DCR Denmark Video iOS SDK

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Special Note regarding iOS14

Apple recently released a new policy on consent requirements for its mobile advertising tool, Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA). With this new policy, (App Tracking Setting) users can choose whether an IDFA may be used by mobile applications.

More detailed information is located on our DCR Video iOS14 Migration page.

Prerequisites

Before you start the integration, you will need:

Item	Description	Source
App ID (appid)	Unique ID assigned to the player/site and configured by product.	Provided by Nielsen
Nielsen SDK	Includes SDK frameworks and sample implementation; See iOS SDK Release Notes	Download

If need App ID(s) or our SDKs, feel free to reach out to us and we will be happy to help you get started. 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 iOS using Xcode utilizing the Standard Nielsen SDK for DCR

If you are building an app for the 'kids category' please ensure you are using the NoID version of the Nielsen SDK Framework.

Setting up your Development Environment

Prior to SDK Version 6.2.0.0 the IOS framework has been distributed as a static library packaged into framework bundle format. Apple recommends to use dynamic framework, it has some benefits over static libraries like less executable file size of an app, faster startup time and native support in xCode IDE. Nielsen AppSDK has been transformed into dynamic framework in this release (static framework is still available).

If migrating from the static library to this new dynamic framework, once implemented, unless your specific application requires, you can remove the following Frameworks that were once required: [AdSupport, JavascriptCore, SystemConfiguration, Security, AVFoundation, libc++]

The Dynamic framework is created as a fat framework. It means that it contains slices required for devices (armv7, arm64) as well as slices required for simulators (i386, x86_64). Simulator slices are needed to let clients build and debug their app on the simulators, but they should be removed before sending the app to the AppStore. The example of the shell script that should be added as a Run Script phase in the application can be found below.

How to obtain the NielsenAppApi.Framework

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

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

Configuring Xcode Development Environment

Starting with SDK version 6.0.0.0, the Nielsen App SDK is compatible with Apple iOS versions 8.0 and above. In addition, when using the dynamic framework, all the required frameworks are linked automatically as the are needed.

Note: All communications between the SDK and the Census (Collection Facility) use HTTPS.

Download Framework

The first step is to download and copy the NielsenAppApi.framework bundle to the app project directory. (Not required if using CocaPods)

Add Framework

In the General tab for app configuration add NielsenAppApi.framework in the list of Embedded Binaries. (Not required if using CocaPods)

Add Path

Add path to the NielsenAppApi.framework in the Framework Search Paths build setting. (Not required if using CocaPods)

Import Framework

Add NielsenAppApi.framework module in the source file of your app:

Using Swift

Add the following:

import NielsenAppApi

Using Objective-C

@import NielsenAppApi;

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. (Click here for an example of multiple instances)

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

Parameter / Argument	Description	Source	Required?	Example
appid	Unique Nielsen ID for the application. The ID is a GUID data type. If you did not receive your App ID, let us know and we will provide you.	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.

Swift Example

Sample SDK Initialization Code

NielsenInit.swift

class NielsenInit: NSObject {
    class func createNielsenAppApi(delegate: NielsenAppApiDelegate) -> NielsenAppApi?{
    let appInformation:[String: String] = [
           "appid": "PE392366B-F2C1-4BC4-AB62-A7DAFDCXXXX",
           "nol_devDebug": "DEBUG"
        ]
        return NielsenAppApi(appInfo:appInformation, delegate:delegate)
    }
}

ViewController.swift

class ViewController: UIViewController, NielsenAppApiDelegate, AVPictureInPictureControllerDelegate, CLLocationManagerDelegate  {

    let avPlayerViewController = AVPlayerViewController()
    var avPlayer:AVPlayer?
    var nielsenAppApi: NielsenAppApi!

  override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()

        self.nielsenAppApi = NielsenInit.createNielsenAppApi(delegate: self)
        NSLog("Nielsen SDK initialized")

            }
  }

Objective C

Sample SDK Initialization Code

Initialize the Nielsen App object within the viewDidLoad view controller delegate method using initWithAppInfo:delegate:

If App SDK is initialized using init or new methods, it will ignore the API calls resulting in no measurement. The SDK will not return any errors.

