DocumentationAnalyticsStreaming media services guide

Track player states

Last update: June 8, 2026

CREATED FOR:

  • Developer

Player state events track how viewers interact with player controls throughout a session. They are optional and not required for core media tracking implementations. The five trackable states are: fullscreen, mute, closedCaptioning, pictureInPicture, and inFocus.

Player state events are useful for understanding accessibility feature usage, such as how often viewers enable closed captioning or mute. They also reveal viewing behavior patterns like fullscreen versus inline viewing and picture-in-picture multitasking.

Player events

Player event
Action
Player enters a state
Call State start
Player exits a state
Call State end

Standard and custom states

Five standard player states are available and you can add your own custom states.

Standard state name
Media SDK constant
Media Collection API name
Full screen
ADB.Media.PlayerState.Fullscreen
fullScreen
Closed captioning
ADB.Media.PlayerState.ClosedCaptioning
closedCaptioning
Mute
ADB.Media.PlayerState.Mute
mute
Picture in picture
ADB.Media.PlayerState.PictureInPicture
pictureInPicture
In focus
ADB.Media.PlayerState.InFocus
inFocus

See Player state variables for the full variable reference including XDM paths and metric definitions.

Custom states: You can create custom states to capture additional player behaviors specific to your application. See the Media API Reference: createStateObject for details on creating custom state objects.

Implementation steps

  1. Call State start when the player enters any of the five trackable states. Multiple states can be active at the same time, and multiple states can be started in the same event call.
  2. Call State end when the player exits a state. Multiple states can be ended in the same event call, and states can be started and ended together in a single call.

Guidelines

  • One video session is limited to 10 player states.
  • Any combination of states is allowed.
  • If multiple player states are passed, only the first 10 are retained and forwarded downstream to the media backend.
  • The maximum of 10 states applies to all states, regardless of whether they are open or closed.
  • A state can start and end multiple times and counts as a single state. For example, closedCaptioning can be started and stopped five times but counts as one state.
  • The player state is computed across all playback states (no splitting).
  • Player states are captured for each individual playback session. Player state is not computed across playbacks.
  • Knowledge of the application status is not maintained after a state stops. After a state ends, the state must be started again to continue tracking.

Updating multiple states simultaneously

On XDM-based platforms, multiple state changes can be batched into a single statesUpdate call using arrays in statesStart and statesEnd. On Mobile SDKs, each state change requires a separate call.

The following examples start mute and picture-in-picture together, then transition to full screen.

Web SDK
code language-javascript 
// t0 — start mute and picture-in-picture together
alloy("sendEvent", {
  xdm: {
    eventType: "media.statesUpdate",
    mediaCollection: {
      statesStart: [{ name: "mute" }, { name: "pictureInPicture" }],
      sessionID: "{sid}",
      playhead: 0
    }
  }
});

// t1 — end mute and picture-in-picture; start full screen
alloy("sendEvent", {
  xdm: {
    eventType: "media.statesUpdate",
    mediaCollection: {
      statesEnd: [{ name: "mute" }, { name: "pictureInPicture" }],
      statesStart: [{ name: "fullscreen" }],
      sessionID: "{sid}",
      playhead: 0
    }
  }
});

// t2 — end full screen
alloy("sendEvent", {
  xdm: {
    eventType: "media.statesUpdate",
    mediaCollection: {
      statesEnd: [{ name: "fullscreen" }],
      sessionID: "{sid}",
      playhead: 0
    }
  }
});
iOS

Mobile SDK does not support batching — send a separate call for each state change.

code language-swift 
// t0 — start mute and picture-in-picture
let muteState = Media.createStateObjectWith(stateName: MediaConstants.PlayerState.MUTE)
let pipState = Media.createStateObjectWith(stateName: MediaConstants.PlayerState.PICTURE_IN_PICTURE)
tracker.trackEvent(event: MediaEvent.StateStart, info: muteState, metadata: nil)
tracker.trackEvent(event: MediaEvent.StateStart, info: pipState, metadata: nil)

