Support and compatibility

This page provides general information on HTML5 IMA client-side support and compatibility for browsers, video formats, and platforms.

Supported video formats and browsers

HTML5 is still a new and evolving standard. As a result, support for various features differs among browsers, and there is no single default video format supported by all major browsers. The three main video formats used in the majority of browsers are H.264, WebM and Ogg Theora.

VAST event compatibility

This section lists the VAST events that are automatically reported to the server based on the information returned in the VAST response.

Fully supported

complete, creativeView, firstQuartile, impression, midpoint, pause, resume, rewind (fired when there is any significant seeking in the backward direction), start, thirdQuartile.

Partially supported

  • click

    The Click event is only sent for video ads. Clicks cannot be captured on the native fullscreen players on Android, iOS, or desktop, but clicks can still be captured by an in-page click tracking element when the video is closed. However, if the video element uses native controls on the iPad, clicks cannot be captured.

  • fullscreen

    The IMA SDK supports a simulated full screen mode, in which the video takes up the whole browser window. We consider a video to be in full screen mode when its offsetWidth and offsetHeight are at least the size of the document body. This mode is supported on all browsers. For an example of simulated full screen, download the sample.

    On the iPhone and pre-3.0 Android platforms, video will always play back in full screen mode.

  • mute, unmute

    iOS and Android only have native control of the volume. As such, the IMA SDK cannot determine the volume or mute state, nor are we notified of changes. Below is a list of the browser versions which do and do not support mute, unmute:

    • Supported: Firefox 3.5+, Chrome 8+, Safari 4+
    • Not supported: iOS, Android

For further details on VAST ad serving, refer to the IAB guidelines.

Supported video player platforms

The Google IMA SDKs are supported on the following platforms:

Platform Version Ad Type
HTML5 Desktop: Chrome, Firefox 4.0+, Safari 5+, Internet Explorer 11
Mobile: Chrome/Android Browser (Android 4.1+ for phone, and Android 4.1+ for tablet), Safari (iOS 9.0+) 		Linear, non-linear and companion ads, Ad Manager Video Solutions, Ad Exchange video, and AFV ads
iOS iOS 10.0+ Linear and companion ads, Ad Manager video, Ad Exchange video, and AFV ads
Android Android 4.1+ Linear and companion ads, Ad Manager video, Ad Exchange video, and AFV ads
Google Cast -- Linear and companion ads, Ad Manager video, Ad Exchange video, and AFV ads
tvOS tvOS 10.1+ Linear ads, Ad Manager video, and Ad Exchange video

Video features and SDK versions

To learn more about the following features, read video advertising overview.

HTML5 v3 iOS v3 Android v3 Google Cast tvOS
IAB Video Suite
VAST 4 Warning 12 Warning 12 Warning 12 Warning 12 Warning 12
VAST 3 Warning 1 Warning 2 Warning 2 Warning 2 Warning 2
VAST 2 Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark
SIMID 1.0 Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Red-X Red-X
VPAID 2 (HTML5) Checkmark Red-X Red-X Red-X Red-X
VMAP 1.0.1 Warning 3 4 Warning 3 Warning 3 Warning 3 Warning 3
Ad Manager Video features
Linear ads Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark
YouTube-hosted assets Warning 5 Red-X Red-X Red-X Red-X
Non-linear ads (Overlays) Warning 6 Red-X Red-X Red-X Red-X
Companions Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Red-X Red-X
VAST 3 alternate companion ad resources Checkmark Checkmark Red-X Red-X Red-X
Active View viewability Checkmark Warning 7 Warning 7 Red-X Red-X
Audio ads Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark
VAST Redirects Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark
Companion backfill with display request Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Red-X Red-X
Google Publisher Tag (GPT) compatibility Checkmark Red-X Red-X Red-X Red-X
Content awareness Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark
Ad rules Warning 4 Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark
Manual ad breaks in ad rules Checkmark Red-X Red-X Checkmark Red-X
Frequency caps 8 Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark
Competitive exclusions (stream) Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark
Competitive exclusions (pod) Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark
Competitive exclusions (whole page) Checkmark Red-X Red-X Checkmark Red-X
Podding Warning 4 Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark
Bumpers Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark
Reporting on multi-event tracking (MET) Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark
Dynamic allocation (AdSense for video, Ad Manager Ad Exchange) Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark
Skippable (non-TrueView) 11 Warning 6 Checkmark Checkmark Red-X Red-X
InStream Select Checkmark Red-X Red-X Red-X Red-X
Asset Preloading Warning 9 Red-X Warning 10 Red-X Red-X
AdSense for Video features
TrueView InStream Warning 6 Checkmark Checkmark Red-X Red-X
InStream Select Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Red-X Red-X
Standard InStream Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark
Full-slot Checkmark Red-X Red-X Red-X Red-X
Companions Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Red-X Red-X
Companion backfill Red-X Checkmark Checkmark Red-X Red-X
Overlays Warning 6 Red-X Red-X Red-X Red-X
Asset Preloading Warning 9 Red-X Warning 10 Red-X Red-X
Ad Manager Ad Exchange features
TrueView InStream Warning 6 Checkmark Checkmark Red-X Red-X
InStream Select Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Red-X Red-X
Standard InStream Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark
Full-slot Checkmark Red-X Red-X Red-X Red-X
Companions Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Red-X Red-X
Companion backfill Red-X Checkmark Checkmark Red-X Red-X
Overlays Warning 6 Red-X Red-X Red-X Red-X
Active View viewability Checkmark Warning 7 Warning 7 Red-X Red-X
Asset Preloading Warning 9 Red-X Warning 10 Red-X Red-X
Why This Ad? Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark Checkmark

1 The HTML5 SDK does not support any VAST 3.0 feature not yet supported by the Ad Manager front end.

2 The following VAST 3.0 features are not yet supported in the non-HTML5 SDKs:

  • Companion adSlotId
  • Companion delivery options
  • Icons
  • Any VAST 3.0 feature not yet supported by the Ad Manager front end

3 The following VMAP features are not yet supported:

  • VMAP-specific tracking events
  • VMAP-specific error codes
  • Overlay ads
  • Time offsets other than hh:mm:ss or "start" and "end"
  • Display breakType attribute
  • repeatAfter attribute

4 Support for VMAP and ad rules on iPhone requires custom ad playback.

5 YouTube-hosted creatives are supported on the desktop but not on mobile web.

6 Supported on iOS 10+ when playsinline is used.

7 Requires the IMA SDK for Android Beta v10 and later or iOS Beta v13 and later.

8 Ad rules frequency caps and competitive exclusions require cookies or PPID.

9 Native asset preload does not work with the following:

  • Mobile web on iOS devices
  • Mobile web on Android pre-4.0
  • YouTube-hosted ads, including TrueView formats
  • IMA manual break playback feature (any implementation that relies on the AD_BREAK_READY event)

10 Requires IMA SDK version 3.6.0+.

11 The SDK does not support skippable ads that are less than 8 seconds long. When ads shorter than the minimum length are played, the Skip button is not displayed.

12 The following VAST 4.0 features are supported:

  • AdID
  • Mezzanine File
  • New VAST error codes