Integrating VAST Ads with DP2SceneGraphWizard

[rain-dotcom]

@rrirower
Hello, I’ve been exploring DP2SceneGraphWizard and it’s been helpful for building SceneGraph components.

I’m currently working on monetizing a Roku channel using a third-party ad provider that supplies a VAST tag URL.

I wanted to ask if it’s possible to integrate VAST ads within a SceneGraph app generated using this tool.

Does DP2SceneGraphWizard support structuring or generating components that work with RAF, or would this need to be implemented manually in the video player logic?

Any guidance or best practices would be appreciated. Thank you!

[rrirower]

This project does support ad monetization. The wizard will accept a URL for your ad server and expects to receive ad pods when scheduling ads based on your feed file ad schedule.

Have you tried specifying an ad server in the wizard?

[rain-dotcom]

yes
can you send me your gmail to send you the ad tag

This is what my ads company told me

[rrirower]

If possible, I'd like you to try using the Roku Stream Tester tool. Roku has provided this tool to validate your video content and video ads. I would try this tool if you sent me the url. If that does not work, I can step through the code and see how your ads are interpreted.

[rain-dotcom]

@rrirower it still not working
can i send you the vast code

[rrirower]

Yes. Mailto: rrirower@charter.net

[rain-dotcom]

@rrirower i have sent it
have you received it

[rrirower]

Yes

[rrirower]

The sample vast tag you sent contains required text substitutions. For example, the vast url contains [replace me] in several locations in the url string. I have no idea what needs to be substituted in those locations. If you don't know, you'll need to contact your ad service to determine what needs to be replaced. If you've tried to use the tag as is, I'm sure that's why it doesn't work.

[rrirower]

Have you made any progress on substituting the text in the url?

[rrirower]

Do you have an update on this?

[rain-dotcom]

@rrirower
Hello
yes
sorry for late response

This is what the ad company said:

Regarding the "[REPLACE_ME]" placeholders in the VAST tag, these are macro slots that need to be dynamically populated by your ad server or player for each individual request.

Essentially, instead of the static "[REPLACE_ME]" text, your system should automatically insert the specific data describing the unit of traffic being sent to us (such as Device ID, App Name, User Agent, etc.). This ensures that the information is accurate for every ad call.

Best regards..

[rrirower]

I'm a bit confused. The comment above says that the macro slots should b dynamically populated by your ad server. If "adtelligent" is your ad server, shouldn't they supply the macro substitutions?

I took a look at their website. I could not find a viable example of what to substitute for a Roku ad request. If you can find that out, I'll try to help more.

[rrirower]

Do you have an update on this?

[rain-dotcom]

hello
Am sorry for late response

Yes - please see the response below;

Hello,

As promised, I am getting back to you regarding your developer's questions.

To clarify the workflow: the macro slots in the ad request do indeed need to be dynamically populated by the ad server or the video player making the request. However, in our current integration, Adtelligent is acting as a demand partner (advertiser), not as the ad server. Your system or ad server is responsible for replacing those macros with actual user data before sending the request to us.

As a side note, Adtelligent does have an enterprise ad server, but it is an entirely separate product. If you are ever interested in exploring that as a solution for your stack, I would be happy to connect you with the respective team.

To help your developer move forward, here is the VAST request template specifically formatted with standard Roku macros:

http://a.adtelligent.com/?width=ROKU_ADS_DISPLAY_WIDTH&height=ROKU_ADS_DISPLAY_HEIGHT&cb=ROKU_ADS_CACHE_BUSTER&ua=ROKU_ADS_USER_AGENT&uip=ROKU_ADS_EXTERNAL_IP&app_name=*&app_bundle=ROKU_ADS_APP_ID&device_model=ROKU_ADS_DEVICE_MODEL&device_make=Roku&device_category=3&app_store_url=*&device_id=ROKU_ADS_TRACKING_ID&idfa=ROKU_ADS_LIMIT_TRACKING&vast_version=2&aid=964688

Important Note: Please ensure that the * symbols in the app_name=* and app_store_url=* parameters are replaced with the specific, hardcoded values for each individual app you are monetizing. The rest of the capitalized Roku macros should be dynamically replaced by your system on every call.

Please let me know if this clears things up or if your developer has any further questions!

[rain-dotcom]

@rrirower Any updates

[rrirower]

Yesterday, I was in the middle of updating code when the tool I use threw an error. It will not let me debug my code. I contacted the Roku community team that supports the tool and I'm waiting for a response.

[rrirower]

The debugger problem has been resolved. I'll try to get you an update tomorrow.

[rain-dotcom]

@rrirower okay no problem

[rain-dotcom]

i will wait for your response

[rrirower]

I tested some code today. I used the request template your source provided with some substitutions for "*" as requested. I'm not getting any ad pods returned. Admittedly, I'm not sure I'm doing this correctly. The ad support code works fine with the standard Roku ad servers and others. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.

I spoke with a Roku support person. They reported the following when trying to use the url you posted:

<VAST version="2.0">
<Extensions>
<ServerError>There are no ads</ServerError>
</Extensions>
</VAST>

Roku's response was "my point is that your ad URL doesn't respond with ads even if those values are substituted."

[rain-dotcom]

okay
so what is the solution now

[rrirower]

As you have seen, Roku techs have verified that I'm not getting the necessary ad pods from your ad provider. Is there any way I can contact them directly to see why that is?