// t1 — end mute and picture-in-picture; start full screen
tracker.trackEvent(event: MediaEvent.StateEnd, info: muteState, metadata: nil)
tracker.trackEvent(event: MediaEvent.StateEnd, info: pipState, metadata: nil)
let fullscreenState = Media.createStateObjectWith(stateName: MediaConstants.PlayerState.FULLSCREEN)
tracker.trackEvent(event: MediaEvent.StateStart, info: fullscreenState, metadata: nil)

// t2 — end full screen
tracker.trackEvent(event: MediaEvent.StateEnd, info: fullscreenState, metadata: nil)
Android

Mobile SDK does not support batching — send a separate call for each state change.

code language-kotlin 
// t0 — start mute and picture-in-picture
val muteState = Media.createStateObject(MediaConstants.PlayerState.MUTE)
val pipState = Media.createStateObject(MediaConstants.PlayerState.PICTURE_IN_PICTURE)
tracker.trackEvent(Media.Event.StateStart, muteState, null)
tracker.trackEvent(Media.Event.StateStart, pipState, null)

// t1 — end mute and picture-in-picture; start full screen
tracker.trackEvent(Media.Event.StateEnd, muteState, null)
tracker.trackEvent(Media.Event.StateEnd, pipState, null)
val fullscreenState = Media.createStateObject(MediaConstants.PlayerState.FULLSCREEN)
tracker.trackEvent(Media.Event.StateStart, fullscreenState, null)

// t2 — end full screen
tracker.trackEvent(Media.Event.StateEnd, fullscreenState, null)
Roku Edge
code language-brightscript 
' t0 — start mute and picture-in-picture together
m.aepSdk.sendMediaEvent({
    "xdm": {
        "eventType": "media.statesUpdate",
        "mediaCollection": {
            "statesStart": [{"name": "mute"}, {"name": "pictureInPicture"}],
            "playhead": 0
        }
    }
})

' t1 — end mute and picture-in-picture; start full screen
m.aepSdk.sendMediaEvent({
    "xdm": {
        "eventType": "media.statesUpdate",
        "mediaCollection": {
            "statesEnd": [{"name": "mute"}, {"name": "pictureInPicture"}],
            "statesStart": [{"name": "fullscreen"}],
            "playhead": 0
        }
    }
})

' t2 — end full screen
m.aepSdk.sendMediaEvent({
    "xdm": {
        "eventType": "media.statesUpdate",
        "mediaCollection": {
            "statesEnd": [{"name": "fullscreen"}],
            "playhead": 0
        }
    }
})
Media Edge API
code language-sh 
# t0 — start mute and picture-in-picture together
curl -X POST "https://edge.adobedc.net/ee/va/v1/statesUpdate?configId={datastreamID}" \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{
  "events": [{
    "xdm": {
      "eventType": "media.statesUpdate",
      "mediaCollection": {
        "statesStart": [{"name": "mute"}, {"name": "pictureInPicture"}],
        "sessionID": "{sid}",
        "playhead": 0
      },
      "timestamp": "YYYY-01-01T00:00:00+00:00"
    }
  }]
}'

# t1 — end mute and picture-in-picture; start full screen
curl -X POST "https://edge.adobedc.net/ee/va/v1/statesUpdate?configId={datastreamID}" \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{
  "events": [{
    "xdm": {
      "eventType": "media.statesUpdate",
      "mediaCollection": {
        "statesEnd": [{"name": "mute"}, {"name": "pictureInPicture"}],
        "statesStart": [{"name": "fullscreen"}],
        "sessionID": "{sid}",
        "playhead": 0
      },
      "timestamp": "YYYY-01-01T00:01:00+00:00"
    }
  }]
}'

# t2 — end full screen
curl -X POST "https://edge.adobedc.net/ee/va/v1/statesUpdate?configId={datastreamID}" \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{
  "events": [{
    "xdm": {
      "eventType": "media.statesUpdate",
      "mediaCollection": {
        "statesEnd": [{"name": "fullscreen"}],
        "sessionID": "{sid}",
        "playhead": 0
      },
      "timestamp": "YYYY-01-01T00:02:00+00:00"
    }
  }]
}'

