Video Transformations

Dreep uses a proprietary, high-performance video engine to transform video on the fly. You can combine query parameters to adjust dimensions, re-encode video formats, adjust frame rates, trim clips, or convert videos into animated GIFs.

Inline vs. Asynchronous Processing

Fast Jobs (Inline 200 OK): Lightweight operations like container remuxing (e.g. MOV → MP4 stream copy) are processed quickly inline and served immediately with a 200 OK.
Heavy Jobs (Async 202 Accepted): Intensive operations (like full H.264/VP9 re-encodes, HLS segmentation, or GIF conversion) run asynchronously in the background.

How Asynchronous Processing Works:

First Request: You request a heavy video transformation (e.g., ?format=webm&fps=30).
Dreep Responds: Dreep queues the job and responds with an HTTP 202 Accepted status code.
- If requested by a browser (Accept: text/html), Dreep serves a “Processing” page with a loading spinner that automatically refreshes.
- If requested via an API client (Accept: application/json), Dreep returns { "error": "Asset is processing" }.
Completion: Once the background worker finishes, subsequent requests to that exact URL return 200 OK and serve the transformed video file directly from cache.

1. Dimensions, Fit & Quality

Control output resolution, aspect ratio scaling, and visual quality.

Parameter	Valid Options	Description	Try It
`width`	number	Target width in pixels.	`?width=1280`
`height`	number	Target height in pixels.	`?height=720`
`fit`	`cover`, `contain`, `fill`	Scaling behavior when both `width` and `height` are set.	`?width=640&height=360&fit=contain`
`quality`	1 - 100	Encoding quality / CRF scaling (1-100). Defaults to 80.	`?quality=75`

Example: Resize a video to 720p HD with aspect-ratio containment:

https://cdn.dreep.cloud/api/v1/fetch/2f928a3f.mp4?width=1280&height=720&fit=contain&quality=80

2. Trimming & Clipping

You can extract a specific portion of a video by defining start and end timestamps.

Parameter	Description	Try It
`trimStart`	Start timestamp in seconds.	`?trimStart=10`
`trimEnd`	End timestamp in seconds.	`?trimEnd=25`

Example: Extract a 15-second clip starting at the 10-second mark:

https://cdn.dreep.cloud/api/v1/fetch/2f928a3f.mp4?trimStart=10&trimEnd=25

3. Formatting & Codecs

Convert videos to different web-optimized formats or codecs. Supported source video formats include MP4, MOV, and WebM.

Parameter	Valid Options	Description	Try It
`format`	`mp4`, `webm`, `mov`, `gif`, `hls`, `m3u8`	The output container format.	`?format=webm`
`videoCodec`	`libx264`, `libvpx-vp9`, `h264`, `hevc`	The internal video encoding codec. Defaults to web-optimized H.264 (`libx264`).	`?videoCodec=hevc`
`fps`	number (e.g., `24`, `30`, `60`)	Output frame rate.	`?fps=30`

Conversion Boundaries: Video conversions must remain within video formats (mp4, webm, mov), HLS (hls, m3u8), or animated gif. If you request an image format (like jpeg or webp) on a video asset, Dreep will extract a static thumbnail frame.

Example: Converting Video to Animated GIF You can easily create GIF previews of your videos. It is highly recommended to use trimStart and trimEnd alongside fps when generating GIFs to keep the file size manageable.

https://cdn.dreep.cloud/api/v1/fetch/2f928a3f.gif?trimStart=0&trimEnd=3&fps=12

4. HLS Adaptive Streaming

For large videos, serving a single massive .mp4 file is inefficient. Dreep supports HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), which chunks your video into smaller .ts segments and generates an .m3u8 manifest file. This allows players to stream the video smoothly and buffer only what is needed. To generate an HLS stream, request the video with format=hls or append the .m3u8 extension:

https://cdn.dreep.cloud/api/v1/fetch/2f928a3f.m3u8

Implementing an HLS Player

Standard HTML5 <video> tags do not support HLS natively in all browsers (Safari does, but Chrome/Firefox do not). You must use a library like HLS.js or Video.js.

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/hls.js@latest"></script>
<video id="video" controls></video>
<script>
  var video = document.getElementById("video");
  var videoSrc = "https://cdn.dreep.cloud/api/v1/fetch/2f928a3f.m3u8";

  if (Hls.isSupported()) {
    var hls = new Hls();
    hls.loadSource(videoSrc);
    hls.attachMedia(video);
  } else if (video.canPlayType("application/vnd.apple.mpegurl")) {
    // Safari fallback
    video.src = videoSrc;
  }
</script>

Like all video transformations, requesting .m3u8 for the first time will trigger a 202 Accepted response while the video is chunked and the manifest is generated.

4. Audio Extraction

Because it does not require a full video re-encode, Dreep can extract audio tracks from your video assets at lightning speeds (often returning in under 200ms). To strip the video track and return just the audio, simply request one of our supported audio formats (mp3, wav, or aac). Supported Audio Formats:

mp3: Highly compressed, great for general web usage.
wav: Uncompressed lossless audio for professional use.
aac: High-quality compressed audio format.

Example: Extract MP3 Audio

https://cdn.dreep.cloud/api/v1/fetch/2f928a3f.mp4?format=mp3

Example: Extract WAV Audio

https://cdn.dreep.cloud/api/v1/fetch/2f928a3f.mp4?format=wav

5. Thumbnail Extraction

To generate a static thumbnail image from your video, simply request a supported image format (jpeg, jpg, png, or webp) and use the time parameter to specify the exact timestamp (in seconds) to capture. If time exceeds the video’s actual duration, Dreep intelligently clamps it to the final frame. Supported Thumbnail Formats:

jpeg or jpg: Standard compressed image format, highly compatible.
webp: Modern web format with superior compression.
png: Lossless image format, good for high fidelity.

Example: Extract a JPEG Thumbnail at 5 seconds

https://cdn.dreep.cloud/api/v1/fetch/2f928a3f.mp4?format=jpeg&time=5

(You can also use .jpg or format=jpg interchangeably with jpeg!) Example: Extract a WebP Thumbnail at 15 seconds

https://cdn.dreep.cloud/api/v1/fetch/2f928a3f.mp4?format=webp&time=15

Combining Parameters

You can chain multiple video parameters together in a single request:

https://cdn.dreep.cloud/api/v1/fetch/2f928a3f.mp4?width=1280&height=720&trimStart=5&trimEnd=20&fps=30&quality=85

Getting Started

Security & Access

Guides

Media Transformations

Integrations

Inline vs. Asynchronous Processing

How Asynchronous Processing Works:

1. Dimensions, Fit & Quality

2. Trimming & Clipping

3. Formatting & Codecs

4. HLS Adaptive Streaming

Implementing an HLS Player

4. Audio Extraction

5. Thumbnail Extraction

Combining Parameters

​Inline vs. Asynchronous Processing

​How Asynchronous Processing Works:

​1. Dimensions, Fit & Quality

​2. Trimming & Clipping

​3. Formatting & Codecs

​4. HLS Adaptive Streaming

​Implementing an HLS Player

​4. Audio Extraction

​5. Thumbnail Extraction

​Combining Parameters

Inline vs. Asynchronous Processing

How Asynchronous Processing Works:

1. Dimensions, Fit & Quality

2. Trimming & Clipping

3. Formatting & Codecs

4. HLS Adaptive Streaming

Implementing an HLS Player

4. Audio Extraction

5. Thumbnail Extraction

Combining Parameters