azazar/rmp-vast

A client-side JavaScript solution to load, parse and display VAST resources with HTML5 video

rmp-vast

A client-side JavaScript solution to load, parse and display VAST resources (advertising).

It aims at closely implementing the IAB VAST 3 specification for web-based environments (e.g. browser, WebView ...) where both HTML5 video and JavaScript are available.

rmp-vast is used and maintained by Radiant Media Player.

Documentation sections

• Supported VAST 3 features
• Supported environments
• CORS requirements
• Video ads from Google Ads network and rmp-vast
• Quick start guide
• Parameters, API events and methods
  • Parameters when creating a rmp-vast instance
  • Starting the rmp-vast player
  • Importing rmp-vast as a ES2015 module
  • API events
  • API methods
• Companion ads support
• VPAID support
• Autoplay support
• Fullscreen management
• Pre, mid and post rolls
• Outstream ads
• Contributing
• License
• Radiant Media Player

Supported VAST 3 features

• Inline and Wrapper Ads
• Linear Ads (MP4/WebM or HLS, DASH where natively supported)
• Skippable Linear Ads (MP4/WebM or HLS, DASH where natively supported)
• Non Linear Ads (Images)
• Companion Ads (Images) - BETA
• Tracking Events (tracking URLs must return an image - typically a 1px GIF/PNG/JPG)
• Error Reporting
• Industry Icons
• VAST 3 Macros
• VPAID 1 and 2 JavaScript
• Outstream ads
• Ad Pods
• Audio Ads (MP3/M4A/HLS where natively supported) in HTML5 video

VAST 2 resources should also be compatible with rmp-vast.

rmp-vast scope is not to implement all aspects of the VAST 3 specification but rather provide enough coverage to support current industry requirements and best practices.

Additional supported features

• Mobile compatible (Android + iOS)
• Autoplay support (muted autoplay on iOS, Android, Desktop Chrome 66+ and Desktop Safari 11+)
• API to build a fully fledged player on top of rmp-vast

Currently unsupported VAST features

• VAST 4 specific features
• VMAP

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Supported environments

Browsers

• Chrome for Android 5+
• Chrome for Desktop
• Firefox for Android 5+
• Firefox for Desktop
• Samsung Internet for Android 5+
• Safari 10+ for macOS
• Safari for iOS 10+
• MS Edge for Desktop
• MS Edge Legacy 18+ for Desktop

Specifically we support the 2 latest stable release for each browser.

WebViews

• Android 5+
• iOS 10+ (WKWebView)

With the announcement of Apple in december 2019, to remove support for UIWebView API by end 2020, we only support WKWebView API for iOS apps built with Cordova or Ionic. See this blog post to help you update to WKWebView API.

It is fairly possible that rmp-vast would work in other environments but they are not officially supported.

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CORS requirements

rmp-vast uses JavaScript XMLHttpRequests to load VAST tags. Hence proper CORS configuration is required on your ad-server in order for rmp-vast to be able to retrieve VAST tags. Refer to this Google documentation for more information.

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Video ads from Google Ads network and rmp-vast

When serving ads from Google Ads network (DFP, ADX, AdSense for Video) you must use Google IMA HTML5 SDK. Radiant Media Player supports Google IMA HTML5 SDK and is a certified Google's video technology partner. ADX and AdSense for Video ads will not render with rmp-vast. DFP ads may render with rmp-vast but we cannot guarentee full support.

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Quick start guide

First download latest rmp-vast package from the release tab.

You must use rmp-vast in a well-formed HTML document. This means a web-page with a valid HTML5 DOCTYPE and other elements that are commonly available in today's web. See app/index.html for an example.

• Include rmp-vast.min.css
• Include rmp-vast.min.js - for debug logs include rmp-vast.js instead
• In order to use rmp-vast you must adhere to a specific HTML layout pattern. This pattern is as follows:

<div class="rmp-container" id="rmpPlayer">
  <div class="rmp-content">
    <video class="rmp-video" src="https://www.radiantmediaplayer.com/media/big-buck-bunny-360p.mp4" playsinline></video>
  </div>
</div>

This structure must not be altered. CSS classes on the above elements must not be renamed. The HTML5 video tag used for content must use the src property on the HTML5 video (e.g. do not use source tag).

