Get Started

  • The PAL SDK for Cast requires a receiver app to generate a nonce via message interception and a sender app to initiate content loading with an ad request.

  • A nonce, generated by the NonceManager from the PAL SDK, is needed for each new stream request and should be included as the givn parameter in ad request URLs.

  • Integrating the PAL SDK involves creating a custom web receiver app, intercepting LOAD events, and using the NonceLoader to generate a NonceManager to build the ad request.

  • Video interactions, including playback start, user interactions, and playback end, must be tracked by the PAL SDK using methods like sendPlaybackStart, sendAdTouch, and sendPlaybackEnd.

  • For third-party ad server integration, ensure the nonce is forwarded to Google Ad Manager by including it in the third-party server's request using a macro like %%custom_key_for_google_nonce%%.

Prerequisites

To integrate and test the PAL SDK for Cast, you need the following:

Since you only need to update your receiver app to integrate the PAL SDK, you can use the Cast Command and Control (CAC) Tool as a web sender to test your receiver.

You can run the sample at the end of each step by first launching your web receiver app in the CAC Tool, then making any load request.

Generate nonce

A "nonce" is a single encrypted string generated by PAL through the NonceManager. The NonceManager is generated by the loadNonceManager method of the NonceLoader, based on settings passed in a NonceRequest. To see a sample app that uses PAL to generate a nonce, download the Cast example from GitHub.

Each new stream request requires a new nonce. Multiple ad requests within the same stream can use the same nonce. To generate a nonce using the PAL SDK, first create a customized web receiver app and add the following code:

receiver.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <script src="//www.gstatic.com/cast/sdk/libs/caf_receiver/v3/cast_receiver_framework.js"></script>
  <script src="//imasdk.googleapis.com/pal/sdkloader/cast_pal.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
  <cast-media-player></cast-media-player>
  <footer>
    <script src="js/receiver.js" type="module"></script>
  </footer>
</body>
</html>

The <cast-media-player> element represents the built-in player UI provided by the Cast Web Receiver API. Depending on the stream type, the actual player used can vary. You can find the exact versions of these players in the Google Cast SDK release notes.

Next, add the following code to intercept LOAD events and generate a nonce each time the receiver loads a new MediaInformation object:

js/receiver.js

const castContext = cast.framework.CastReceiverContext.getInstance();
const playerManager = castContext.getPlayerManager();

const consentSettings = new goog.cast.pal.ConsentSettings();
// For the correct usage of the allowStorage property, See
// developers.google.com/ad-manager/pal/cast/reference/js/ConsentSettings#allowStorage.
consentSettings.allowStorage = true;

// You need a nonce loader to request your stream's nonceManager. The
// nonceManager provides your nonce. You should reuse the same nonce loader for
// the entire lifecycle of the receiver.
const nonceLoader = new goog.cast.pal.NonceLoader(consentSettings);

// You need a reference to the NonceManager to track when an ad is shown or
// clicked.
let nonceManager;

/**
 * Sends a debug message to the CAF sender.
 *
 * @param {String} message - The message to send
 */
const log = (message) => {
  // Use CastDebugLogger to log a message to the sender. See
  // https://developers.google.com/cast/docs/debugging/cast_debug_logger.
}

/**
 * Stores the nonce manager in the outer scoped variable and retrieves a nonce,
 * so it can be used to build your ad request URL
 *
 * @param {NonceManager} loadedNonceManager - The loaded nonce manager
 */
const buildAdRequest = (loadedNonceManager) => {
  nonceManager = loadedNonceManager;

  const nonce = nonceManager.getNonce();
  log('received nonce:' + nonce);

  // TODO: Set this nonce as the value for the `givn` parameter of your ad
  // request URL. For example:
  // const adRequestURL = 'https://myadserver.com/ads?givn=' + nonce;
}

/**
 * Configures a new nonce request, then requests a nonce.
 *
 * @param {LoadRequestData} loadRequestData - the load request object,
 * which contains the MediaInformation object from the sender. See
 * developers.google.com/cast/docs/reference/web_receiver/cast.framework.messages.LoadRequestData
 * @return {(Promise<LoadRequestData>)} - A Promise to build an ad request.
 */
const handleLoadRequest = (loadRequestData) => {
  // Clear any old nonceManager before loading new media.
  nonceManager = null;

