This topic explains how to use DFP to deliver ads to HTML5 players.
Note
HTML5 Ads are available to all advertising-enabled accounts, but are not turned on by default. To enable ads for HTML5 players go to the Video Cloud Studio home page, click Account Settings, and edit the HTML5 Advertising settings to opt in:
Using DFP for HTML5 Ads
Using DFP for HTML5 ads requires the following:
- A DoubleClick for Publishers ad server account.
- Videos with ads must play in an HTML5-enabled smart player. See Setting up smart player support
- The video creative must be encoded in a format that supports HTML5 play, formatted as an H.264 codec in a MP4 container
Limitations
The following limitations currently apply to delivering ads in HTML5 players via DFP:
- Support for pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ads only. Mid-roll ads are only supported when using DFP IMA 3. Video Cloud does not support onload ads.
- iPhones (full screen iPhone devices): in single video players and playlists with Auto Advance off: when post-rolls are enabled and configured, the video will shrink back to the page and then re-enlarge to play the post roll.
- The same ad cue point will not be played back twice in a row within 15 seconds of playback. During the fifteen seconds any other ad cue point can fire and reset the restriction.
- Video Cloud currently supports only the simple policy of one ad for each video. Time-based ad policies are not supported
- A video creative is the only supported ad format at this time. Video Cloud does not support static image videos, overlay, external ads, or pod formats. Banners are supported if they are external to the player.
- A sponsor message and countdown do not show up during a video ad when using the chromeless video player
- No support for serving multiple bitrate renditions for ads. Video Cloud will select the first file in a playable format for the device, and not select further for the playable format with the optimum bitrate
- Some mobile devices, such as the iPhone and iPod Touch, do not support in-page playback, and therefore play ads in the native device player. For this reason, such devices might not allow for tapping an ad to navigate to product details (or "clicking through"). Also, ads played in the native player might permit rewind and fast forward scrubbing. These issues are limitations of the device operating system
- Lengthy text on labels for HTML5 player ads may not truncate, and instead, spills over beyond the label area
Trafficking HTML5 Ads
Set policies for HTML5 videos as you do for your ads played via Flash. For support on how to integrate ads with Video Cloud, see the extensive documentation in the Advertising Delivery section of the Video Cloud documentation, beginning with Managing Video Advertising.
Setting up smart player support
Before you begin HTML5 ad integration, be sure that your video plays in a smart player and you have enabled HTML5 mode for that player's account. For a list of smart players, specific customization support for smart players, and instructions on how to enable smart players for HTML5 mode, see Delivering Video with HTML5 and Smart Players and Setting Your HTML5 Video Delivery Options.
Mid-Roll support
As noted in the limitations, mid-rolls are supported for DFP IMA 3 but not for DFP IMA 2 or DFP XML. Mid-rolls are also only currently supported on iOS for DFP IMA 3, although Android support is being worked out with Doubleclick. Read more about the mid-roll support in HTML5 Mid-roll Ads.
Setting a DFP ad server integration specific to HTML5 ads
To set ad server integration for HTML5 ads, enable ads for the smart players where you'll play ads, and edit the ad policies for each in the Video Cloud Studio Advertising module. For instructions on these processes, see Enabling ad requests for players and Editing ad policies for players.
In the Advertising module, for the selected smart players, you can set properties which will then be used for both your Flash player and HTML5 player:
- Set Ad Source to DFP IMA 3, DFP IMA2, or DFP XML.
- Set Request Ads from this player to Yes.
HTML5 ads support key/value pairs for ad requests both by player and by video. To set a video to request ads and set its key/value pairs, from the Media module, edit the video and select Advertising as an Economic Model on the Advanced tab. - Set the Ad Server URL.
- Set Pre-Roll Ad Insertion to Yes, or you may choose a Mid-roll or Post-roll ad insertion
- Set the Ad Policy for Videos in this Player settings as you would like for your Flash player. The HTML5 player will currently ignore these settings, behaving as if Video Based with a value of 1 for each of the settings.