• Init rmp-vast with JavaScript:

var adTag = 'https://www.radiantmediaplayer.com/vast/tags/inline-linear-1.xml';
var id = 'rmpPlayer';
var params = {
  ajaxTimeout: 8000
};

// create RmpVast instance
var rmpVast = new RmpVast(id, params);

// call loadAds - this will start the ad loading process, display the ad and resume content automatically in the case of linear pre-roll
// in this case we use autoplay
rmpVast.loadAds(adTag);

// or if autoplay is not wanted the call to loadAds must be the result 
// of a user interaction (click, touchend ...)
// playButton.addEventListener('click', function() {
//   rmpVast.loadAds(adTag);
// });

A complete implementation example is provided in app/index.html. You should look at app/js/app.js. This example can be found live at https://www.radiantmediaplayer.com/rmp-vast/app/.

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Parameters, API events and methods

Source code for rmp-vast is available for review in js/src/ folder. Code comments should be available at key points to better understand rmp-vast inner workings.

Parameters when creating a rmp-vast instance

Once rmp-vast library is loaded on your page you can create a new rmp-vast instance as follows:

new RmpVast(id, params)

id: String is the id for the player container. This is a required parameter.

params: Object is an optional object representing various parameters that can be passed to a rmp-vast instance and that will affect the player inner-workings. Available properties for the params object follow:

params.ajaxTimeout: Number timeout in ms for an AJAX request to load a VAST tag from the ad server. Default 8000.

params.creativeLoadTimeout: Number timeout in ms to load linear media creative from the server. Default 10000.

params.ajaxWithCredentials: Boolean AJAX request to load VAST tag from ad server should or should not be made with credentials. Default: false.

params.maxNumRedirects: Number the number of VAST wrappers the player should follow before triggering an error. Default: 4. Capped at 30 to avoid infinite wrapper loops.

params.maxNumItemsInAdPod: Number maximum number of Ad an AdPod can play. Default: 10.

params.pauseOnClick: Boolean when an ad is clicked - pause or not VAST player (linear) or content player (non-linear). Default: true.

params.skipMessage: String the skip message to show on player when a skippable ad is detected and the ad is in a state where it can be skipped. Default: 'Skip ad'.

params.skipWaitingMessage: String the skip message to show on player when a skippable ad is detected and the ad is in a state where it cannot be skipped. Default: 'Skip ad in'. This will be completed by the number of seconds remaining before the ad state changes to a state where it can be skipped.

params.textForClickUIOnMobile: String on mobile devices the click-through URL for a linear ad is provided in a box located at the top right corner of the player. This setting set the text for this box. Default: 'Learn more'.

params.outstream: Boolean Enables outstream ad mode. Default: false.

params.enableVpaid: Boolean Enables VPAID support or not. Default: true.

params.vpaidSettings: Object information required to properly display VPAID creatives - note that it is to the parent application of rmp-vast to provide those informations - below values are default (see test/spec/vpaidSpec/ for examples):

vpaidSettings: {
  width: 640,
  height: 360,
  viewMode: 'normal',
  desiredBitrate: 500
}

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Starting the rmp-vast player

It is important for the rmp-vast instance to be properly initialized to avoid playback issues.

Playing video ads in HTML5 video is a non-trivial process that requires the overlaying of multiple video tags or changes in source depending on the targeted environments. On mobile devices a user interaction is required to properly initialized a video tag and various restrictions are set by the OS to limit the manipulation of a video tag with JavaScript.

To sum up: use the rmp-vast API loadAds() method to start playback. On mobile devices this should be the result of a direct user interaction. You can also use autoplay (desktop) or muted autoplay (mobiles) to start playback. Refer to the autoplay support section.

If you do not want to call loadAds() method directly - call initialize() method (as a result of a user interaction or on page load for autoplay) then call loadAds() later on when you wish to load a VAST tag.

