For ad creatives to be insertable into a DAI stream, they must be in a format that is compatible with the source stream (whether Live or VOD).

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Compatibility rules

Creatives are evaluated for compatibility with the source according to the rules described in Manifest manipulation and particularly its sub-topics on HLS and DASH

When using broadpeak.io, you have the choice to use:

• pre-packaged creatives: your ad server returns ad creatives already transcoded and packaged in an appropriate format. This use-case is often associated with the scenario of Direct Sales in which creatives can be retrieved a long time before air time, and therefore can be prepared in advance.
• raw creatives: in this case, the ad server returns single-file creatives (typically as an MP4 file), and you rely on broadpeak.io to package them in an appropriate format. To do this, you need to enable the trancoding option in your DAI service (see below).

The latter use-case is often associated with the scenario of sales through Programmatic Sales in which creatives are retrieved in real time, and cannot be prepared in advance. However, it also remains a valid and common use-case with Direct Sales.

It is also possible to use a mix of both mechanisms for the same DAI service, allowing the use of raw creatives (which get transcoded by broadpeak.io) alongside pre-packaged creatives.

Enabling Transcoding

You enable transcoding on a DAI service by

1. toggling the transcoding option (in the WebApp or via the APIs)
2. associating a compatible Transcoding Profile to the service.

It is not currently possible to define a Transcoding Profile on your own. Please reach out to us via your direct CSM contact, via the live chat, or by contacting [email protected].

Transcoding logic

MediaFile selection

The rules that dictate how the response from the ad server is parsed to retrieve appropriate creative files are described in VAST, VMAP & Creatives. Transcoding will only be used if the file selected has the appropriate content type.

New creatives

The first time a creative file is returned in the VAST response under a compatible MediaFile, a transcoded job is created to prepare it for streaming delivery. Depending on the Transcoding Profile used and the duration of the creative, this process may take more or less time.

That ad creative will only be inserted into a Manifest when the transcoded job is complete. Any streaming session that was served this ad by the ad server before that point will not have this ad inserted.

No compatible MediaFile

If transcoding was enabled on a service but no compatible file was found (and no pre-packaged file was found either), the ad cannot be transcoded, and therefore cannot be inserted either.

Transcoded creative retention

By default, transcoded creatives are stored for 1 month in broadpeak.io.