DCR Video Android SDK

Engineering Portal / Digital / US DCR & DTVR / DCR Video Android SDK

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

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 Android 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 Android Studio utilizing the Nielsen SDK for DCR.

SDK Flavor	Description
Android Ad Version	* Opt-In and Opt-Out functionality managed by Opt out of Ads Personlization setting on device. (Preferred approach) * The Nielsen SDK will collect the Google Advertising ID unless the user Opts Out. * If the Google Play Service is unavailable, (ie: Amazon and Huawei devices) the Nielsen sdk will secure the Android ID. * There are 3 versions available starting with the Nielsen SDK 8.1.0.0.
Android No Ad Framework	* Without the Ad Framework, the Nielsen SDK cannot read the Google Advertising ID, so will retrieve the AndroidID. * The AndroidID is a 64-bit number (expressed as a hexadecimal string), unique to each combination of app-signing key, user and device. * The developer is required to present the User Choice Opt Out page which is described in the Privacy Section.
Android SDK noID	* This version of the Nielsen SDK is perfect for Kid apps, or where no ID is required. * Please review the Opt Out Requirement.

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.

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)

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.

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).

Initializing Viewability and Audibility Measurement

If your Nielsen integration will be enabled for viewability/audibility measurement, your app should call trackViewability after initializing the SDK (previous paragraphs).

Viewability metrics allow AppSDK to track the visibility of the player and collect information about how much of the player container is visible to the end user during playback. Audibility metrics report on the device volume level.

The viewability pings will be fired following the same rules as measurement pings. Viewability pings will be POST requests, not GET requests like other data pings. POST body for viewability requests will contain the key-value pairs in JSON format. The key parameters in the URL schemes are invs, inau, inss, invp and ines which will contain the collected viewability data. This data will be formatted according to the specific rules so that downstream it will be possible to match measurement and viewability data for a session.

Audibility metrics will capture the volume level as well as mute/unmute state of the device during playback.

Calling trackViewability for player view

Input Parameters

Parameter

Description

data

JSONObject object with the following objects and keys:

viewTag (mandatory)	value of String type, tag identifier for the target player view object. This tag can be assigned for the player view either programmatically or in the layout xml, as explained in above section.
viewContainer (mandatory)	Reference to the activity object. It is needed to identify and search the target player view in current visible screen. This parameter can not be nil. This should be the current activity object where target view is loaded. If the player view is rendered in a fragment, please provide the parent activity reference of the fragment.
friendlyObstructions (optional)	an array of tags of the views which should be ignored during the intersection ratio calculation. Those are views like loading activity indicator, player controls, view with a watermark, etc. which are displayed in front of the target view, but should not reduce the viewability intersection ratio. The tags of such should be wrapped into the String objects before adding into the array. This parameter is nullable, empty array is also accepted.

Syntax

void  trackViewability(JSONObject);

Usage Example

String targetViewTag = targetView.getTag().toString();
String activityObj = MainActivity.this;
JSONArray friendlyTags = new JSONArray();
friendlyTags.put("friendlyViewTag1");
friendlyTags.put("friendlyViewTag2");

JSONObject json = new JSONObject();
json.put("viewContainer", activityObj);
json.put("viewTag", targetViewTag);
json.put("friendlyObstructions", friendlyTags);
sdkInstance.trackViewability(json);

Setting tag for a player view in layout xml

<SurfaceView
   android:id="@+id/playerView"
   android:tag="playerViewTag"           
   android:layout_width="match_parent"
   android:layout_height="match_parent"
/>

Setting tag for a player view in Activity/Fragment

mPlayerView = (SurfaceView) findViewById(R.id.playerView);
mPlayerView.setTag("playerViewTag");

Data Collected

Parameter

Description

Measured Value

Value is different for different request parameters:

invs	Intersection ratio for the target view in percent (from 0 to 100). Default threshold for this value is 5. Example: [50,1,1528457356,10]
inau	Volume level on the device in percent (from 0 to 100), where 0 - mute, 100 - max volume level. Default threshold for this value is 1. Example: [30,1,1528457356,10]
inss	Device screen size as "WxH", where W - is width in pixels, H - is height in pixels. Example: ["1024x768",1,1528457356,10]
invp	Current window size. This is different than the device screen size in a multiple scene mode or on a desktop. Format is "WxH", where W - is width in pixels, H - is height in pixels. Example: ["800x600",1,1528457356,10]
ines	Player view size as "WxH", where W - is width in pixels, H - is height in pixels. Example: ["300x200",1,1528457356,10]

