Stay organized with collections
Save and categorize content based on your preferences.
This guide shows how to implement bookmarking using the IMA DAI SDK
when using Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) for video-on-demand (VOD) streams.
This assumes a working IMA DAI implementation, such as the one presented in
Get Started.
What is bookmarking?
Bookmarking is the ability to save and then return to a specific point
in the content stream. Suppose a user watches five minutes of content,
leaves the video stream, and then returns to it. Bookmarking saves the
user's position in the stream so the stream can pick up from where it
left off, providing a seamless experience to the viewer.
DAI bookmarking under the hood
When bookmarking a DAI stream, you must record the stream id and time
when the user leaves the video. When the user returns, re-request the
stream and seek to the saved time. Since each instance of the requested
stream can have ad breaks of different durations simply saving the stream
time won't work. What you really want to do is continue from the same
content time.
Conversion methods to the rescue
The IMA DAI SDK provides a pair of methods to request the content time
for a given stream time and the stream time for a given content
time. Using these conversion methods you can store the bookmarked
content time and then seek to the corresponding stream time in
the new instance of the stream. Here's the approach, including a link
to a sample app that shows a working bookmarking implementation.
Load the bookmark when re-requesting a stream. It's part of implementing
the VideoStreamPlayer interface.
publicvoidloadUrl(Stringurl,List<HashMap<String,String>>subtitles){//Setvideoplayer's stream URL and subtitles, and play the stream....//Bookmarking.if(bookmarkTime > 0){doublestreamTime=streamManager.getStreamTimeForContentTime(bookmarkTime);videoPlayer.seek((long)(streamTime*1000.0));//stoms.}}
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-20 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThis guide explains how to implement bookmarking in video-on-demand (VOD) streams using the IMA DAI SDK for a seamless viewing experience.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eBookmarking involves saving the user's content time, not just stream time, to ensure accurate playback resumption.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe IMA DAI SDK provides methods to convert between stream time and content time for bookmarking purposes.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eDevelopers can save bookmarks when the activity is paused and load them when the stream is re-requested.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eA sample app demonstrating bookmarking implementation is available on GitHub.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Bookmarking in IMA DAI involves saving the user's position in a video stream for later continuation. Instead of recording the stream time, the key is to save the content time. When a user leaves, record the stream ID and convert the current stream time to content time using `getContentTimeForStreamTime()`. Upon return, re-request the stream and use `getStreamTimeForContentTime()` to find the corresponding stream time to seek to. Bookmarks are saved when the `Activity` pauses and loaded when re-requesting a stream.\n"],null,["# Save and load ad stream bookmarks\n\nThis guide shows how to implement bookmarking using the IMA DAI SDK\nwhen using Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) for video-on-demand (VOD) streams.\nThis assumes a working IMA DAI implementation, such as the one presented in\n\n\n[Get Started](/interactive-media-ads/docs/sdks/android/dai-quickstart).\n\n\nWhat is bookmarking?\n--------------------\n\nBookmarking is the ability to save and then return to a specific point\nin the content stream. Suppose a user watches five minutes of content,\nleaves the video stream, and then returns to it. Bookmarking saves the\nuser's position in the stream so the stream can pick up from where it\nleft off, providing a seamless experience to the viewer.\n\nDAI bookmarking under the hood\n------------------------------\n\nWhen bookmarking a DAI stream, you must record the stream id and time\nwhen the user leaves the video. When the user returns, re-request the\nstream and seek to the saved time. Since each instance of the requested\nstream can have ad breaks of different durations simply saving the stream\ntime won't work. What you really want to do is continue from the same\n**content time**.\n\nConversion methods to the rescue\n--------------------------------\n\nThe IMA DAI SDK provides a pair of methods to request the **content time**\nfor a given **stream time** and the **stream time** for a given **content\ntime** . Using these conversion methods you can store the bookmarked\n**content time** and then seek to the corresponding **stream time** in\nthe new instance of the stream. Here's the approach, including a link\nto a sample app that shows a working bookmarking implementation.\n\nSaving bookmarks\n----------------\n\nSave a bookmark when the `Activity` is paused. \n\n private double bookmarkTime;\n @Override\n public void onPause() {\n super.onPause();\n double streamTime = videoPlayer.getCurrentPosition() / 1000.0; // ms to s.\n bookmarkTime = streamManager.getContentTimeForStreamTime(streamTime);\n }\n\nLoading bookmarks\n-----------------\n\nLoad the bookmark when re-requesting a stream. It's part of implementing\nthe `VideoStreamPlayer` interface. \n\n public void loadUrl(String url, List\u003cHashMap\u003cString, String\u003e\u003e subtitles) {\n // Set video player's stream URL and subtitles, and play the stream.\n ...\n\n // Bookmarking.\n if (bookmarkTime \u003e 0) {\n double streamTime =\n streamManager.getStreamTimeForContentTime(bookmarkTime);\n videoPlayer.seek((long) (streamTime * 1000.0)); // s to ms.\n }\n }\n\nSample app\n----------\n\n[Download the Sample app](//github.com/googleads/googleads-ima-android-dai)\nto see a bookmarking implementation."]]
