Why is there a difference between Observability and Player impression counts?

You may notice a discrepancy between the number of impressions reported in Bitmovin Observability and the number of Player impressions shown in your account. This is expected and is typically caused by one or more of the following reasons:

1. Observability and Player measure a "play" differently

Observability and the Bitmovin Player use slightly different triggers for recording an impression. Observability requires a startup time to be measured, which means the definitions don't always align perfectly.

This means the two numbers are not directly comparable and a small difference is expected by design.

2. Ad blockers

Observability data is collected via a network request from the viewer's device. Ad blocking software can occasionally and inadvertently block this request, preventing the session from being recorded in Observability. This isn't common and doesn't usually affect a large number of impressions, but it can cause small differences.

3. Observability not configured on all platforms or sub-organisations

Observability may not be set up across every platform, device, or sub-organisation in your account. For example:

• Users still on older app versions that were released before Observability was integrated
• Observability only configured for certain platforms or devices (e.g. web but not CTV)
• Sub-organisations in your account that don't have Observability active

In these cases, the Player will count impressions that Observability has no visibility of.

If you have further questions, please reach out to our support team.