What is Interstitial Video?
Interstitial video is a self-contained segment inserted between primary content items or application states. It commonly serves as an advertisement, announcement, or visual transition.
How Interstitial Video works
An interstitial is scheduled against a primary timeline or a transition in application state, then resolved to one asset or an ordered asset list. The player suspends the main presentation, transfers playback and measurement state, and resumes according to a defined offset or live-edge policy. Client-side insertion performs that splice in the player, while server-side approaches may return a continuous packaged stream. Asset readiness, restrictions, and tracking events belong to the insertion contract as much as the clip itself.
Key facts
- 1HLS can signal interstitial opportunities with specialized EXT-X-DATERANGE attributes, letting a compatible player resolve assets without baking them into the primary media.
- 2If an inserted asset changes codec, encryption context, or track layout, the player may need a new initialization segment and decoder reconfiguration at both boundaries.
- 3An insertion state machine should make event IDs idempotent; playlist refreshes and retries can otherwise schedule the same break more than once.
When Interstitial Video matters
Applications must coordinate insertion timing, tracking, audio focus, and return to the primary experience. Incorrect state handling can restart content, lose playback position, or show an interstitial twice.