Configuring Ads for Playout Destinations

Playout 2.0 supports server-side ad insertion (SSAI) configuration at the destination level. This article walks through enabling pre-roll ads, passing ad targeting query parameters, configuring avail suppression, and setting up ad prefetching for your SSAI destinations.

Note: All settings described in this article are configured within an SSAI destination in Playout 2.0.

Overview

Playout 2.0 SSAI destinations give you control over how and when ads are inserted into your linear streams. You can configure pre-roll ad tags, pass targeting parameters to your ad decision server (ADS), suppress ad insertion during designated segments, and prefetch ads ahead of upcoming breaks to maximize fill rates.

Step 1: Enable and Configure Pre-Roll Ads

1. Navigate to your Playout 2.0 destination and open the SSAI destination settings.
2. Locate the pre-roll ad configuration section and toggle pre-roll ads on.
3. Enter your ADS URL in the designated field.

Note: Your ADS URL must return a valid VAST response. VMAP URLs are not supported for pre-roll configuration at the destination level.

Step 2: Configure Ad Query Parameter Passthrough

Query parameter passthrough lets you append targeting key-value pairs to every outbound ad request made from this destination — for example, parameters for content genre, viewer segment, or device type.

1. In the SSAI destination settings, locate the Ad Query Parameters section.
2. Add the key-value pairs you want appended to outbound ad requests.
3. Save your changes. Playout 2.0 appends these parameters to every ad request made during playback of this destination.

Note: Confirm with your ad server that the parameter keys match the expected targeting fields configured on the ADS side.

Step 3: Set Up Avail Suppression

Avail suppression prevents ad insertion during designated time windows or when a trigger condition is met. When you enable suppression, Playout 2.0 evaluates a query parameter in the destination URL and blocks ad avails when the parameter matches a predefined value.

1. In the SSAI destination settings, locate the Ad Suppression section and enable it.
2. Set the Ad Suppression Trigger Key — the query parameter key Playout 2.0 evaluates to determine whether suppression applies.
3. Set the Ad Suppression Trigger Value — the value that, when matched, activates suppression and prevents ad avails from being filled.
4. Define the suppression time windows during which ad insertion is blocked.
5. Save your settings.

Note: Avail suppression is evaluated at the destination level. If the trigger condition is met, all ad avails within the suppression window are skipped regardless of SCTE-35 signals in the stream.

Step 4: Enable Ad Prefetching and Sync the Prefetch Schedule

Ad prefetching allows Playout 2.0 to proactively fetch ads from the ADS before an upcoming ad break begins. This provides additional time for programmatic ad trading and helps maximize fill rates in live workflows that use SCTE-35 signaling, where ad request and transcoding timeouts can occur.

1. In the HLS destination details, locate the Ad Prefetch toggle and enable it.
2. Set the Prefetch Retrieval Time — the number of seconds before an upcoming ad break that Playout 2.0 fetches ads from the ADS.
3. If you have configured avail suppression windows, align your prefetch schedule so that prefetch requests are not issued for suppressed avails. Playout 2.0 uses the suppression window configuration to skip prefetch calls during blocked segments.
4. Save your settings.

Note: Ad prefetching is available for HLS destinations using SCTE-35 signaling.

See Also

• Ad Suppression Configuration — full details on suppression trigger keys, values, and time window setup
• Prefetching Ads — advanced prefetch retrieval time configuration
• Ad Settings for TripleLift — if you are using the TripleLift integration with Playout ad timings