Quickstart: Search for videos using the Bing Video Search REST API and C#
Warning
On October 30, 2020, the Bing Search APIs moved from Azure AI services to Bing Search Services. This documentation is provided for reference only. For updated documentation, see the Bing search API documentation. For instructions on creating new Azure resources for Bing search, see Create a Bing Search resource through the Azure Marketplace.
Use this quickstart to make your first call to the Bing Video Search API. This simple C# application sends an HTTP video search query to the API and displays the JSON response. Although this application is written in C#, the API is a RESTful Web service compatible with most programming languages.
The source code for this sample is available on GitHub with additional error handling, features, and code annotations.
Prerequisites
You’ll need to set up your machine to run .NET core. You can find the installation instructions on the .NET Core Downloads page. You can run this application on Windows, Linux, macOS, or in a Docker container. You’ll need to install your favorite code editor. The descriptions below use Visual Studio Code, which is an open source, cross platform editor. However, you can use whatever tools you are comfortable with.
Create an Azure resource
Start using the Bing Video Search API by creating one of the following Azure resources:
- Available through the Azure portal until you delete the resource.
- Use the free pricing tier to try the service, and upgrade later to a paid tier for production.
- Available through the Azure portal until you delete the resource.
- Use the same key and endpoint for your applications, across multiple Azure AI services.
Create and initialize a project
The first step is to create a new application. Open a command prompt and create a new directory for your application. Make that the current directory. Enter the following command in a console window:
dotnet new console --name VideoSearchClient
You'll need to add the following using directive at the top of your Main method so that the C# compiler recognizes the Task and JSON types:
using System;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text.Json;
using System.Text.Json.Serialization;
Add variables for your subscription key, endpoint, and search term. For the uriBase value, you can use the global endpoint in the following code or use the custom subdomain endpoint displayed in the Azure portal for your resource.
// Replace the accessKey string value with your valid access key.
const string _accessKey = "enter your key here";
// Or use the custom subdomain endpoint displayed in the Azure portal for your resource.
const string _uriBase = "https://api.cognitive.microsoft.com/bing/v7.0/videos/search";
const string _searchTerm = "kittens";
Next, update the Main method so we can use Async methods. Add the async modifier, and change the return type to Task.
static async Task Main(string[] args)
{
}
Now, you have a program that does nothing but does it asynchronously. Let's improve it.
Create a data structure to hold the Bing Video Search API response
Define a SearchResult and Video class to contain the video search results. You can add more properties later when you need other fields from the JSON result.
class SearchResult
{
[JsonPropertyName("totalEstimatedMatches")]
public int TotalEstimatedMatches { get; set; }
[JsonPropertyName("value")]
public List<Video> Videos { get; set; }
}
class Video
{
[JsonPropertyName("name")]
public string Name { get; set; }
[JsonPropertyName("description")]
public string Description { get; set; }
[JsonPropertyName("thumbnailUrl")]
public string ThumbnailUrl { get; set; }
[JsonPropertyName("contentUrl")]
public string ContentUrl { get; set; }
}
Create and handle a video search request
We use HttpClient to perform the call to the API. First, we need to add the header Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key and your access key.
using var client = new HttpClient();
client.BaseAddress = new Uri(_uriBase);
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("Ocp-Apim-Subscription-Key", _accessKey);
Construct the URI for the search request. Format the search term _searchTerm before you append it to the string.
var response = await client.GetAsync($"?q={Uri.EscapeDataString(_searchTerm)}");
Process the result
When the response was successful, we can process the JSON data. We deserialize the JSON string into our SearchResult we had created earlier. Loop to the result (if any) and print the result to the console.
if (response.IsSuccessStatusCode)
{
var json = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
var result = JsonSerializer.Deserialize<SearchResult>(json);
foreach (var video in result.Videos)
{
Console.WriteLine($"Name: {video.Name}");
Console.WriteLine($"ContentUrl: {video.ContentUrl}");
Console.WriteLine();
}
}
Example JSON response
A successful response is returned in JSON, as shown in the following example:
{
"_type": "Videos",
"instrumentation": {},
"readLink": "https://api.cognitive.microsoft.com/api/v7/videos/search?q=kittens",
"webSearchUrl": "https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=kittens",
"totalEstimatedMatches": 1000,
"value": [
{
"webSearchUrl": "https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=kittens&view=...",
"name": "Top 10 cute kitten videos compilation",
"description": "HELP HOMELESS ANIMALS AND WIN A PRIZE BY CHOOSING...",
"thumbnailUrl": "https://tse4.mm.bing.net/th?id=OVP.n1aE_Oikl4MtzBb...",
"datePublished": "2014-11-12T22:47:36.0000000",
"publisher": [
{
"name": "Fabrikam"
}
],
"creator": {
"name": "Marcus Appel"
},
"isAccessibleForFree": true,
"contentUrl": "https://www.fabrikam.com/watch?v=8HVWitAW-Qg",
"hostPageUrl": "https://www.fabrikam.com/watch?v=8HVWitAW-Qg",
"encodingFormat": "h264",
"hostPageDisplayUrl": "https://www.fabrikam.com/watch?v=8HVWitAW-Qg",
"width": 480,
"height": 360,
"duration": "PT3M52S",
"motionThumbnailUrl": "https://tse4.mm.bing.net/th?id=OM.j4QyJAENJphdZQ_1501386166&pid=Api",
"embedHtml": "<iframe width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" src=\"https://www.fabrikam.com/embed/8HVWitAW-Qg?autoplay=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen></iframe>",
"allowHttpsEmbed": true,
"viewCount": 7513633,
"thumbnail": {
"width": 300,
"height": 168
},
"videoId": "655D98260D012432848F6558260D012432848F",
"allowMobileEmbed": true,
"isSuperfresh": false
},
. . .
],
"nextOffset": 36,
"queryExpansions": [
{
"text": "Kittens Meowing",
"displayText": "Meowing",
"webSearchUrl": "https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Kittens+Meowing...",
"searchLink": "https://api.cognitive.microsoft.com/api/v7/videos/search...",
"thumbnail": {
"thumbnailUrl": "https://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?q=Kittens+Meowing&pid..."
}
},
{
"text": "Funny Kittens",
"displayText": "Funny",
"webSearchUrl": "https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Funny+Kittens...",
"searchLink": "https://api.cognitive.microsoft.com/api/v7/videos/search...",
"thumbnail": {
"thumbnailUrl": "https://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?q=Funny+Kittens&..."
}
},
. . .
],
"pivotSuggestions": [
{
"pivot": "kittens",
"suggestions": [
{
"text": "Cat",
"displayText": "Cat",
"webSearchUrl": "https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Cat...",
"searchLink": "https://api.cognitive.microsoft.com/api/v7/videos/search?...",
"thumbnail": {
"thumbnailUrl": "https://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?q=Cat&pid=Api..."
}
},
{
"text": "Feral Cat",
"displayText": "Feral Cat",
"webSearchUrl": "https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Feral+Cat...",
"searchLink": "https://api.cognitive.microsoft.com/api/v7/videos/search...",
"thumbnail": {
"thumbnailUrl": "https://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?q=Feral+Cat&pid=Api&..."
}
}
]
}
],
"relatedSearches": [
{
"text": "Kittens Being Born",
"displayText": "Kittens Being Born",
"webSearchUrl": "https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Kittens+Being+Born...",
"searchLink": "https://api.cognitive.microsoft.com/api/v7/videos/search?...",
"thumbnail": {
"thumbnailUrl": "https://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?q=Kittens+Being+Born&pid=..."
}
},
. . .
]
}