DCR Denmark Video iOS SDK

From Engineering Client Portal

Revision as of 19:23, 3 December 2020 by ColinBrown (talk | contribs) (→‎Prerequisites)

Engineering Portal / Digital / DCR & DTVR / DCR Denmark Video iOS SDK

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 (apid) 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.

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-A7DAFDC51XXX",
                                     @"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];
}

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;

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.

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 If continuous (24 x 7) stream, pass the value of 86400.
if live stream of a discrete program (LiveEvent/Sporting Event),
pass legth of content. If unknown, pass a value of 0. 		✓
airdate the original date (local time with hh:mm:ss as 24h time stamp)
when the content became available.
This date does not change if the content
is rebroadcasted on linear TV. 		If live stream of a discrete program (Live Event/Sporting Event), ✓
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) 		✓

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
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 Example

     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 Example

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.

Objective C 

nielsenAppApi play:(JSONObject channelInfo);

Swift 

self.nielsenAppApi?.play(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.

Objective C 

nielsenAppApi loadMetadata:(id)contentMetadata;

Swift 

self.nielsenAppApi?.loadMetadata(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..

Objective C 

nielsenAppApi playheadPosition: (long long) playheadPos

Swift 

self.nielsenAppApi?.playheadPosition(pos);


stop

Call when

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

Objective C 

nielsenAppApi stop

Swift 

self.nielsenAppApi?.stop


end

Call when the content asset completes playback. Stops measurement progress.

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
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
Content is playing playheadPosition(position) //playheadPosition is position of the playhead while the content is being played
Interruption stop(); // call stop when content playback is interrupted
Resume Content setPlayheadPosition(playheadPosition); // continue pasing playhead position every second starting from position where content is resumed
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

SDK Integration Architecture Diagram - Content

For Ad Playback

SDK Integration Architecture Diagram - Ad

Privacy

The primary method for implementing user Opt-out preferences is managed by AppTracking or Limit Ad Tracking setting on device.

Special Note Regarding Apps in the Kids Category

If you are building an app that will be listed in the Kids Category:

  1. Ensure that you are using the NoID version of the Nielsen SDK Framework.
  2. Immediately following the initialization of the Nielsen SDK ensure you call the userOptOut API with Opt out selection:
NielsenAppApi?.userOptOut("nielsenappsdk://1"); // User opt-out

OS-level Opt-out

OS-level Opt-out method available on Nielsen iOS

The Nielsen SDK automatically leverages the iOS's Limit Ad Tracking or AppTracking setting.

  • If the User's device is running < iOS 13.x, the Nielsen SDK will check the status of Limit Ad Tracking.
  • iOS14 modifies the way Apple manages the collection of a User's Opt-In status through AppTracking. Starting with Version 8.x+, the Nielsen App SDK will check the iOS version during initialization. If the device is running iOS12 or iOS13, the Limit Ad Tracking setting is requested. If iOS14.x +, then AppTracking is utilized.

Webview Example

The below code is an example of displaying the Nielsen Privacy page to the user. 

import UIKit
import WebKit
import NielsenAppApi

class OptOutVC: UIViewController, NielsenAppApiDelegate, WKNavigationDelegate {
    var webView: WKWebView!
    var nielsenApi: NielsenAppApi!
    
    override func loadView() {
        webView = WKWebView()
        webView.navigationDelegate = self
        view = webView  }
    
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        self.view.backgroundColor = UIColor(patternImage: UIImage(named: "new_ios_bg.png")!) 
        self.nielsenApi = NielsenInit.createNielsenApi(delegate: self)  //create an instance 
        
        if let appApi = self.nielsenApi {
            //Getting the optPut URL from SDK
            if let url = URL(string: appApi.optOutURL) { //query the nielsensdk for the current privacy page
                webView.load(URLRequest(url: url))
                webView.allowsBackForwardNavigationGestures = true
            }}}}


Test your player by yourself

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

Provide your app for certification

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

Going Live

Following Nielsen testing, you will need to:

  1. Disable Debug Logging: Disable logging by deleting {nol_devDebug: 'DEBUG'} from initialization call.
  2. Notify Nielsen: Once you are ready to go live, let us know so we can enable you for reporting. We will not be able to collect or report data prior to receiving notification from you.

Removing Simulators (Dynamic Framework Only)

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. Here is an example Shell script that could be added as a Run Script phase in the application. 


APP_PATH="${TARGET_BUILD_DIR}/${WRAPPER_NAME}"

# This script loops through the frameworks embedded in the application and
# removes unused architectures.
find "$APP_PATH" -name '*.framework' -type d | while read -r FRAMEWORK
do
FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_NAME=$(defaults read "$FRAMEWORK/Info.plist" CFBundleExecutable)
FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH="$FRAMEWORK/$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_NAME"
echo "Executable is $FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH"

EXTRACTED_ARCHS=()

for ARCH in $ARCHS
do
echo "Extracting $ARCH from $FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_NAME"
lipo -extract "$ARCH" "$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH" -o "$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH-$ARCH"
EXTRACTED_ARCHS+=("$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH-$ARCH")
done

echo "Merging extracted architectures: ${ARCHS}"
lipo -o "$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH-merged" -create "${EXTRACTED_ARCHS[@]}"
rm "${EXTRACTED_ARCHS[@]}"

echo "Replacing original executable with thinned version"
rm "$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH"
mv "$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH-merged" "$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH"

done
Retrieved from "https://engineeringportal.nielsen.com/w/index.php?title=DCR_Denmark_Video_iOS_SDK&oldid=4678"