London April 2005 London April 2005 Creating Video Ads The Rich Media Platform The Rich Media Platform Eyeblaster

The basics of digital video Video delivery methods Video components Videostrip Best Practices

What is Digital Video ? Digital Video Digital video is a sequence of digital images that are serialized based on a predefined timeline. A digital image is a matrix of pixels. A pixel is the smallest element in a digital image; holds the digital colour representation of a specific image location. The process of producing digital video involves sampling live or analogue objects and storing the colour samples digitally in pixels, images and episodes. Digital Video may be used in conjunction with a parallel audio stream.

Uncompressed Digital Video Digital Video Digital video file sizes can be calculated as: Episode duration (in secs) x Frame rate (FPS) x Frame height (pixels) x Frame width (pixels) x Pixel memory size (BPP) Let’s take a video commercial: 30 seconds duration, 30 FPS, 640x480 pixels, 32 BBP 30x30x640x480x32 = 8,847,360,000 Bits = 1054 MB !!! (This doesn’t include audio) Uncompressed video files are huge!

Uncompressed Digital Video Digital Video The bit rate is the speed at which data travels from one place to another on a computer network. This is usually measured in Kilobits Per Second (Kbps). The digital video bit rate is the amount of data stored in one second of video. The bit rate determines the minimum bandwidth requirements to guarantee smooth playback when streaming.

Uncompressed Digital Video Digital Video Bit rate calculations: Frame Rate (FPS) x Frame Height (pixels) x Frame Width (pixels) x Pixel Memory Size (BPP) For video commercial: 30x640x480x32 = 281 Mbps Streaming uncompressed digital video is not possible.

Uncompressed Digital Video Digital Video We cannot serve uncompressed video files over the internet: Storage problems. Processing problems. Bandwidth problems.

Compressed Digital Video – how? Digital Video Many different techniques, many different formats. Compression is the process of reducing the video file size. There are many factors that impact the result of compression: Output dimension Output frame rate Key frame interval Bit rate / quality Audio parameters

Digital Video Encoding Workflow:Decoding Workflow: -Each Micro block is decompressed in the opposite process to the compression -“I” (Intra) frames are “Key” frames compressed directly from a real source frame -“P” (Predicted) frames are created from an “I” frame + a motion vector -“B” (bi-directionally interpolated) frames are artificially created to smooth the motion and increase the frame rate

The basics of digital video Video delivery methods Video components Videostrip Best Practices

When using “caching” a complete download of the video file is performed prior to playing the video “Streaming” allows to “display as you download”. The video player downloads the video in “packets”, organizes it in a buffer and pulls data from the buffer to display the video frames. Buffer size is usually small, which means short loading time, however play might be jumpy in cases that the buffer is not filled quick enough (User’s bandwidth does not match the movie’s bit rate). In Streaming we have a 2 way communication between the client and the server, which means that instructions from the client can be sent to the server – this enables advanced features such as seek and stream changes according to bandwidth. Delivery methods Streaming vs. Progressive Download

Progressive Download is the middle option between full caching and streaming. “Progressive Download” (also known as “http streaming”) takes the video size into consideration when determining the buffer size. Buffering continues until the remaining download time is shorter then the movie play time. Delivery methods

For our needs “Progressive Download” is usually the best option. Since there is no bandwidth dependency the quality is usually better than in streaming. Simple setup – as there is no need for a streaming server. Local storage of files – after the user views the video, the file is stored in the local’s computer internet cache. The user can view the movie again without having to download it each time. Note that this may be perceived as a disadvantage in some cases. Progressive Download - Pros Delivery methods

Local storage restricts the streams to short or moderate length files. The viewer does not have random access into the stream until the movie is fully loaded (can’t implement seek features). Can’t be used for live event streaming. Progressive Download - Cons Delivery methods

The basics of digital video Video delivery methods Video components Videostrip Best Practices Video components

It is possible to incorporate video into any of the Eyeblaster formats. The video components let you easily download and display a video, achieving the best possible quality. Eyeblaster offers 3 different video components: SWF video loader FLV streaming player FLV progressive loader Video components

This component is a video downloader that can download a video which is embedded within a separate flash movie. The component uses progressive download to download the video. You can achieve smooth play on any bandwidth by using this component. Flash 6 is required. Eyeblaster recommends using this component for most cases. SWF Video Loader Video components

