2021 AD VIDEO SPECIFICATIONS

2021 AD VIDEO

SPECIFICATIONS

Site Served

VAST

File Format

§ QuickTime movie (.mov)

§ MPEG-4 (.mp4)

H.264 MP4

Aspect Ratio

16:9 no letter/pillar boxing unless it

is an intentional creative choice for

the advertisement

16:9 no letter/pillar boxing unless it

is an intentional creative choice for

the advertisement

Codec

§ H.264 codec

§ Apple ProRes 422 HQ codec

§ Interlaced video is not accepted

Bitrate

§ Constant Bitrate (CBR)

15 - 30 mbps

§ No black bars

§ Main Profile @ Main Level

(MP@ML)

§ 4:2:2 Color Space

Mandatory rendition ranges:

§ At least one between

1.2 and 2.1 mbps

§ At least one between

700 kbps and 1.2 mbps

§ At least one between

360 and 500 kbps

§ Additional renditions

are allowed

Audio

§ -23 integrated LUFS

§ Audio required; 2 channels

(stereo) only; Multi-channel audio

not supported

§ PCM (preferred) or AAC codec

§ 192 kbps minimum

§ 16 or 24 bit only

§ 48 kHz sample rate

§ -23 integrated LUFS

§ Audio required; 2 channels

(stereo) only; Multi-channel audio

not supported.

Frame Rate

§ 23.98, 25, or 29.97 based on

native rate

§ Remove any pull-down added

for broadcast

§ Constant frame rate only

§ Make content progressive using

adaptive de-interlace with no

frame blending

Notes

Site served files must be received

“broadcast ready.” No pre-air slates

or any elements that would need

to be edited.

§ Progressive download

§ DO NOT rotate several durations

within a single tag

§ No VPAID or JavaScript

§ No companion support

AD VIDEO SPECIFICATIONS

Roku Advertising Guidelines Overview

Roku video advertising combines the sight, sound, and motion of TV

with the targeting, measurement, and interactivity of digital video. Ads

on Roku are full-screen, high-definition, 100% viewable, unskippable,

and have 95% completion rates.

Not Supported

Roku does not support HTML, VPAID, JavaScript, Flash or cookies.

Desktop/mobile technology that verifies, measures, or depends on

any of these technologies will result in a lost impression, and in

some extreme cases, may cause a Roku channel to crash.

Utilization

We utilize IAB VAST standards for video ad serving. However,

because Roku is not a browser-based platform, not all desktop

assumptions for ad-serving are valid. To ensure the best experience

for the brand and consumer, following these guidelines is a must.

AD VIDEO SPECIFICATIONS

Things We Do

Accept IVT Vendors: IAS, DoubleVerify, and WhiteOps

IAS tags must be CTV specific and cannot accept Legacy Firewall tags

Accept VAST tags

Require that all VAST tags return a valid ad response for every instance

Accept interactive formats from Innovid and Brightline

Require a minimum of 24-48 business hours for tag and creative

quality assurance before launch

Limit the use of 3

party tracking pixels (only advertiser’s ad server/

pre-approved vendors)*

Things We Don’t Do

Take VPAID/VPAID elements

Accept any other interactive advertising formats

Allow slates

Support JavaScript or Flash

Accept companion click through advertising

Send cookies

What are the minimum and maximum file sizes?

50 mb minimum / 500 mb maximum.

Can I include my viewability trackers?

Roku does not support viewability tracking; however, as a TV based system

with no browsers, windows, or overlays, Roku is naturally 100% viewable on

every impression.

Are you VAST compliant?

Yes, we are VAST 2.0 and 3.0 compliant.

AD VIDEO SPECIFICATIONS

The Dos and Don’ts of Roku Advertising

Frequently Asked Questions

* Roku Ad Server is set to the Eastern Time Zone. In order to avoid discrepancies, please ensure 3P reporting is set to the

Eastern Time Zone or confirm all billable impressions will only fall within the Eastern Time Zone window, prior to launch.

General Guidelines

§ Ads will not promote products or services that are directly competitive with

Roku, such as streaming set-top boxes, gaming consoles, sticks, smart TVs,

audio speakers, etc.

§ Ads must not contain false, misleading, fraudulent, or deceptive claims or

content.

§ Ads must clearly represent the company, product, service, or brand that is

being advertised. Products and services promoted in the ad copy must be

clearly represented, and the destination site may not offer or link to any

prohibited product or service.

§ Ads may not offer, promote or link to the following prohibited products or

services: illegal narcotics; tobacco products; drug or tobacco paraphernalia;

weapons, ammunition, or explosives; adult products or services, or products or

services of an inherently sexual nature; products or services designed to violate

or bypass copyright restrictions; counterfeit products; products or services that

are harmful, threatening, harassing, defamatory, or invasive of another’s privacy

or right of publicity; gambling and wagering products or services; products or

services the sale of which violates any applicable law.

