Advertising Module

Can I continue to use my ActionScript 2 ad tag translator SWF?

No. Ad tag translator SWFs that were developed for AS2 players do not work with AS3 players. We've developed
many ad tag translators and many more are available from our partners.  For more information, see Integrating your ad server.

Can I enable the Ad Translator for some of my players, but not all?

Yes; Brightcove can set the Ad Translator at the account level, in which case it is enabled for all of your players, or you can set it at the individual player level.

Can I use the Ad Translator to play back custom ads?

Yes, but only if your Ad Translator transforms the custom ad into one of Brightcove's supported XML ad formats.

How can I get access to the player ID to target ads to my players using the Ad Translator?

The player ID is sent to the ad server when a default Brightcove DFP ad call is made. You may have been using the player ID previously to target ads in your ad serving system. Now that you have created your own Ad Translator, during ad calls, you can pass any key/value pairs you like to your ad server, and interpret them accordingly. For example, you can add key/value pairs in the advertising settings for a player and then those key/value pairs can be accessed by the Ad Translator. This means you could enter plid=123456 as a key/value pair in a certain player's ad settings in the Advertising module. You could also choose to use a more meaningful key name, now that you have full control, such as player=musicvideos, for example.

How do I set cue points for mid-roll ads?

You can set cue points using the cue point editor in the Brightcove Studio Advertising module, the Media APIs, or FTP batch provisioning.

How do I set the path to the Ad Translator file at the player level?

Edit your player in the Brightcove Studio Advertising module. Select the Ad Source that matches your ad server or, if you're using a custom Ad Translator, input the URL to your Ad Translator in the appropriate field and save your changes.

What ad formats are supported in Brightcove?

Video ad, video pods, banners, and ad SWFs in the VAST formats, and video ad, video pods, banners, overlays, overlay pods, and ad SWFs in the Brightcove formats. Takeovers are not yet supported. See Supported Ad Formats for more details.

What are my options for hosting video ads?

Brightcove is not an ad server, however we have heard from our customers that they would like an easier way to host video ads in general.

Unfortunately, all ad servers have not caught up to video yet, and some of them do not support hosting of video. Those that do host video are sometimes costly.

While Brightcove does not provide the comprehensive tracking and reporting that an ad server or network can provide, there are a few ways that you can leverage your Brightcove account to deliver video ads if you are looking for a simple and quick solution:

  1. Traffick videos that you have uploaded to your Brightcove account as video ads in your ad server console. In the Brightcove Media module, we provide the direct URL to the video files you have uploaded. Simply select a video, and in the 'Video Files' tab copy the URL to the video. This is currently available for accounts setup for progressive download video delivery only, although we are working to make this generally available to all publishers in the future.
  2. Use our sample integration to pass a Video you've uploaded to your account to your player, when an ad request is made. The sample integration takes a Video ID from your account to use as a video ad, and tracks playback of the ad in your Google Analytics account.
What can I do with the Advertising module?

You can use the Advertising module to:

  • Enable or disable ad requests for your videos and players.
  • Configure ad key/value pairs for your videos and players.
  • Set ad insertion points for your players (on player load, pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll) and configure separate key/value pairs for each insertion point.
  • Set the frequency of ad requests based on elapsed running time or based on the number of videos viewed.
  • For a player, override the base ad server URL set for your account.
  • Override the default ad translator for a player.
  • Preview a player.
  • Set the URL of your Ad Translator SWF for a player.
  • Create ad cue points in your videos, so you can trigger mid-roll ad requests.
What is the Advertising module?

The Advertising module is a user-interface module that provides ad policy management features. It is designed for advertising operations users in your organization who need to manage advertising policies and ad requests for your Internet TV content.

Which adServerURL value will be passed to my Ad Translator SWF?

You can set the ad server URL at the account level, at the player level, or in a config parameter in the player's publishing code. The value set in the publishing code will override the value set at the player level, which in turn overrides the value set at the account level.