DCR Poland Video Android SDK

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Overview

The Nielsen SDK is one of multiple framework SDKs that Nielsen provides to enable measuring linear (live) and on-demand TV viewing using TVs, mobile devices, etc. The App SDK is the framework for mobile application developers to integrate Nielsen Measurement into their media player applications. It supports a variety of Nielsen Measurement Products like Digital in TV Ratings, Digital Content Ratings (DCR & DTVR), and Digital Ad Ratings (DAR). Nielsen SDKs are also equipped to measure static content and can track key life cycle events of an application like:

• Application launch events and how long app was running
• Time of viewing a sub section / page in the application.

Prerequisites

To start using the App SDK, the following details are required:

• App ID (appid): Unique ID assigned to the player/site and configured by product.
• Nielsen SDK: The Nielsen SDK package contains a variety of sample players for your reference.

If you do not have any of these prerequisites or if you have any questions, please contact our SDK sales support team. Refer to Digital Measurement Onboarding guide for information on how to get a Nielsen App SDK and appid.

Implementation

This guide covers implementation steps for Android Studio utilizing the Standard Nielsen SDK for DCR.

How to obtain the NielsenAppApi

The Nielsen AppSDK can either be downloaded directly or can be integrated directly within an application through the use of Gradle. We recommend using the Gradle-based integration whenever possible to ensure you maintain the most recent changes and enhancements to the Nielsen libraries.

• Select to obtain Gradle implementation guide
• Select to Download Directly

Setting up your Development Environment

Configuring Android Development Environment

• The Nielsen App SDK (located in the Downloads section of the website) class is the primary application interface to the Nielsen App SDK on Android.
• The Nielsen App SDK class is defined as the only public class belonging to the com.nielsen.app.sdk package.
• The Nielsen App SDK can also be added via Artifact Repository.

Nielsen App SDK is compatible with Android OS versions 2.3+. Clients can control / configure the protocol to be used – HTTPS or HTTP to suit their needs.

The requirement for the Java AppSdk.jar library and the libAppSdk.so native library will depend on the type of host application that will make use of them.

• For Video player applications
  • The Android OS hosting the App SDK should use a media player supporting HLS streaming (Android 3.0 and later will support it natively).
  • If the player application uses a 3rd party media player implementing its own HLS, then the minimum Android version will be limited to version 2.3, since the SDK depends on Google Play support to work properly.

Once SDK is downloaded ensure to unzip the Nielsen SDK and copy the AppSdk.jar in your app (Android Studio) libs folder, then right click the AppSdk.jar and select Add As Library. Ensure the AppSdk.jar file is added in 'build.grade (App Level) file.

• App SDK 1.2 provides support for x86, mips, and armeabi-7a architecture.

Google Play Services

Add the Google Play Services in the project, Steps: Android Studio -> File -> Project Structure ->(In module selection) select App -> Dependencies (tab) -> Click "+" button and search for "*play-services*". Then select the most recent version of the play-services Artifact. Ensure it is added in build.gradle (App level) file

Google AD ID Permissions

The following is required if target API level is set to 31 (Android 12) with the Ad Version of the Nielsen SDK.

<uses-permission android:name="com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID"/>

Manifest File

• Add the following permissions on the project’s AndroidManifest.xml file.

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>

For more details to handle runtime permissions in Android versions, please visit [1].

• In AndroidManifest.xml under <application> add the following metadata

<meta-data 
android:name="com.google.android.gms.version" 
android:value="@integer/google_play_services_version"/>

• App SDK checks to see if there is a Google service available and updated.
• If not available or updated, App SDK will not use this service when executing its functions and will make reference to missing imports and the app will not be compiled.

Library

Nielsen App SDK uses the following packages/classes from the Google Play service.

