties": {
                            "supported": [{
                                "name": "powerState"
                            }],
                            "proactivelyReported": true,
                            "retrievable": true
                        }
                    },
                    {
                        "type": "AlexaInterface",
                        "interface": "Alexa.EndpointHealth",
                        "version": "3.1",
                        "properties": {
                            "supported": [{
                                "name": "connectivity"
                            }],
                            "proactivelyReported": true,
                            "retrievable": true
                        }
                    },
                    {
                        "type": "AlexaInterface",
                        "interface": "Alexa",
                        "version": "3"
                    }
                ]
            }]
        }
    }
}

Proactive Discovery

When a user adds a new endpoint to their account or makes changes to an existing endpoint, you must send an Alexa.Discovery.AddOrUpdateReport message proactively to the Alexa event gateway. You can include all the endpoints associated with the user account, or only the new or updated endpoints. You can choose based on your skill implementation. For details, see AddOrUpdateReport.

AddOrUpdateReport example

The following example shows a AddOrUpdateReport message for a new endpoint.

{
    "event": {
        "header": {
            "namespace": "Alexa.Discovery",
            "name": "AddOrUpdateReport",
            "payloadVersion": "3",
            "messageId": "Unique identifier, preferably a version 4 UUID"
        },
        "payload": {
            "endpoints": [{
                "endpointId": "unique ID of the new endpoint",
                "manufacturerName": "Manufacturer of the endpoint",
                "description": "Description to be shown in the Alexa app",
                "friendlyName": "Living Room TV",
                "displayCategories": ["TV"],
                "additionalAttributes": {
                    "manufacturer": "Manufacturer of the endpoint",
                    "model": "Model of the device",
                    "serialNumber": "Serial number of the device",
                    "firmwareVersion": "Firmware version of the device",
                    "softwareVersion": "Software version of the device"
                },
                "capabilities": [{
                        "type": "AlexaInterface",
                        "interface": "Alexa.RemoteVideoPlayer",
                        "version": "3.1",
                        "properties": {},
                        "configurations": {
                            "operations": ["SearchAndPlay"],
                            "entityTypes": ["MediaType", "League", "Sport", "SportsTeam"],
                            "catalogs": [{
                                    "type": "VIDEO_PUBLIC_CATALOG_IDENTIFIER",
                                    "sourceId": "imdb"
                                }
                            ]
                        }
                    },
                    {
                        "type": "AlexaInterface",
                        "interface": "Alexa.PlaybackStateReporter",
                        "version": "1.0",
                        "properties": {
                            "supported": [{
                                "name": "playbackState"
                            }],
                            "proactivelyReported": true,
                            "retrievable": true
                        }
                    },
                    {
                        "type": "AlexaInterface",
                        "interface": "Alexa.PowerController",
                        "version": "3",
                        "properties": {
                            "supported": [{
                                "name": "powerState"
                            }],
                            "proactivelyReported": true,
                            "retrievable": true
                        }
                    },
                    {
                        "type": "AlexaInterface",
                        "interface": "Alexa.EndpointHealth",
                        "version": "3.1",
                        "properties": {
                            "supported": [{
                                "name": "connectivity"
                            }],
                            "proactivelyReported": true,
                            "retrievable": true
                        }
                    },
                    {
                        "type": "AlexaInterface",
                        "interface": "Alexa",
                        "version": "3"
                    }
                ]
            }]
        }
    }
}

Directives

Alexa sends the following Alexa.RemoteVideoPlayer interface directives to your skill.

SearchAndPlay directive

Support the SearchAndPlay directive so that users can request to play specific video content. The payload contains an array of entities that specifies what to search for.

SearchAndPlay directive example

The following example shows a request for specific video content from 2017-2018.

{
    "directive": {
        "header": {
            "namespace": "Alexa.RemoteVideoPlayer",
            "name": "SearchAndPlay",
            "messageId": "Unique version 4 UUID",
            "correlationToken": "Opaque correlation token",
            "payloadVersion": "3"
        },
        "endpoint": {
            "scope": {
                "type": "BearerToken",
                "token": "OAuth2.0 bearer token"
            },
            "endpointId": "Endpoint id",
            "cookie": {}
        },
        "payload": {
            "entities": [{
                "externalIds": {
                    "imdb": "tt4574334"
                },
                "value": "Title of series",
                "type": "Video"
            }],
            "searchText": [{
                "transcribed": "Manchester by the Sea"
            }],
            "experience": {
                "mode": "VOICE_OPTIMIZED"
            },
            "timeWindow": {
                "end": "2018-09-01T16:20:50.52Z",
                "start": "2017-09-01T16:20:50.52Z"
            }
        }
    }
}

SearchAndPlay directive payload

The following table shows the payload details for the SearchAndPlay directive.