#import "NlsAppApiFactory.h"
#import <NielsenAppApi/NielsenAppApi.h>

@implementation NlsAppApiFactory

+ (NielsenAppApi *)createNielsenAppApiWithDelegate:(id<NielsenAppApiDelegate>)delegate;
{
    NSDictionary *appInformation = @{
                                     @"appid": "PE392366B-F2C1-4BC4-AB62-A7DAFDC5172C",
                                     @"appversion": "1.0",
                                     @"appname": "app name here",
                                     @"nol_devDebug": @"DEBUG"
                                     };
    return [[NielsenAppApi alloc] initWithAppInfo:appInformation delegate:delegate];
}
@end

The following would be the NlsAppApiFactory.h file:

#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>

@class NielsenAppApi;
@protocol NielsenAppApiDeligate;

@interface NlsAppApiFactory : NSObject

+ (NielsenAppAPI *) createNielsenAppApiWithDelegate:(id<NielsenAppApiDelegate>)delegate;

@end

}}
The following might be in the Viewcontroller.m

@implementation ViewController

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];
    
    //Setting background image
    UIImage *backgroundImage = [UIImage imageNamed:@"new_ios_bg.png"];
    UIImageView *backgroundImageView=[[UIImageView alloc]initWithFrame:self.view.frame];
    backgroundImageView.image=backgroundImage;
    [self.view insertSubview:backgroundImageView atIndex:0];
    
    //Mark: In NielsenInit class we are initialising the Nielsen SDK.
    
    //Getting the instance of Nielsen SDK
    nielsenApi = [NielsenInit createNielsenAppApiWithDelegate:nil];
}

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.

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. API calls "play" and "loadMetadata" move the SDK instance into this state. In this state, the SDK instance will be able to process the API calls (see below)
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 called

@property (assign) BOOL appDisableApi;

Step 3: Create Metadata Objects

The parameters passed must be either a JSON formatted string or a NSDictionary object. The JSON passed in the SDK must be well-formed.

• NSDictionary object
  • If an object of unexpected type is passed to the method, the error message will be logged.
  • If string has invalid JSON format, the error message will be logged.
• JSON value 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, dataSrc, title, type etc. are case-sensitive. Use the correct variable name as specified in the documentation.
• JSON string can be prepared using either raw NSString or serialized NSDictionary.
  

Create channelName Metadata

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

Key	Description	Values	Required
channelName	Any string representing the channel/stream	custom	✓

Create Content Metadata

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

program and title metadata values should be passed to SDK as UTF-8 strings.

Keys	Description	Values	Required
type	type of asset	"content" for main content	✓
assetid	unique ID assigned to asset	custom (no Special Characters)	✓
program	name of program	custom	✓
title	episode name	custom	✓
length	length of content in seconds	Length of content in seconds (86400 seconds for live stream (24/7). For Event-Live streams planned length. For VoD video length)	✓
airdate	the original date (local time with hh:mm:ss as 24h time stamp) content became available. This date does not change if the content is rebroadcasted on linear TV.	YYYYMMDD HH:MI:SS (if not known set it to eg. "19700101 00:00:00")	✓
isfullepisode	full episode flag	"y", "yes", full episode (full content for a program) "n", "no", non full episode (only one part of the entire content for a program , i.e. preview, sub-episodes)	✓
adloadtype	type of Ad load: 1) Linear - matches TV ad load 2) Dynamic - Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI)		✓

Create Ad Metadata (optional for DR)

The Ad Metadata (if applicable) should be passed for each individual ad.

Note: All metadata values should be passed as UTF-8 strings.

