DCR Germany Video Cloud API

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DCR Integration Utilizing Cloud API

This guide shows you how to integrate the Nielsen Cloud API to enable Digital Content Ratings (DCR), and fuel other measurement products on your over-the-top (OTT) Apps. 

PLease note that the Cloud API Product is not yet rolled out in Germany!

Prerequisites

To get started, you will need a Nielsen App ID. The App ID is a unique ID assigned to your app. This will be provided to you by your assigned Technical Account Manager upon starting the integration.

Item Description Source
App ID (appid) Unique ID assigned to the player/site and configured by product. Provided by Nielsen

Integration

We will cover the steps for constructing the Cloud API Calls.

URL Structure

The Cloud API Calls are HTTP GET Requests with the URL structure: 

[endpoint]/[appid]/[sessionID]/a?b=[payload]

The URL includes the following components:

  • [endpoint]: location of data collection environment
  • [appid]: provided App ID.
    Note:The "P" prefix must be removed from the App ID received before adding it to the URL, i.e. if you received PDF20695-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-3E334133D917 from Nielsen , your url will then be : [endpoint]/DF20695-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-3E334133D917/[sessionID]/a?b=[payload]
  • [sessionID]: unique value for each user session
  • [payload]: metadata and events

Endpoint

There are endpoints for testing and production:

During testing, all calls should be pointed to the testing endpoint. We will review the update to the production endpoint during the Go Live section of this guide.

URL Example

As you move through the integration steps, you can reference the below URL structure with the expanded payload: 

https://sc-eucert.nmrodam.com/nmapi/v2/[appid]/[sessionID]/a?b=
{
  "devInfo": [deviceInfo],
  "metadata": {
    "content": [content_metadata],
    "ad": [ad metadata]
  },
  "event": [event],
  "position": [playhead_position],
  "type": [asset type],
  "utc": [Unix time in ms],
  "sessid": [unique view session ID for each video play]
}

Create Session ID and send EMM Ping

Create Session ID

A unique Session ID [sessionID] must be created upon app launch and provided in the URL. This will allow the measurement to occur for the entire duration that a user is within the app.

A Session ID needs to be completely unique so it is recommended to use our generation method example provided below to create unique alpha-numerical 29 characters + 10 characters UTC timestamp, to guarantee there are no repeats, also see Reference Implementation for VoD and Live Streams for your reference and use.

Session ID example: LsTYTmZQPwdchsNZkdtJp9lErjgAp1632729088 

'''// Create random GUID'''
function buildGUID() {
    var UAIDbase62Characters = "0123456789ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz";
    var UAIDpayloadLength = 29;

    function UAIDgetRandom62() {
        var r1;
        do {
            r1 = Math.floor(Math.random() * (16 * 62));
        } while (r1 > 61); 
        return r1;
    }

    var uid = '';
    for (var a = 0; a < UAIDpayloadLength; a++) {
        uid += UAIDbase62Characters.charAt(UAIDgetRandom62());
    }
    var timestamp_ms = new Date().getTime();
    uid += String(timestamp_ms).substring(3);
    return uid;
}


Upon exiting the app, the session will need to be terminated using the delete event.
Sessions will automatically expire after 30 minutes of cloud inactivity.

Send EMM Ping (only for Mobile (iOS and Android) and Browser)

An EMM Ping must be sent using the created unique Session ID [sessionID] upon start of the first stream playback. 

https://[sessionID].uaid.nmrodam.com/

Also see Reference Implementation for VoD and Live Streams for your reference.

Create View Session ID for each Video Start

An View Session ID [sessid] must be created upon start of each stream playback, sessid is unique per video play.

Define URL Structure

Define the URL structure using your provided [appid] and a unique [sessionID]. 

https://sc-eucert.nmrodam.com/nmapi/v2/[appid]/[sessionID]/a?b=[payload]

Configure Payload

Description Payload

All Cloud API requests must contain the following payload data:

  • devInfo: device and app info
  • metadata: asset metadata
  • event metadata: type of event

The payload can be passed through key-values using the Nielsen reserved keys. The specific keys and descriptions are highlighted in the tables included in this section.

Payload Example

The example below should be referenced when following the steps for configuring the request payload. 

