Create a live session

Using the Video Stitcher API, you create a live session each time you start playback of a live stream in which ads served by Google Ad Manager are dynamically stitched during ad breaks. The response specifies the playback URL and the configuration of the live session.

This document describes how to create and manage a live session. For more details, see the REST documentation.

Before you begin

• Create a live config. For the integration with Google Ad Manager, ensure that the gamLiveConfig object is set.
• If you are specifying a slate, ensure that the gamSlate object is set on the slate you register.

Create a live session

To create a live session using the API directly, use the projects.locations.liveSessions.create method.

The liveConfig field is the only required field in the JSON body. You can set or override the following optional parameters per live session (as shown in the following REST example):

• manifestOptions: specifies which video renditions are generated in the stitched video manifest and the ordering of the renditions; see the manifest options documentation
• adTracking: select either client-side ad tracking or server-side ad tracking; this overrides the value in the live config for the session
• targetingParameters: a Google Ad Manager ad tag can contain targeting parameters that can be updated per session; provide a mapping in this field (for example, to replace the [my_key] macro with the string my_value, see the REST example)

REST

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

• PROJECT_NUMBER: your Google Cloud project number located in the Project number field on the IAM Settings page
• LOCATION: the location in which to create your session; use one of the supported regions
  Show locations
  • us-central1
  • us-east1
  • us-west1
  • asia-east1
  • asia-south1
  • asia-southeast1
  • europe-west1
  • southamerica-east1
• LIVE_CONFIG_ID: the user-defined identifier for the live config

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: The following command assumes that you have logged in to the gcloud CLI with your user account by running gcloud init or gcloud auth login , or by using Cloud Shell, which automatically logs you into the gcloud CLI . You can check the currently active account by running gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file named request.json. Run the following command in the terminal to create or overwrite this file in the current directory:

cat > request.json << 'EOF'
{
  "liveConfig": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/liveConfigs/LIVE_CONFIG_ID",
  "manifestOptions": {
    "includeRenditions": [
      {
        "bitrateBps": 150000,
        "codecs": "hvc1.1.4.L126.B0"
      },
      {
        "bitrateBps": 440000,
        "codecs": "hvc1.1.4.L126.B0"
      }
    ],
    "bitrateOrder": "DESCENDING"
  },
  "adTracking": "SERVER",
  "gamSettings": {
    "targetingParameters": {
      "my_key": "my_value",
    },
  }
}
EOF

Then execute the following command to send your REST request:

curl -X POST \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
     -d @request.json \
     "https://videostitcher.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/liveSessions"

PowerShell (Windows)

Note: The following command assumes that you have logged in to the gcloud CLI with your user account by running gcloud init or gcloud auth login . You can check the currently active account by running gcloud auth list.

Save the request body in a file named request.json. Run the following command in the terminal to create or overwrite this file in the current directory:

@'
{
  "liveConfig": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/liveConfigs/LIVE_CONFIG_ID",
  "manifestOptions": {
    "includeRenditions": [
      {
        "bitrateBps": 150000,
        "codecs": "hvc1.1.4.L126.B0"
      },
      {
        "bitrateBps": 440000,
        "codecs": "hvc1.1.4.L126.B0"
      }
    ],
    "bitrateOrder": "DESCENDING"
  },
  "adTracking": "SERVER",
  "gamSettings": {
    "targetingParameters": {
      "my_key": "my_value",
    },
  }
}
'@  | Out-File -FilePath request.json -Encoding utf8

Then execute the following command to send your REST request:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Method POST `
    -Headers $headers `
    -ContentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8" `
    -InFile request.json `
    -Uri "https://videostitcher.googleapis.com/v1/projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/liveSessions" | Select-Object -Expand Content

You should receive a JSON response similar to the following:

{
  "name": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/liveSessions/SESSION_ID",
  "playUri": "PLAY_URI",
  "manifestOptions": {
    "includeRenditions": [
      {
        "bitrateBps": 150000,
        "codecs": "hvc1.1.4.L126.B0"
      },
      {
        "bitrateBps": 440000,
        "codecs": "hvc1.1.4.L126.B0"
      }
    ],
    "bitrateOrder": "DESCENDING"
  },
  "gamSettings": {
    "streamId": "STREAM_ID"
  },
  "liveConfig": "projects/PROJECT_NUMBER/locations/LOCATION/liveConfigs/LIVE_CONFIG_ID",
  "adTracking": "SERVER"
}