• google-play-services_lib

Classes/package

• com.google.android.gms.ads.identifier.AdvertisingIdClient;
• com.google.android.gms.ads.identifier.AdvertisingIdClient.Info;
• com.google.android.gms.common.ConnectionResult;
• com.google.android.gms.common.GooglePlayServicesUtil;
• com.google.android.gms.common.GooglePlayServicesRepairableException;
• com.google.android.gms.common.GooglePlayServicesNotAvailableException;

SDK Initialization

The latest version of the Nielsen App SDK allows instantiating multiple instances of the SDK object, which can be used simultaneously without any issue. The sharedInstance API that creates a singleton object was deprecated prior to version 5.1.1. (Version 4.0 for Android)

• A maximum of four SDK instances per appid are supported.
• When four SDK instances exist, you must destroy an old instance before creating a new one.

The following table contains the list of arguments that can be passed via the AppInfo JSON schema.

• The appid is provided by the Nielsen Technical Account Manager (TAM). The appid is a GUID data type and is specific to the application.

Parameter / Argument	Description	Source	Required?	Example
appid	Unique id for the application assigned by Nielsen. It is GUID data type.	Nielsen-specified	Yes	PXXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX
nol_devDebug	Enables Nielsen console logging. Only required for testing	Nielsen-specified	Optional	"DEBUG"

Debug flag for development environment

Player application developers / integrators can use Debug flag to check whether an App SDK API call made is successful. To activate the Debug flag, Pass the argument @"nol_devDebug":@"INFO", in the JSON string . The permitted values are:

• INFO: Displays the API calls and the input data from the application (validate player name, app ID, etc.). It can be used as certification Aid.
• WARN: Indicates potential integration / configuration errors or SDK issues.
• ERROR: Indicates important integration errors or non-recoverable SDK issues.
• DEBUG: Debug logs, used by the developers to debug more complex issues.

Once the flag is active, it logs each API call made and the data passed. The log created by this flag is minimal.

Note: DO NOT activate the Debug flag in a production environment.

Sample SDK Initialization Code

AppSDK() is no longer a singleton object and should be initialized as below.

Initialization of App SDK object through a JSON object

  

try
{
  // Prepare AppSdk configuration object (JSONObject)
  JSONObject appSdkConfig = new JSONObject()
          .put("appid", "PDA7D5EE6-B1B8-XXXX-XXXX-2A788BCXXXCA")
          .put("nol_devDebug", "DEBUG"); // only for debug builds

// Pass appSdkConfig to the AppSdk constructor
mAppSdk = new AppSdk(appContext, appSdkConfig, appSdkListener);
}
catch (JSONException e)
{
  Log.e(TAG, "Couldn’t prepare JSONObject for appSdkConfig", e);
}

Here, appContext is the App context object and appSdkConfig is JSON object for holding the parameters (appid) the App passes to the Nielsen App SDK via a JSON string. The appid is obtained from Nielsen operational support and is unique to the app.

The integration of Nielsen App SDK will depend on type of client app.

• Ensure that SDK files (AppSdk.jar and libAppSdk.so [App SDK 1.2 Only]) are included under the App’s project and the App SDK is linked to the App (the setting to link App SDK to the App can be found on property page of the App’s project).

APP SDK Error & Event Codes

To view the Error and Event codes for iOS and Android, please review the App SDK Event Code Reference page.

Configure Payload

Handling JSON Metadata

All metadata needs to passed to the SDK using JSONObject instances.

• JSON values must be string value.
  • This includes boolean and numeric values. For example, a value of true should be represented with "true", number value 123 should be "123".
• All the variable names like appid, appname, title, type etc. are case-sensitive. Use the correct variable name as specified in the documentation.

JSONObject contentMetadata = new JSONObject()
//SDK Metadata
    .put("type", "content")
    .put("assetid", "vid345-67483")
    .put("program", "Program Name")
    .put("title", "Program S3, EP1")
    .put("length", "3600")
    .put("adloadtype": "2")
    .put("isfullepisode", "yes")
    .put("airdate", "20161013 20:00:00")

ChannelName metadata

channelName should remain constant throughout the completion of an episode or live stream.

