Validating Your Metadata Syntax

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Formatting your metadata feed correctly can be challenging, so we created the Metadata Validator as a tool to scan your Golden Media RSS (GMRSS) for syntax errors within the Platform’s supported metadata program types.

This guide will show you how to:

  1. Build a GMRSS test feed.

  2. Use the Metadata Validator to review your GMRSS test feed for syntax errors.

  3. Continue to your next steps.

New to metadata?

Metadata integration with the platform requires certain prerequisites. To learn more about the benefits and process of metadata integration, check out our Metadata Overview.

Build your GMRSS test feed

The Metadata Validator checks a test feed with up to four items. We recommend using a feed with at least one entry for each content type that you plan to deliver in your feed. By testing one of each, you’ll validate if you’ve formatted your XML correctly for each entry and can apply your results to your entire feed, ensuring that the whole feed is error-free.

Example entry

Below is a sample GMRSS feed. To see examples of specific content types that may be included in a feed along with the fields they support, refer to our Program Types reference guide.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<rss version="4.0" xmlns:ns2="urn:uri:merlin-gold-FIXME" xmlns:ns4="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" xmlns:ns3="http://purl.org/dc/terms/">
    <channel>
        <title>Merlin gold mRSS Feed</title>
        <description type="text/html">Auto-translated from CITYTV_PLUS ingest feed</description>
        <generator>CITYTV_PLUS</generator>
        <debugMediaOnly>false</debugMediaOnly>
        <item>
            <title>The Curse</title>
            <ns2:seriesTitle>What We Do In The Shadows</ns2:seriesTitle>
            <description type="text/html">The Curse. While the vampires fear they've been electronically cursed, Guillermo tries to thwart a deadly threat to his masters.</description>
            <ns2:distributionRights>
                <ns2:valid>start=2024-09-29T23:00:00Z;end=2099-11-14T23:59:00Z;scheme=W3CDTF</ns2:valid>
                <ns2:contentClass>SVOD</ns2:contentClass>
                <ns2:contentTier>cityvideolive</ns2:contentTier>
                <ns2:playRegions>
                    <ns2:playRegion type="ISODIVISION">CA</ns2:playRegion>
                </ns2:playRegions>
            </ns2:distributionRights>
            <ns2:videoAssetId namespace="FX" provider="CITYTVPLUS">22287</ns2:videoAssetId>
            <ns2:programVariantId namespace="FX" provider="CITYTVPLUS">22287</ns2:programVariantId>
            <ns2:durableAppId>rogers_citytv</ns2:durableAppId>
            <ns2:videoForm>long</ns2:videoForm>
            <ns2:distributor>CITYTVPLUS</ns2:distributor>
            <ns2:brand override="false">FX</ns2:brand>
            <ns2:entityType>Episode</ns2:entityType>
            <ns2:seasonNumber>2</ns2:seasonNumber>
            <ns2:episodeNumber>4</ns2:episodeNumber>
            <ns2:entityReference namespace="FX" provider="CITYTVPLUS" entityType="SeriesMaster">4636</ns2:entityReference>
            <ns4:rating scheme="urn:v-chip">TV-G</ns4:rating>
            <ns4:thumbnail height="1080" url="https://production.static-d3-rogent.com/api/shain/v1/dataservice/ResizeImage/$value?Format=%27jpeg%27&amp;Quality=85&amp;Width=1920&amp;Height=1080&amp;ImageUrl=%27185495%27" width="1920" type="Provider Key Art" format="jpeg" external="false" useUrlHash="false"/>
            <ns4:status state="deleted" force="false"/>
            <ns4:group>
                <ns4:content duration="1344" type="APP" url="appmanager:launchApplication#appId=rogers_citytv&amp;additionalLaunchParams=%7B%22param.launchpoint%22%3A%22playback%22%2C%22param.entityId%22%3A%2222287%22%2C%22launchedFrom%22%3A%22EntityPage%22%2C%22param.programType%22%3A%22episode%22%7D" external="false" ns2:cc="true" ns2:sap="false" ns2:videoQuality="HD" ns2:subtitle="true" ns2:dvs="false" ns2:expression="full">
                    <ns2:audioTrack dvs="false" index="0" lang="en" audioType="Stereo"/>
                    <ns2:subtitle role="cc" lang="en-CA"/>
                </ns4:content>
            </ns4:group>
            <ns2:languageDetails title="en-CA" description="en-CA" originalAudio="en-CA" intendedAudience="en-CA"/>
            <ns2:externalEntityId>a7dea1c4-96be-4606-b172-cb1549cca863</ns2:externalEntityId>
            <ns2:externalSeriesId>4636</ns2:externalSeriesId>
            <ns2:contentProviderName>CITYTVPLUS</ns2:contentProviderName>
        </item>
    </channel>
</rss>

Once you have built your test feed, you are ready to check it for errors using the Metadata Validator.

Check your test feed for errors

To check your test feed for errors:

  1. Launch the Metadata Validator.

  2. Sign in with your developer platform account. If you don’t have an account yet, create an account.

  3. Once you’re signed in, you’ll land on the Metadata Validator main page.

    The metadata validator with an empty input box.

  4. To begin, copy your test feed, paste it in the text box, and click Submit.

    The metadata validator with a short feed pasted in the input box.

  5. If there are any errors in your syntax, you’ll see them in the “Validation Results” section on the right side of your screen along with specifications on what needs to be fixed. Additionally, each error is categorized as a Hard Failure (i.e., Hard Failure : true) or Soft Failure (i.e., Hard Failure : false).

    1. Hard Failures are errors that will prevent the feed from being ingested in the Platform’s systems. These must be fixed before submitting your metadata feed for approval.

    2. Soft Failures are errors that will not prevent the feed from being ingested, but will prevent access to additional features. For example, ratings are important for your audience, but not required for ingestion, so a feed that’s missing a rating receives a soft failure.

    Validator errors with Hard Failure : false missing a preferred field media:rating and Hard Failure : true missing a required field title.

    An example of a Soft Failure (Error 1) and a Hard Failure (Error 2)

  6. Once you’ve corrected your errors, click Reset to clear the text box. Then, copy your edited feed, paste it in the text box, and click Submit to try again.

  7. If no errors were found, you’ll see a “Validation Successful” message. From here you have two options:

    1. Click Submit for Review to notify our representative that you’ve formed your sample.

    2. If you want to test more entries, click Never mind to continue working.

    A popup message saying Validation Successful - no errors were found, with buttons to Submit for Review or Never mind.

XML formatting mistakes

The majority of errors received when using the Metadata Validator are due to formatting mistakes in the provided XML. Have questions on formatting? Check out our Full Metadata Specifications to learn how to structure your data.

Next steps

If you are satisfied with your metadata feed, reach out to your contact to discuss next steps. For more information on building and delivering your feed, please see Integrating Metadata.

Getting help

Reach out to us at ott-highway_support@comcast.com if you have any questions or issues while using the Metadata Validator.