Overview: Using the VAST Standard in Video Cloud Players

This topic introduces the VAST ad formats supported by Video Cloud.

The Digital Video Ad Serving Template (VAST) is an industry standard for the XML response from an ad server. Video Cloud is an early adopter of VAST and now offers full support for VAST 2.0 and 1.0. Before considering using VAST, you should verify that your ad server supports it. If your ad servers support VAST, you may consider using it instead of the Video Cloud ad formats.

Video Cloud players support VAST 2.0 and 1.0 ads with all combinations of Video, Companion, and NonLinear elements, as well as VAST wrappers. This enables third party ad serving for video, making daisy-chaining of ad servers and ad network integration much easier. These enhancements help you to readily use ad networks to sell unsold video ad inventory. With VAST 2.0, you can also deliver ad SWFs using the VPAID standard.

An important advantage of VAST is that if an ad returned from the ad server contains elements that are not included in the selected ad format, the player will play the elements that it is able to play and all other elements are ignored. When using Video Cloud ad formats, if some elements of the ad cannot be used in the specified format, then the ad is not considered a match and would not be returned from the ad server. Although Video Cloud  players will try to display VAST creatives in any template, some creatives do not fit in some templates. For more information about using VAST with Video Cloud, see:

• Why VAST is important, a blog post by Brian Deitte, Brightcove Principal Software Engineer.
• Building Blocks for VAST 2.0 XML Code, for information about how to create the XML for VAST ads (click here for the VAST 1.0 version).
• VAST 2.0 Ad Formats and Format Codes, for reference information to each of the VAST ad formats Video Cloud supports, together with XML and visual examples of each (click here for the VAST 1.0 version).
• Working with VAST external companion ads, for information about how the Video Cloud player supports external Companions Ads, which are HTML ads that are meant to be displayed alongside the Video Cloud player.
• VAST wrapper ads, for information about the VAST wrapper format, which is a VAST response that does not contain a VAST ad but instead contains information about a redirect to a third party ad server. 
• VAST 2.0 Survey Example: Working with the AD_RECEIVED event, for a detailed example, including sample code, about working with companion elements in VAST ad responses.

Implementations of the VAST standard can vary between ad serving technologies. Video Cloud adheres to the IAB's VAST 2.0 and 1.0 specifications. Please consult the documentation carefully before embarking on a VAST implementation to make sure your scenario is supported.

For a complete copy of the VAST specification, see the IAB website.

Video Cloud complies with guidelines issued by the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Read more about Brightcove and the IAB.

Limitations

IMPORTANT: Be sure to verify that your ad server supports VAST before you begin using it. It is a comparatively new standard and is not supported by all ad servers.

At this time, Video Cloud supports most VAST 2.0 and 1.0 functionality. We have built native support for popular VAST elements, but we do not support all VAST 2.0 or 1.0 concepts. We are dedicated to enhancing our support of the VAST 2.0 spec and welcome feedback about additional VAST elements or functionality you want Video Cloud to natively support.

All Video Cloud ad formats are supported through VAST, except the Overlay to Video format.  Video Cloud does not yet support these VAST ad tracking events:

• expand
• collapse
• acceptInvitation
• close

Video Cloud does not support surveys, extensions, or errors. These features will be included in future enhancements to Video Cloud's support of VAST.