Key	Description	Values	Required
channelName	ChannelInfo refers to the Channel name. This can be a free-form value value such as a friendly name for the content being played. the SDK will pass the application name automatically.	custom	No

Content Metadata

Content metadata should remain constant throughout the completion of an episode / clip including the ads play.

Key	Description	Values	Required
type	type of asset	"content"	✓
assetid	unique ID assigned to asset (max 64 characters; only characters 0-9, a-z, A-Z underscore and minus are allowed - no special characters or vowel mutations)	custom (no Special Characters)	✓
program	(string) name of program (max 254 characters)	custom	✓
title	(string) episode title (max 254 characters)	custom - no backslash allowed in string (because of 3rd party data processing)	✓
length	(int) length of content in seconds	86400 seconds for live stream. For Event-Livestreams planned length. For VoD video length	✓
airdate	The airdate in the linear TV. Original (local) air date and time (hh:mm:ss as 24h time stamp); if not known set it to eg. "19700101 00:00:00"	YYYYMMDD HH:MI:SS	✓
isfullepisode	full episode flag	"y"- full episode, "n"- non full episode	✓
adloadtype	type of ad load: "1" Linear – matches TV ad load "2" Dynamic – Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI)	"2" - DCR measures content with dynamic ads	✓

Ad Metadata

The ad metadata (if applicable) should be passed for each individual ad, if ads are available during or before the stream begins.

Keys	Description	Values	Required
type	type of ad	'preroll', 'midroll', or 'postroll'	✓
assetid	unique ID assigned to ad	custom (no Special Characters)	✓

Example Ad Object

JSONObject adMetadata = new JSONObject()
//SDK Metadata
    .put("type", "preroll")
    .put("assetid", "AD-ID123");

Nielsen API Documentation

play

Use play to pass the channel descriptor information through channelName parameter when the user taps the Play button on the player. Pass in channelName metadata as described above.

public void play(JSONObject channelInfo);

loadMetadata

Call to inform SDK about asset being played. Pass in metadata as described here #Configure Payload, #Content Metadata

public void loadMetadata(JSONObject contentMetadata);

setPlayheadPosition

Call to inform Nielsen SDK about position in video asset (for VOD pass second within video, for livestreams UTC timestamp in seconds).

public void setPlayheadPosition(long position)

stop

Call to indicate interruption during playback, e.g. pause. (more on interruption scenarios here: #Interruptions during playback )

public void stop()

end

When content has finished playback and content cannot be resumed from the same position (it can only be restarted from the beginning of stream).

public void end()

Call Nielsen APIs

Sample API Sequence

A Sample API sequence could follow this flow:

Type	Sample code	Description
On App Start	mAppSdk = new AppSdk(appContext, appSdkConfig, appSdkListener);	// contentMetadata Object contains the JSON metadata for the impression
Start of stream	mAppSdk.play(channelName);	// channelName contains JSON metadata of channel/video name being played
	mAppSdk.loadMetadata(contentMetadataObject);	// contentMetadataObject contains the JSON metadata for the content being played
Content	mAppSdk.setPlayheadPosition(position);	// playheadPosition is position of the playhead while the content is being played
End of Stream	mAppSdk.end();	// Content playback is completed.

Life cycle of SDK instance

Life cycle of SDK instance includes four general states:

1. Initial state – The SDK is not initialized and hence, not ready to process playing information. Once the SDK is moved out of this state, it needs instantiation of the new SDK instance in order to get the instance in the Initial state.
2. Idle state – The SDK is initialized and is ready to process playing information. Once Initialized, the SDK instance is not processing any data, but is listening for the play event to occur.
3. Processing state – The SDK instance is processing playing information. The play and loadMetadata calls move the SDK instance into this state. In this state, the SDK instance will be able to process the following calls.
   1. setplayheadPosition – Call this API every one second when playhead position timer is fired. If a LIVE event, use the current Unix timestamp (seconds since Jan-1-1970 UTC).
   2. stop – Call this API when the playback is paused, switches between content and ad (within the same content playback) or encounters interruptions.
   3. end – SDK instance exits from Processing state when this API is called.
4. Disabled state – The SDK instance is disabled and is not processing playing information. SDK instance moves into this state in one of the following scenarios.
   1. Initialization fails
   2. appDisableApi is set to true

Note: For API Version 5.1 and above, App SDK will fire data pings and continue measurement even after the user has opted out from Nielsen measurement on a device. The data ping will be marked as opted-out ping.

