First frame of video shown before preroll

[John Duffell]

Hi,

The problem we are seeing is that when we use IMA to load a preroll advert, we see the first frame of our video until the advert comes in, and then it switches to the advert.  This is disconcerting for the user, especially if things are loading slowly.

I wouldn't expect any frame of the video to display until the advert has finished.

We are using IMA from http://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/sdkloader/ima3.js

1) Which SDK are you using? html5 I think.  You can see our source code here: https://github.com/guardian/frontend/blob/master/static/src/javascripts/bootstraps/media.js#L243
2) What ad tag are you using in your request?

<Playlist>

<Preroll>

<Ad>

<![CDATA[

http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?slotname=/59666047/theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/video/ng&sz=400x300&ciu_szs=&cust_params=url%3D%2Flifeandstyle%2Fvideo%2F2015%2Ffeb%2F13%2Fkiss-reminds-someone-loves-me-video%26edition%3Duk%26ct%3Dvideo%26p%3Dng%26k%3Dvalentines-day%2Crelationships%2Clifeandstyle%26x%3Do7tnag02m%2Co7x4flan5%2Co8t8m33zj%2Co901c5kja%2Co90ybs3cz%2Co91ikbu3n%2Co980d6bss%2Co980l8rw2%2Co983hpg7l%2Co98sacjda%2Co99od5ayz%2Co99sxp0ek%2Co9d08i9e0%2Co9d15sc10%2Co9d2ttnn8%2Co9d3g5y8j%2Co9d4iai5q%2Co9dc1uetx%2Co9hsvqzmh%2Co9k71oieo%2Co9kv0nirv%2Co9kx7ipge%2Co9kz6a44e%2Co9la4hbc7%2Cpacnk0nnb%2Cpacpk24tt%2Cpacq5etbx%2Cpacqhvg0a%2Cpc30v552x%2Cpc3qvpl05%2Cpc40t9co0%2Cpc4n3hzc2%2Cpc4yr3v68%2Cpc5jz538h%2Cpc5nbdjj6%2Cpc5skfqq4%2Cpc5vehxke%2Cpc9nwfl88%2Cpd4qbbfgm%2Cpd7rurt4z%2Cpdcg4ot2c%2Cpdckv4cas%2Cpddoepmg9%2Cpddqecujr%2Cpdgs7v63v%2Cpej1rgbfz%2Cpejm3tokw%2Cpejmmlt9p%2Cpejva6oth%2Cpekj6xcey%2Cpenl4dfdk%2Cpeobygmnj%2Cpf3nvob3x%2Cpf62rumx5%2Cpf630mmbe%2Cpf69bc5ej%2Cpf6o9hmkv%2Cpf7je666b%2Cpf7vh80dw%2Cpfb8e3ig6%2Cpg2fdclf7%2Cpg7b5eojd%2Cpg7frotfj%2Cpge5jedtz%2Cpgfu0fcgh%2Cpgx9xwn0t%2Cpgyom0xjf%2Cphqiyc6hy%2Cphvgaoeg7%2Cphyl9nbp9%2Cpih8ngtr6%2Cpiiqugz58%2Cpiivzraa1%2Cpimlaiwt6%2Cpirae8sgr%2Cpirak431b%2Cpiu55vjzt%2Cpiu5jl1k3%2Cpj98zb3aw%2Cpj99a383d%2Cpj99jvtnd%2Cpja4e8v1t%2Cpjdtgu5qy%2Cpjh1tpc2v%2Cpjmfyld3w%2Cpkaeybgui%2Cpketd2fs8%2Cpkplsqlt1%2Cpkufk917o%2Cpkym60wwt%2Cplpleewk5%2Cplprbhhko%2Cpm9o9oplh%2Cpmdcltgca%2Cpmpzjhn04%2Cpns5wz8nq%2Cpnw07um1b%2Cpnxmcawyi%2Cpos6k0l5k%2Cpow4zhk9k%26su%3D0%26bp%3Dmobile%26at%3Dtom%26gdncrm%3DA3034%2CMG11%26co%3Dcharlie-phillips%2Ccentury-films%26ms%3Dguardian.co.uk%26vl%3D240&url=http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/video/2015/feb/13/kiss-reminds-someone-loves-me-video%3Fadtest%3Dtom&unviewed_position_start=1&output=xml_vast2&impl=s&env=vp&gdfp_req=1&ad_rule=0&vad_type=linear&vpos=preroll&pod=1&min_ad_duration=0&max_ad_duration=30000&ppos=1&lip=true&sarid=3087&sf=4&sfu=vid&adk=3806998356&correlator=3159068844752896&scor=588881989730304

]]>

</Ad>

</Preroll>

</Playlist>

3) Are you able to reproduce this in the downloadable sample app or the Video Suite Inspector? If not, please include a link to a test page or app so we can see the issue.

No I can't see it with your inspector.
4) What steps must we take to reproduce your issue?

I will try to get you a test URL so you can see for yourself as we don't have any live advert tests.

There is an animated gif here showing it.

http://tinypic.com/r/335cx9k/8

Thanks, John

[Vu Chau (IMA SDK Team)]

Hi John,

Thanks for reaching out.  

Have you noticed if this issue happens across multiple videos and/or platforms (mobile, etc.)?  Also, have you made sure you are initializing the adDisplayContainer and starting the adsManager before anything from the video player gets called for playing the first frame of content?

I tested your ad tag in our sample apps and also was not able to reproduce the issue.  So, if you can acquire a test page where we can see the problem in action, that would greatly help with troubleshooting.

Thanks!

Vu Chau

IMA SDK Team

[Anup Dsouza]

Is there any update on this? One of our iOS apps also experiences this issue.

[Anup Dsouza]

Apologies on the double post. To add more info, this behaviour can be seen in the advanced example (googleads_ima_ios_objc_advanced_example) when Pre-roll is selected.

I've attached screenshots showing the content video visible for a second before the pre-roll ad plays.

[Vu Chau (IMA SDK Team)]

Hi Anup,

We are in the process of fixing a number of related issues that should hopefully resolve this one, as well.  Keep in touch, and feel free to check the iOS SDK release notes for an update. 

Vu Chau

IMA SDK Team

[Anup Dsouza]

Hi Vu,

Thank you for the update.

[Sam Huang]

Do you fix this issue?

[ima-sdk-adv...@google.com]

Hi Sam,

Are you facing a similar issue with the most recent SDK version? It appears the issue discussed on this thread was resolved, but as it is an old case it's possible that we need to take another look at the behavior. Can you please start a new forum thread with detailed information describing the behavior that you're seeing?

Regards,

Chris Feldman
IMA SDK Team

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