// 1. Create Session ID using the UUID Generator code provided
sessionID = LsTYTmZQPwdchsNZkdtJp9lErjgAp1632729088  // Example sessionID 

// 2. Define URL Structure with App ID and Session ID
sessionURL = https://sc-eucert.nmrodam.com/nmapi/v2/[appid]/[sessionID]/a?b=

// 3. Configure Payload
// 3.1 Configure Payload: devInfo 
payload = {
 "devInfo": {
   "devId": "",
   "apn": "AppName",
   "apv": "1.0"
  },
  
  // 3.2 Configure Payload: metadata
  "metadata": {
    "content": { // object for measuring video content
      "type": "content",
      "assetid": "88675545",
      "program": "Program Name",
      "title": "episode title",
      "length": "3600",
  	  // custom metadata
      "nol_c0": "p0,1",
      "nol_c2": "p2,Y",
      "nol_c7": "p7,videoid123",
      "nol_c8": "p8,3600",
      "nol_c9": "p9,VideoTitle123",
      "nol_c10": "p10,clientname",
      "nol_c12": "p12,content",
      "nol_c18": "p18,N"
    },
    "ad": {
      "type": "preroll",
      "assetid": "ad345-67483",
      "title": "ad_title",
      "length": "25",
      "nol_c8": "p8,25",
      "nol_c10": "p10,clientname",
      "nol_c11": "p11,2352723141",
      "nol_c12": "p12,Ad",
      "nol_c17": "p17,preroll"
    }
  },
    
  // 3.3 Configure Payload: events
  "event": "playhead", //event name
  "position": "300", // position in seconds
  "type": "content", //"content" or "ad"
  "utc": "1456448742000", //unix timestamp in milliseconds 
  "sessid": "xxxjavd6wzirm93xb95uxjy1ac5wu1627638609" // create and pass a unique sessid for each video play using UUID Generator code provided
}

Configure Payload: devInfo

An object "devInfo" will need to be created to capture App and Device information.

Keys Description Values Required
devId unique ID to identify user (e.g. Advertising ID, Roku Device ID) - Not required for AGF custom
apn app name custom ✓
apv app build version custom ✓

Example devInfo Object 

// create devInfo object
"devInfo": {
  "devId": "",
  "apn": "AppName",
  "apv": "1.0"
},

3.2 Configure Payload: metadata

Asset metadata can be passed through "metadata". There are two asset types: "content" for video and "ad" for ads. The metadata received for each asset is used for classification and reporting.

You will need to set up "metadata" objects for "content" and "ad" with the required Nielsen keys as shown in the sample code below.

Content Metadata
Description of Content metadata

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

For detailed information on metadata and custom variables, see AGF Metadata Convention for Video Measurement


Keys Description Values Required/Obligatory
type type of asset "content" ✓
assetid unique ID assigned to asset (64 character limit; 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 (254 character limit) custom ✓
title (string) episode title (max 254 characters) custom - no backslash allowed in string (because of 3rd party data processing) ✓
length length of content in seconds seconds ('86400' for 24/7 Livestream. For Event-Livestreams planned length. For VoD video length) ✓
clientid

parent ID – value is automatically populated through provided App ID.
In order to override the brand configured to the App ID, pass parent
value here and the sub-brand ID associated with that brand in the subbrand
key (e.g. multiple brands in App)

provided by Nielsen

subbrand vcid/sub-brand ID – value is automatically populated through provided

App ID. In order to override the sub-brand configured to the App ID, value can
be passed here (e.g. multiple sub-brands in App)

provided by Nielsen

nol_c0 number of episode part (Sendungsteilenummer) number ✓
nol_c2 web only 'Y' or 'N' ✓
nol_c5 page URL custom
nol_c7 Video ID custom ✓
nol_c8 duration in seconds `seconds` ('86400' for 24/7 Livestream. For Event-Livestreams planned length. For VoD video length) ✓
nol_c9 episode title custom - no backslash allowed in string (because of 3rd party data processing) ✓
nol_c10 publisher custom ✓
nol_c12 type of asset 'Trailer' or 'Content' ✓
nol_c13 original air time `(YYYY-MM-TT)T(HH:mm:ss) Example: 2004-06-14T23:34:30
nol_c14 ISO 8601 timestamp `(YYYY-MM-TT)T(HH:mm:ss)`
nol_c15 format ID custom
nol_c16 content-ID (Combines different videos to a common category, content-wise, a content-ID is available for content, trailer and ads) custom, i.e. 'dVxRcCpOqKyFz02fuss', 'dvrsowf_ten_rtlibes', etc
nol_c18 livestream 'Y' or 'N' ✓
nol_c19 custom variable custom
nol_c20 GfK-ID custom