§ Ads may not: include hate speech; discriminate against, or promote

discrimination against, any individual or group; encourage conduct that violates

any applicable law; infringe upon intellectual property rights, personal rights, or

proprietary rights; contain nudity, depict people in sexually explicit or

suggestive positions, or contain content of an inherently sexual nature that is

inappropriate for a general viewing audience; contain obscene language;

promote or display excessive violence.

§ Ads may not suggest false relevancy to generic offers.

§ Ads must run in a language that is relevant to the language of the channel

and/or its target audience.

§ Ads should be :15 or :30 in duration. Exceptions may be made for :60 ads.

§ Each instance of advertising, sponsorship, underwriting, presented-by credits or

other third party attribution in channel application logos or banner ads must be

expressly pre-approved in writing by Roku.

§ Ads to be served by Roku must be in a final state and received five (5) business

days prior to scheduled start date of the placement.

AD VIDEO SPECIFICATIONS

Roku Advertising Guidelines

These Guidelines govern all advertising (“Ads”) placed with Roku, Inc., including

advertising on the user interface of the Roku operating system, on any Roku-

branded website and/or application (including The Roku Channel), and/or on

any application or channel delivered through the Roku operating system. Roku

reserves the right to reject any Ads in violation of these Guidelines, or in Roku’s

sole discretion, to establish the times during which any Ads may run. These

Guidelines are subject to change by Roku at any time.

AD VIDEO SPECIFICATIONS

Video Advertising Guidelines

§ Ads may not enable the installation of third party-channel applications.

§ Ads may not offer or link to search functionalities across multiple Roku partner

channel applications.

§ Ads may not collect personally identifiable information, including, but not

limited to, IP Addresses, or enable RFI request for information data collection

capabilities without express prior written approval from Roku. Ads may not

download or install executable code.

§ Ads may not contain Easter eggs or any hidden functionality.

§ Ads may not include pixels, third-party tags, or Software Development Kits of

any kind without express prior written approval and certification by Roku.

§ Roku reserves the right to review the source code used in ads.

§ Ads should be available in SD and HD formats suitable for display on a large

screen TV. Low resolution (less than 720 x 480p) or low frame rate (less than

30 fps) is not permitted.

§ You agree to the following addition al guidelines if you are a channel publisher

displaying Ads within the user interface of the Roku operating system or within

any application or channel delivered through the Roku operating system.

§ Channel publishers should refer to their Roku application distribution

agreement(s) to remain in accordance with general content guidelines.

§ Applications may not run an unbalanced volume of advertisements relative to

content (“Ad Farms”).

§ Ads which play in applications that enable “auto-rolling” or “auto-playing” (e.g.,

starting a new asset automatically upon completion of a previously-viewed

asset), or deploy other tactics designed to create ad impressions, rather than

quality content experiences, are subject to Roku review.

§ Mid-roll ad breaks/pods are allowed only after a minimum of 7 mins of content

have been viewed, and thereafter, at no fewer than seven-minute intervals.

§ Ad Pods in AVOD content may run no longer than two minutes, with no more

than two ads of less than :30 in any given pod unless Roku provides express

prior written approval otherwise.

§ Ad counter and ad duration must be visible for every ad (with the exception for

interactive ads).

§ Applications may not run the same ad multiple times in one single break/pod.

§ Individual ads must not repeat more than two times per hour per Unique User.

§ Individual ads must not repeat more than five times per day per Unique User.

§ You agree to the following addition al guidelines if you are an advertiser, agency

or channel publisher purchasing the placement of Ads within the user interface

of the Roku operating system, on any Roku-branded website and/or application

(including The Roku Channel), and/or on any application or channel delivered

through the Roku operating system.

AD VIDEO SPECIFICATIONS

Display Advertising Guidelines

§ Ads may not include images comprised of more than 20% text.

§ Ads should primarily be used to promote specific content, and should deep-link

into the title or series being promoted. Roku will not promote specific content

without a deep-link. Generic, app promotions are less effective and are only

permitted on a limited basis at Roku’s discretion.

§ Ads must comply with Roku’s creative specifications.

SMS, MMS, or Other Text Message Campaigns

§ Each ad may only be used to promote a single message program and may not

be used in connection with any recurring message programs.

§ Ads may not refer or link to any recurring message program.

§ Ads must disclose, in a clear and conspicuous manner, what the recipient will

receive via SMS text.

§ Ads and all associated SMS texts must contain clearly labeled links or URLs to

applicable terms and conditions of the program being promoted, and the

applicable privacy policies with up-to-date, accurate information about data

collection and usage.

§ Ads and all associated SMS texts must correctly identify the brand name or

sponsor for the program.

§ Ads must disclose that message and data rates may apply.

§ Ads must comply with all legal and regulatory requirements and guidelines,

including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227, the Federal

Communication Commission's rules under 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200, and the

requirements of the CTIA Short Code Monitoring Program: Short Code

Monitoring Handbook.