Note: In case of any interruptions during playback due to alarm, calendar, call, flight mode, Wi-Fi toggle, channel change, etc., call stop to stop the measurement.

• As soon as the playback resumes, call play, loadMetadata and playheadPosition

API Call Sequence

Use Case 1: Content has no Advertisements

Call play() with channelName JSON as below.

{
   "channelName": "TheMovieTitle"
}

Call loadMetadata() with JSON metadata for content as below.

{
    "type": "content",
    "assetid": "C77664",
    "title": "Program S2, E3",
    "isfullepisode": "Yes",
    "program": "Program Name",
    "length": "3600",
    "airdate": "20171020 10:05:00",
    "adloadtype": "2"
}

Call setPlayheadPosition() every one second until a pause / stop. Use the sample API sequence below as a reference to identify the specific events that need to be called during content playback without ads.

Type	Sample code	Description
Start of stream	mAppSdk.play(channelName);	// channelName contains JSON metadata of channel/video name being played
	mAppSdk.loadMetadata(contentMetaDataObject);	// contentMetadataObject contains the JSON metadata for the content being played
Content	mAppSdk.setPlayheadPosition(playheadPosition);	// position is position of the playhead while the content is being played
End of Stream	mAppSdk.end();	// Content playback is completed.

Use Case 2: Content has Advertisements

Call play() with channelName JSON as below.

{
   "channelName": "TheMovieTitle"
}

Call loadMetadata() with JSON metadata for ad as below.

{
   "type": "preroll",
   "assetid": "ad=123"
}

Note: In case the individual ad details are not available, send ad pod (presence) details through the loadMetadata and playhead position through playheadPosition.

Call setPlayheadPosition() every one second until a pause / stop / another loadMetadata() is called. Playhead should be passed for the entire duration of ad pod, if the ad pod details are passed as part of loadMetadata().

The sample API sequence can be used as a reference to identify the specific events that need to be called during content and ad playback.

Type	Sample code	Description
Start of stream	mAppSdk.play(channelName);	// channelName contains JSON metadata of channel/video name being played
	mAppSdk.loadMetadata(contentMetaDataObject);	// contentMetadataObject contains the JSON metadata for the content being played
Preroll	mAppSdk.loadMetadata(prerollMetadataObject);	// prerollMetadataObject contains the JSON metadata for the preroll ad
	mAppSdk.setPlayheadPosition(playheadPosition);	// position is position of the playhead while the preroll ad is being played
	mAppSdk.stop();	// Call stop after preroll occurs
Content	mAppSdk.loadMetadata(contentMetaDataObject);	// contentMetadataObject contains the JSON metadata for the content being played
	mAppSdk.setPlayheadPosition(playheadPosition);	// position is position of the playhead while the content is being played
	mAppSdk.stop();	// Call stop after the content is paused (ad starts)
Midroll	mAppSdk.loadMetadata(midrollMetaDataObject);	// midrollMetadataObject contains the JSON metadata for the midroll ad
	mAppSdk.setPlayheadPosition(playheadPosition);	// position is position of the playhead while the midroll ad is being played
	mAppSdk.stop();	// App moves to background(midroll pauses)
	mAppSdk.loadMetadata(midrollMetaDataObject);	// App moves to foreground (midroll resumes)
	mAppSdk.setPlayheadPosition(playheadPosition);	// playheadPosition is position of the playhead while the midroll ad is being played
	mAppSdk.stop();	// Call stop after midroll occurs
Content (End of stream)	mAppSdk.loadMetadata(contentMetaDataObject);	// contentMetadataObject contains the JSON metadata for the content being played
	mAppSdk.setPlayheadPosition(playheadPosition);	// position is position of the playhead while the content is being played
	mAppSdk.stop();	// Always call stop irrespective of postroll is followed or not
End of Stream	mAppSdk.end();	// Call end() at the end of content
Postroll	mAppSdk.loadMetadata(postrollMetaDataObject);	// postrollMetadataObject contains the JSON metadata for the postroll ad
	mAppSdk.setPlayheadPosition(playheadPosition);	// position is position of the playhead while the postroll ad is being played
	mAppSdk.stop();	// Call stop after postroll occurs