Start offset

Value contains the first playhead or the first id3 offset with non-null CID after start, flush or resume. Example playhead: [50,1,1528457356,10]. Example id3 offset: [50,70100,1528457356,10]

Start timestamp

Timestamp value when the time period related to this time series item was started. Example: [50,1,1528457356,10]

Duration

Duration value is calculated as a difference between the last playhead and the first playhead for the current time series item. Example: [50,1,1528457356,10]

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 contentMetadata = new JSONObject()
//SDK Metadata
    .put("type", "content")
    .put("assetid", "vid345-67483")
    .put("program", "The Big Bang Theory")
    .put("title", "The Pants Alternative S03E18")
    .put("crossId1", "EP009311820061")  //optional  
    .put("crossId2", "Content Originator")  //optional  
    .put("length", "3600")
    .put("isfullepisode", "yes") 
    .put("airdate", "2022-03-21T10:05:00")
    .put("adloadtype", "2")
    .put("segB", "CustomSegmentValueB") //optional
    .put("segC", "CustomSegmentValueC") //optional

Content metadata

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

Keys	Description	Values	Required	Provider
type	Type of asset	For Video use: `content` For Static or text `static`	Yes	Nielsen
assetid	Unique ID assigned to asset Note: Refrain from using the following special characters (Special Characters).	Examples: `BBT345a234` `CBSs5e234F2021`	Yes	Client
program	Complete program or movie title (no abbreviations or shorthand) Note: there is a 25 character limit.	`The Big Bang Theory` `TheBigBangTheory` `The Dark Knight` `TheDarkKnight`	Yes	Client
title	Episode title with season and episode number (40 character limit) (Formats accepted: S01E03, S1E3, S1 E3).	Examples: `The Pants Alternative S03E18` `The Pants Alternative S3E18` `The Pants Alternative S3 E18` Can also accept: `S3E18` Not Valid: `318` or `0318`	Yes	Client
crossId1	Gracenote TMS ID (If available) should be passed for all telecasted content for clients using the Gracenote solution for proper matching purposes. Note: The TMS ID will be a 14 character string. Normally leading with 2 alpha characters ('EP', 'MV', 'SH' or 'SP'), followed by 12 numbers.	The TMS ID will be a 14 character string. Normally being with 'EV,' 'EP', 'SH', 'SP', or 'MV' Followed by 12 numbers after the initial two letter prefix. The Giant Morning Show: `SH009311820022` The Pants Alternative Episode : `EP009311820061`	Optional	Nielsen
crossId2	Populated by content distributor to contribute viewing from that distributor to the given content originator.	Custom For a full list of acceptable values, please contact your Nielsen reprentative.	Yes, for distributors	Nielsen
length	Length of content in seconds Note: Integers and decimal values are acceptable for the length parameter.	Examples: For standard VOD content - `300` to represent 5 minutes, `1320` to represent 22 minutes, etc. If DAI live stream of a discrete program (Live Event/Sporting Event), pass length of content. See example for standard VOD content above. If unknown DAI live steam, pass a value of `0`.	Yes	Client
airdate	Original broadcast or release date for the program For USA, date should be EST Outside USA, date should be local time. If not applicable or available, original broadcast or release date for the Program.	Acceptable Formats: `YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MI:SS` `YYYY-MM-DDHH:MI:SS` `YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MI:SS+xx:xx` `YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MI:SS-xx:xx` `YYYYMMDDHH:MI:SS` `YYYYMMDD HH:MI:SS` `MM-DD-YYYY` `MM/DD/YYYY` `YYYYMMDD`	Yes	Client
isfullepisode	Full episode flag to identify differences between long form content.	`y`- full episode, `n`- non full episode(clip,teaser,promo,etc.) Also accept: `lf` or `yes`- longform `sf` or `no`- shortform	Yes	Nielsen
adloadtype	Type of ad load: `1` Linear – matches TV ad load `2` Dynamic – Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI)	`2` - DCR measures content with dynamic ads	Yes	Nielsen
segB	One of two custom segment for the clients granular reporting within a brand.	Examples: Genre - `horror`, `comedy`, etc. Timeslot - `primetime`, `daytime`, etc. News type - `breakingnews`, `weather`, etc.	Optional	Client
segC	One of two custom segment for the clients granular reporting within a brand.	Examples: Genre - `horror`, `comedy`, etc. Timeslot - `primetime`, `daytime`, etc. News type - `breakingnews`, `weather`, etc.	Optional	Client

Custom segments (segB and segC) can be used to aggregate video and/or static content within a single Brand to receive more granular reports within a brand.