Property	Description	Type	Required
`entities`	User-requested search terms.	Array of `Entity` objects	Yes
`searchText`	Specifies the text version of the user’s utterance after natural language understanding (NLU) processing. The word order is non-deterministic and can change based on point in time and directive. Use `searchText` if you want to focus on keyword searches.	Object	No
`searchText.transcribed`	Transcribed version of the user’s search query.	String	No
`experience`	Suggests how to display the results to give the best user experience.	Object	No
`experience.mode`	Suggests the mode to display the requested results. `VOICE_OPTIMIZED` indicates voice-centric results, such as a shorter search result list. Make sure that the customer can navigate the results by voice. `DEFAULT` indicates your default mode. If you receive an unknown value, use your default mode instead of failing the request. Valid values: `DEFAULT`, `VOICE_OPTIMIZED`	String	Yes
`timeWindow`	Specifies the span of time over which to search.	Object	No
`timeWindow.start`	The start time for the content search. Formatted as a UTC string in ISO 8601 format, `YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssZ`.	String	No
`timeWindow.end`	The end time for the content search. Formatted as a UTC string in ISO 8601 format, `YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssZ`.	String	No

SearchAndPlay response

If you handle a SearchAndPlay directive successfully, respond with an Alexa.Response event. The response doesn’t require a payload, but include the values of all other reportable properties in the context object. The following example shows a SearchAndPlay response.

{
    "event": {
        "header": {
            "namespace": "Alexa",
            "name": "Response",
            "messageId": "Unique identifier, preferably a version 4 UUID",
            "correlationToken": "Opaque correlation token that matches the request",
            "payloadVersion": "3"
        },
        "endpoint": {
            "endpointId": "endpoint id"
        },
        "payload": {}
    },
    "context": {
        "properties": [{
                "namespace": "Alexa.PlaybackStateReporter",
                "name": "playbackState",
                "value": {
                    "state": "PLAYING"
                },
                "timeOfSample": "2021-12-03T16:20:50.52Z",
                "uncertaintyInMilliseconds": 0
            },
            {
                "namespace": "Alexa.PowerController",
                "name": "powerState",
                "value": "ON",
                "timeOfSample": "2021-12-03T16:20:50.52Z",
                "uncertaintyInMilliseconds": 500
            },
            {
                "namespace": "Alexa.EndpointHealth",
                "name": "connectivity",
                "value": {
                    "value": "OK"
                },
                "timeOfSample": "2021-12-26T16:00:00.00Z",
                "uncertaintyInMilliseconds": 0
            }
        ]
    }
}

SearchAndPlay error handling

If you can’t handle a SearchAndPlay directive successfully and the error is specific to video, respond with an Alexa.Video.ErrorResponse event. For general errors, respond with a generic Alexa.ErrorResponse event.

SearchAndDisplayResults directive

Support the SearchAndDisplayResults directive so that users can search for video content. The payload contains an array of entities that specifies what to search for. You display the results in a way that’s appropriate for your skill. For example, you might provide the user with a side-loaded search screen, send the results to a companion mobile app, or display the search results on a device.

SearchAndDisplayResults directive example

The following example shows a request for specific video content from 2017–2018.

{
    "directive": {
        "header": {
            "namespace": "Alexa.RemoteVideoPlayer",
            "name": "SearchAndDisplayResults",
            "messageId": "Unique version 4 UUID",
            "correlationToken": "Opaque correlation token",
            "payloadVersion": "3"
        },
        "endpoint": {
            "scope": {
                "type": "BearerToken",
                "token": "OAuth2.0 bearer token"
            },
            "endpointId": "Endpoint id",
            "cookie": {}
        },
        "payload": {
            "entities": [{
                    "externalIds": {
                        "imdb": "tt4574334"
                    },
                    "value": "Title of series",
                    "type": "Video"
                },
                {
                    "externalIds": {
                        "ENTITY_ID": "amzn1.alexa-ask-target.app.72095"
                    },
                    "name": "Prime Video",
                    "type": "App"
                }
            ],
            "experience": {
                "mode": "VOICE_OPTIMIZED"
            },
            "timeWindow": {
                "end": "2018-09-01T16:00:00.00Z",
                "start": "2017-09-01T16:00:00.00Z"
            }
        }
    }
}

SearchAndDisplayResults directive payload

The SearchAndDisplayResults directive contains the same payload parameters as the SearchAndPlay directive.

