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This guide provides an overview of the SDK lifecycle and the interactions
between your video player, the IMA SDK, and an ad server.
Basic interactions
The following diagram illustrates and annotates the interactions between
your video player, the IMA SDK, and an ad server. The ad server can use
Ad Manager, AdSense for Video (AFV), or Ad Exchange (AdX).
The web page or app loads the IMA SDK using:
an embedded script tag for HTML5
an app for Android, Google Cast, iOS, or tvOS
The IMA SDK requests a VAST Response for the specific Ad Unit on the ad
server. The ad server called, which can be either Ad Manager versus AFV or
AdX, is determined by the ad tag URL.
The ad server selects the best ad and sends a VAST response to the IMA SDK.
Ads are selected using one of the following methods:
Ad Manager Ad Unit filters Line Item candidates
AdSense or Ad Exchange runs an auction
The IMA SDK parses the VAST response, determines the correct media type based
on environment, and delivers the inline video creative (and
companion ads if needed) to the web page or app.
The video player negotiates the playback details with the IMA SDK and plays
the ads.
The IMA SDK fires an impression ping and VAST tracking events, as needed.
Lifecycle
This diagram shows the full lifecycle of the IMA SDK. Constructor and method
calls are highlighted in blue, events are highlighted in red, and error
conditions are shown with red connectors and red text.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-01-21 UTC."],[[["This guide explains the lifecycle of the Interactive Media Ads (IMA) SDK and how it facilitates communication between your video player, the SDK, and an ad server (Ad Manager, AdSense for Video, or Ad Exchange)."],["The process involves the IMA SDK requesting ads from the ad server based on the provided ad tag URL, the ad server selecting and sending a VAST response, and the SDK parsing this response to display ads within the video player."],["The IMA SDK handles playback negotiation with the video player and manages ad impressions and tracking events for accurate reporting."]]],[]]