C#

Before trying this sample, follow the C# setup instructions in the Video Stitcher API quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Video Stitcher API C# API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

using Google.Cloud.Video.Stitcher.V1;

public class CreateLiveSessionSample
{
    public LiveSession CreateLiveSession(
        string projectId, string location, string liveConfigId)
    {
        // Create the client.
        VideoStitcherServiceClient client = VideoStitcherServiceClient.Create();

        CreateLiveSessionRequest request = new CreateLiveSessionRequest
        {
            Parent = $"projects/{projectId}/locations/{location}",
            LiveSession = new LiveSession
            {
                LiveConfig = LiveConfigName.FormatProjectLocationLiveConfig(projectId, location, liveConfigId)
            }
        };

        // Call the API.
        LiveSession session = client.CreateLiveSession(request);

        // Return the result.
        return session;
    }
}

Go

Before trying this sample, follow the Go setup instructions in the Video Stitcher API quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Video Stitcher API Go API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	stitcher "cloud.google.com/go/video/stitcher/apiv1"
	"cloud.google.com/go/video/stitcher/apiv1/stitcherpb"
)

// createLiveSession creates a livestream session in which to insert ads.
// Live sessions are ephemeral resources that expire after a few minutes.
func createLiveSession(w io.Writer, projectID, liveConfigID string) error {
	// projectID := "my-project-id"
	// liveConfigID := "my-live-config"
	location := "us-central1"
	ctx := context.Background()
	client, err := stitcher.NewVideoStitcherClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("stitcher.NewVideoStitcherClient: %w", err)
	}
	defer client.Close()

	req := &stitcherpb.CreateLiveSessionRequest{
		Parent: fmt.Sprintf("projects/%s/locations/%s", projectID, location),
		LiveSession: &stitcherpb.LiveSession{
			LiveConfig: fmt.Sprintf("projects/%s/locations/%s/liveConfigs/%s", projectID, location, liveConfigID),
		},
	}
	// Creates the live session.
	response, err := client.CreateLiveSession(ctx, req)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("client.CreateLiveSession: %w", err)
	}

	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Live session: %v\n", response.GetName())
	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Play URI: %v", response.GetPlayUri())
	return nil
}

Java

Before trying this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in the Video Stitcher API quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Video Stitcher API Java API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

import com.google.cloud.video.stitcher.v1.CreateLiveSessionRequest;
import com.google.cloud.video.stitcher.v1.LiveConfigName;
import com.google.cloud.video.stitcher.v1.LiveSession;
import com.google.cloud.video.stitcher.v1.LocationName;
import com.google.cloud.video.stitcher.v1.VideoStitcherServiceClient;
import java.io.IOException;

public class CreateLiveSession {

  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.
    String projectId = "my-project-id";
    String location = "us-central1";
    String liveConfigId = "my-live-config-id";

    createLiveSession(projectId, location, liveConfigId);
  }

  public static void createLiveSession(String projectId, String location, String liveConfigId)
      throws IOException {
    // Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only needs to be created
    // once, and can be reused for multiple requests. In this example, try-with-resources is used
    // which automatically calls close() on the client to clean up resources.
    try (VideoStitcherServiceClient videoStitcherServiceClient =
        VideoStitcherServiceClient.create()) {
      CreateLiveSessionRequest createLiveSessionRequest =
          CreateLiveSessionRequest.newBuilder()
              .setParent(LocationName.of(projectId, location).toString())
              .setLiveSession(
                  LiveSession.newBuilder()
                      .setLiveConfig(LiveConfigName.format(projectId, location, liveConfigId)))
              .build();

      LiveSession response = videoStitcherServiceClient.createLiveSession(createLiveSessionRequest);
      System.out.println("Created live session: " + response.getName());
      System.out.println("Play URI: " + response.getPlayUri());
    }
  }
}

Node.js

Before trying this sample, follow the Node.js setup instructions in the Video Stitcher API quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Video Stitcher API Node.js API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment these variables before running the sample.
 */
// projectId = 'my-project-id';
// location = 'us-central1';
// liveConfigId = 'my-live-config-id';

// Imports the Video Stitcher library
const {VideoStitcherServiceClient} =
  require('@google-cloud/video-stitcher').v1;
// Instantiates a client
const stitcherClient = new VideoStitcherServiceClient();

async function createLiveSession() {
  // Construct request
  const request = {
    parent: stitcherClient.locationPath(projectId, location),
    liveSession: {
      liveConfig: stitcherClient.liveConfigPath(
        projectId,
        location,
        liveConfigId
      ),
    },
  };

  const [session] = await stitcherClient.createLiveSession(request);
  console.log(`Live session: ${session.name}`);
  console.log(`Play URI: ${session.playUri}`);
}

createLiveSession();