Note: Each Ad playhead should reset or begin from 0 at ad start. When content has resumed following an ad break, playhead position must continue from where previous content segment was left off.

Handling Foreground and Background states

Foreground/Background state measurement is a requirement of Nielsen AppSDK implementation which is especially crucial for static measurement. It may be implemented in multiple ways for Android. This includes

• Enable the Nielsen SDK to measure background/foreground state by makingthe relevant update to the AndroidManifest.
• Integrate Nielsen’s SdkBgFgDetectionUtility class within your Custom Application Class.
• Custom implementation of the required methods within your application.

ForeGround/Background Measurement via AndroidManifest

The simplest way to measure the app background/foreground state is to add the following application tag to the Manifest XML. Integrating this into the Manifest XML will enable the SDK to measure app state directly. This approach is supported for Android 4.0 and up only; it requires that the application class is not in use for some other purpose.

<application android:name="com.nielsen.app.sdk.AppSdkApplication">

Using the Android SdkBgFbDetectionUtility Class

For developers who are already using the application class, it is recommended that background/foreground state is implemented using the SdkBgFgDetectionUtility class. The SdkBgFgDetectionUtility class is compatible with Android 4+ and has been made available to Nielsen clients. (You will need to copy/paste the code provided into a file).

Manual Background/ForeGround State Management

In cases where the developer is not able to use the AndroidManifest.xml solution nor the Nielsen provided SdkBgFgDetectionUtility class the developer will need to manually identify the change of state through the application and call the respective API (appInForeground() or appInBackground()) to inform the SDK regarding the change of state from background to foreground or foreground to background.

The SDK is informed about app state using the below methods.

AppLaunchMeasurementManager.appInForeground(getApplicationContext());
AppLaunchMeasurementManager.appInBackground(getApplicationContext());

Within the lifecycle of individual activities, onResume() and onPause() are best suited to providing indication of the app state.

Correct measurement of the foreground/background state is crucial to Static App measurement within Nielsen Digital Content Ratings (DCR).

Interruptions during playback

As part of integrating Nielsen App SDK with the player application, the Audio / Video app developer needs to handle the following possible interruption scenarios:

• Pause / Play
• Network Loss (Wi-Fi / Airplane / Cellular)
• Call Interrupt (SIM or Third party Skype / Hangout call)
• Alarm Interrupt
• Content Buffering
• Device Lock / Unlock (Video players only, not for Audio players)
• App going in the Background/Foreground (Video players only, not for Audio players)
• Channel / Station Change Scenario
• Unplugging of headphone

In case of encountering one of the above interruptions, the player application needs to

• Call stop immediately and withhold sending playhead position.
• Start sending pings – 'loadMetadata' and 'playheadPosition' for the current viewing session, once the playback resumes.

Please see the Interruption Scenarios Page for more details

Pre-Certification Checklists

After the application is ready to be sent for Nielsen Certification, please go through the Digital Pre-Certification Checklist App SDK and ensure the app behaves as expected, before submitting to Nielsen.

Disclose Nielsen Privacy Statement

The App SDK uses Mobile Ad IDs (Android ID or IDFA) which are fully hashed on the device before being sent to Nielsen (Nielsen never receives un-hashed values). Users retain the possibility to oppose the use of Mobile Ad IDs, or to reset them, by using the functionality provided by the mobile operating system (iOS or Android).