Examples regarding usage of segments within SDK:

All comedy clips and stories for a Brand rolled into a "Comedy" segment
genre grouping content by Comedy vs. Drama
group related Text + Video content - i.e. for a show that has a lot of - static pages associated with it
packaging based on how clients sell inventory
grouping related types of content either by genre, category or platform.

Ad Metadata

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

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)	✓

Example Ad Object

// create ad object
"ad": {
  "type": "preroll",
  "assetid": "AD-ID123"
}

Sequence of Calls

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

public void setPlayheadPosition(long position)

stop

public void 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).

public void end()

Configure API Calls

Sample API Sequence

A Sample API sequence could follow this flow:

Type	Sample code	Description
On App Start	`[nielsenMeter loadMetadata: contentMetadata];`	// contentMetadata Object contains the JSON metadata for the impression
Start of stream	`[nielsenMeter play];`	// call at start of each new stream
Start of stream	`[nielsenMeter loadMetadata: contentMetadataObject];`	// contentMetadataObject contains the JSON metadata for the content being played
Content	`[nielsenMeter setplayheadPosition: position];`	// playheadPosition is position of the playhead while the content is being played
End of Stream	`[nielsenMeter end];`	// Content playback is completed.

SDK Events

Event	Parameter	Description
'play'		Call at start of each new stream
'loadMetadata'	content/ad metadata object	Needs to be called at the beginning of each asset
'setPlayheadPosition'	playhead position as integer VOD: \|\| current position in seconds Live: current Unix timestamp (seconds since Jan-1-1970 UTC) Note: 'setPlayheadPosition' has to be called every second	Pass playhead position every second during playback
'stop'	playhead position	Call during any interruption to content or Ad playback and at the end of each Ad.
'end'	playhead position in seconds	Call when the current video asset completes playback and pass the playhead position. Example: At the end of the content stream, if the user switches to another piece of content, when the browser is refreshed or closed.

Note: For livestream, send the Unix timestamp; for VOD send the time in seconds as integer. The final playhead position must be sent for the current asset being played before calling stop, end or loadmetadata,.

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. 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 – Call when content completes. When called, the SDK instance exits from Processing state.
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, loadMetadata and playheadPosition

API Call Sequence

Use Case 1: Content has no Advertisements

Call play() at start of stream

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();`	// Call at start of each new stream
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
Interruption	`mAppSdk.stop();`	// call stop when content playback is interrupted
Resume Content	`mAppSdk.loadMetadata(contentMetaDataObject);`	// Call loadMetadata and pass content metadata object when content resumes
Resume Content	`mAppSdk.setPlayheadPosition(playheadPosition);`	// continue pasing playhead position every second starting from position where content is resumed
End of Stream	`mAppSdk.end();`	// Content playback is completed.

Use Case 2: Content has Advertisements

Call play()

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().

Ad Content

    long pos = mAdPlayer.videoPosition() / 1000;
   if (mAppSdk != null)
   {
     mAppSdk.setPlayheadPosition(pos);
   }

Note: The playhead positions for ad and content should be maintained separately.

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();`	// stream starts
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
Content	`mAppSdk.setPlayheadPosition(playheadPosition);`	// position is position of the playhead while the content is being played
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();`	// Call stop after midroll occurs
Content Resumes	`mAppSdk.loadMetadata(contentMetaDataObject);`	// contentMetadataObject contains the JSON metadata for the content being played
Content Resumes	`mAppSdk.setPlayheadPosition(playheadPosition);`	// position is position of the playhead while the content is being played
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

There are a few approaches to managing the Foreground and Background states of an app available to use for state measurement.

Utilizing the Androidx LifeCycleObserver (The recommended approach starting sdk version 7.1.0.0+)
Utilizing the SdkBgFgDetectionUtility class
Adding a tag to the Manifest XML
Manual Management

The LifeCycleObserver

AndroidX replaces the original support library APIs with packages in the androidx namespace, and Android Studio 3.2 and higher provides an automated migration tool. (Select Refactor> Migrate to AndroidX from the menu bar.)

Starting with version 7.1.0, with AndroidX support, an additional utility is provided in the AppSDK - application background/foreground state detection by the AppSdk leveraging the Android Architecture component "LifeCycleObserver".

