Version: v2

Set up a slate

A slate is an image or a video that players show during the part of a break that no ad covers: the whole break when no ad can play, or the rest of the break when the ads end early. This guide shows how to prepare the slate media, set it on a channel, and check what your viewers see. See Slate for exactly when the slate plays.

Before you start

A channel. The slate applies to every break of the channel, live or VOD.
The OptiView Ads SDK 1.6.0 or later in your app, on Web, Android, iOS, or React Native. See Platform support for the platforms that do not show a slate yet.

Prepare the slate media

A slate is one static asset: an image or a video that you host yourself.

Video. Use HLS (recommended) or MP4. An HLS slate must be an on-demand playlist that ends with EXT-X-ENDLIST; a live stream cannot be a slate.
Image. Use a still or animated image, such as a PNG, JPEG, GIF, or WebP, in the aspect ratio of your player, for example 1920×1080 for 16:9. The image stays on screen for as long as the slate plays.
Match your content. OptiView Ads does not transcode the slate: players play it as you provide it. Encode a video slate like your content — the same renditions (resolutions and bitrates), codec, and frame rate — so it looks and plays like the rest of your stream on every device.
Keep it short. A video slate plays from its start and repeats for as long as the break needs, so a loop of a few seconds to half a minute is enough. The slate is cut at the end of the break.
Host it publicly. The URL must be a public http(s) URL that the viewers' devices can reach. On Web, your CDN must allow cross-origin requests (CORS) from your app's origin, as for your other creatives.

OptiView Ads does not check whether the slate plays. The Dashboard's Preview shows it in your browser; also test it on your devices before you turn it on for viewers.

Different media per device

The player uses the slate asset even when it cannot play it, and does not fall back to other media. To give each device media it can play, set uri to a list of URLs with targeting, like the URI of any static asset:

"uri": [
  { "value": "https://cdn.example.com/slates/brand/tv/master.m3u8", "targeting": { "deviceType": "tv" } },
  { "value": "https://cdn.example.com/slates/brand/master.m3u8" }
]

The first entry that matches the device is used; the entry without targeting covers every other device. All entries share the asset's mediaType, so a slate is either an image or a video on every device. On devices where the ad and the content share one video element, such as iPhone Safari, only a video slate is shown.

Set the slate on a channel

In the Dashboard

In the OptiView Unified Dashboard, open Ads → Channels and select the channel.
On the Breaks tab, click Add on the Slate card.
Fill in the slate:
- Name: a name for you to recognize the slate. Players never see it.
- Minimum remaining duration (seconds): the break time that must remain for the player to start the slate. Leave it empty for the default of 5 seconds.
- Asset: the Media Type (image or video), the URI, and optionally Device-specific URIs, the MIME type, Asset Parameters, and a Click-through URL.
Click Preview to check the media, then Save.

Players pick up the slate through the channel's Break Manifest, see Check the Break Manifest. Use Edit on the Slate card to change it, and Delete to remove it: players then stop showing the slate.

With the Ads API

Set slate on the channel, when you create it or later with an update:

curl -X PATCH 'https://us.ads.optiview.dolby.com/api/v1/channels/<channel-id>' \
  -u "$ADS_API_KEY:$ADS_API_SECRET" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'X-Org-ID: <org-id>' \
  -d '{
    "slate": {
      "name": "Brand slate",
      "minDuration": 5,
      "assets": [
        {
          "type": "static",
          "mediaType": "video",
          "mimeType": "application/vnd.apple.mpegurl",
          "uri": "https://cdn.example.com/slates/brand/master.m3u8",
          "interaction": { "clickThrough": "https://www.example.com/brand" }
        }
      ]
    }
  }'

Property	Description
`name`	Optional name for you to recognize the slate. It is not part of the Break Manifest.
`minDuration`	Optional. The seconds (≥ 0) of the break that must remain for the player to start the slate. Default: 5 seconds. `0` starts the slate for any gap.
`assets`	Exactly one static image or video asset, without `duration`: the slate always fills the rest of the break.
`assets[].id`	Identifies the slate in reporting. Generated when omitted on a channel without a slate.
`assets[].uri`	The URL of the media, or a list of URLs with targeting.
`assets[].interaction.clickThrough`	Optional URL to open when the viewer clicks the slate.
`assets[].mimeType`, `assets[].assetParameters`	Optional, as on any static asset.

The slate is replaced as a whole on every update. Once the channel has a slate, an update must carry the asset id: send its current id to change that slate, or a new id to replace it with a new slate. An update without an id is rejected with 400: The channel already has a slate: pass the id of its asset to update it, or a new id to replace it with another slate. To remove the slate, set it to null:

curl -X PATCH 'https://us.ads.optiview.dolby.com/api/v1/channels/<channel-id>' \
  -u "$ADS_API_KEY:$ADS_API_SECRET" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'X-Org-ID: <org-id>' \
  -d '{ "slate": null }'

Check the Break Manifest

The channel's Break Manifest now carries the slate at the top level, next to the breaks:

{
  "slate": {
    "minDuration": 5,
    "assets": [
      {
        "id": "4f2b8c6e-1d3a-4e59-9b7f-0a6c2e8d1f35",
        "type": "static",
        "mediaType": "video",
        "mimeType": "application/vnd.apple.mpegurl",
        "uri": "https://cdn.example.com/slates/brand/master.m3u8",
        "interaction": { "clickThrough": "https://www.example.com/brand" }
      }
    ]
  },
  "breaks": []
}

A change to the slate reaches players with the next manifest poll on a live channel, and with the next playback session on a VOD channel. It applies the next time a slate starts. A slate that is already playing continues until its break ends.

What viewers see

Take a 60-second break with a single 30-second ad, on the channel above:

{
  "start": "2026-07-16T12:15:00.000Z",
  "duration": 60,
  "variant": {
    "format": "single",
    "assets": [
      {
        "type": "static",
        "mediaType": "video",
        "mimeType": "video/mp4",
        "uri": "https://cdn.example.com/ads/spot-30s.mp4",
        "duration": 30
      }
    ]
  }
}

Break	0–30 seconds	30–60 seconds	At 60 seconds
Partly unfilled: the ad plays	The ad	The slate	Your content returns
Fully unfilled: the ad cannot play	The slate	The slate	Your content returns

Without a slate, the partly unfilled break returns to your content after 30 seconds, and the fully unfilled break returns to it right away.

A video slate always starts from its beginning and repeats when it is shorter than the time it covers.
In a Double Box or L-shape ad break, the slate plays in the ad box, and the companion stays on screen. See How the slate plays.
When the slate has a click-through URL, a click on the slate uses the slate's URL, never the URL of the ad before it.
When the slate cannot load or play, the SDK emits an aderror event that carries the slate asset, and your content returns as without a slate. Listen for it while you test.

Resource	Description
Slate	When the slate plays, platform support, and Google Ad Manager pods.
Channels	The channel setting that holds the slate.
Breaks	The asset model and asset URI targeting.
Break Manifest	The manifest that carries the slate to players.
Variant selection	Serving a different ad experience per device.

Before you start​

Prepare the slate media​

Different media per device​

Set the slate on a channel​

In the Dashboard​

With the Ads API​

Check the Break Manifest​

What viewers see​

Related resources​