Server-Guided Ad Insertion Proxy

This application is a simple http proxy server that inserts ads into a video stream. It is designed to be used in conjunction with a video player (e.g., AVPlayer) that supports Server Guided Ad Insertion (SGAI). The proxy server intercepts the video stream from the origin server and inserts ads into the media playlist as interstitials at specified timepoints.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• An HLS streaming server

# Use ffmpeg to create a simple HLS Live stream under the "test" directory
ffmpeg -y -re -stream_loop -1 -i sintel_trailer-1080p.mp4 \
  -preset slow -g 48 -sc_threshold 0 \
  -map 0:0 -map 0:1 -map 0:0 -map 0:1 \
  -s:v:0 640x360 -c:v:0 libx264 -b:v:0 365k \
  -s:v:1 960x540 -c:v:1 libx264 -b:v:1 2000k  \
  -c:a copy \
  -var_stream_map "v:0,a:0 v:1,a:1" \
  -master_pl_name master.m3u8 \
  -f hls -hls_time 4 -hls_list_size 8 -hls_flags round_durations+program_date_time+delete_segments \
  -hls_segment_filename "test/v%v/fileSequence%d.ts" test/v%v/media.m3u8

# Serve the HLS Live stream using a simple http server *above* the "test" directory
python -m http.server 8001

# Now you can access the HLS stream at http://127.0.0.1:8001/test/master.m3u8

• A running instance of the ad-server. For example, one test ad server is available at https://eyevinn-sgai.eyevinn-test-adserver.auto.prod.osaas.io/api/v1/vast

• AVPlayer or any other video player (e.g., HLS.js v1.6.0) that supports Server Guided Ad Insertion (SGAI).

# Once the ad-proxy server is running (e.g., on port 3333), 
# you can play the proxied HLS stream

• (Optional) CouchDB instance to store transcoded ads. With this, the ad-proxy server can fetch the ads' URL from a custom instance and use that in the JSON response for interstitials.

Run

# Start the ad-proxy server on port 3333 with the origin HLS stream at http://localhost:8001/loop/master.m3u8
# 1. Use test ad server at https://eyevinn-sgai.eyevinn-test-adserver.auto.prod.osaas.io/api/v1/vast with query parameters dur, uid, ps, min, and max
# Here the [template.*] will be replaced with the actual values before sending the request to the ad server while the rest will be passed as is
# 2. Use dynamic mode to insert ads into the HLS Live stream at specified timepoints
# 3. Use http://localhost:3333 as the base URL for interstitials (by default)
cargo run --bin ad_proxy 127.0.0.1 3333 http://localhost:8001/test/master.m3u8 \
https://eyevinn-sgai.eyevinn-test-adserver.auto.prod.osaas.io/api/v1/vast?dur=[template.duration]&uid=[template.sessionId]&ps=[template.pod]&min=5&max=5 \
--ad-insertion-mode dynamic

# Now you can access the HLS Live stream at http://127.0.0.1:3333/test/master.m3u8
# NOTE: Each proxy server instance can only handle one HLS Live stream at a time and restart is required to switch streams

For more options, run ad_proxy --help

Usage: ad_proxy [OPTIONS] <LISTEN_ADDR> <LISTEN_PORT> <MASTER_PLAYLIST_URL> <AD_SERVER_ENDPOINT>

Arguments:
  <LISTEN_ADDR>          Proxy address (ip)
  <LISTEN_PORT>          Proxy port
  <MASTER_PLAYLIST_URL>  HLS stream address (protocol://ip:port/path)
                         e.g., http://localhost/test/master.m3u8)
  <AD_SERVER_ENDPOINT>   Ad server endpoint (protocol://ip:port/path)
                         It should be a VAST4.0/4.1 XML compatible endpoint

Options:
  -a, --ad-insertion-mode <AD_INSERTION_MODE>
          Ad insertion mode to use:
          1) static  - add interstitial every 30 seconds (100 in total).
          2) dynamic - add interstitial when requested (Live Content only). [default: static] [possible values: static, dynamic]
  -i, --interstitials-address <INTERSTITALS_ADDRESS>
          Base URL for interstitials (protocol://ip:port)
          If not provided, the server will use 'localhost' and the 'listen port' as the base URL
          e.g., http://localhost:${LISTEN_PORT} [default: ]
      --couchdb-endpoint <COUCHDB_ENDPOINT>
          CouchDB endpoint (protocol://ip:port)
          If provided, the server will connect to the CouchDB instance to fetch transcoded ads
          'COUCHDB_USER' and 'COUCHDB_PASSWORD' environment variables should be set for authentication [default: ]
      --couchdb-table <COUCHDB_TABLE>
          CouchDB table name [default: transcoded_test_ads]

Insert Ads

One can insert ads into the video stream by sending a GET request to the ad-proxy server with the following query parameters:

• in - the time in seconds when the ad break should be inserted
• duration - the duration of the ad break in seconds
• pod_num - the number of creatives in this ad break

For example, to insert an ad break at 5 seconds from the live-edge with a duration of 10 seconds and 2 creatives, one would send the following request:

curl http://127.0.0.1:3333/command?in=5&dur=10&pod=2

It is also possible to check the status of the proxy server by sending a GET request:

curl http://127.0.0.1:3333/status

Ad personalization

Instead of relying on personalized playlist, ad personalization can be achieved by using query parameters in:

1. Ad Server URL: The ad server endpoint can include query parameters that will be dynamically replaced with actual values before sending the request. For example, in the ad server endpoint https://eyevinn-sgai.eyevinn-test-adserver.auto.prod.osaas.io/api/v1/vast?dur=[template.duration]&uid=[template.sessionId]&ps=[template.pod]&min=5&max=5, the query parameters dur, uid, and ps will be replaced with actual values, while min and max will remain unchanged. These values apply to ad requests for all playback sessions.