The AppSdk is now capable of detecting the application UI visibility state transitions between background and foreground, without forcing the applications to register for AppSdk's AppSdkApplication class, which is responsible for handling the detection of application background/foreground state transitions at present.

Please note, that if you already have an app designed that utilizes the depreciated SdkBgFgDetectionUtility Class, the AppSDK will ignore any calls to these methods if it can utilize the LifeCycleObserver. LifeCycleObserver based auto detection will take precedence.

Adding the AndroidX dependency

In order to make use of the app background/foreground state transition auto detection feature of AndroidX AppSdk, the app gradle file needs the androidx dependency. The AppSdk API calls - appInForeground() and appInBackground() will still be respected by AppSdk by executing the old AppSdk flow of handling "app in foreground" and "app in background" states as is.

Using the LifeCycle Extension

The following androidx dependency is required in the app gradle file:

implementation "androidx.lifecycle:lifecycle-extensions:2.1.0"

If you would like to take advantage of this auto detection feature of AppSdk at the very initial stage (e.g. splash screen or at of app launch time), before the AppSdk is initialized, can do so by calling the following newly introduced AppSdk public api, passing the application context :
public static void registerLifeCycleObserver(Context applicationContext)

Log messages for the new auto detection

When the AppSdk app successfully registers for the LifeCycleObserver : Registered LifeCycleObserver for App Background/Foreground auto-detection

When the app enters the foreground state :App is in foreground, auto detected by AppSDK
When the app enters the background state :App is in background, auto detected by AppSDK
If the client app doesn't have the "androidx" gradle dependency and AppSdk fails to register LifeCycleObserver :AndroidX LifecycleObserver can not be observed. Please use androidx dependency to activate SDK auto-detection of app background/foreground state.
When the appInForeground() is explicitly called while LifeCycleObserver auto detection is active :Ignoring the appInBackground() call, as the App Background/Foreground auto-detection is active. The current state is - foreground
When the appInBackground() is explicitly called while LifeCycleObserver auto detection is active :Ignoring the appInBackground() call, as the App Background/Foreground auto-detection is active. The current state is - background

The SdkBgFgDetectionUtility class

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).

Using the NielsenAppSDKJSHandler

There could be a scenario in which a browser page, that is already tagged with the Nielsen BSDK, needs to be loaded via a webview. In this situation it is recommended to use the NielsenAppSDKJSHandler which will allow communication between the AppSDK and the BSDK.

This feature is supported in versions 7.2 and above.

Implementation

Make sure you have the latest AppSdk.jar from Nielsen
Enable the javascript on webview using below lines

WebSettings webSetting = webView.getSettings();
webSetting.setJavaScriptEnabled(true);

Add NielsenAppSDKJSHandler instance as javascript interface to webview with name “NielsenAppSDK” like below snippet

webView.addJavascriptInterface(new NielsenAppSDKJSHandler(getApplicationContext()), "NielsenAppSDK");

This will enable listening to BSDK api calls within the APPSDK. Please make sure your Technical Account Manager is aware that you wish to implement this method so a configuration file can be modified on the Nielsen servers; however, there are no changes required to the Browser page.

Example:

The below is an example of opening a webview with the NielsenAppSDKJSHandler

      WebSettings webSetting = webView.getSettings();
      webView.getSettings().setDomStorageEnabled(true); 
      webSetting.setJavaScriptEnabled(true);
      webView.addJavascriptInterface(new NielsenAppSDKJSHandler(getApplicationContext(), ""), "NielsenAppSDK");
      String url = "https://nielsen.com.index.htm";
      webView.loadUrl(url);

AndroidManifest.xml may need the following permissions set:

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

Closing NielsenAppSDKJSHandler

NielsenAppSDKJSHandler should be closed or cleaned up in below scenarios

Before WebView is getting destructed
Before loading new page
Before closing application

NielsenAppSDKJSHandler provides a public interface with name "close()" and this function should be called on NielsenAppSDKJSHandler's instance in all above scenarios.

// get your webview
WebView webView = findViewById(R.id.webView);
 
//Added JS Handler instance as java script interface for ggpm api type
NielsenAppSDKJSHandler jshandler = new NielsenAppSDKJSHandler(getApplicationContext(), "");
webView.addJavascriptInterface(jshandler, "NielsenAppSDK");
 
//Close JS Handler before making webview as null
jshandler.close();
webView = null;

Interruptions during playback

As part of integrating Nielsen App SDK with the player application, the 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
App going in the Background/Foreground
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 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.