This component is a streaming video downloader and player. Flash communication server is used for storing and streaming the video files (format FLV1.1) Smooth playback is not guaranteed unless a bandwidth detection is used properly. Flash 6 is required for downloading and playing the video. Flash 7 is required for controlling the audio. Streaming is recommended for very long videos, which is usually not the case with Eyeblaster ads. Video components FLV Streaming Player

This component is a video downloader that can download an FLV video. The component is based on the MediaDisplay component delivered with Flash MX (professional). The component uses progressive download to download the video. You can ensure smooth playback on any bandwidth by using this component. Flash 7 is required. Video components FLV Progressive Loader

When using this component, we should create 2 flash assets: Container – will use the SWFVideoLoader component. Additional asset – video embedded inside a flash asset. The frame rate of the 2 assets should be similar. The position of the component will determine the position of the video. The size of the video will correspond to the stage size of the additional asset. SWF Video Loader - Exercise Video components

We’ll use “myLoader” as the component’s name. Define a callback for getting video progress: onProgress(bufferProgress, loadProgress,playProgress) Set the callback: myLoader.videoSetProgressEventHandler(onProgress); The sound is OFF by default. You can change the MUTE status and set the volume at the initialization stage in order to start the video with sound ON. Video components SWF Video Loader - Initialization

Call the load API: myLoader.videoLoad(videoURL, frameRate, riskFactor); For example: myLoader.videoLoad(_root.ebMovie1, 15, 0.1); You can optionally call the loadAndPlay API in cases where automatic play is needed. Simply call myLoader.videoLoadAndPlay instead of myLoader.videoLoad with the same set of parameters. Video components SWF Video Loader - Loading

Video Exercise Creating Video Ads

The basics of digital video Video delivery methods Video components Videostrip Best Practices

The videostrip feature allows you to easily create a video teaser that expands on mouseover or user click. The videostrip should be configured in the Eyeblaster interface as a panel of an expandable banner. Note that as in the example, the strip can cover the banner, creating an effect of a video banner that expands. You should use the “DynamicMask” component with any of our video components in order to create a videostrip panel. Video strip

Using the DynamicMask component API you can easily do the following: Show only a short part of the movie (teaser) in a loop when the strip is shown. myMask.setVideoLoop(5); - 5 sec loop Set the expand/retract time. myMask.setExpandTime(1); - 1 sec Video strip DynamicMask Component

Video can be set to MUTE automatically when only the strip is shown and be played with sound when expanded. myMask.setAutoVideoMute(true); Callbacks for expand and retract can be set by the user. myMask.onExpand = function () { … }; myMask.onRetract = function () { … }; Different effects can be set to the expand/retract transitions. myMask.setEaseIng(Regular.easeInOut); Video strip DynamicMask Component

The component’s position and size defines the strip position and size. When the strip expands it is always to the full stage size. The DynamicMask component must be set on the lowest layer of the movie, so that it doesn’t block other buttons on the stage. Testing the component can be done in the flash editor. You cannot test a video strip asset in “Preview Asset”. Retract onMouseOut will only work in Preview Ad (and only for the expandable banner format). Video strip Important Notes

The basics of digital video Video delivery methods Video components Videostrip Best Practices

For the commercial break format the speed is very important and the video is usually short (10-15 sec) We recommend that the ad will be created from 2 resources: Container – this includes a progress bar or animation while the video loads. The video as an additional asset. We recommend using the SWFLoader component. Best practices Commercial Break

We recommend that different ads are created for different bandwidths. Note that as long as the video bit rate matches the user’s bandwidth, the initialization of the video should be short. Follow the same recommendations for the “appear on next page” option. In general we recommend using the video components and not embedding the video into the main flash asset, as the components can guarantee smooth playback of the video. Best practices Commercial Break

If the video is user initiated in the panel, we follow the same recommendations: the panel will be the video container and we’ll have an additional asset with the video. For cases where the panel should open only when the video is ready, we recommend using the same approach but with a mask to make the panel transparent while the video is loading. Another option is to embed the video inside the panel and use “ebShowWhenReady” fscommand. We only recommend this when the video is very light (less than 600K). Best practices Expandable Banner

In general you wouldn’t use true streaming for video ads. Examples where true streaming should be used: Site allows only streaming video content. Copyright issues – streaming is the advised option. Two way control is required. Very long video (usually not the case for video ads). Best practices When Should True Streaming be Used?

Questions London April 2005 London April 2005 Creating Video Ads