Example Content metadata
// create content object
"content": {
      "type": "content",
      "assetid": "88675545",
      "program": "Program Name",
      "title": "episode title",
      "length": "3600",
  	  // custom metadata
      "nol_c0": "p0,1",
      "nol_c2": "p2,Y",
      "nol_c7": "p7,videoid123",
      "nol_c8": "p8,3600",
      "nol_c9": "p9,VideoTitle123",
      "nol_c10": "p10,clientname",
      "nol_c12": "p12,content",
      "nol_c18": "p18,N"
}
Ad Metadata (optional for public broadcasters)
Description of Ad metadata

The ad metadata (if applicable) should be passed for each individual ad, if ads are available during or before the stream begins. For detailed information on metadata and custom variables, see AGF Metadata Convention for Video Measurement


Keys Description Values Required
type type of ad 'preroll', 'midroll', or 'postroll' ✓
assetid unique ID assigned to asset (64 character limit; only characters 0-9, a-z, A-Z underscore and minus are allowed - no special characters or vowel mutations) custom (no SPACE - no Special Characters) ✓
subbrand vcid/sub-brand ID – value is automatically populated through provided App ID. In order to override the sub-brand configured to the App ID, value can be passed here (e.g. multiple sub-brands in App) provided by Nielsen
title only the AD-ID is necessary custom, <AD-ID> without "VAST" Prefix or other, i.e. '2352723141' ✓
length length of Ad in seconds length of Ad in seconds ✓
nol_c1 universal AdID (Additional AD-ID to be used by second or third marketers) custom, i.e. 'adgapid_022_800160_1601097_001_0_0'
nol_c2 web only 'Y' or 'N'
nol_c4 form of advertising 'preroll','midroll', 'postroll', 'pre-split', 'sponsor'
nol_c8 duration of the video file in seconds ✓
nol_c10 publisher custom ✓
nol_c11 AD-ID (unique ID of an advertisement. Necessary if ads are being broadcasted) custom, i.e. '2352723141' ✓
nol_c12 content type (key distinction of content, advertising, and Trailer) 'Ad' ✓
nol_c16 content-ID (Combines different videos to a common category, content-wise, a content-ID is available for content, trailer and ads) custom, i.e. 'dVxRcCpOqKyFz02fuss', 'dvrsowf_ten_rtlibes', etc
nol_c17 ad placement type (placement information of advertisement) 'preroll', 'midroll', 'postroll' or 'other' ✓
Example Ad metadata
// create ad object
"ad": {
      "type": "preroll",
      "assetid": "ad345-67483",
      "title": "ad_title",
      "length": "25",
      "nol_c8": "p8,25",
      "nol_c10": "p10,clientname",
      "nol_c11": "p11,2352723141",
      "nol_c12": "p12,Ad",
      "nol_c17": "p17,preroll"      
}

Configure Payload: Events

The last part of the payload is for enabling events so content is measured correctly when viewed. The events and required parameters are included below.

Event Types

The available events are:

Event Description
"playhead"
Handling Playhead

Calling "playhead" is critical for accurate duration crediting. You can reference the below guidance to determine the correct playhead position to pass depending on the playback scenario.

General

  • Playhead position in seconds, must be passed as a whole number every 10 seconds.
  • The final playhead position should be sent before before sending "complete" event when content playback is complete.

Live Stream

  • For Live streams, use Unix Time (in seconds) matching the broadcast time as the playhead position. Note that ad playheads must also use Unix Time for each single Ad in an Ad Pod.

VoD Stream

  • For VoD stream use the player position for Content and Ad at playback start of a content or single Ad in an Ad Pod, playheads will then be 0, 10, 20, ....

End of an Asset

  • Final postion must be sent at the end of Content or Ad playback

Ads

  • The final playhead position must be sent when switching from content to ad, or ad to content.
  • For Ad Pods, playhead must be called for each individual ad.
  • When content has resumed following a mid-roll ad break, the next playhead position must continue where the previous content segment left off.

