Playing streaming ads with the IMA SDK for Android

With the advent of video players that support streaming media formats such as HLS and DASH, publishers can now easily support these formats with the IMA SDK for Android. Here is a list of steps to make this work:

  • Use a video player that can play streaming video, such as ExoPlayer.
  • Inform the SDK of your video player's capabilities.

The latter is done via the SDK's AdsRenderingSettings API. Create a new instance of AdsRenderingSettings and then create a list of MIME types you plan to support: 

AdsRenderingSettings adsRenderingSettings = 
    ImaSdkFactory.getInstance().createAdsRenderingSettings();
ArrayList arrayList = new ArrayList();
arrayList.add("application/x-mpegURL"); //HLS
arrayList.add("application/dash+xml"); //DASH
adsRenderingSettings.setMimeTypes(arrayList);

Then initialize the AdsManager using these AdsRenderingSettings: 

adsManager.init(adsRenderingSettings);

This will allow the SDK to choose streaming ad media to play in your video player. Make sure to add any additional MIME types you plan to support, such as MP4, as this approach assumes that any MIME types not passed in are not supported.

FAQ

How do I play HLS ads using the IMA SDK for iOS?

The default video player used by the iOS IMA SDK supports HLS, so it is not necessary to set that in AdsRenderingSettings.

Will this work with the SDK-owned player?

No, currently you must use custom playback by implementing the VideoAdPlayerinterface. For an example of how to do this, check out our guide on custom playback or AdvancedExample.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us via the support forum.

 - , IMA SDK Team