  // See developers.google.com/ad-manager/pal/cast/reference/js/NonceRequest
  // for details about each property. The NonceRequest parameters set here are
  // example parameters. You should set your parameters based on your own app
  // characteristics.
  const nonceRequest = new goog.cast.pal.NonceRequest();
  nonceRequest.adWillAutoPlay = true;
  // A URL describing the video stream.
  nonceRequest.descriptionUrl = 'https://example.com';
  nonceRequest.iconsSupported = true;
  nonceRequest.ppid = 'Sample PPID';
  nonceRequest.sessionId = 'Sample SID';
  nonceRequest.url = loadRequestData.media.contentUrl;
  // The height of the player in physical pixels.
  // For a fullscreen player on a 1080p screen, the video height would be 1080.
  nonceRequest.videoHeight = window.devicePixelRatio * window.screen.height;
  // The width of the player in physical pixels.
  // For a fullscreen player on a 1080p screen, the video width would be 1920.
  nonceRequest.videoWidth = window.devicePixelRatio * window.screen.width;

  return nonceLoader.loadNonceManager(nonceRequest)
    .then(buildAdRequest)
    .catch((e) => {
      log("Error: " + e.message);
    });
};

// Set up the event handler for the LOAD event type.
playerManager.setMessageInterceptor(cast.framework.messages.MessageType.LOAD, handleLoadRequest);

castContext.start();

When making your direct VAST call (DVC), set this nonce as the value on the givn parameter. The nonce is URL safe; you don't need to URL-encode it.

Track video interactions

In addition to generating a nonce, the PAL SDK needs to be notified on certain video interactions. To track interactions with the Cast receiver, add the following code to your custom receiver:

js/receiver.js

const castContext = cast.framework.CastReceiverContext.getInstance();
const playerManager = castContext.getPlayerManager();

const consentSettings = new goog.cast.pal.ConsentSettings();
// For the correct usage of the allowStorage property, See
// developers.google.com/ad-manager/pal/cast/reference/js/ConsentSettings#allowStorage.
consentSettings.allowStorage = true;

// You need a nonce loader to request your stream's nonceManager. The
// nonceManager provides your nonce. You should reuse the same nonce loader for
// the entire lifecycle of the receiver.
const nonceLoader = new goog.cast.pal.NonceLoader(consentSettings);

// You need a reference to the NonceManager for sending ad events.
let nonceManager;

// Track playback status.
let playbackDidStart = false;

...

// Register the start of playback.
playerManager.addEventListener(cast.framework.events.EventType.PLAYING, () => {
  if (playbackDidStart) return;

  playbackDidStart = true;
  if (nonceManager) {
    log('Registered playback start');
    nonceManager.sendPlaybackStart();
  } else {
    log("Error: There is no nonce manager for this media.");
  }
});

// Register any interactions with the player.
const interactionEvents = [
  cast.framework.events.EventType.REQUEST_SEEK,
  cast.framework.events.EventType.REQUEST_STOP,
  cast.framework.events.EventType.REQUEST_PAUSE,
  cast.framework.events.EventType.REQUEST_PLAY,
  cast.framework.events.EventType.REQUEST_SKIP_AD,
  cast.framework.events.EventType.REQUEST_PLAY_AGAIN,
  cast.framework.events.EventType.REQUEST_PLAYBACK_RATE_CHANGE,
  cast.framework.events.EventType.REQUEST_VOLUME_CHANGE,
  cast.framework.events.EventType.REQUEST_USER_ACTION,
  cast.framework.events.EventType.REQUEST_FOCUS_STATE,
];
playerManager.addEventListener(interactionEvents, (interactionEvent) => {
  if (nonceManager) {
    log('Registered interaction: ' + interactionEvent);
    nonceManager.sendAdTouch(interactionEvent);
  } else {
    log("Error: There is no nonce manager for this media.");
  }
});

// Register the end of playback.
playerManager.addEventListener(cast.framework.events.EventType.MEDIA_FINISHED, () => {
  playbackDidStart = false;
  if (nonceManager) {
    log('Registered playback end');
    nonceManager.sendPlaybackEnd();
  } else {
    log("Error: There is no nonce manager for this media.");
  }
});

castContext.start();

(Optional) Send Google Ad Manager signals through third-party ad servers

Configure the third-party ad server's request for Ad Manager. After you complete the following steps, the nonce parameter propagates from the PAL SDK, through your intermediary servers, and then to Google Ad Manager. This enables better monetization through Google Ad Manager.

Configure your third-party ad server to include the nonce in the server's request to Ad Manager. Here's an example of an ad tag configured inside of the third-party ad server:

'https://pubads.serverside.net/gampad/ads?givn=%%custom_key_for_google_nonce%%&...'

For more details, see the Google Ad Manager Server-side implementation guide.

Ad Manager looks for givn= to identify the nonce value. The third-party ad server needs to support some macro of its own, such as %%custom_key_for_google_nonce%%, and replace it with the nonce query parameter you provided in the previous step. More information on how to accomplish this should be available in the third-party ad server's documentation.