DCR Thailand Video Android SDK

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Overview

The Nielsen SDK is one of multiple framework SDKs that Nielsen provides to enable measuring live streaming and on-demand video content viewing using TVs, mobile devices, etc.

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.
sfcode: Unique identifier for the environment that the SDK should point to.
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 using Android Studio.

Setting up your Development Environment

Configuring Android Development Environment'

The Nielsen App SDK (located in the com.nielsen.app.sdk package) 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.

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 Nielsen App SDK 1.2 library is composed of two parts:

The Java AppSdk.jar library that runs on the Android’s Dalvik Virtual Machine.
The C/C++ libAppSdk.so native library that runs directly on the device’s hardware.

Note: App SDK 4.0.0 contains AppSDK.jar component only and does not support C/C++ libAppSdk.so components.

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.
For Audio player applications
- The Android OS hosting the App SDK should be at version 2.3 and later since the SDK depends on the Google Play support to work properly.

Ensure to unzip the Nielsen App SDK sample app and copy the AppSdk.jar into the libs/ folder on the App’s Eclipse project. Copy the libAppSdk.so file under libs/armeabi/ folder into the same Eclipse project.

App SDK 1.2 provides support for x86, mips, and armeabi-7a architecture; the respective libAppSdk.so can be found under the libs/x86/, libs/mips/, and libs/armeabi-7a/ folders.

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

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION" android:required="false" />
<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]. Download the latest google-play-services_lib and include it in the App’s project in order to use the App SDK.

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.

To include the Google Play library in the media player project, copy the google-play-services_lib folder into the same location as the project

Access File > Import.
Select Existing Android Code into Workspace and click Next.
Click Browse and navigate to the google-play-services_lib to include it into the projects.
Select the exact Project Build Target for Eclipse to use from Android SDK.
- Android 4.4.2, etc. OR
- Edit project.properties file to point to Android target version e.g. target= android-19.

Once the google-play-services_lib is included into the App project, include the following code under the <application> node in the AndroidManifest.xml.

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

Also, include the version.xml file that comes with the google-play-services_lib under the res/values directory of the media player project.

Once the files are in place, import com.nielsen.app.sdk to the java source code and start accessing the public interface.

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 a fifth SDK instance is launched, the SDK will return “nil” from initWithAppInfo:delegate:
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/Obligatory?	Example
appid	Unique id for the application assigned by Nielsen. It is GUID data type.	Nielsen-specified	✓	PXXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX
appversion	Current version of the app used	Client-defined	No	"1.0.2"
sfcode	Nielsen collection facility to which the SDK should connect.	Nielsen-specified	✓	"dcr"
nol_devDebug	Enables Nielsen console logging. Only required for testing	Nielsen-specified	Optional	"DEBUG"

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-2A788BCXXXXX")
          .put("appversion", "1.0")
          .put("sfcode", "dcr")
          .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, appname, sfcode) 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 the SDK methods handles only two types of objects: NSString, NSDictionary. 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, sfcode, 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.

JSONObject channelInfo = new JSONObject()
    .put("channelname","My Channel Name 1")

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("isfullepisode", "y")
    .put("adloadtype", "2")
    .put("segmentB", "custom")
    .put("segmentC", "custom")

Configure 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	✓

Content Metadata (VOD)

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

Keys	Description	Example	Required
type	`'content', 'ad'`	`'content'`	Yes
assetid	unique ID assigned to asset	custom	Yes
program	name of program (25 character limit)	custom	Yes
title	name of program (40 character limit)	custom	Yes
length	length of content in seconds	`seconds`	Yes
isfullepisode	full episode flag	"y"- full episode, "n"- non full episode	Yes
adloadtype	ad model only pass value as 2	2	Yes
segB	custom segment B	custom
segC	custom segment C	custom
crossId2	content originator (only required for distributors)	Nielsen provided

Example Content Object (VOD)

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("isfullepisode", "y")
    .put("adloadtype", "2")
    .put("segmentB", "custom")
    .put("segmentC", "custom")

Content Metadata (Live Streaming)

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

Keys	Description	Example	Required
type	`'content', 'ad'`	`'content'`	Yes
assetid	unique ID for each quarter	live021	Yes
program	name of program (25 character limit)	"CH Live"	Yes
title	Use period as title name per each quarter	”02.00-02.14”	Yes
length	length of content in seconds	900	Yes
isfullepisode	full episode flag	'y'- full episode	Yes
adloadtype	ad model (only pass value as 2)	'2'	Yes
segB	custom segment B	custom
segC	custom segment C	custom
crossId2	content originator (only required for distributors)	Nielsen provided

Example Content Object (Live Streaming)

JSONObject contentMetadata = new JSONObject()
//SDK Metadata
    .put("type", "content")
    .put("assetid", "live021")
    .put("program", "CHLive")
    .put("title", "02.00-02.14")
    .put("length", "900")
    .put("isfullepisode", "y")
    .put("adloadtype", "2")

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	✓

Example Ad Object

JSONObject AdsMetadata = new JSONObject()
//SDK Metadata
    .put("type", "preroll")
    .put("assetid", "AD-123")

Configure API Calls

Life cycle of SDK instance

Life cycle of SDK instance includes four general states:

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.
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.
Processing state – The SDK instance is processing playing information. 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. playheadPosition – Call this API every one second when playhead position timer is fired.
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.
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

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": "vid345-67483",
  "program": "ProgramName",
  "title": "Program S3, EP1",
  "length": "3600",
  ...
}

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
Start of stream	`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
Start of stream	`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.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.