SearchAndDisplayResults response

If you handle a SearchAndDisplayResults directive successfully, respond with an Alexa.Response event. The response doesn’t require a payload, but include the values of all other reportable properties in the context object. The following example shows a SearchAndDisplayResults response.

{
    "event": {
        "header": {
            "namespace": "Alexa",
            "name": "Response",
            "messageId": "Unique identifier, preferably a version 4 UUID",
            "correlationToken": "Opaque correlation token that matches the request",
            "payloadVersion": "3"
        },
        "endpoint": {
            "endpointId": "endpoint id"
        },
        "payload": {}
    },
    "context": {
        "properties": [{
                "namespace": "Alexa.PlaybackStateReporter",
                "name": "playbackState",
                "value": {
                    "state": "STOPPED"
                },
                "timeOfSample": "2021-12-03T16:20:50.52Z",
                "uncertaintyInMilliseconds": 0
            },
            {
                "namespace": "Alexa.PowerController",
                "name": "powerState",
                "value": "ON",
                "timeOfSample": "2021-12-03T16:20:50.52Z",
                "uncertaintyInMilliseconds": 500
            },
            {
                "namespace": "Alexa.EndpointHealth",
                "name": "connectivity",
                "value": {
                    "value": "OK"
                },
                "timeOfSample": "2021-12-26T16:00:00.00Z",
                "uncertaintyInMilliseconds": 0
            }
        ]
    }
}

SearchAndDisplayResults error handling

If you can’t handle a SearchAndDisplayResults directive successfully and the error is specific to video, respond with an Alexa.Video.ErrorResponse event. For general errors, respond with a generic Alexa.ErrorResponse event.

Change reporting

You send an Alexa.ChangeReport event to report changes proactively in the state of an endpoint. You identify the properties that you proactively report in your discovery response. The Alexa.RemoteVideoPlayer interface doesn’t define any proactively reportable properties. However, you send change reports for the other interfaces that you implement in your skill. For details about change reports, see State Reporting for Video Skills.

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Developer Reference

Alexa.RemoteVideoPlayer Interface 3.1

Utterances

Handle search criteria

Performance requirements for search

Reportable properties

Discovery

Configurations object

Discover response example

Proactive Discovery

AddOrUpdateReport example

Directives

SearchAndPlay directive

SearchAndPlay directive example

SearchAndPlay directive payload

SearchAndPlay response

SearchAndPlay error handling

SearchAndDisplayResults directive

SearchAndDisplayResults directive example

SearchAndDisplayResults directive payload

SearchAndDisplayResults response

SearchAndDisplayResults error handling

Change reporting

​Utterances

​Handle search criteria

​Performance requirements for search

​Reportable properties

​Discovery

​Configurations object

​Discover response example

​Proactive Discovery

​AddOrUpdateReport example

​Directives

​SearchAndPlay directive

​SearchAndPlay directive example

​SearchAndPlay directive payload

​SearchAndPlay response

​SearchAndPlay error handling

​SearchAndDisplayResults directive

​SearchAndDisplayResults directive example

​SearchAndDisplayResults directive payload

​SearchAndDisplayResults response

​SearchAndDisplayResults error handling

​Change reporting

​Related topics

Utterances

Handle search criteria

Performance requirements for search

Reportable properties

Discovery

Configurations object

Discover response example

Proactive Discovery

AddOrUpdateReport example

Directives

SearchAndPlay directive

SearchAndPlay directive example

SearchAndPlay directive payload

SearchAndPlay response

SearchAndPlay error handling

SearchAndDisplayResults directive

SearchAndDisplayResults directive example

SearchAndDisplayResults directive payload

SearchAndDisplayResults response

SearchAndDisplayResults error handling

Change reporting

Related topics