Ad triggering¶
Notice
Dynamic ad triggering requires the optional Makalu SCTE 35 addon.
The dynamic ad triggering feature enables you to signal ad insertion opportunities that can be used by downstream systems to automatically replace these parts of your content.
The underlying workflow is based on the SCTE 35 and SCTE 104 standards and enables you to schedule splicing event trigger points as secondary events in your program that are afterwards included in the playout output signal/data stream. These splicing trigger points can be evaluated by downstream systems to perform server-side or player-side ad insertion. In addition to ad insertion, splicing events can be used for various other purposes, for example, for regional content variations (opt-out), for blanking content on the web or to trigger recording servers.
Shortly before a splicing event is sent by the playout, the event itself is announced. For this purpose additional information is included in the playout output signal/data stream. The time interval for announcing the upcoming splicing event is configurable and usually set between 1 and 4 seconds before the start of the actual event.
Depending on its properties a splicing event can be stopped either automatically or manually. For an automatic splicing event the end event trigger is automatically sent when the playback of the corresponding clip or show is finished. A manual splicing event must be stopped manually by an operator.
You can add splicing events to clips or shows in the following ways:
- use Makalu Traffic to add splicing events manually during program planning
- use Makalu Automation to add splicing events manually at short notice
- use Makalu Playlist Importer to add splicing events automatically, based on the data provided by an external traffic system (for more information, see section Playlist Import)
Splicing event types¶
Makalu provides the following splicing event types:
| Makalu splicing event type | Matching splice command according to SCTE 35/104 specification |
|---|---|
| Avail (generic) | Corresponds to the legacy splice command splice_insert() |
| Timed (generic) | Corresponds to the more recent splice command time_signal() with segmentation descriptor |
| Platform-specific (named after the corresponding target platform) | Corresponds to either splice_insert() or time_signal() with segmentation descriptor with a target platform-specific configuration |
Which splicing event type you need to use for your application depends on the configuration of your downstream systems and what data your target platforms expect.
Notice
Makalu also supports adding multiple splicing secondary events to the same clip. This is useful if your playout output signal/data stream is delivered to multiple target platforms. Usually, in this case, a corresponding splicing secondary event is configured in Makalu per target platform. This enables you to add multiple of these secondary events to the same clip to provide each target platform with the specific splicing data they expect.
For more information about the technical details of the corresponding standards, refer to the official specifications on the SCTE website:
Adding a splicing event via Makalu Traffic¶
Notice
In the following it is assumed that you already have created a show and want to add a splicing event to a clip within the show. For information about how to create a new show, see section Creating a show.
To add a splicing event to a clip, proceed as follows:
-
In the sidebar on the left, select Shows.
All available shows of the currently selected channel are listed in the middle.
-
Select the show to be edited and click Open at the right end of the corresponding row.
The show details are displayed.
Traffic - Show details -
In the Library on the right side, select Secondaries > Splicing.
All available splicing secondary events are listed below.
Traffic - Available splicing secondary events -
Drag the splicing secondary event to be added on the corresponding clip.
Traffic - Splicing secondary event added to a clip The splicing secondary event is added to the clip and the secondary event icon is displayed to the right of the clip name.
-
If necessary, edit the secondary event properties as follows:
-
Select the clip.
The clip details are displayed on the right side.
-
In the clip details select the Secondaries tab.
All secondary events added to the clip are listed.
-
Hover your mouse over the secondary event to be edited and click the Edit icon
.The secondary event properties are displayed.
-
Edit the available properties as required.
-
To confirm your changes, click Apply Changes.
-
The changes are saved.
Tip
To delete a splicing secondary event from a single clip, proceed as follows:
-
In the clip list of the show, select the corresponding clip.
-
In the clip details area on the right side, select the Secondaries tab.
-
Hover your mouse over the splicing event to delete and click the Delete icon
on the right side of the corresponding row. -
In the confirmation dialog click Remove.
The splicing secondary event is removed from the clip.
Tip
To delete a secondary event from a show, proceed as follows:
-
In the show details select the Secondaries tab.
-
Hover your mouse over the splicing event to delete and click the Delete icon
on the right side of the corresponding row. -
In the confirmation dialog click Remove.
The splicing secondary event is removed from the show.
Adding a splicing event via Makalu Automation¶
To add a splicing event to a clip, proceed as follows:
-
(Optional) If you want to add a new playlist to the rundown, see section Adding a playlist to the rundown.
-
In the rundown expand the show to be edited, by clicking the corresponding Expand icon
in the link column.The show is expanded and all included clips are listed.
Automation - Show expanded and clips listed -
Select one or more clips of the show to which you want to add a splicing event.
-
In the toolbar above the rundown click the Add splicing icon
.
Automation - Add splicing event The Create splicing event menu opens.
-
Select the type of splicing event to be added and edit the properties as required.
Notice
For information about the available splicing event properties, see section Splicing properties.
-
To add the splicing event, click Apply.
The splicing event is added to the selected clip(s) and the splicing event icon is displayed to the right of the clip status.
Automation - Splicing secondary event added to clip in rundown -
(Optional) To add more splicing secondary events, repeat steps four to seven.
Notice
Instead of adding a splicing event to a single clip you can also add splicing events to all clips of a show in the same way. To do this, in step four select a show instead of a single clip.
Tip
To delete a splicing secondary event from a single clip, proceed as follows:
-
In the rundown, select the corresponding clip from which you want to remove a splicing event.
-
In the toolbar above the rundown click the Delete splicing icon
. -
In the confirmation dialog click Yes.
The splicing secondary event is removed from the clip.
Tip
To delete a secondary event from a show, proceed as follows:
-
In the rundown, select the corresponding show from which you want to remove a splicing event.
-
In the toolbar above the rundown click the Delete splicing icon
. -
In the confirmation dialog click Yes.
The splicing secondary event is removed from the show.
Visual representation of splicing events in a rundown¶
Splicing events with automatic stop trigger added to a single clip are highlighted with a gray splicing icon.
Splicing events with manual stop trigger added to a single clip are highlighted with a white splicing icon.
Splicing events with automatic stop trigger added to a show are highlighted with dark gray (first clip) and light gray (subsequent clips) splicing icons.
Splicing events that are currently active (on air) are highlighted with a red splicing icon.