[rain-dotcom]

Maybe it's because there's no ads published? Maybe that's what it means.?

[rrirower]

I don't think that's what it means. It's not returning anything from the call asking for ads. That's why I asked to communicate with your contact. I'm hoping they can shed light on why I'm not receiving any data.

[rain-dotcom]

@rrirower
Hello rrirower,

Sure no problem - I will loop you in on a separate thread.

Thank you,

[rain-dotcom]

can you send me your mail

[rrirower]

rrirower@charter.net

[rain-dotcom]

okay
i will send it now

[rain-dotcom]

i created a feed using your software - i don't see any adBreak objects
how do i define the prerol ads?
i just want them as 00:00:00 ?

[rrirower]

If you use the Channel Feed Manager tools to define your feed file, you can define 'adBreaks' on the Video Attributes screen. Notice the section call "adbreaks" on the bottom left. You can specify the hour, minute, second time stamp to display an ad. You can display more than one ad. For preroll ads, you use "00:00:00".

I would not recommend manually adding the 'adBreaks' to your feed file since that tends to introduce errors. If you need to type them in the file, here's an snippet of what it should look like:

{
  "dateAdded": "2019-11-11T22:21:37+00:00",
  "videos": [
    {
         url: "https://mnmedias.api.telequebec.tv/m3u8/29880.m3u8",
         quality: "HD",
         videoType: "MP4"
      }
   ],
   duration: 3600,
   captions: [ ],
   adBreaks: ["00:15:00", "00:30:00", "00:45:00"],
   language: "en",
  "trickPlayFiles": [
    ...
  ],
}

[rain-dotcom]

or can you send me feed sample that contains 'adBreak' objects
to fix my feed

[rain-dotcom]

hello
i have add adBreaks using The channel feed tool
Ent Network TV.zip
please help me check if the Ad can play

[rrirower]

There's something wrong with the channel. I ran it and it crashes when it tries to show an ad. If I use your ad url it works for me on another test channel. I'm not sure if it's something specific to your channel or the way it is defined to Roku. I've contacted Roku and provided them with the error that the channel is showing when it tries to display ads.

[rain-dotcom]

okay
Thank you
please let know if they answer

[rrirower]

Have you tried sideloading the channel on your own Roku?

[rrirower]

I noticed that you've defined your content as 'liveFeed' in the feed file BN Fashio Ent Netw.json. Did you mean to do this? A 'liveFeed' assumes the your are broadcasting a 'live' event. Additionally, your other feed file, Threads of Valor Fashion.json, seems more appropriate since it defines the content as 'movies'.

You should be aware that Vimeo, as a content storage, has been know to cause problems with Roku. I believe it has something to do with the redirection mechanism that Vimeo uses in its URLs. This article may help.

Lastly, I used the Roku stream tester on your BN Fashio Ent Netw.json feed file to test the url. It did not play.

[rain-dotcom]

okay
Thanks, i have check the feed, am using liveFeeds with mp4 link, i think that what happens
so i have fixed using feed Channel Feed Manager tools..
https://api.npoint.io/c945e2fc4bb48d1c5c54.json
Ent.Network.TV.zip

[rrirower]

Your latest zip file loads, but, it errors out like the last one. As I indicated in my previous post above, your video urls from Vimeo do not load. I tried to validate them in the Roku Stream Tester and they would not load. Using Vimeo as your content host can be problematic. You should consider contacting them to determine what to use for a video url.

[rain-dotcom]

i did not think video is the problem
i have change it to aws https://bnrokuserver.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Videos/0729+(2).mp4

[rain-dotcom]

or This video link can not work https://bnrokuserver.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Videos/0729+(2).mp4

[rain-dotcom]

https://api.npoint.io/c945e2fc4bb48d1c5c54.json
Ent.Network.TV.zip

[rrirower]

Your video plays, but, you are not getting any ads. I think it's because you've defined 'midroll' ads in your feed file and your ad server is sending "preroll". that would mean you need to define an ad at "00:00:00". You should probably tell them the types of ads you want to receive: preroll, midroll, or postroll.

[rain-dotcom]

okay
let me change it to 00:00:00 maybe it will work

[rain-dotcom]

i have define it to 00:00:00
please can you help me check if it work

[rrirower]

I'll need an updated zip file.

[rain-dotcom]

This
BN Fashion 3.zip

[rrirower]

That worked. You now have ads playing on the channel.

Sample

[rain-dotcom]

[rrirower]

Updated permissions. Try the link again.

[rrirower]

Your problem has been resolved. Do you require anything else?

[rain-dotcom]

yes, i want to Ask questions

[rain-dotcom]

hello i want to ask
can i add more than one adBreaks to the channel

[rrirower]

Yes. However, you must make sure your ad provider is sending the type of ad you want. For example, your post shows a preroll ad. If you want to show an ad during your video, your ad provider must send midroll ads.

[rain-dotcom]

okay
Thanks, i have add another Adsbreaks to it
but am not with my tv now to test it

[rain-dotcom]

BN Fashion 3.zip

please can you help me check it if it twork

[rrirower]

Your latest channel zip does not work. Once again, your video url does not play. I tested it with the Roku stream tester and it failed there also. You should check the permissions for the video you posted on Amazon S3.

Additionally, please be advised, I can't keep testing your channel changes. That's up to you. If you have questions, I'll gladly answer them, but, I have other tasks I need to attend to.