Privacy and Opt-Out

There are currently 3 flavors of the Nielsen SDK:

Global Android SDK Opt-out - managed by Opt out of Ads Personalization setting on device (preferred approach).
Global Android SDK No Ad Framework Optout - Direct call to SDK. Can be used without Google Play Services or when using the noAd version of the SDK.
Global Android SDK No ID Optout - Direct call to SDK. Should be used for Kids Category.

Global Android SDK Opt-out

OS-level Opt-out method available on Nielsen Android when the Google Play services APIs have been setup in your project.

The Nielsen SDK automatically leverages the Android's Opt out of Ads Personalization setting. The user is opted out of demographic measurement if the OS-level Opt out of Ads Personalization setting is enabled. As a publisher, you cannot override this setting.

Webview Element

It is a requirement to display a WebView element whose loadUrl is set to the value obtained from optOutURL. If using the Global Android SDK, this optOutURL informs the user how to deactivate/activate “Out of Ads Personalization”.

If you are implementing on Android TV or Fire TV here are your Opt Out verbiage options : https://engineeringportal.nielsen.com/docs/DCR_Video_%26_Static_CTV_Device_SDK_Privacy

Retrieve current Opt-Out preference

Whether the user is opted out via OS-level Opt-out or via App-level Opt-out, the current Opt-Out status as detected by the SDK is available via the getOptOutStatus() property in the Nielsen Android SDK API. appSdk.getOptOutStatus()

Global Android SDK No Ad Framework Optout

The No Ad Framework Optout can be used when the host application does not leverage Google Play Services such as when using the noAd version or the NoID version.

Nielsen Android SDK 5.1.1.18 and above will check for OS-level opt-out first, if available. The user will be opted out if indicated at the OS-level OR the App-level.

The No Ad Framework Optout method works as follows:

Get the current Nielsen opt-out URL via userOptOutURLString()
Display a WebView element whose loadUrl is set to the value obtained from userOptOutURLString()
Detect if the WebView URL changes to a special URL that indicates Opt-in, or Opt-out and close the WebView
- Opt-out if the WebView URL = nielsenappsdk://1
- Opt-in if the WebView URL = nielsenappsdk://0

Pass the detected URL to the userOptOut() function

Example:

appSdk.userOptOut("nielsenappsdk://1");  // User opt-out

Global Android SDK No ID Optout (Kids_Category)

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

Ensure that you are using the NoID version of the Nielsen SDK Framework.
Immediately following the initialization of the Nielsen SDK ensure you call the userOptOut API with Opt out selection:

appSdk.userOptOut("nielsenappsdk://1");  // User opt-out

OptOut Example Code

Below you will find some sample code for the:

Global Android SDK - managed by Opt out of Ads Personalization setting on device (preferred approach).
Global Android noAd Framework - Use if Google Play APIs are unavailable or running noAd version.
It is currently not required to display an OptOut page for the NoID/Kids Build of the SDK.

Global OptOut Example

The below code is an AndroidX example of displaying the Nielsen Privacy page to the user. Please see the next section if using the No Ad Framework build

public class OptOutActivity extends AppCompatActivity implements IAppNotifier {

    WebView webView;
    AppSdk appSdk;

    @Override
    public void onCreate(@Nullable Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_optout);
        webView = (WebView) findViewById(R.id.webView);
        webView.getSettings().setJavaScriptEnabled(true);

        webView.setWebViewClient(new WebViewClient() {
            @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
            @Override
            public void onReceivedError(WebView view, int errorCode, String description, String failingUrl) {
                Toast.makeText(OptOutActivity.this, description, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
            }
            @TargetApi(android.os.Build.VERSION_CODES.M)
            @Override
            public void onReceivedError(WebView view, WebResourceRequest req, WebResourceError rerr) {
                // Redirect to deprecated method, so you can use it in all SDK versions
                onReceivedError(view, rerr.getErrorCode(), rerr.getDescription().toString(), req.getUrl().toString());
            }

        });
        String url = appSdk.userOptOutURLString();   // Request Optout URL from NielsenSDK
        webView.loadUrl(url);                         //Display to the user in a Webview
    }
    @Override
    public void onBackPressed() {
        super.onBackPressed();
        mSdkInterface.getSDK(appSdk);
    }
    @Override
    protected void onDestroy() {
        super.onDestroy();
        if (appSdk != null)
        {
            appSdk.close();
            appSdk = null;
        }
    }
}