PHP

Before trying this sample, follow the PHP setup instructions in the Video Stitcher API quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Video Stitcher API PHP API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

use Google\Cloud\Video\Stitcher\V1\Client\VideoStitcherServiceClient;
use Google\Cloud\Video\Stitcher\V1\CreateLiveSessionRequest;
use Google\Cloud\Video\Stitcher\V1\LiveSession;

/**
 * Creates a live session. Live sessions are ephemeral resources that expire
 * after a few minutes.
 *
 * @param string $callingProjectId     The project ID to run the API call under
 * @param string $location             The location of the session
 * @param string $liveConfigId         The live config ID to use to create the
 *                                     live session
 */
function create_live_session(
    string $callingProjectId,
    string $location,
    string $liveConfigId
): void {
    // Instantiate a client.
    $stitcherClient = new VideoStitcherServiceClient();

    $parent = $stitcherClient->locationName($callingProjectId, $location);
    $liveConfig = $stitcherClient->liveConfigName($callingProjectId, $location, $liveConfigId);
    $liveSession = new LiveSession();
    $liveSession->setLiveConfig($liveConfig);

    // Run live session creation request
    $request = (new CreateLiveSessionRequest())
        ->setParent($parent)
        ->setLiveSession($liveSession);
    $response = $stitcherClient->createLiveSession($request);

    // Print results
    printf('Live session: %s' . PHP_EOL, $response->getName());
}

Python

Before trying this sample, follow the Python setup instructions in the Video Stitcher API quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Video Stitcher API Python API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

import argparse

from google.cloud.video import stitcher_v1
from google.cloud.video.stitcher_v1.services.video_stitcher_service import (
    VideoStitcherServiceClient,
)


def create_live_session(
    project_id: str, location: str, live_config_id: str
) -> stitcher_v1.types.LiveSession:
    """Creates a live session. Live sessions are ephemeral resources that expire
    after a few minutes.
    Args:
        project_id: The GCP project ID.
        location: The location in which to create the session.
        live_config_id: The user-defined live config ID.

    Returns:
        The live session resource.
    """

    client = VideoStitcherServiceClient()

    parent = f"projects/{project_id}/locations/{location}"
    live_config = (
        f"projects/{project_id}/locations/{location}/liveConfigs/{live_config_id}"
    )

    live_session = stitcher_v1.types.LiveSession(live_config=live_config)

    response = client.create_live_session(parent=parent, live_session=live_session)
    print(f"Live session: {response.name}")
    return response

Ruby

Before trying this sample, follow the Ruby setup instructions in the Video Stitcher API quickstart using client libraries. For more information, see the Video Stitcher API Ruby API reference documentation.

To authenticate to Video Stitcher API, set up Application Default Credentials. For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

require "google/cloud/video/stitcher"

##
# Create a live stream session. Live sessions are ephemeral resources
# that expire after a few minutes.
#
# @param project_id [String] Your Google Cloud project (e.g. "my-project")
# @param location [String] The location (e.g. "us-central1")
# @param live_config_id [String] Your live config name (e.g. "my-live-config")
#
def create_live_session project_id:, location:, live_config_id:
  # Create a Video Stitcher client.
  client = Google::Cloud::Video::Stitcher.video_stitcher_service

  # Build the resource name of the parent.
  parent = client.location_path project: project_id, location: location

  # Build the resource name of the live config.
  live_config_name = client.live_config_path project: project_id,
                                             location: location,
                                             live_config: live_config_id

  # Set the session fields.
  new_live_session = {
    live_config: live_config_name
  }

  response = client.create_live_session parent: parent,
                                        live_session: new_live_session

  # Print the live session name.
  puts "Live session: #{response.name}"
end

The Video Stitcher API generates a unique session ID for each request. A session expires if the playUri is not requested within the past 5 minutes.

You can use the returned STREAM_ID to inspect the live session.

Inspect live sessions enabled by Google Ad Manager

To see ad tag details for sessions, use the Stream activity monitor in Ad Manager to see details about ad requests. You can use the STREAM_ID to debug the stream session. To find the STREAM_ID for a live session, see Get a session.