TAG’s SCTE monitoring provides real-time visibility into ad insertion workflows, supporting both SCTE-35 and SCTE-104 standards. By continuously probing and analyzing cue messages, the system verifies that ad triggers fire correctly, ensuring seamless placement and maximum monetization.
SCTE-35 monitoring tracks critical ad events including splice points, program starts and ends, and placement opportunities, while also validating delivery and restriction flags such as regional blackouts, device rules, and archiving requirements. At the same time, SCTE-104 monitoring secures communication between automation systems and DPI equipment, confirming that insertion commands are issued and executed correctly.
All messages are captured and stored in both binary and decoded form, providing operators with the detail needed for reporting and post-event analysis. Combined with TAG’s end-to-end workflow coverage- from production to playout through encrypted OTT delivery and CDNs- SCTE monitoring guarantees revenue protection, operational efficiency, and a smooth viewing experience for audiences.
Technical Overview
TAG’s SCTE monitoring provides full visibility into both SCTE-104 and SCTE-35 signaling – from the initial automation commands to the downstream ad and content insertion points. The system decodes, validates, and reports all SCTE messages across live, OTT, and FAST workflows, ensuring precise ad delivery and operational reliability.
SCTE-104 support includes full tracking of the Digital Program Insertion (DPI) protocol chain between automation systems and injectors. TAG detects and logs every message type – from Init and Alive Requests to Inject Responses and Fault Notifications – confirming end-to-end communication integrity. Each operational ID (OPID) message is decoded for status reporting, configuration confirmation, provisioning, and fault resolution. This allows operators to verify that every DPI command has been acknowledged, executed, and completed successfully.
SCTE-35 monitoring covers both Type A and Type B event sets, enabling full lifecycle analysis of ad and program triggers in linear transport streams, HLS, and MPEG-DASH. TAG continuously monitors splice inserts, time signals, and segmentation descriptors, generating specific alerts when expected messages are missing, late, or malformed. Examples include:
- Program lifecycle events: Start, End, Resume, Breakaway, Runover, and Blackout Override segments.
- Ad and placement events: Provider/Distributor Advertisement and Placement Opportunity triggers.
- Editorial and overlay events: Opening/Closing Credits, Promos, Overlays, and Alternate Content signals.
- Restriction flags and metadata: validation of fields like Archive Allowed, Device Restriction, and Regional Blackout.
The system raises alerts if SCTE-35 signals are missing beyond configured thresholds, such as “Program Start Missing,” “Ad End Missing,” or “SCTE-35 Missing for Threshold.” It also detects timing mismatches, missing splice markers, or hint messages outside configured windows – ensuring that no trigger is lost or misaligned.
Together, these capabilities give operators a complete, real-time view of ad signaling performance. TAG’s SCTE analysis correlates SCTE-104 automation commands with SCTE-35 downstream execution, closing the loop between scheduling, playout, and delivery. This end-to-end validation protects ad revenue, ensures compliance, and provides transparent insight into every insertion event across the workflow.
