ContentDetails

ContentDetails is a structured data construct used in media-related data models and APIs to describe technical and structural properties of a piece of content. It typically lives as a sub-object within a larger content resource and is designed to separate descriptive metadata (such as title and description) from technical characteristics that influence processing, delivery, and presentation. In many systems, contentDetails includes fields such as duration or length, dimension (2D or 3D), definition (hd or sd), caption status, and licensing information, as well as the projection type for immersive formats. The exact fields and values vary by platform, but the intent is consistent: to expose essential, actionable properties that affect playback and rights management without exposing the full media file.

In the YouTube Data API v3, for example, the contentDetails object belongs to the Video resource and conveys playback- and encoding-related attributes. The typical fields include duration (an ISO 8601 duration string, such as PT15M33S), dimension (2d or 3d), definition (hd or sd), caption (true or false), licensedContent (true or false), and projection (such as rectangular or 3d, depending on the platform). Applications use these values to filter search results, optimize streaming, or enforce licensing constraints.

Data modeling considerations: contentDetails should use precise enumerations or standardized formats (ISO 8601 for durations, fixed enums for dimension and definition), and be kept separate from user-facing descriptions to facilitate automated processing. Evolution of contentDetails often reflects supported codecs, accessibility features, and regional licensing.