All spots and paid programs must include either a valid Sinclair Contributor ID or a registered Ad-ID. One or the other should be used anywhere references are made to an “ISCI code”**.
Sinclair Contributor ID’s can be self-created at no cost, do not need to be registered, are a maximum of 17 characters in length, and within the Sinclair eco-system can be used anywhere an Ad-ID or ISCI is used.
You may submit a maximum of 17 characters for your ID. The last character must always be an “h”
For instance:
BBedsHolday-2412h
Here, “2412” could represent a year and month.
Again, the last character (character number 17) must always be an “h”.
If you do not include an “h” as the last character your spot may not air as expected or intended.
Spaces, apostrophes, quotes, asterix, commas, periods, parenthesis, braces, etc. are not allowed. If included, these special characters will be stripped.
You are responsible for ensuring your ID is unique. If you submit new content with an ID you’ve used in the past, the new content will air.
Ad-ID’s are created through the independent Ad-ID service at a cost to the submitter, are unique, can be used across all broadcasters and platforms including Sinclair, and allow a maximum of 11 characters of description.
Ad-ID’s must be created and registered through the Ad-ID web site which charges advertisers a fee. Ad-ID’s submitted to Sinclair must include an “h” as the 12 character, per the Ad-ID spec.
This is what a registered Ad-ID would look like:
COCO000500H
Ad-ID’s can be used in Sinclair Systems in any field that prompts for an ISCI.
Video Technical Specification:
Raster and Frame Rate: 720p, 1080p, and 1080i at 29.97, 59.94, 30, and 60
All content will be normalized to 1080i 29.94 for internal distribution and playback. Content submitted as 1080i or 1080p will retain more quality.
We do not accept content at 24
4K content is accepted only be special request. Please contact us in advance.
SD content is never accepted
Color Space and Chroma Sampling: rec 709, 4:2:0
Rec 2020 and HDR content are accepted only by special request. Please contact us in advance.
Encoding and Bit Rates: h.264 @ 25Mbps and h.265 @ 20Mbps are preferred.
MPEG2 encoding at no lower than 25Mbps is accepted but not preferred. Bitrates below 15Mbps may result in quality issues and be rejected.
Wrappers: mp4, mxf, and mov are accepted. Other wrappers may be rejected or fail.
Audio Secifications:
Channels 1 and 2 should be either a stereo pair or two channel mono.
Surround and SAP are accepted only by special request. Please contact us in advance.
Captioning Specifications:
We accept 608 and 708 captions.
If you wish to submit captions via side-car, please contact us.
If captions are not included but required, Sinclair may automatically add captions at some expense to the contributor.
**ISCI codes were replaced by Ad-ID in 2003. Sinclair Contributor ID is our proprietary option to Ad-ID that may provide you an easier, less expensive and more descriptive alternative.
