Benefits of combining SSAI with channel assembly Architecture overview Setting up the integration Defining ad breaks in channel assembly CDN caching considerations Monitoring the integrated solution Troubleshooting common issues Best practices Related information

Integrate MediaTailor SSAI with channel assembly for monetized linear channels

This topic explains how to combine AWS Elemental MediaTailor server-side ad insertion with channel assembly and content delivery network (CDN) integration. This integration enables you to:

Create monetized linear channels with personalized advertising
Deliver targeted ads to different viewers watching the same content
Maintain broadcast-quality viewing experiences

Benefits of combining SSAI with channel assembly

Integrating SSAI with channel assembly provides several key benefits:

Monetization of linear channels

Insert personalized ads into your linear channels to generate revenue from your content library. You can monetize both live and VOD content within a single linear stream.

Personalized advertising

Deliver different ads to different viewers watching the same channel content. This targeted approach increases ad relevance and potential revenue compared to traditional broadcast advertising.

Simplified ad break management

Define ad break points in your channel assembly programs without needing to condition the content with SCTE-35 markers. This makes it easier to insert ads at natural break points in your content.

Broadcast-quality experience

MediaTailor maintains a high-quality viewing experience with seamless transitions between content and ads. Server-side ad insertion eliminates many common issues such as:

Buffering during ad transitions
Ad blockers preventing monetization
Inconsistent playback quality

Scalable delivery

When combined with a CDN, this integration can scale to millions of concurrent viewers without degradation in performance or personalization capabilities.

Architecture overview

The architecture for combining SSAI with channel assembly typically involves these components:

Channel assembly: Creates linear channels from VOD and live content, and inserts slate content that creates ad markers in the generated manifest
Ad insertion: Recognizes ad break points and inserts URLs pointing to personalized ad segments in the manifest
Ad decision server (ADS): Determines which ads to insert for each viewer
Content delivery network (CDN): Delivers the assembled content and ad segments to viewers
Origin server: Stores the VOD and live content segments

In this architecture:

Channel assembly creates a linear channel from your VOD and live content, and inserts slate content that creates the ad markers in the generated manifest
When a viewer requests the channel, ad insertion recognizes the ad breaks that were inserted into the linear channel
Ad insertion makes the call to the ADS to receive the list of ads, transcodes them, and inserts URLs pointing to the transcoded ad segments into the personalized manifest
The CDN delivers the personalized stream to the viewer

The following diagram illustrates this workflow:

Diagram showing CDN integration with both channel assembly and ad insertion

Setting up the integration

To set up SSAI with channel assembly:

Configure your edge CDN to accept manifest requests from viewers and forward them to AWS Elemental MediaTailor ad insertion.
Set up MediaTailor ad insertion to forward requests to your origin CDN.
Configure your origin CDN to forward requests to MediaTailor channel assembly.
Set up MediaTailor channel assembly to generate dynamic manifests based on the current schedule.
Configure your origin CDN to forward the assembled manifests to MediaTailor ad insertion.
Set up MediaTailor ad insertion to request ad decisions from your ad decision server at ad break points.
Configure MediaTailor ad insertion to personalize manifests by replacing the ad markers (from channel assembly) with URLs pointing to targeted ad segments (from the ADS).
Set up your edge CDN to deliver personalized manifests to viewers.
Configure your CDN architecture to handle both content and ad segment requests efficiently.

Defining ad breaks in channel assembly

When creating programs in channel assembly, you can define ad breaks in several ways:

Program transitions: Insert ads between programs in your channel schedule. This is the simplest approach and ensures ads don't interrupt program content.
SCTE-35 markers: If your VOD content contains SCTE-35 markers, channel assembly can preserve these markers, and ad insertion can use them as ad break points.
Time-based insertion: Define ad breaks at specific time points within programs. This allows you to insert ads at natural break points in your content.

For detailed information on creating programs with ad breaks, see Working with programs.

CDN caching considerations

For optimal performance when combining channel assembly and SSAI with a CDN:

Configure cache behaviors that distinguish between channel assembly and SSAI requests
Set appropriate TTL values for manifests and segments as recommended in Step 1: Configure CDN caching for optimal ad delivery
Ensure proper routing between channel assembly, ad insertion, and your CDN origins
Monitor the performance metrics for both channel assembly and ad insertion components

Recommended caching settings for combined implementation
Content type	TTL	Cache key elements
Channel assembly manifests	0 seconds	URL path + query parameters
SSAI personalized manifests	0 seconds	URL path + all query parameters
Content segments	24+ hours	URL path only
Ad segments	24+ hours	URL path only

Monitoring the integrated solution

To ensure your integrated solution is performing optimally, monitor these key metrics:

Channel assembly metrics: Monitor manifest generation time, program transitions, and any errors in the channel assembly process.
Ad insertion metrics: Track ad fill rate, ad decision server response times, and ad insertion errors.
CDN metrics: Monitor cache hit rates, origin request volume, and response latency for both content and ad segments.
Viewer experience metrics: Track rebuffering events, startup times, and viewer engagement, especially during ad transitions.

For detailed information on monitoring, see Monitor operations for CDN and MediaTailor integrations and Monitor MediaTailor channel assembly CDN operations.

Troubleshooting common issues

When troubleshooting issues with the integrated solution, consider these common problems:

Ad break synchronization issues: If ads are not appearing at the expected break points, verify that the ad break definitions in your channel assembly programs are correctly configured and that ad insertion is properly identifying these break points.
Manifest delivery errors: If viewers are experiencing playback issues, check that the CDN is correctly forwarding manifest requests between channel assembly and ad insertion, and that the cache settings are appropriate for the dynamic nature of these manifests.
Segment routing problems: If content or ad segments are not loading, verify that the CDN is correctly routing segment requests to the appropriate origins and that the segment URLs in the manifests are correctly formatted.
Performance degradation: If viewers are experiencing buffering or high latency, check the CDN cache hit rates and origin request volumes to identify potential bottlenecks in the delivery pipeline.

For more troubleshooting guidance, see Troubleshoot MediaTailor SSAI with CDNs for uninterrupted ad delivery.

Best practices

Follow these best practices for a successful integration of SSAI with channel assembly:

Test thoroughly: Test the integrated solution with various content types, ad scenarios, and viewer conditions before deploying to production.
Monitor continuously: Set up comprehensive monitoring and alerting to quickly identify and address any issues that arise.
Optimize caching: Regularly review and adjust your CDN caching settings based on actual usage patterns and performance metrics.
Plan for scale: Design your architecture to handle peak traffic loads, especially for popular channels or events.
Consider redundancy: Implement redundancy in critical components to ensure high availability of your linear channels.
Optimize ad transitions: Ensure smooth transitions between content and ads by using consistent encoding profiles and segment durations.