2. Master Playlist URL: Player can use a custom master playlist URL which includes query parameters to be forwarded to the ad server. For example, if a client initializes the playback with URL http://127.0.0.1:3333/loop/master.m3u8?customString=abc, the query parameter customString will be appended to the ad server request, resulting in https://eyevinn-sgai.eyevinn-test-adserver.auto.prod.osaas.io/api/v1/vast?dur=[template.duration]&uid=[template.sessionId]&ps=[template.pod]&min=5&max=5&customString=abc. It is worth noting that this only applies to a specific playback session as AVPlayer and Safari support setting the 'X-PLAYBACK-SESSION-ID' request header and '_HLS_primary_id' query parameter of interstitial requests with a common, globally-unique value on every HTTP request associated with a particular playback session.

Example Modified Media Playlist

#EXTM3U
#EXT-X-TARGETDURATION:4
#EXT-X-MEDIA-SEQUENCE:11
#EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME:2024-10-30T12:52:27.853+0100
#EXTINF:4,
fileSequence11.ts
#EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME:2024-10-30T12:52:31.853+0100
#EXTINF:4,
fileSequence12.ts
#EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME:2024-10-30T12:52:35.853+0100
#EXTINF:4,
fileSequence13.ts
#EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME:2024-10-30T12:52:39.853+0100
#EXTINF:4,
fileSequence14.ts
#EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME:2024-10-30T12:52:43.853+0100
#EXTINF:4,
fileSequence15.ts
#EXT-X-DATERANGE:ID="ad_slot0",CLASS="com.apple.hls.interstitial",START-DATE="2024-10-30T12:52:47.207+01:00",DURATION=10,X-ASSET-LIST="http://localhost:3333/interstitials.m3u8?_HLS_interstitial_id=ad_slot0",X-RESTRICT="SKIP,JUMP",X-RESUME-OFFSET=10,X-SNAP="IN,OUT"
#EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME:2024-10-30T12:52:47.853+0100
#EXTINF:4,
fileSequence16.ts
#EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME:2024-10-30T12:52:51.853+0100
#EXTINF:4,
fileSequence17.ts
#EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME:2024-10-30T12:52:55.853+0100
#EXTINF:4,
fileSequence18.ts

Example JSON response for interstitials

{
   "ASSETS":[
      {
         "URI":"http://localhost:3333/interstitials.m3u8?_HLS_interstitial_id=ad_slot0&_HLS_primary_id=40FE1829-438E-49B0-8B3A-A285DD4A8154&_HLS_start_offset=0&_HLS_follow_id=361434bf-05e7-4e17-83ca-690452e1cb33",
         "DURATION":5
      },
      {
         "URI":"http://localhost:3333/interstitials.m3u8?_HLS_interstitial_id=ad_slot0&_HLS_primary_id=40FE1829-438E-49B0-8B3A-A285DD4A8154&_HLS_start_offset=5&_HLS_follow_id=eb805a34-1d61-4217-9632-deab8790c30d",
         "DURATION":5
      }
   ]
}

Limitations

• In order to place the interstitials at the correct timepoints, the origin media playlist should contain the EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME tag. For Live stream, the origin media playlist will be returned if this tag is not found so no interstitials will be inserted. For VoD, the proxy server will try to use its starting time as reference if the EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME tag is not found.
• The creatives from ad server are mostly regular MPEG-4 files (ftyp+moov+mdat). While AVPlayer can handle regular MP4 files, other video player like hls.js can only handle fragmented MPEG-4 files (ftyp+moov+moof+mdat+moof+mdat+…). Therefore, it would fail to play out the interstitials. Ideally, raw MP4 creatives should be transcoded to fMP4 or TS files first. One can do that manually or use the encore to transocde them into HLS stream and store the URL in a CouchDB instance.
• Joining the live stream during an ad break might pause the playback until the ad break is over.
• The proxy server can only handle one HLS stream at a time. To switch streams, the server must be restarted.

License (Apache-2.0)

Copyright 2023 Eyevinn Technology AB

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at

  http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.

Support

Join our community on Slack where you can post any questions regarding any of our open source projects. Eyevinn's consulting business can also offer you:

• Further development of this component
• Customization and integration of this component into your platform
• Support and maintenance agreement

Contact [email protected] if you are interested.

About Eyevinn Technology

Eyevinn Technology is an independent consultant firm specialized in video and streaming. Independent in a way that we are not commercially tied to any platform or technology vendor.

At Eyevinn, every software developer consultant has a dedicated budget reserved for open source development and contribution to the open source community. This gives us room for innovation, team building and personal competence development. And also gives us as a company a way to contribute back to the open source community.

Want to know more about Eyevinn and how it is to work here. Contact us at [email protected]!