This document summarizes a presentation about the PBS Interactive API Workshop. It discusses the TV Schedules API and COVE API, including how to get started with each, typical usage workflows, available methods, and authentication procedures. It encourages participants to provide feedback and get involved in future collaborative opportunities to improve existing products and share knowledge.

1. PBS Interactive API Workshop
Edgar Román, Senior Director, Application Development, PBS
April 8, 2011

2. Overview
• TV Schedules API
• COVE API

3. Agenda : TV Schedules API
• Getting Started
• Understanding the models
• Typical usage walkthrough
• What’s next?

4. WPT Example
http://wptschedule.org/schedulenow.php

5. Getting Started: TV Schedules
• How do I get a key?
Fill out this form:
http://open.pbs.org/pbs-api-key-request/
• What kind of data is returned?
– Read-only REST API or XML RPC
– Returns XML or JSON
• How is it protected?
– Simple key based authentication

6. Understanding the models
Provider
(e.g. Cable Vendor)
Head End A Head End B Station
(e.g. Cable Operator) (e.g. KRWG)
Feed 1 Feed 2 Feed 3 Feed 4
(Channel)
Listing X Listing Y Listing W Listing Z

7. Typical usage walkthrough
Start with a Zip code (Optional)
getHeadEndsByZipTagged getStationsByZip
Find a Head End (Cable Operator) Pick a Station
getStationsByHeadend
Select a Feed (Channel)
getFeedsWithMetadata
getAirdatesByFeed
Pull Listings

8. Complete Example
(using unreadable font)
http://tvschedules.pbs.org/tvschedules/api/rest/stationFinder/getHeadendsByZipTagged?
zipcode=20818&apikey=YOUR-API-KEY
http://tvschedules.pbs.org/tvschedules/api/rest/stationFinder/getStationsByHeadend?
headendID=324045&apikey=YOUR-API-KEY
http://tvschedules.pbs.org/tvschedules/api/rest/tvSchedules/getFeedsWithMetadata?
tvDataNames=WETA&headendID=324045&apikey=YOUR-API-KEY
http://tvschedules.pbs.org/tvschedules/api/rest/stationFinder/getStationsByZip?
zipcode=20818&apikey=YOUR-API-KEY
http://tvschedules.pbs.org/tvschedules/api/rest/tvSchedules/getFeedsWithMetadata?
tvDataNames=WETA&apikey=YOUR-API-KEY
http://tvschedules.pbs.org/tvschedules/api/rest/stationFinder/getAirdatesByFeed?
feedID=9854&startTime=2010-09-15T00:00:00&endTime=2010-09-15T02:00:00&apikey=YOUR-API-
KEY

9. getHeadendsByZipTagged?zipcode=20001

10. getStationsByZip?zipcode=20001

11. Agenda : COVE API
• Getting Started
• Understanding the models
• Available Methods
• Typical usage walkthrough
• How to play video
• Authentication
• What’s next?

12. Getting Started: COVE API
• How do I get a key?
– Tell you in a bit
• What kind of data is returned?
– Read-only REST API
– COVE API only returns JSON
• How is it protected?
– Hefty authentication mechanism (So no jQuery
access)
• How can I get video?
– Returns only RTMP links, so roll your own HTML
player

13. Understanding the models
WCFE
Producer A (Mountain
Lake PBS)
Program X Program Y Rustic Living
Video 1 Video 2 Video 3 Camp Little
Pine

14. Methods
• Programs
http://api.pbs.org/cove/v1/programs/
• Videos
http://api.pbs.org/cove/v1/videos/

15. /cove/v1/programs
• Getting all the programs
http://api.pbs.org/cove/v1/programs/
• Getting metadata about one program
http://api.pbs.org/cove/v1/programs/408/

16. /cove/v1/programs/408 - sample

17. /cove/v1/programs - filters
• Getting all national programs
http://api.pbs.org/cove/v1/programs/?filter_producer__name=PBS
• Getting all station programs
http://api.pbs.org/cove/v1/programs/?filter_producer__name=KRMA

18. /cove/v1/videos
• Getting all the videos
http://api.pbs.org/cove/v1/videos/
• Getting metadata about one video
http://api.pbs.org/cove/v1/videos/36032/

20. /cove/v1/videos - filters
• Typical query filters
– Only Available Videos (not expired)
– Of type: Episode, Clip, Segment, Promotion
– That belong to a particular program
– In a compatible encoding format
• Typical output adjustments
– Give me associated images
– Sort by most recent airdate
– Give me 20 at a time

21. /cove/v1/videos – sample query
http://api.pbs.org/cove/v1/videos/
?filter_availability_status=Available
&exclude_type=Chapter
&filter_program=455
&filter_mediafile_set__video_encoding__eeid=
MPEG-4 500kbps
&fields=associated_images
&order_by=-airdate
&limit_start=0&limit_stop=20

23. Typical usage walkthrough
• App starts and pulls a list of all relevant
programs
• Once user selects a program, the app
should query for a short list of relevant
videos
• If a user selects a video, the app
generates the html needed to stream

24. How to play video
• The COVE API doesn’t provide HTML to
play the video (yet)
• Your app has to construct the HTML based
on guidelines at:
http://projects.pbs.org/confluence/display/coveapi/How+to+Render+Videos

25. Sample HTML – Simple link
• From the video JSON, extract:
tp_media_object_id
• Use:
http://video.pbs.org/videos/<tp_media_object_id>
Or
http://video.weta.org/videos/<tp_media_object_id>

26. Sample HTML – Partner Player
• From the video JSON, extract: tp_media_object_id
<iframe id="partnerPlayer" frameborder="0"
marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"
style="width:512px; height:328px;" src="http://
video.pbs.org/widget/partnerplayer/
<tp_media_object_id>/?player=<player
string>w=512&h=288&chapterbar=true&autoplay=false">
</iframe>

27. Sample HTML – Partner Player
Result

28. Authentication
• Every call to the endpoints must be
authenticated
• Based on OAuth, but is not Oauth
– Two-legged OAuth actually
• Sample implementations provided on the
documentation site
• Front-end a jQuery app using AJAX calls

29. • Active station collaborative efforts to improve existing
products and knowledgebase
– Share ideas
– Compare tricks of the trade
– Solve common problems
– Early product access
• April: COVE API Collaborative Competition
– Participants: KLRU, KPBS, Iowa PTV, TPT, KET,
KCTS, WGBH, Maine PBN, CET, NHPTV
• Coordinated product building activities with openPBS
community
• Visit spiblog.pbs.org to learn more and find out about
future collaborative opportunities

30. How to get COVE API keys
• Fill out this form:
http://open.pbs.org/pbs-api-key-request/
• Will start giving out keys after incubation
lab (early May)
• Check back often in the incubation labs for
new API features and functionality

31. What’s next?
• Easy authentication
– Supporting jQuery
• Provided HTML for video playback
• More exciting queries
– Tell me what you want!

32. Links from this presentation
• This presentation
http://open.pbs.org/post/2011-techcon-slides/
• COVE API Docs
http://projects.pbs.org/confluence/display/coveapi/Welcome
• COVE API url
http://api.pbs.org/cove/v1

33. Questions and Comments
• Edgar Román
emroman@pbs.org