User Actions

  • SCRUBBING: Upon user scrubbing, the current position must be sent before a user scrubs, and the new position should be sent where the user lands, and begin sending in the 10 second updates thereafter.
  • PAUSE: When content is paused, send current playhead position and stop passing playhead position until content is resumed.
  • EXIT Stream: If a user exits a stream early, the last current position must be sent in a playhead update to receive accurate duration.
"complete" The complete event must be sent when the content has completed full playback. Before calling the complete event, a final playhead update with the final position is required to be sent to receive full duration credit. For Live streams, a complete event must be sent at program boundaries.
"delete" The delete event is optional and can be sent when the viewing session is terminated (typically on App close). A new session ID must be generated after sending a delete event. Delete should not be sent on app interruptions or foreground/background events. All creditable duration will be summarized for all asset types when delete occurs (content and ads).
Event Parameters

The following parameters need to be passed when calling events:

Parameter Description Value Required
"event" event type "playhead", "complete", or "delete" ✓
"position" playhead position in seconds or Unix time in seconds "300" ✓
"type" asset type "content", "ad" ✓
"utc" Unix timestamp in milliseconds. Must be passed every 10 seconds. "1472760000000" ✓
"sessid" Unique View Session ID must be created upon start of each stream playback, sessid is unique per video play. "xxxjavd6wzirm93xb95uxjy1ac5wu1627638609" ✓
Example Event

You can call events by passing values in the required parameters: 

"devInfo": [deviceInfo],
  "metadata": {
    "content": [content metadata],
    "ad": [ad metadata]
  },
  // Event Parameters
  "event": [event], // event name
  "position": [playheadPosition], //position in seconds
  "type": [asset type], // values are "content" or "ad"
  "utc": "1472760000000", //unix timestamp in milliseconds
  "sessid": "xxxjavd6wzirm93xb95uxjy1ac5wu1627638609", // unique for each video play
}

Note: The full payload including "devInfo" and "metadata" must be populated in each event request.

Sample Event Lifecycle for VoD Stream

The sample event lifecycle can be used as a reference for identifying the order for calling events and values to pass. 

// Start of Session: session ID created when App is opened

// Preroll
Ad Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "0", "type": "ad", "utc": "1472760000000"} 
 
// Content
Content Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "0", "type": "content", "utc": "1472760000000"} 

// Midroll
Midroll Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "0", "type": "ad", "utc": "1472760000000"} 

// Content resumes at 15 minutes
Content Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "900", "type": "content", "utc": "1472760000000"} 

// Content completes at 30 minutes
Complete {"event": "complete", "position": "1800", "type": "content", "utc": "1472760000000"} 
 
// Postroll
Ad Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "0", "type": "ad", "utc": "1472760000000"} 

//End of Session: The delete event should be called when the App is exited. The values for position and type not required to be passed.
Delete { "event": "delete", "position": "", "type": "", "utc": "1472760000000"}


Sample Event Lifecycle for VoD Stream - Detailed Storyline This detailed event sequence provides additional insight for the correct events to call when handling certain playback scenarios. 

// SESSION STARTS
// Start of Session: session ID created when App is opened

// PREROLL
// Preroll Start - Start each Ad with a position of "0", resetting to '0' for each Ad, and Ad break.
Ad Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "0", "type": "ad", "utc": "1472760000000"} 

// Preroll Stop - End each Ad with the final position of the Ad.
Ad Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "15", "type": "ad", "utc": "1472761500000"}
 
// CONTENT 
// Content Start - Start new content streams with a position of "0" incrementing the position every 10 seconds.
Content Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "0", "type": "content", "utc": "1472761500000"} 

// Content Stop Before Ad Break - Send a playhead update including the current content positon before an Ad break.
Content Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "299", "type": "content", "utc": "1472787400000"}

// MIDROLL
// Midroll Start - Start each Ad with a position of "0", resetting to '0' for each Ad, and Ad break.
Midroll Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "0", "type": "ad", "utc": "1472787500000"} 

// Midroll Stop - End each Ad with the final position of the Ad.
Ad Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "60", "type": "ad", "utc": "1472793500000"}

// CONTENT
// Content resumes at 5 minutes - Send playhead update with the current resumed position, and begin incrimenting the positon every 10 seconds.
Content Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "300", "type": "content", "utc": "1472799500000"} 

// Content completes at 10:12 - Make sure to send in the playhead event with the final content position before sending the complete event.
Final Content Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "612", "type": "content", "utc": "1472830700000"} 

Complete {"event": "complete", "position": "612", "type": "content", "utc": "1472830800000"} 

// POSTROLL
// Postroll Start - Start each Ad with a position of "0", resetting to '0' for each Ad, and Ad break.
Ad Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "0", "type": "ad", "utc": "1472830900000"} 

// Postroll Stop - End each Ad with the final position of the Ad.
Ad Playhead {"event": "playhead", "position": "45", "type": "ad", "utc": "1472835300000"}

// SESSION ENDS

//End of Session: The delete event should be called when the App is exited. The values for position and type not required to be passed.
Delete { "event": "delete", "position": "", "type": "", "utc": "1472835400000"}


Interruption Scenarios

As part of configuring events, you will need to handle all possible interruption scenarios such as:

  • Wi-Fi OFF / ON
  • App going Background / Foreground (Video players only, not for Audio players)
  • App Crash or Exit

When playback is interrupted, the app needs to send delete immediately.