Legacy implementation types (Analytics-only)

Media SDK JS 3.x

Multiple state changes require separate calls.

code language-javascript 
// t0 — start mute and picture-in-picture
var muteState = ADB.Media.createStateObject(ADB.Media.PlayerState.Mute);
var pipState = ADB.Media.createStateObject(ADB.Media.PlayerState.PictureInPicture);
tracker.trackPlayerStateStart(muteState);
tracker.trackPlayerStateStart(pipState);

// t1 — end mute and picture-in-picture; start full screen
tracker.trackPlayerStateEnd(muteState);
tracker.trackPlayerStateEnd(pipState);
var fullscreenState = ADB.Media.createStateObject(ADB.Media.PlayerState.FullScreen);
tracker.trackPlayerStateStart(fullscreenState);

// t2 — end full screen
tracker.trackPlayerStateEnd(fullscreenState);
Chromecast

Multiple state changes require separate calls.

code language-javascript 
// t0 — start mute and picture-in-picture
var muteState = ADBMobile.media.createStateObject(ADBMobile.media.PlayerState.Mute);
var pipState = ADBMobile.media.createStateObject(ADBMobile.media.PlayerState.PictureInPicture);
ADBMobile.media.trackEvent(ADBMobile.media.Event.StateStart, muteState, null);
ADBMobile.media.trackEvent(ADBMobile.media.Event.StateStart, pipState, null);

// t1 — end mute and picture-in-picture; start full screen
ADBMobile.media.trackEvent(ADBMobile.media.Event.StateEnd, muteState, null);
ADBMobile.media.trackEvent(ADBMobile.media.Event.StateEnd, pipState, null);
var fullscreenState = ADBMobile.media.createStateObject(ADBMobile.media.PlayerState.FullScreen);
ADBMobile.media.trackEvent(ADBMobile.media.Event.StateStart, fullscreenState, null);

// t2 — end full screen
ADBMobile.media.trackEvent(ADBMobile.media.Event.StateEnd, fullscreenState, null);
Roku 2.x
Player state tracking is not available in the Roku 2.x SDK. To track player states, use the Roku Edge SDK.
Media Collection API
code language-json 
// t0 — start mute and picture-in-picture together
{
  "eventType": "statesUpdate",
  "params": {
    "statesStart": [
      { "media.state.name": "mute" },
      { "media.state.name": "pictureInPicture" }
    ]
  },
  "playerTime": { "playhead": 0, "ts": 1569999130627 }
}

// t1 — end mute and picture-in-picture; start full screen
{
  "eventType": "statesUpdate",
  "params": {
    "statesEnd": [
      { "media.state.name": "mute" },
      { "media.state.name": "pictureInPicture" }
    ],
    "statesStart": [
      { "media.state.name": "fullScreen" }
    ]
  },
  "playerTime": { "playhead": 0, "ts": 1569999230627 }
}

// t2 — end full screen
{
  "eventType": "statesUpdate",
  "params": {
    "statesEnd": [{ "media.state.name": "fullScreen" }]
  },
  "playerTime": { "playhead": 0, "ts": 1569999330627 }
}

Long pause

When a video session has a pause duration longer than 30 minutes, the API requires a new session. Generate a new session ID and retain all active states so that they can be restored with stateStart events right after the new sessionStart call.

sessionStart → stateStart (fullscreen) → stateStart (mute) → pauseStart → (pings for 30 minutes) → sessionEnd

After sessionEnd is sent, start a new session and immediately re-send the active states:

sessionStart → stateStart (fullscreen) → stateStart (mute) → ... other API events

State metrics

Three metrics are computed for each tracked state and sent to Adobe Analytics on the media close call:

Metric
Context data key
Description
State set
a.media.states.[state.name].set = true
true if the state was set at least once during the playback
State count
a.media.states.[state.name].count = 4
Number of times the state occurred during the playback
State time
a.media.states.[state.name].time = 240
Total time (seconds) spent in the state during the playback
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