DocumentationAnalyticsStreaming media services guide

Bitrate

Last update: June 8, 2026

CREATED FOR:

  • Developer

This page covers data collection for the Bitrate variable. See Average bitrate (dimension) and Average bitrate (metric) for the corresponding reporting variables.

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The bitrate variable is the current playback bitrate, in kilobits per second. Set it on the QoE object whenever the player negotiates a bitrate, and update the QoE object when the bitrate changes. The backend uses bitrate values to compute Average bitrate, the per-bitrate-bucket dimension, and the Bitrate changes metric.

Property
Value
Context data variable
a.media.qoe.bitrateAverageBucket
XDM collection field
xdm.mediaCollection.qoeDataDetails.bitrate
Audience Manager trait
c_contextdata.a.media.qoe.bitrateAverageBucket
Required
No
Sent with
Quality events (bitrate change, buffer start, error), session close
Web SDK

Set bitrate inside xdm.mediaCollection.qoeDataDetails on media.bitrateChange (or any quality-related event) when calling sendEvent:

code language-javascript 
alloy("sendEvent", {
  xdm: {
    eventType: "media.bitrateChange",
    mediaCollection: {
      qoeDataDetails: {
        bitrate: 3200,
        droppedFrames: 0,
        framesPerSecond: 24,
        timeToStart: 0
      },
      sessionID: "{sid}",
      playhead: 90
    }
  }
});
iOS

Pass the bitrate as the first argument to createQoEObject. Update the QoE object on the tracker before any quality event fires.

code language-swift 
let qoeObject = Media.createQoEObjectWith(bitrate: 3200,
                                       startupTime: 0,
                                               fps: 24,
                                     droppedFrames: 0)

tracker.updateQoEObject(qoe: qoeObject)
Android

Pass the bitrate as the first argument to createQoEObject. Update the QoE object on the tracker before any quality event fires.

code language-kotlin 
val qoeObject = Media.createQoEObject(3200L,
                                      0.0,
                                      24.0,
                                      0L)

tracker.updateQoEObject(qoeObject)
Roku Edge

Set bitrate inside xdm.mediaCollection.qoeDataDetails when calling sendMediaEvent for quality events such as media.bitrateChange:

code language-brightscript 
m.aepSdk.sendMediaEvent({
    "xdm": {
        "eventType": "media.bitrateChange",
        "mediaCollection": {
            "qoeDataDetails": {
                "bitrate": 3200,
                "droppedFrames": 0,
                "framesPerSecond": 24,
                "timeToStart": 0
            },
            "playhead": 90
        }
    }
})
Media Edge API

Call the bitrateChange endpoint with bitrate inside xdm.mediaCollection.qoeDataDetails:

code language-json 
{
  "events": [{
    "xdm": {
      "eventType": "media.bitrateChange",
      "mediaCollection": {
        "qoeDataDetails": {
          "bitrate": 3200
        },
        "sessionID": "{sid}",
        "playhead": 90
      }
    }
  }]
}

Legacy implementation types (Analytics-only)

Media SDK JS 3.x

Pass the bitrate as the first argument to ADB.Media.createQoEObject and update the tracker:

code language-javascript 
var qoeObject = ADB.Media.createQoEObject(
  3200,  // bitrate (kbps)
  0,     // startup time (ms)
  24,    // fps
  0      // dropped frames
);

tracker.updateQoEObject(qoeObject);
Chromecast

Pass the bitrate in kbps as the first argument to ADBMobile.media.createQoSObject and update the tracker:

code language-javascript 
var qosInfo = ADBMobile.media.createQoSObject(
  3200,  // bitrate (kbps)
  0,     // startupTime
  24,    // fps
  0      // droppedFrames
);
ADBMobile.media.updateQoSObject(qosInfo);
Roku 2.x

Pass the bitrate in kbps as the first argument to adb_media_init_qosinfo and update the tracker with mediaUpdateQoS:

code language-brightscript 
adb = ADBMobile()
qosInfo = adb_media_init_qosinfo(3200.0, 0.0, 24.0, 0.0)  ' bitrate, startupTime, fps, droppedFrames

adb.mediaUpdateQoS(qosInfo)
Media Collection API

Include media.qoe.bitrate in the params object of your bitrateChange POST request:

code language-json 
{
  "playerTime": { "playhead": 90, "ts": 1699523820000 },
  "eventType": "bitrateChange",
  "params": {
    "media.qoe.bitrate": 3200
  }
}

See the Media Collection API events reference for the full request structure.

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