No Ad Framework Optout Sample Code

The below code is an AndroidX example of displaying the Nielsen Privacy page to the user with the No Ad Framework SDK Build.

public class OptOutActivity extends AppCompatActivity implements IAppNotifier {

    WebView webView;
    AppSdk appSdk;

    @Override
    public void onCreate(@Nullable Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_optout);
        webView = (WebView) findViewById(R.id.webView);
        webView.getSettings().setJavaScriptEnabled(true);

        webView.setWebViewClient(new WebViewClient() {
            @SuppressWarnings("deprecation")
            @Override
            public void onReceivedError(WebView view, int errorCode, String description, String failingUrl) {
                Toast.makeText(OptOutActivity.this, description, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
            }
            @TargetApi(android.os.Build.VERSION_CODES.M)
            @Override
            public void onReceivedError(WebView view, WebResourceRequest req, WebResourceError rerr) {
                // Redirect to deprecated method, so you can use it in all SDK versions
                onReceivedError(view, rerr.getErrorCode(), rerr.getDescription().toString(), req.getUrl().toString());
            }

  
            @Override
            public boolean shouldOverrideUrlLoading(WebView view, String url) {

                if(url.contains("nielsen")){
                    // If url value = "nielsenappsdk://1 it means the user selected Opt Out
                    // If url value = "nielsenappsdk://0" it means the user selected Opt-In
                    appSdk.userOptOut(url);
                }
                return true;
            }

        });
        String url = appSdk.userOptOutURLString();   // Request Optout URL from NielsenSDK
        webView.loadUrl(url);                         //Display to the user in a Webview
    }
    @Override
    public void onBackPressed() {
        super.onBackPressed();
        mSdkInterface.getSDK(appSdk);
    }
    @Override
    protected void onDestroy() {
        super.onDestroy();
        if (appSdk != null)
        {
            appSdk.close();
            appSdk = null;
        }
    }
}

Retrieve current Opt-Out preference

Whether the user is opted out via OS-level Opt-out or via App-level Opt-out, the current Opt-Out status as detected by the SDK is available via the getOptOutStatus() property in the Nielsen Android SDK API. appSdk.getOptOutStatus()

Going Live

Following Nielsen testing, you will need to:

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

Required Privacy Links

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.

Sample Applications

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

Basic - To show the functionality of the Nielsen API using a standard no-frills player.
- Android Studio Example

Advanced - Nielsen API integrated into a custom video player is bundled with the SDK.

DCR Video Android SDK

From Engineering Client Portal

Overview

Prerequisites

Implementation

How to obtain the NielsenAppApi

Setting up your Development Environment

Configuring Android Development Environment

Google Play Services

Google AD ID Permissions

Manifest File

Library

Classes/package

SDK Initialization

Debug flag for development environment

Sample SDK Initialization Code

Initializing Viewability and Audibility Measurement

Calling trackViewability for player view

Input Parameters

Syntax

Usage Example

Setting tag for a player view in layout xml

Setting tag for a player view in Activity/Fragment

Data Collected

APP SDK Error & Event Codes

Configure Payload

Handling JSON Metadata

Content metadata

Ad Metadata

Example Ad Object

Sequence of Calls

play

loadMetadata

playheadPosition

stop

end

Configure API Calls

Sample API Sequence

SDK Events

Life cycle of SDK instance

API Call Sequence

Use Case 1: Content has no Advertisements

Use Case 2: Content has Advertisements

Handling Foreground and Background states

The LifeCycleObserver

Adding the AndroidX dependency

Using the LifeCycle Extension

Log messages for the new auto detection

The SdkBgFgDetectionUtility class

ForeGround/Background Measurement via AndroidManifest

Using the Android SdkBgFbDetectionUtility Class

Manual Background/ForeGround State Management

Using the NielsenAppSDKJSHandler

Implementation

Example:

Closing NielsenAppSDKJSHandler

Interruptions during playback

Pre-Certification Checklists

Privacy and Opt-Out

Global Android SDK Opt-out

Webview Element

Retrieve current Opt-Out preference

Global Android SDK No Ad Framework Optout

The No Ad Framework Optout method works as follows:

Global Android SDK No ID Optout (Kids_Category)

OptOut Example Code

Global OptOut Example

No Ad Framework Optout Sample Code

Retrieve current Opt-Out preference

Going Live

Required Privacy Links

Sample Applications