Playback methods
Playback Methods says how a video ad starts and whether its sound is on when it starts: on its own, on a click, on hover, on entering the viewport, as part of continuous playback, or, since AdCOM 1.0-202607, when the viewer pauses content or the device goes idle. Sellers send it in Video.playbackmethod, and buyers use it to judge attention and audibility.
Values
| Value | Name | What it means |
|---|---|---|
1 | Initiates without any specific user interaction with Sound On | Starts without user interaction, sound on. Reworded in AdCOM 1.0-202607; was Initiates on Page Load with Sound On. |
2 | Initiates without any specific user interaction Sound Off by Default | Starts without user interaction, sound off. Reworded in AdCOM 1.0-202607; was Initiates on Page Load with Sound Off by Default. |
3 | Initiates on Click with Sound On | Click-to-play: the viewer starts playback deliberately, with sound on. |
4 | Initiates on Mouse-Over or cursor over with Sound On | Starts when a pointer or cursor moves over the player, sound on. Reworded in AdCOM 1.0-202607; was Initiates on Mouse-Over with Sound On. |
5 | Initiates on Entering Viewport or scrolling into view with Sound On | Starts when the player enters the viewport, sound on. Added in OpenRTB 2.5; reworded in AdCOM 1.0-202607 to add scrolling into view. |
6 | Initiates on Entering Viewport or scrolling into view with Sound Off by Default | Starts when the player enters the viewport, sound off. Added in OpenRTB 2.5; reworded in AdCOM 1.0-202607 to add scrolling into view. |
7 | Continuous Playback | The player keeps playing further media on its own until the viewer stops it. An AdCOM addition, not in OpenRTB 2.5. |
8 | Initiated by user pausing content, Sound on | Starts when the viewer pauses content, sound on. Added in AdCOM 1.0-202607. |
9 | Initiated by user pausing content, Sound off | Starts when the viewer pauses content, sound off. Added in AdCOM 1.0-202607. |
10 | Initiated by idling | Starts when the device goes idle, for example into a screensaver, sound on. Added in AdCOM 1.0-202607. |
11 | Initiated by idling | Starts when the device goes idle, for example into a screensaver, sound off. Added in AdCOM 1.0-202607. |
Fields that use this list
How to use it
The field is an array, but the 2.6 spec advises using only its first element because it may become a single integer in a later version, so put the method that applies first. The wording has moved more than once. OpenRTB 2.0 to 2.4 had four methods called Auto-Play Sound On, Auto-Play Sound Off, Click-to-Play, and Mouse-Over. OpenRTB 2.5 renamed them around page load, click, and mouse-over, and added 5 and 6 for entering the viewport. AdCOM added 7 (Continuous Playback). AdCOM 1.0-202607 reworded 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 so they no longer assume a web page, and added 8 to 11 for pause and screensaver formats. A seller that implemented a value against older wording and one that implemented it against the current text can mean different things by the same integer.
Common mistakes
- Sending several methods and expecting buyers to read them all. Buyers following the spec read only the first element.
- Sending 1 (starts on its own, sound on) for a player that autoplays muted. Muted autoplay is 2, or 6 if it waits for the viewport.
- Keeping documentation that says 1 and 2 mean page load. Since AdCOM 1.0-202607 they cover any start without user interaction, including CTV autoplay.
- Rejecting 8 to 11 on the buy side. They are valid since AdCOM 1.0-202607.
Validation
On OpenRTB 2.6 snapshots, RTBlint reports a value outside this list as openrtb.value.invalid. Paste a request into the tester to check the values you send.
Related lists
- Plcmt subtypes (video)
- Creative subtypes (audio and video)
- Playback cessation modes
- Start delay modes
- Linearity modes
- Companion types
- Delivery methods
- Feed types
- Volume normalization modes
- Pod deduplication
- Pod sequence
- Slot position in pod
- Production qualities
All lists are on the enumerated lists index.