MainConcept Codec-Based Ad Technology
Category Video Processing
Ad supported content is the new frontier for content owners and broadcasters to reach users in new markets and grow subscribers. While the concept of “free TV” isn’t new, ad-tech hasn’t kept pace with overall video quality. Enter MainConcept and our extensive codec library. MainConcept codecs help simplify the video compression process and lead to a streamlined ad-placement experience. Our codec-first focus fills in the blanks, allowing users to deliver both enhanced and targeted ads.
The proliferation of ad supported content has meant a rapid deployment of disparate technologies and workflows, introducing a not insignificant amount of inefficiency and confusion. At the core of every workflow is the video codec. Though most codecs widely deployed today came into existence before the “ad-rush”, MainConcept has invested the resources to re-optimize many of our codecs to better deal with these new requirements.
MainConcept Codec-based Advertising Technology re-images our core codec SDKs for AVC/H.264 and HEVC/H.265, enabling a variety of enhancement and feature options that would otherwise be extremely inefficient. With an eye towards the future, our newly released VVC/H.266 SDK is designed from the start with ads in mind, particularly ads embedded into the main programming.
Embedded ads using MainConcept Codec-based Advertising Technology have three advantages:
• Server-side: player independence and zero-skips.
• Targeted: advertisers get a higher return, increased analytics, and more relevant ads.
• Enhanced: more engaging and less disturbing than traditional ad breaks.
There are different ways to embed ads directly into content. Generally, the newer the codec, the more flexibility exists in the placement. MainConcept Codec-based Advertising Technology advances placement by giving more flexibility to both tiled and multi-layered options, while also allowing for slices, an option best used with AVC.
By developing MainConcept Codec-based Advertising Technology for the past, present and future, content distributors and advertisers are able to optimize existing workflows for embedded content while designing new workflows for multiple generations from now.
With this new technology, streaming services will be able to embed ads into a stream to deliver highly personalized, overlaid ads at individual level, and crucially, at scale which was not feasible previously. Ads delivered in this way do not interrupt the content so any negative impact in viewer engagement and experience is avoided. While this method of ad-delivery has a myriad of use cases, it may be particularly useful for live events such as sports events, where for obvious reasons, the content can’t be interrupted with ad-breaks. The technology also allows for personalized product placement which can unlock additional monetization opportunities and further help to increase ad revenue.