Sequence Examples VOD

The example code below will differ from your production application. Provided to assist in explaining how to implement.

play

Use play to pass the channel descriptor information through channelName parameter when the user taps the Play button on the player.

    public void play(JSONObject channelInfo);

loadMetadata

public void loadMetadata(JSONObject contentMetadata);

playheadPosition/setPlayheadPosition

Please note: iOS sdk uses playheadPosition. Android uses setPlayheadPosition.

public void run() {
       if (mMediaPlayer != null) {

      //getting current position of media player
     int mCurrentPosition = mMediaPlayer.getCurrentPosition() / 1000;

    seek.setProgress(mCurrentPosition);
     try {
       //Checking If video player is not paused and video is playing
           if (!isPaused && mMediaPlayer.isPlaying() && videoType != Constants.dtvrVideo) {
      //Sending playHeadPosition to SDK.
      appSdk.setPlayheadPosition(mCurrentPosition);
        }
       } catch (Exception e) {
       e.printStackTrace();
         }
         }
    playheadHandler.postDelayed(this, 1000);
                }
if (mAppSdk != null)
{
mAppSdk.setPlayheadPosition(pos);
}

stop

mAppSdk.stop()

end

When content stop is initiated and content cannot be resumed from the same position (it can only be restarted from the beginning of stream).

mAppSdk.end()

Sequence Examples Live Streaming

The example code below will differ from your production application. Provided to assist in explaining how to implement.

play

Use play to pass the channel descriptor information through channelName parameter when the user taps the Play button on the player.

    public void play(JSONObject channelInfo);

loadMetadata

Pass metadata for live streaming - Title will be dynamic depend on current time on device that user play the live streaming

public void loadMetadata(JSONObject contentMetadata);

playheadPosition/setPlayheadPosition

Please note: iOS sdk uses playheadPosition. Android uses setPlayheadPosition.

public void run() {
       if (mMediaPlayer != null) {
      //Live streaming
       Live Streaming :
       Calendar c = Calendar.getInstance();
       long pos = (c.getTimeInMillis()/ 1000);
       if (mAppSdk != null)
       {
         mAppSdk.setPlayheadPosition(pos);
       }

When the quarter hour change

end

Call end for the previous quarter hour.

mAppSdk.end()

play

Call play for start of new quarter hour

    public void play(JSONObject channelInfo);

loadMetadata

Call loadMetadata and pass content metadata for new quarter hour

public void loadMetadata(JSONObject contentMetadata);

playheadPosition/setPlayheadPosition

Please note: iOS sdk uses playheadPosition. Android uses setPlayheadPosition.

public void run() {
       if (mMediaPlayer != null) {
      //Live streaming
       Live Streaming :
       Calendar c = Calendar.getInstance();
       long pos = (c.getTimeInMillis()/ 1000);
       if (mAppSdk != null)
       {
         mAppSdk.setPlayheadPosition(pos);
       }

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 (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

Handling Foreground and Background states

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

Enable the Nielsen SDK to measure background/foreground state by making the 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.

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 App measurement within Nielsen Digital Content Ratings (DCR).

Privacy and Opt-Out

Users must either have access to the "About Nielsen Measurement" page, or have similar text available within the native app. Include "About Nielsen Measurement" and "Your Choices" link in the Privacy Policy / EULA or as a button near the link to the app's Privacy Policy.

URL to this web page should be called from SDK by invoking userOptOutURLString() and opened in 'WebView' / External browser.
If the App SDK returns NULL as Opt-Out URL, handle the exception gracefully and retry later.
To retrieve the current Opt-Out status of a device, use the userOptOutURLString() method.

public String userOptOutURLString()
public boolean getOptOutStatus()

Users can opt out or opt back into Nielsen Measurement. Opt-Out feature relies on the system setting – "Limit Ad Tracking". The setting can be accessed in the Settings application on any device. User is opted out of Nielsen online measurement research when the "Limit Ad Tracking" setting is enabled.

In addition, the following text must be included in your app store description.

"Please note: This app features Nielsen’s proprietary measurement software which contributes to market research. Please see http://priv-policy.imrworldwide.com/priv/mobile/th/en/optout.html for more information"

Going Live

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

Debug Logging: Disable logging by deleting {nol_sdkDebug: 'DEBUG'} from initialization call.
- Example Production Initialization Call - Refer to the production initialization call below:

Android Example:

  
try
{
  // Prepare AppSdk configuration object (JSONObject)
  JSONObject appSdkConfig = new JSONObject()
          .put("appid", "PXXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX")
          .put("sfcode", "dcr")
            // Remove Flag:   "nol_devDebug": "DEBUG"

// 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);
}

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.

DCR Thailand Video Android SDK

From Engineering Client Portal

Overview

Prerequisites

Implementation

Setting up your Development Environment

SDK Initialization

Sample SDK Initialization Code

APP SDK Error & Event Codes

Configure Payload

Handling JSON Metadata

Configure metadata

Content Metadata (VOD)

Example Content Object (VOD)

Content Metadata (Live Streaming)

Example Content Object (Live Streaming)

Ad Metadata

Example Ad Object

Configure API Calls

Life cycle of SDK instance

API Call sequence

Use Case 1: Content has no Advertisements

Use Case 2: Content has Advertisements

Sequence Examples VOD

play

loadMetadata

playheadPosition/setPlayheadPosition

stop

end

Sequence Examples Live Streaming

play

loadMetadata

playheadPosition/setPlayheadPosition

When the quarter hour change

end

play

loadMetadata

playheadPosition/setPlayheadPosition

Interruptions during playback

Handling Foreground and Background states

ForeGround/Background Measurement via AndroidManifest

Using the Android SdkBgFbDetectionUtility Class

Manual Background/ForeGround State Management

Privacy and Opt-Out

Going Live