Owners of the Livestream Studio software who also have an Enterprise plan on Livestream can now insert a mid-roll advertisement during a live broadcast with the press of a button. In order for this feature to work, make sure you have set-up and configured a Google Ad Manager (formerly known as Google DFP).
Once the Google DFP account is properly configured with Livestream, launch Livestream Studio.
Open the settings menu and navigate to the Ad Insertion menu.
Within this menu tab, you'll find the following options:
Segment Duration: adjust the length of the mid-roll advertisement segment. This is how long an advertising segment will last before it starts over. When you click Advert again, Livestream Studio will switch to the Preview source at the end of the segment.
Background: Adjust the image displayed behind the advert. Options include:
- Fade to Black
- Any of the available GFX/Color/Media inputs
Transition: Adjust the transition in and out of the advert. Options include Cut and Auto.
Automated Insertion: Checking this will bring up additional settings if you want your advertisement to run at a set interval. This can be helpful if you have strict time limitations or have to meet certain sponsorship requirements.
Period between ads: The time, in seconds, between your advertisements being triggered.
Number of segments per period: How many segments roll before advertisements are no longer triggered.
Start with advert: Segment will begin by playing the advertisement, rather than starting with showing what you selected to go in the background.
Start insertion with streaming: When you go live, the first content your viewers will see is your advertising.
After configuring the Ad Insertion Preferences, click Save. To activate a mid-roll manually, click the Advert button below the transition controls.
When inserting an advertisement via the Livestream Studio Software, the following should occur:
- Depending on your choice of background, the Program window will change to reflect the selected option.
- The Advert button will become red and include a Countdown timer.
- On the top Left of the Program window, it will read "OUTPUT Advertisement: [Transition] is locked until End". In the below example the option selected is "Fade to Black".
After clicking Advert again, it will switch to a countdown to when your stream will return to content.