Keys	Description	Values	Required
type	type of Ad	"preroll", "midroll", "postroll" "ad" - If specific type can not be identified.	✓
assetid	unique ID assigned to Ad	custom (no Special Characters)	✓

MetaData Example

Swift

     let channelInfo = [
        "channelName": "My Channel Name 1",
     ]

     let contentMetadata = [
       "assetid" : "unique_content_id",
        "type" : "content",
        "program" : "program name",
        "title" : "episode title",
        "length" : "length in seconds",
        "airdate" : "20200713 10:22:00",
        "isfullepisode" : "y",
        "adloadtype" : "2"
     ]

    let adMetadata = [
        "assetid" : "unique_postroll_ad_id",
        "type" : "postroll"
    ]

Objective C

NSDictionary  *channelInfo = @
{
  @"channelName":@"My Channel Name 1",
}

NSDictionary *contentMetadata = @
  {
  @"assetid" : "unique_content_id",
  @"type" : "content",
  @"program" : "program name",
  @"title" : "episode title",
  @"length" : "length in seconds",
  @"airdate" : "20161013 20:00:00",
  @"isfullepisode" : "y",
  @"adloadtype" : "2"
}

NSDictionary *adMetadata = @
  {
  @"assetid" : "unique_postroll_ad_id",
  @"type" : "postroll"
}

Step 4: Start the Measurement

Overview of SDK API Calls

play

The play method prepares the SDK for reporting once an asset has loaded and playback has begun. Use play to pass the channel descriptor information through channelName parameter when the user taps the Play button on the player. Call play only when initially starting the video.

Swift

self.nielsenAppApi?.play(channelInfo);

Objective C

nielsenAppApi play:(JSONObject channelInfo);

loadMetadata

Needs to be called at the beginning of each asset, pass JSON object for relevant content or ad. Make sure to pass as 1st loadMetadata for content at the begining of playlist - see below API call sequence examples.

Swift

self.nielsenAppApi?.loadMetadata(contentMetadata)

Objective C

nielsenAppApi loadMetadata:(id)contentMetadata;

playheadPosition

Pass playhead position every second during playback. for VOD: pass current position in seconds. for Live: current Unix timestamp (seconds since Jan-1-1970 UTC) - if it is possible to seek back in Live content, then pass related Unix time (not current). Pass whole number that increments only by 1 like 1,2,3..

{{{2}}}

Swift

self.nielsenAppApi?.playheadPosition(pos);

Objective C

nielsenAppApi playheadPosition: (long long) playheadPos

stop

Call when

• content or ads complete playing
• when a user pauses playback
• upon any user interruption scenario - see bellow chapter Interruption scenario

Swift

self.nielsenAppApi?.stop

Objective C

nielsenAppApi stop

end

Call when the content asset completes playback. Stops measurement progress. {{ExampleCode|

|Objective C =

nielsenAppApi end;

|Swift =

self.nielsenAppApi?.end

Start the Measurement

In order to start the measurement, follow the 3 first steps below i.e. for Content without Ads. When terminating the Content playback call end to terminate the Content Measurement for the given asset.

Playlist	Sample code	Description
1. Start of stream	play(channelName)	channelName contains JSON metadata of channel/video name being played
	loadMetadata(contentMetadataObject)	contentMetadataObject contains the JSON metadata for the content being played
2. Content is playing	playheadPosition(position)	playheadPosition is position of the playhead while the content is being played
3. End of Stream	end	Content playback is completed.

Step 5: Stop/Resume the Measurement for video Playback Interruptions

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 (except when content is buffering) and withhold sending playhead position.
• Start sending pings – loadMetadata and playheadPosition for the new viewing session, once the playback resumes.

Please see the Digital Measurement FAQ for more details

SDK Integration Architecture Diagram

For Content Playback

For Ad Playback

Privacy

The privacy section will be added soon.

Step 7 : Test your player by yourself

Guide

1. Connect your PC and test device (tablet or phone) via same router.
2. PC side: run Proxy sw (like Charles) and get local IP
3. Test device: modify Wifi setting to pass through Proxy IP from add 2
4. Test device: run your player, launch video
5. PC side: filter traffic by "nmr" and confirm presence of GN pings

Step 8 : Provide your app for certification

Once ready please send your application to Nielsen local staff for certification.

Step 9 : Going Live

After the integration has been certified (but not prior that), disable debug logging by deleting {nol_sdkDebug: "DEBUG"} from initialization call - see Step 2.