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Getting started with OptiView Ads on Chromecast CAF

This guide will get you started with OptiView Ads using the THEOplayer Chromecast CAF SDK. ! NOTE: Currently the Chromecast CAF SDK only supports image overlays from OptiView Ads.

Prerequisites​

  1. You need to have a THEOplayer license which is compatible with OptiView Ads. This can be done through the player portal.

  2. You need a correctly deployed OptiView Ads signaling service.

  3. Your THEOplayer SDK needs to have the theoads feature enabled.

    As of THEOplayer version 8.2.0, this feature is enabled by default in the main theoplayer package so we recommend to use at least this version, preferable the latest available version. You can install this package with the following command:

    npm install theoplayer

  4. You need to have a Chromecast Developer account to deploy your custom CAF receiver.

Integration​

Configuring the Chromecast receiver​

OptiView Ads is supported using the default Chromecast Shaka player for HLS on Chromecast CAF. To enable this, before starting the Chromecast application, configure it to use Shaka. Also, you need to load the THEOplayer Chromecast CAF SDK.

Here is an example of a bare-bones CAF receiver app you can use as a starting point for basic playback without any custom UI:

<html>
  <head>
    <title>Optiview Chromecast Receiver App</title>

    <script type="text/javascript" src="//www.gstatic.com/cast/sdk/libs/caf_receiver/v3/cast_receiver_framework.js"></script>

    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdn.theoplayer.com/chromecast-caf/release/THEOplayer-chromecast-caf-receiver.js"></script>
  </head>

  <body>
    <cast-media-player class="unbranded"></cast-media-player>

    <script>
      const player = new THEOplayer.Player();

      let castReceiverOptions = new cast.framework.CastReceiverOptions();
      castReceiverOptions.useShakaForHls = true;
      cast.framework.CastReceiverContext.getInstance().start(castReceiverOptions);
    </script>
  </body>
</html>

! NOTE: We recommend to self-host the THEOplayer Chromecast CAF SDK to avoid dependency issues and lock the version you are using. More information on self-hosting can be found here.

Configuring the Chromecast sender​

The Optiview Chromecast features are only available through our own player SDK. Setting up the Chromecast functionality is documented on our main documentation portal: https://optiview.dolby.com/docs/theoplayer/how-to-guides/cast/chromecast/introduction/

Our player SDKs will take care of handling the communication between the Chromecast sender and receiver.

More information​