Ad Insertion allows users to insert SCTE35 into a production. Ad Insertion provides a way for Producer users to monetise their shows by inserting markers that can be detected downstream when streaming via SRT, Zixi, RIST, RTP (Pro egress) or RTMP streams published on YouTube to display adverts to the viewing audience.
How to use Ad Insertion
Select AD BREAKS
Setup your MARKER OFFSET and DURATION
Add LEAD IN/ LEAD OUT/ REPLACEMENT assets (optional)
Navigate to AD TRIGGERS and select the REPLACEMENT ASSET
START BREAK NOW to start and/or CANCEL BREAK
📕 Note: Ad Breaks have two states - before insertion and during the break. Cancelling an Ad Break early can have adverse effects on the downstream playout and viewer experience. This functionality is present for emergency situations and should be used when a user needs to quickly cut back to the live stream content.
There is a mechanism to prevent users from cancelling an Ad Break within the last second of the Marker Offset or the first second of the Ad Break Duration as this could cause issues.
💡Tip: Key bindings allow you to both start and cancel an Ad Break. To start an Ad Break, you must configure your Marker Offset & Duration as Key binding parameters.
SCTE-35, SMPTE 2038 and Closed Caption (CTA-708) Passthrough
With SCTE-35 and SMPTE-2308 passthrough – you can now closely control how SCTE-35 markers are passed through Producer to trigger ad breaks downstream.
SCTE-35 passthrough
When streams containing SCTE-35 markers (broadcast ad markers) are sent to the Producer, we can now read and re-insert them (known as passthrough). This means that fully or partially produced broadcast streams can be sent through the Producer to create variants, such as alternative casts, new commentary languages, adjusted graphics, and others. These variants can then be sent back to a broadcast or OTT system for playout with the same ad triggers in place.
The passthrough options are:
All video sources - when encountered SCTE35 markers are included in the output (i.e. live streams at any time, VODs while playing in a media player or directly in a layer)
On-air video sources - markers are only passed through from on-air sources (in program out) when the marker is processed
Specific source - markers are passed through from the chosen live source at all times
SMPTE 2038 Passthrough
Passing ancillary data in broadcast streams enables compatibility with advanced broadcast-grade technical requirements.
The passthrough options are the same as for SCTE-35 - all video sources, on-air sources or specific sources.
Closed Caption (CTA-708) Passthrough
Closed captions are now optional to turn on/off in Producer output settings for on-air sources or specific sources.
YouTube Ad Markers
Ad markers can be inserted into RTMP streams published on YouTube. This new integration sets frame-accurate ad markers into the broadcast, with additional metadata for the length of the ad break (or “pod”), triggering mid-roll ads for viewers at the precise moment you choose.
This update allows you to enhance your live content monetization on YouTube, with the ability to insert dynamic, server-side ads based on specific YouTube viewer data, such as demographics and location.
When publishing an RTMP stream to YouTube, Ad insertion works in the same way as it does for SCTE Markers on Pro Egress streams. This type of marker is YouTube-specific and will not work when broadcasting to any other RTMP destinations.
💡Tip: When broadcasting to both YouTube and Pro Egress, the correct type of marker will be used for each destination.
📕 Note: Your YouTube channel must have live-streaming ads enabled for this workflow.
Functionalities
Marker Offset | Duration | Lead In | Lead out | Replacement Assets |
The Marker Offset is the duration of time before an Ad Marker is played. It is not a countdown until the Ad Break but rather an offset to allow for ad server processing time | The Duration is the length of time that an Ad Break will play | This is the asset that plays before an Ad break begins | This is the asset that plays after an Ad break finishes | A Replacement asset goes live in the Producer when an Advert starts (after the Lead In) |
📕 Note: The Marker Offset default is set to 00:00:00 and can be increased/decreased using the UI in 1-second increments. The maximum value that can currently be entered is 30 seconds
The Duration default is set to 00:03:00 and can be increased/decreased using the UI in 30-second increments. The maximum value that can currently be entered is 30 minutes.
💡Tip: There are visual components notifying users about the Ad Break status across all areas of the platform - in the Control Room, Multiviewer, Producer Guest, and Audio Mixer.