Technical QC: What Streaming Platforms Actually Check

Every major streaming platform runs your deliverable through an automated quality-control pipeline before a human ever watches it. Fail that pipeline and your submission is rejected — sometimes without a clear explanation.

The most common failure points are audio levels, color space, and caption formatting. Platforms expect integrated loudness between -24 and -18 LUFS for most content. If your mix was mastered for theatrical at -23 LUFS, it may clip or sound too quiet on a consumer TV.

Color space is another frequent trip wire. Rec.709 is the standard for streaming delivery. If your colorist worked in a P3 or wide-gamut space and the export wasn't converted correctly, you'll see a flag on the QC report.

Closed captions must be embedded or delivered as a sidecar SRT file with accurate timecodes. Platforms cross-check caption timing against the audio track — a drift of more than a few frames will fail the check.

At ClydeVision Films, our Technical QC Audit covers all of this before your file ever leaves our hands. We'd rather catch it than have a platform reject your submission the night before your release window.