Once playback resumes, a new session will need to be created with a unique session ID. All of the required metadata and events will need to be sent.

Note: The session will automatically timeout after 30 minutes of inactivity.

Example Request

Now that we walked through the Cloud API integration steps, your requests should have the following components: Session ID, App ID, and Payload. You can reference the example below when your reviewing your integration.

see Payload Example

// Append payload to URL function sendPayloadToNielsen() { 

 var payloadStr  = JSON.stringify(payload); // payload as string
 var imgPing = new Image();
 imgPing.onload = function() {
   // onload event, payload succesfull sent
 };
 imgPing.onerror = function() {
   // handle error i.e. wait and send again
 };
 imgPing.src = sessionURL+encodeURIComponent(payloadStr);

} </syntaxhighlight>

Enable Debug Logging

Now that you have set up the Cloud API requests, you can enable debug logging to validate your integration. Enabling debug logging is required for Nielsen certification.

GET Request

Display GET Request to console using a name to identify each event (e.g. playhead). 

console.log("Event", image);

Payload

Output payload to identify required metadata and events. 

console.log("Event Payload", payload);

HTTP Response Code

Confirm request was completed by viewing HTTP response code. 

code = msg.GetResponseCode();
console.log("Response Code", code);

You can reference the HTTP Response Code table when reviewing your requests:

Status Code Status Text Description
200 OK request received
403 Forbidden invalid App ID
404 Not Found JSON issue

Review the Reference Implementation for VoD and Live Streams

The Reference Implementation covers vod and Live use cases. It also covers DAI (Dynamic Ad Insertion) with preroll and postroll Ads.

In order to start live stream select the checkbox "isLive" in the Playback Settings below the video player.

Start the Reference Implementation for AGF by selection Germany in the country dropbox RefImplCloudAPI.

Review the Nielsen CloudAPI Call Sequence below the Video Player.

Disclose Nielsen Privacy Statement

The Nielsen Cloud API measurement is working without cookies and other personal information. No user can be identified personally, therefore an opt-out functionality is not required. The Nielsen Cloud API measurement is utilizing a cookieless domain.

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 with anonymous data. A link to the Nielsen Digital Measurement Privacy Policy located at https://nielsen.com/legal/privacy-principles/digital-measurement-privacy-statement/?lang=de .

Testing

Before providing an app build to Nielsen for testing, it is important to run validation checks once you have enabled debug logging.

Payload Validation

Ensure that all of the required payload data is populating while testing several videos. The following areas are critical to measurement:

  • devInfo
  • Asset metadata for both content, and ads
  • Events

Player Events

Review event calls:

playhead

  • Playhead position updates every 10 seconds starting at position '0' for each new asset for VoD stream and UTC Unix Time in seconds for Live stream.
  • Final playhead position is sent on content, or ad before switching between assets.
  • Content metadata remains constant throughout an episode, or clip play.
  • Ad metadata is populated appropriately for each individual ad.
  • Playhead position update resumes for content after an ad break, and resets to 0 for each individual ad.
  • For scrubbing, last current position should be sent while scrubbing occurs, and the new position should also be sent where the user scrubs to.
  • Exiting a stream early should execute the last current position in a playhead update to receive accurate duration.
  • Upon pause, the current position should be sent, and playhead updates should stop incrementing until resume play occurs.

complete

  • Check that the complete event executes upon content complete after the final playhead update is sent
  • Do not execute the complete event for ads

delete

  • Check to see that the delete event occurs upon app exit, if the platform has the necessary exit callback events.

GET Request Format

  • Ensure that the event payloads are formatted in JSON
  • Check to see that each of the Cloud API GET requests are properly encoded

HTTP Response

  • Make sure that each of the Cloud API Get requests are received by the Nielsen Cloud API properly through use of the HTTP Response Code outputs enabled in console.

Go Live

After your integration has been certified, you will need to: Change Endpoint and Disable Logging.

Change Endpoint: You will need to update to the production endpoint:

Your production URL structure should now be: https://agfcapi.nmrodam.com/nmapi/v2/[appid]/[sessionID]/a?b=[payload]

Disable Logging: You can now disable debug logging

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