MP4E — Interactive video that travels in the file

Overview

After processing, Studio populates your project with tracked objects. Objects are the foundation for:

Clickable/hoverable interactions (object events)
Object-bound overlays (tooltips, cards, hotspots)
Rules that react to visibility, clicks, hover, and time

Select & Inspect Objects

Use the Entities panel to browse objects and groups. Clicking an object selects it and shows its details in the Inspector.

Fast workflow

Scrub the timeline to the moment you care about, then click the object overlay in the preview to select the tracked object.

Edit Labels and Metadata

In the Inspector, you can adjust an object’s label/name and attach structured metadata (for example SKU, URL, price, or any custom fields). This data can be used by plugins (templates) and rules.

Use metadata as your source of truth

Treat object metadata like a product catalog “row”: if it’s in the object, every overlay/plugin/rule can reference it.

Object Groups

Object Groups are named collections of objects. They help you scale interactivity across many tracked items.

How teams typically use groups

// Object Groups are a practical way to:
// - bind the same display behavior to many objects
// - target rules/actions at a set (e.g. "all products")
//
// Example names:
// - products
// - people
// - hotspots
// - sponsors

Groups pair perfectly with Displays

You can apply shared display settings (like a tooltip or product card) to a whole group so every object gets a consistent UI without configuring each one individually.

Cards and Cues

In a group's settings (the gear icon), the Display Settings tab says what opens when a viewer clicks or hovers one of its objects, or when one is on screen. For each event you pick a plugin — a display plugin, or one with a card mode such as Product card and Info card — and fill its settings — type {{object.data.title}} and similar to use the object's own data. The same editor is in an object's own settings, which win over its groups'.

Avoid covering objects — the card opens beside its object, clear of every object on screen and of the player's controls, and slides out of the way only when an object moves under it and a clearer spot is free.
Width and Height — the card's size in design pixels on a 1920 base (measured on the video's long side). Leave them empty to use the size the plugin declares.
Only when it's the only one on screen (for the "visible" event) — the card opens by itself while this object is the only one of the group on screen, and closes when another one appears. A card the viewer closes stays closed until the object leaves and comes back. A new "visible" binding closes only when its object leaves the screen; with Click outside added, a tap on the object closes its open card and opens the click card in its place, instead of keeping the open card as the tapped one.
Auto-close: When the object leaves the screen — the card closes with its object.

In the General tab, Cue shows viewers that the group's objects can be tapped: Subtle runs a soft light around each object as it appears and outlines it under the pointer; Markers puts a small pulsing dot on each one; None shows nothing. Use Preview mode to see cards and cues as viewers will.

Custom Data Schema

Each group can define a Data Schema – a set of custom fields that objects in that group can have. This lets you tailor data collection for different use cases:

E-commerce: title, price, currency, product URL, image
Education: difficulty level, duration, prerequisites
Real Estate: square footage, price, bedrooms, agent contact

To configure a data schema, click the gear icon on a group and go to the Data Schema tab. You can use the visual editor or switch to JSON mode for advanced editing.

Example data schema

// Example Data Schema for an e-commerce group
{
  "fields": [
    { "key": "title", "type": "string", "label": "Title" },
    { "key": "description", "type": "textarea", "label": "Description" },
    { "key": "price", "type": "number", "label": "Price" },
    { "key": "currency", "type": "select", "label": "Currency",
      "options": [
        { "value": "USD", "label": "USD ($)" },
        { "value": "EUR", "label": "EUR (€)" }
      ]
    },
    { "key": "url", "type": "url", "label": "Product Link" },
    { "key": "imageUrl", "type": "image", "label": "Image URL" }
  ]
}

// Access in plugin templates:
// {{object.data.title}}
// {{object.data.price}}
// {{object.data.url}}

Using data in templates

Once you define fields in the schema, they appear in the object's Properties panel. Access the values in plugin templates using {{object.data.fieldKey}}.

Tracking Visualization (BBox / Polygons)

Use the top menu View → Object Overlays to switch between:

Bounding Boxes: lightweight and easy to read
Polygons: more precise shapes (great for replacement zones)
Hidden: clean preview without tracking overlays

Best Practices

Group early so rules and displays stay simple as object count grows.
Name consistently (e.g. products, people, sponsors).
Store the important business fields directly on objects so templates can render instantly.

Object Management