This article is about the search function: how this looks in the Reference Apps and how search results are ordered.
From AXIS 9.4 onwards, you can use either the default Search function described here or the new, configurable, Enhanced Search. Read our Enhanced Search article to find out how the improved functionality allows you to configure search to your specific needs.
Minimum version requirements: Sport assets and metadata are supported on AXIS 9.2 and above and on apps running the respective Reference App version 6.3 onwards. The Enhanced Search page and supporting functionality are available from AXIS 9.4.
Use the links below to jump to a specific topic.
- What is AXIS search?
- How does the search work?
- Is search configurable?
- How are search results ordered?
- How are search results grouped?
- How does search history work?
What is AXIS search?
Search is an essential tool for your end-user. It empowers them to effectively locate content using the search bar, discover content with the search results page, and easily access past searches thanks to the search history feature.
Search is available in all AXIS Reference Applications and allows your end-users to search through content based on item title, cast, or crew.
AXIS search supports badges, event time/date, two lines of metadata, a search history, a search results page, and a built-in progressive search that provides predictive suggestions to your end-user as they type.
How does the search work?
To understand more about how search looks and functions within AXIS, select your chosen app type below:
On Responsive Web, as your user types their query into the search box, the predictive search begins populating a list of suggestions. At this point, your user may either continue typing, select a title from the list below, or click See all results.
If the user selects a title here, they're taken directly to the title's item detail page.
If they execute the search without selecting from the populated list or they click See all results, they're taken to the search results page instead.
From the search results page, your user can browse content that best matches their search query or make use of the search again on this page to refine the results further.
When choosing an asset such as a movie, TV show, or team, the user is taken to the item detail page for that content.
If it's a cast or crew member, on the other hand, they're taken to a separate page, showing all the content attached to the selected cast or crew member.
To use the search on AXIS TV apps, your user needs to navigate to the search icon in the top right or left of the app using their TV remote or attached keyboard, redirecting them to the search page. Here, type a name or title into the search box, and the predictive search begins populating the page with results.
Once the results appear, your users can browse content that best matches their search query.
To use the search on AXIS mobile apps, users tap on the search icon in their app (the location of the icon depends on whether the mobile navigation bar is configured). This redirects them to the search page. Here, as they type their query into the search box, the predictive search will begin populating the page with results.
Once the results appear, your users can browse content that best matches their search query.
To use the search on AXIS apps for iPad and Android-based tablets, your user needs to tap on the search icon of the app - at the top or bottom of the screen, depending on how the app is configured - directing them to the search page. Here, they can type their query into the search box, and the predictive search begins populating the page with results.
Once the results appear, your users can browse content that best matches their search query.
Is the search configurable?
The default Search can't be configured in Presentation Manager; developers can supply supported parameters to the AXIS API for additional refinement.
Is the search results page configurable?
By default, the search results page uses a P1 standard poster row and can't be configured in Presentation Manager. However, custom layouts can be implemented on a per-customer basis.
How are search results ordered?
- Results are first ordered by relevance (content with titles closest to your search.)
- Results are then ordered by item count (how many items match your search.)
- Finally, results are ordered by their titles, in descending alphabetical order.
For example, searching “Ben” would place “Ben Stiller” in front of “Ben Kingsley” in the People section of the search results page if there are more Ben Stiller films on your platform. If you have the same number for both actors, then "Ben Kingsley" would take alphabetical priority.
How are search results grouped?
Search results are split into rows, each dedicated to specific asset types (or subtypes, as explained below). The rows are displayed in the following order:
- Movies
- TV (shows and programs)
- Events
- News and Highlights
- Competitions
- Teams
- People (includes Personas)
- Confederations
From AXIS 9.2, the search API includes the sport asset types. Alongside these, AXIS supports a pre-defined set of asset subtypes:
- Highlights
- Interview
- Documentary
- News
- Best Moments
- Replay
- Preview
- Reactions
- Throwback
Assets with any of the pre-defined asset subtypes display surfaced in the News and Highlights row on the search results page. This feature is designed to be used for Program assets. Operators can assign subtypes in the asset metadata, but we recommend that this process takes place at ingestion.
A word on prioritization:
TV shows with more episodes receive higher priority in the search results, whereas cast and crew searches prioritize the number of assets credited to the searched cast or crew member.
How does search history work?
The last five most recent search terms appear in the search window, allowing users to re-run past searches quickly. The search terms themselves remain in the local storage of a browser or app cache. This means that all profiles and all logged-in accounts on the same device can view recent searches. Recent searches are not universal, so recent search terms are not shared across devices (for example, mobile to web.)
Note: If the user selects or enters one of the five existing search terms, the chosen term is promoted to the top of the recent search list and removed from its previous position.
Search and Enhanced Search – what’s the difference?
While the default Search comes with a predefined order and layout for search results, the Enhanced Search offers more configurability.
We’ve summarized the main differences between the two search functions in the table below. Visit our Enhanced Search article for further information.
| Feature | Default Search | Enhanced Search |
|---|---|---|
| Full text search | No - Title and Cast fields only | Yes - search across multiple asset fields |
| Can disable specific fields | No | Yes |
| Can adjust priority of fields in search | No | Yes |
| Search in child items (seasons, episodes) | No | Yes (requires update to Reference Apps) |
| Fuzzy matching | Yes – if configured | Yes - improved |
| Multi-language search | No - only in selected language | Yes - across all languages* |
| Fuzzy matching non-Latin languages | No | Yes |
| Can customize layout of search results page in Presentation Manager | No | Yes – configurable Enhanced Search page |
| Badge support | Yes | No |
| Event time/date metadata support | Yes | No |
| Two lines of metadata support | Yes | No |
| Scalability | Only scalable as a component of ISL, not separately | Can be scaled separately from ISL |
* Chinese language coming soon.