In order to disclose Nielsen measurement privacy statement, please include the following items in your privacy policy:

• A notice that the player includes third party measurement software that allows users to contribute to market research.
• A link to the Nielsen Digital Measurement Privacy Policy located at https://www.nielsen.com/legal/privacy-principles/digital-measurement-privacy-statement/ .

Initialization of the SDK based on User Consent in your App

The following user consent use cases need to be implemented in your App.

The user explicitly accepts measurement

The SDK is initialized and all IDs are captured. The SDK Opt-in Flags have to be set accordingly, see:

• User opted in
• First Party ID turned on

The user explicitly refuses measurement

The SDK is NOT initialized and No Nielsen SDK measurement will occur.

The user did not explicitly give consent for the measurement(consent neither given nor refused)

The SDK is initialized and no IDs are captured. The SDK Opt-out Flags have to be set accordingly, see:

• User opted out
• First Party ID turned off

Turning off the First Party ID for Opt-out Users during the SDK Initializazion

The First Party ID(FPID) is enabled by default in the Browser SDK. For Opt-out users, the First Party ID can be turned off during the initialization of the SDK Instance, i.e. the parameter enableFpid can be set to "false" (FPID disabled) or "true" (FPID enabled).

Example of SDK Initialization with enableFpid

First Party ID turned on

try{
  // Prepare AppSdk configuration object (JSONObject)
  JSONObject appSdkConfig = new JSONObject()
          .put("appid", "PXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX")
          .put("enableFpid", "true")
          // ...
         // Pass appSdkConfig to the AppSdk constructor
         mAppSdk = new AppSdk(appContext, appSdkConfig, this);
}
catch (JSONException e){
         Log.e(TAG, "Couldn’t prepare JSONObject for appSdkConfig", e);
}

First Party ID turned off

try{
  // Prepare AppSdk configuration object (JSONObject)
  JSONObject appSdkConfig = new JSONObject()
          .put("appid", "PXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX")
          .put("enableFpid", "false")
          // ...
         // Pass appSdkConfig to the AppSdk constructor
         mAppSdk = new AppSdk(appContext, appSdkConfig, this);
}
catch (JSONException e){
         Log.e(TAG, "Couldn’t prepare JSONObject for appSdkConfig", e);
}

Setting the SDK global optout Flag for Opt-out Users

The Optout Flag is set by default to "false" in the AppSDK.

For Opt-out users, the Optout Flag can be set accordingly while Initializing the SDK Instance.

Example the Ouptout Flag

User opted out

try{
  // Prepare AppSdk configuration object (JSONObject)
  JSONObject appSdkConfig = new JSONObject()
          .put("appid", "PXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX")
          .put("optout", "true")
          // ...
         // Pass appSdkConfig to the AppSdk constructor
         mAppSdk = new AppSdk(appContext, appSdkConfig, this);
}
catch (JSONException e){
         Log.e(TAG, "Couldn’t prepare JSONObject for appSdkConfig", e);
}

User opted in

try{
  // Prepare AppSdk configuration object (JSONObject)
  JSONObject appSdkConfig = new JSONObject()
          .put("appid", "PXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX")
          .put("optout", "false")
          // ...
         // Pass appSdkConfig to the AppSdk constructor
         mAppSdk = new AppSdk(appContext, appSdkConfig, this);
}
catch (JSONException e){
         Log.e(TAG, "Couldn’t prepare JSONObject for appSdkConfig", e);
}

Going Live

Following Nielsen testing, users need to make one update to the initialization call to ensure that the site is being measured properly.

1. Debug Logging: Disable logging by deleting {nol_sdkDebug: 'DEBUG'} from initialization call.

Note: before going live you have to inform Nielsen team - this is necessary, because Nielsen team has to adjust internal configuration parameter to enable data collection. Without that notification no data will be collected and no data will be reported.

Sample Applications

The below sample applications have been designed to show the Simplified API's functionality and are broken into two distinct categories:

• Nielsen API integrated into a custom video player.
  • Java/Android Studio Sample