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Importing rmp-vast as a ES2015 module

import RmpVast from 'js/src/module';

const adTag = 'https://www.radiantmediaplayer.com/vast/tags/inline-linear-1.xml';
const id = 'rmpPlayer';
const params = {
  ajaxTimeout: 8000
};

// create RmpVast instance
const rmpVast = new RmpVast(id, params);

// call loadAds
rmpVast.loadAds(adTag);

Note that 'core-js' is not provided when rmp-vast is imported as a ES2015 module, if wanted you will need to add it in your main app (and transform resulting code with Babel if needed).

To enable debug logs you will need to add window.DEBUG = true; in module.js (just after import). The removal of the global DEBUG varibale should be handled with terser when building your main app (see grunt/shell.js).

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API events

rmp-vast will fire VAST-related events on the player container as they occur.

Events are registered and unregistered with the addEventListener and removeEventListener JavaScript methods set on the player container. Example:

var id = 'rmpPlayer';
var container = document.getElementById(id);
...
container.addEventListener('adloaded', function() {
  console.log('adloaded event');
});

Available events are:

• adtagstartloading
• adtagloaded
• adfollowingredirect
• adloaded
• addurationchange
• adimpression
• adstarted
• adpaused
• adresumed
• adskipped
• adskippablestatechanged
• adfirstquartile
• admidpoint
• adthirdquartile
• adcomplete
• adclick
• advolumemuted
• advolumechanged
• adclosed
• aderror
• addestroyed
• adinitialplayrequestfailed
• adinitialplayrequestsucceeded
• adpodcompleted: the current ad pod has finished playing all its Ad

The adinitialplayrequestfailed event tells if the vast (or content in case of non-linear creatives) player was able to play on first attempt. Typically this event will fire when autoplay is requested but blocked by an interference engine (macOS Safari 11+, Chrome 66+, Firefox w/ media.autoplay.enabled set to false, browser extensions ...). If the initial play request was a success, the adinitialplayrequestsucceeded event will fire.

VPAID-related events:

• adlinearchange
• adsizechange
• adexpandedchange
• adremainingtimechange
• adinteraction

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API methods

Once a rmp-vast instance is created you can query the API methods to interact with the player. Example:

var rmpVast = new RmpVast(id);
...
rmpVast.pause();
...
rmpVast.setVolume(0.5);

For linear ads rmp-vast exposes 2 players: a content player (for the actual content) and a vast player (for the loaded ad).

• play(): play content or vast player depending on what is on stage.
• pause(): pause content or vast player depending on what is on stage.
• loadAds(): load a new VAST tag and start displaying it - if rmp-vast is not initialized when loadAds is called then initialize() is called first.
• initialize(): initialize rmp-vast - this method can be used in case of deferred use of loadAds() - Note that when autoplay is not wanted the call to initialize() must be the result of a direct user interaction.
• getAdPaused(): return Boolean, stating if the ad on stage is paused or not.
• setVolume(volume): set volume of (content|vast) player depending on what is on stage. Input value should be a Number between 0 and 1.
• getVolume(): return Number, the volume of (content|vast) player depending on what is on stage. Returned value is a number between 0 and 1. -1 is returned if this value is not available.
• setMute(muted): set mute state of (content|vast) player depending on what is on stage. Input value should be a Boolean.
• getMute(): return Boolean, the mute state of (content|vast) player depending on what is on stage. Returned value is a Boolean.
• stopAds(): stop playing the ad on stage.
• skipAd(): skips the creative on stage - this method only has effects if the creative on stage is a skippable ad and can be skipped (e.g. getAdSkippableState returns true).
• getAdTagUrl(): return String, representing the current VAST tag URL.
• getAdOnStage(): return Boolean, stating if an ad is currently on stage.
• getInitialized(): return Boolean, stating if rmp-vast has been initialized.

