Media

Collecting media data is critical for tracking user behavior when your customers consume video or audio content through Android and iOS mobile applications or on the web. mParticle provides a toolset for integrating media analytics into your customer experience on Roku as well.

The mParticle Media SDK provides a dedicated API for tracking common media events including session start/end, play, pause, and other milestones, as well as logging recurring advertising impressions and chapters for segmented content.

The mParticle Media SDK works hand in hand with the mParticle platform. Data logged from the Media SDK is forwarded to the Apple SDK.

Getting Started

Add the SDK

Before you can begin using the Media SDK, you need to have a working instance of the mParticle core SDK. Please see the core SDK getting started section for more details.

Creating an instance of a Media Session

The Roku Media SDK provides a MediaSession object. Each MediaSession object represents a single end to end media experience and relates one-to-one to a piece of content. For example, if a customer is watching a video, pausing, seeking and scrubbing, that is considered a single session. If they stop the video, and play another piece of content, that is a new session. So long as the user continues to interact with the same piece of content, you should keep updating and using the same instance of MediaSession.

'Create the mParticle Task Node
m.mParticleTask = createObject("roSGNode","mParticleTask")
m.mParticleTask.ObserveField(mParticleConstants().SCENEGRAPH_NODES.IDENTITY_RESULT_NODE, "onIdentityResult")
m.mParticleTask.ObserveField(mParticleConstants().SCENEGRAPH_NODES.CURRENT_USER_NODE, "onCurrentUserChanged")
m.mparticle = mParticleSGBridge(m.mParticleTask)

'Media API
customAttributes = {"example custom attribute" : "example custom attribute value"}    
mediaSession = mpConstants.MediaSession.build("ABC123", "Space Pilot 3000", mparticleConstants().MEDIA_CONTENT_TYPE.VIDEO, mparticleConstants().MEDIA_STREAM_TYPE.LIVE_STREAM, 1800000)

Logging media events

Once your session is instantiated, you will need to trigger a SessionStart. This should be done at the moment the user interacts with your content. For example, if the media is set to trigger on a user click, and your player fires a play event when the content starts, the session must begin before the play event. Every method accepts the MediaSession and an optional customAttributes object. The mParticle Roku SDK DOES NOT track and update the session object for you. If you are missing data downstream, be sure you are setting it here in the session object first.

1. Start a session

customAttributes = { "example custom attribute": "example custom attribute value" }
mediaSession = mpConstants.MediaSession.build("ABC123", "Space Pilot 3000", mparticleConstants().MEDIA_CONTENT_TYPE.VIDEO, mparticleConstants().MEDIA_STREAM_TYPE.LIVE_STREAM, 1800000)
m.mparticle.media.logMediaSessionStart(mediaSession, customAttributes)

2. Log a play event

customAttributes = {"Source" : "Auto Playback"}    
m.mparticle.media.logPlay(mediaSession, customAttributes)

3. (optional) Fire other events for user interaction, i.e. pause

mediaSession.currentPlayheadPosition = 1900
customAttributes = {"Source" : "Player Controls"}
m.mparticle.media.logPause(mediaSession, customAttributes)

4. End the Media Content once the content is complete

m.mparticle.media.logMediaContentEnd(mediaSession, customAttributes)

5. End the Media Session once the user interaction is over (such as after a post-roll or if the app is terminated)

m.mparticle.media.logMediaSessionEnd(mediaSession, customAttributes)

6. (optional) Fire a Session Summary Event if you’d like a summary of the session

m.mparticle.media.logMediaSessionSummary(mediaSession, customAttributes)

Logging Advertising

In most cases, advertising comes in as a series of Ad Breaks which each contain numerous Ads. The Media SDK provides both sets of functionality so that you can track this behavior.

1. Fire an AdBreakStart event

adBreak = mpConstants.adBreak.build("XYZ123", "Gamer Ad Collection")
adBreak.duration = 32000
mediaSession.adBreak = adBreak
m.mparticle.media.logAdBreakStart(mediaSession, customAttributes)

2. Trigger an AdStart event

adContent = mpConstants.adContent.build("ABC890", "CP 2077 - Be Cool, Be Anything")
adContent.duration = 16000
adContent.position = 0
adContent.campaign = "CP 2077 Preorder Push"
mediaSession.adContent = adContent
mediaSession.mediaContentTimeSpent = 1950
m.mparticle.media.logAdStart(mediaSession, customAttributes)

3. Fire AdEnd or AdSkip when appropriate. You should also fire Ad Session Summary if you’d like ad summary events. After calling these methods, set the adContent to invalid, or the ad may accidentally be included in your next mediaSession call

customAttributes = { "click_timestamp_ms": 1593007533602 }
mediaSession.adContent.position = 800
mediaSession.mediaContentTimeSpent = 2750
m.mparticle.media.logAdEnd(mediaSession, customAttributes)
m.mparticle.media.logAdSummary(mediaSession, customAttributes)
mediaSession.adContent = invalid

4. Trigger an AdBreakEnd event when all ads have completed

m.mparticle.media.logAdBreakEnd(mediaSession, customAttributes)
mediaSession.adBreak = invalid

Custom Media Events

The SDK also allows you to create custom media events. Use these to track special events appropriate for your unique application while ensuring they will be processed as part of your media data.

customAttributes = {"example custom attribute" : "example custom attribute value"}
m.mparticle.logEvent("Custom Media Event", mparticleConstants().CUSTOM_EVENT_TYPE.MEDIA, customAttributes)

Custom Event Schema

The Media SDK will generate Custom events per the specification below.

Event Names

The Media SDK exposes methods that will trigger Media Events based on the most common player functions. The Media SDK maps every MediaSession API to a predefined Custom event name. The table below details all of the predefineed Media Events:

Event Attributes

The media attributes below are a list of all available for capturing valuable information with every media event listed above. The customer will choose which attributes will be logged for each event to best describe the session characteristics for that event at that time. Should you require attributes not listed below, you may add your own media attributes.

Note: Depending on your player, you will need to either enable the callback method to receive updates for playhead position and quality of service (QoS) or set up a job to frequently poll for the current values.

Example Event

{
    "event_type": "custom_event",
    "data": {
        "custom_event_type": "media",
        "event_name": "Play",
        "custom_flags": {},
        "timestamp_unixtime_ms": "1573828863888",
        "event_id": "-109840007014118971",
        "source_message_id": null,
        "session_id": "-8572887793551346848",
        "session_uuid": "29959B6B-9C3B-486F-9807-B5534EA1B16A",
        "session_start_unixtime_ms": "1573828757702",
        "event_start_unixtime_ms": "1573828863888",
        "custom_attributes": {
            "content_title": "My sweet sweet media",
            "content_duration": "120000",
            "content_id": "1234567",
            "content_type": "Video",
            "stream_type": "OnDemand",
            "media_session_id": "96a023b8-b0c7-47b7-b687-09f73b9dfac3",
            "playhead_position": "110123"
        }
    }
}