Release Notes – July 2026

This release brings major Ad Manager enhancements, VOD AD Insertion as a dedicated surface, Stream Pulse & Pulse+ for real-time encoder and SCTE-35 monitoring, and meaningful improvements across Scheduled Playlist, Dashboard, and account security — rolling out across both V4 and V5 this month.

Platform-Wide Updates

(Applies to both V4 and V5)

Feature: Ad Manager – Enhanced Macros, Filtering & Skip Policy

• IAB-Aligned Macros — Ad Manager macros have been updated to align with IAB standards, including expanded creative macro support (TIMESTAMP, DEVICE_IP/UA, BREAK_POSITION, TRANSACTION_ID, REQUEST_ID, and more) for more accurate and compliant ad request construction.
• Advanced Filtering — New break-level report and ad-pod filters added — giving users significantly more control over ad delivery behaviour.
• Skip Policy — A new project-level Skip Rules editor allows users to define ordered skip rules (by position, longest, or shortest creative), with drag-to-reorder, inline validation, and duplicate-selector detection. Per-creative skip overrides are also available directly in the creative dialog.
• VMAP Support — Ad Manager now includes a dedicated Build VMAP URL dialog alongside the existing VAST builder, simplifying multi-break ad schedule configuration for longer-form content.

Feature: Ad Insertion for VOD

• Ad Insertion is now available as a dedicated surface for VOD (Pull and Push zones), bringing the same monetization capabilities previously available for live streams to on-demand content.
• The mode of insertion — SSAI or SGAI — is configured based on client requirement and use case.
• Key capabilities include:
  • Settings, SSAI or SGAI profile, and schedule configuration per zone.
  • Pre-roll, Mid-roll interval & Post-roll scheduling — configure structured interval-based mid-roll, pre-roll or post-roll ad breaks across VOD content.
  • Consumption and Analytics tabs for per-zone usage visibility.
  • Logs for session-level ad insertion activity and audit trails.
• Ad Insertion Sessions are surfaced as a stat card on the zone management page for at-a-glance visibility.

Feature: Stream Pulse & Stream Pulse+

• Stream Pulse is a real-time encoder and stream health monitor giving users continuous visibility into their source stream.
• Tracks live encoder stats including:
  • Bitrate (plotted as a real-time timeline)
  • Video codec, profile, resolution, and FPS
  • Audio parameters
• Stream Pulse+ extends Pulse with full SCTE-35 marker detection and validation, designed for users running ad insertion workflows who need to verify markers are firing correctly from their input.
• Pulse+ capabilities include:
  • Real-time detection of SCTE-35 cue-out/cue-in marker pairs
  • Decoded marker fields: Splice Event ID, Table ID, break duration, out-of-network flag, PTS/PCR timing, PID, and raw payload
  • Missing marker alerts — get notified when an expected marker fails to fire
  • Historical marker logs with CSV export for audit and troubleshooting
• Stream Pulse is available as an add-on; Stream Pulse+ is available under the Advanced plan.

V4 & V5 Updates

Scheduled Playlist – Transcoding & Playlist Logs

• A new Transcoding Statistics tab has been added to Scheduled Playlist, providing two dedicated views:
  • Transcoder Info — live transcoder table with renditions showing paired video and audio bitrates for each output profile.
• Playlist Logs improvements provide better overall visibility into scheduled playlist activity and state changes.

Dashboard – New Metrics & Resource Stats

• The dashboard home now tracks additional metrics: Ad Insertions, Ad Managers, and Video Manager Advanced Encoding — giving a fuller picture of platform usage at a glance.
• A new Resource Stats dropdown allows users to switch between different dashboard views for faster navigation across services.

Account Security – Enable Two-Factor Authentication

• A 2FA nudge banner has been added to the dashboard to encourage users to enable Two-Factor Authentication on their account.
• We strongly recommend enabling 2FA — it removes reliance on email OTPs for every login, gives you faster and more reliable account access, and adds a critical layer of protection for your infrastructure.
• 2FA can be enabled from Account Security settings in your dashboard.

Bug Fixes & Improvements

• Livestream save behaviour improved — fields never configured by the user (LTC, autostop, filters) are no longer sent on a plain save, preventing unintended stream configuration changes.
• Minor UI fixes and reliability improvements across Ad Insertion, Scheduled Playlist, and encoder credential handling.