The following methods should be queried after the adstarted event has fired for accurate data:

• getAdMediaUrl(): return String, representing the selected creative URL.
• getAdLinear(): return Boolean, representing the type of the selected creative either linear (true) or non linear (false).
• getAdSystem(): return String, representing the VAST AdSystem tag.
• getAdContentType(): return String, representing the MIME type for the selected creative.
• getAdTitle(): return String, representing the VAST AdTitle tag.
• getAdDescription(): return String, representing the VAST Description tag.
• getAdDuration(): return Number in ms, representing the duration of the selected linear creative. -1 is returned if this value is not available.
• getAdCurrentTime(): return Number in ms, representing the current timestamp in the selected linear creative. -1 is returned if this value is not available.
• getAdRemainingTime(): return Number in ms, representing the current time remaining in the selected linear creative. -1 is returned if this value is not available.
• getAdMediaWidth(): return Number, representing the width of the selected creative. -1 is returned if this value is not available.
• getAdMediaHeight(): return Number, representing the height of the selected creative. -1 is returned if this value is not available.
• getClickThroughUrl(): return String, representing the click-through (e.g. destination) URL for the selected creative.
• getIsSkippableAd(): return Boolean, stating if the loaded linear ad is a VAST skippable ad - can be querried when adloaded event fires.
• getAdSkippableState(): return Boolean, stating if the creative on stage can be skipped or not.
• getContentPlayerCompleted(): return Boolean, stating if content player has reached end of content.
• setContentPlayerCompleted(value): input value must be a Boolean - sets the contentPlayerCompleted state of the player, this is used when source on content player changes and we need to explicitly reset contentPlayerCompleted internal value so that content can resume as expected on next ad load.

Additional AdPod-related methods

• getAdPodInfo(): return (Object|null) as {adPodCurrentIndex: Number, adPodLength: Number} giving information about the currently playing pod.

Additional VPAID-related methods

• resizeAd(width, height, viewMode): resizes the VPAID creative based on width: Number, height: Number and viewMode: String. viewMode should be either 'normal' or 'fullscreen'.
• expandAd(): expands the VPAID creative on stage.
• collapseAd(): collapses the VPAID creative on stage.
• getVpaidCreative(): return (Object|null) reference to the VPAID creative.
• getAdExpanded(): return Boolean, stating if the VPAID creative on stage is expanded or not.
• getVPAIDCompanionAds(): return String, providing ad companion details in VAST 3.0 format for the <CompanionAds> element.

The following methods should be queried after the aderror event has fired for accurate data:

• getAdErrorMessage(): return String, representing the error message for the current error.
• getAdVastErrorCode(): return Number, representing the VAST error code for the current error. -1 is returned if this value is not available.
• getAdErrorType(): return String, representing the detected ad error type, possible values: 'adLoadError', 'adPlayError' or '' (if unknown error type).

The following methods provide context information for the rmp-vast instance:

• getEnvironment(): return Object, the rmp-vast environment object.
• getFramework(): return Object, the core internal rmp-vast framework.
• getVastPlayer(): return HTMLVideoElement, the VAST player video tag.
• getContentPlayer(): return HTMLVideoElement, the content player video tag.
• getIsUsingContentPlayerForAds(): return Boolean, on iOS and macOS Safari the VAST player is the content player. This is to avoid fullscreen management and autoplay issues and to provide a consistent user experience. This method will return true for iOS and macOS Safari, false otherwise.

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Companion ads support

Feedback is welcome! Companion ads support is currently in BETA in rmp-vast, your contributions can help us make this a rock-solid feature faster.

We support StaticResource images (JPEG, GIF, PNG) in Companion tags. We do not support IFrameResource or HTMLResource in Companion tags.

We support AltText, CompanionClickThrough, CompanionClickTracking, TrackingEvents tags in Companion tags. We support "required" attribute for CompanionAds tag as well as "adSlotID" attribute for Companion tag. We also support CompanionAds in wrappers/redirects (The CompanionAds nearer to the final linear creative will be selected).

See app/companion.html for an example of implementation.

The following methods must be querried when the adstarted event fires for the master linear ad.

• getCompanionAdsList(width, height): return (Array of Object|null). Each Object in the Array represents a companion ad. Input width and height parameters are used to select companion ads based on available width and height for display. Each companion ad Object is represented as:

{
  adSlotID: "RMPSLOTID-1"
  altText: "Radiant Media Player logo"
  companionClickThroughUrl: "https://www.radiantmediaplayer.com"
  companionClickTrackingUrl: "https://www.radiantmediaplayer.com/vast/tags/ping.gif?creativeType=companion&type=companionClickTracking"
  height: 250
  imageUrl: "https://www.radiantmediaplayer.com/vast/mp4s/companion.jpg"
  trackingEventsUri: [
    "https://www.radiantmediaplayer.com/vast/tags/ping.gif?creativeType=companion&type=creativeView", 
    "https://www.radiantmediaplayer.com/vast/tags/ping.gif?creativeType=companion&type=creativeViewTwo"
  ]
  width: 300
}

Not all fields may be available, so check availability before usage.

