Google's Server Guided Ad Insertion (SGAI) offers a flexible, controlled, and efficient method for ad integration in video content. This approach combines the seamlessness of server-side insertion (SSAI) with the ease of client-side insertion (CSAI), allowing for non-intrusive ad experiences like squeezebacks and L-banners, which enhance branding opportunities.
Key Features of SGAI
- Flexibility: Supports innovative ad formats to cater to diverse publisher needs.
- Control: Provides greater control over ad break scheduling using infrastructure like packagers and encoders.
- Efficiency: Simplifies operations and saves resources.
Server-Guided Mechanism
SGAI utilizes Google Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) for ad selection and transcoding, delivering a complete ad pod manifest for the video player. The "server-guided" aspect emphasizes collaboration in ad delivery, where Google DAI handles the ad break construction while the client app manages timing and insertion.
Publishers can optimize ad fill rates for live events using the Early Ad Break Notification API from Ad Manager. This allows the definition of expected start times, durations, and metadata for ad breaks, ensuring smooth transitions.
Flexibility in Implementation
SGAI can be implemented through:
- Client-side ad stitching: The client app listens for ad break events or follows a preset schedule, loading the ad break manifest proactively. This allows for innovative formats like side-by-side playbacks.
- Server-side ad stitching: The packager inserts ad markers into the content manifest, with the video player reactively loading the ad break manifest.
Client-side and Server-side Workflows
In client-side ad stitching, the video player parses SCTE-35 markers to schedule ad breaks, saving server resources. The client app loads the IMA SDK for ad serving and constructs ad pod manifest URLs. In server-side stitching, ad markers are inserted before ad breaks, following a similar workflow.
SGAI is designed to work with standards like HLS and the upcoming DASH specification, ensuring interoperability across various platforms. For further exploration of SGAI and to create premium ad experiences, documentation is available for interested users.