• getCompanionAd(index): return (HTMLElement image|null) representing the companion ad. It takes a Number index parameter which represents the index of the wanted companion ad in the Array returned from getCompanionAdsList method. This method automates the required pinging for companion ads. Usage example:

  container.addEventListener('adstarted', function () {
    // we need to call getCompanionAdsList BEFORE calling getCompanionAd so that 
    // rmp-vast can first create a collection of available companion ads based on getCompanionAdsList 
    // input parameters
    var list = rmpVast.getCompanionAdsList(900, 750);
    if (list && list.length === 3) {
      var img = rmpVast.getCompanionAd(2);
      if (img) {
        // we get our companion ad image and we can append it to DOM now
        // VAST trackers will be called automatically when needed
        var companionId = document.getElementById('companionId');
        companionId.appendChild(img);
      }
    }
  });

• getCompanionAdsRequiredAttribute(): return a String representing the "required" attribute for CompanionAds tag. Value can be all, any, none or an empty String when this attribute is not defined. See section 2.3.3.4 of VAST 3 specification for more information.

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VPAID support

It is no secret that VPAID in the industry is a jungle and we need your help to best implement it. Any feedback and test adTags that can improve VPAID support in rmp-vast are welcome - open an issue when needed. Current VPAID support limitations:

• supports only linear VPAID (non-linear support may be coming later)
• no support for changes in linearity (likely to cause playback issues): we need production adTag to test this but we have not found reliable resources for it - please share if you have some available

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Autoplay support

This is done by simply calling loadAds method on page load (after HTML5 content video player is in DOM and rmp-vast library is loaded and instantiated). For muted autoplay (iOS, Android, Desktop Chrome 66+ and Desktop Safari 11+) also add the muted attribute on the HTML5 content video player.

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Fullscreen management

rmp-vast supports fullscreen for the global player (e.g. content + vast players) but there is an extra layer to add to your application. See the app/js/app.js file around line 25 for an example of implementation.

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Pre, mid and post rolls

rmp-vast can handle pre/mid/post rolls ad breaks through the loadAds API method. See app/pre-mid-post-roll.html for an example.

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Outstream ads

rmp-vast supports displaying outstream ads when parameter outstream is set to true. For an implementation example see test/spec/outstreamSpec/Simple.html.

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please review general code structure and stick to existing patterns. Provide test where appropriate (see test/ folder). Tests are written with Jasmine and automated with node.js 6.11+ and selenium web driver 3.6+ and are validated in latest webdriver for Chrome and Firefox for Windows 10. Additionally we test on latest Chrome for Android 8 and macOS Safari 12.

Please review scripts.preinstall in package.json to make sure our preinstall script does not overwrite some of your already installed global packages.

To develop rmp-vast do install it (you need to have node.js installed globally):

git clone https://github.com/radiantmediaplayer/rmp-vast.git

npm install

Make changes to code and then run:

grunt build

You can also use

grunt concurrent

to make developement easier (watchify task) and use the app/dev.html file (which references js/dist/rmp-vast.js).

Before committing for a pull request - run test:

grunt test

For testing on Android use:

grunt testAndroid

For testing on macOS Safari use:

grunt testSafari

Before running grunt test make sure to update TEST.pathToTest in test/helpers/test.js with your local IP address. Running test on Android requires a runnning adb server.

License

rmp-vast is released under MIT.

Radiant Media Player

If you like rmp-vast you can check out Radiant Media Player, a modern and versatile HTML5 video player for every device.

Radiant Media Player is a commercial HTML5 media player, not covered by the above MIT license.

You may request a free trial for Radiant Media Player at: https://www.radiantmediaplayer.com/free-trial.html.

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