Top 10 Video Players for CDN
1. JW Player
As JW Player says, every millisecond counts, which means loading speed and ultra-low latency are of the utmost importance. JW Player’s HTML5 player is designed to play the video with DASH and HLS as well as display video galleries with a Showcase option. Optimized for advertising and highly customizable with CSS and API access, JW Player also offers accessible customer support and audience engagement features.
Key features:
- Ability to schedule events
- Multiple cameras feed
- In-depth analytics
- Easy to use
- Best-in-class ad integrations
Cons:
- Limited customization for displaying URLs within videos
- Minimum subscription of one year
2. Flowplayer
Flowplayer has an industry reputation for being one of the fastest-loading HTML5 players available. They offer a free trial and a variety of payment options from as low as $25 a month. Some interesting integrations through Flowplayer include real-time analytics, header bidding, and various monetization opportunities through subscriptions and pay-per-view solutions. Flowplayer also supports adaptive bitrate streaming for streaming profiles up to 1440p (4K) and enables advanced customization for both desktop and mobile applications, making it one of the most dynamic and reliable players out there.
Key Features:
- Award-winning monetization options
- Real-time analytics and diagnostics
- HLS, MPEG-DASH, MP4, WebM
- Advanced ad-scheduling
- Playlists, Chromecast, ABR
Cons:
- Ability to display ads only included in medium-tier plan and higher.
3. THEOPlayer
THEOPlayer is a commercial HTML5-based video player offering pre-integration across a wide video ecosystem. Web, mobile web, mobile, set-top boxes, casting devices, and smart TVs are all supported by THEO, offering an impressive reach for viewership. One of their most popular features is an SDK that supports Apple’s Low-Latency HLS streaming, making them among the first vendors on the market to do so.
Key Features:
- HLS, Low-Latency HLS
- MPEG-DASH, low-latency CMAF for DASH
- DRM/encryption
- Monetization and Advertising
- Full SDK for customization
- Viewer engagement metrics
- (ABR)
Cons:
- The least expensive plan starts at $413 a month, which may not fit small creators’ budgets
- Based on our testing, THEOPlayer had the largest default CSS and JavaScript file sizes compared to others on this list
4. Video.js
An open-source player, Video.js uses basic Javascript and CSS, but can be easily customized and is used today on over 400,00 websites. It offers playback support for live streams as well as MP4 and WebM files, with adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR) over both HLS and MPEG-DASH. Video.js also offers a popular plugin that allows you to track Google Analytics right from the player.
Key Features:
- Over 100 plugins for advanced functionality
- HLS, MPEG-DASH, MP4, WebM
- Analytics, advertising, brand logo insertion
- Playlists, Chromecast, ABR
Cons:
- Standalone player, so you’d need to connect to the rest of your tech stack
- No CDN or analytics included
- No native monetization integrations
5. hls.js
Free, open source, and built on a JavaScript library, hls.js works directly on top of the HTML5 <video> element by implementing an HLS client. Two top features for hls.js include its support for HLS and fragmented MP4 (fMP4) as well as its ability to transmux (or repackage) MPEG-2 and AAC/MP3 streams to fragmented MP4. Offering an extensive API library, you can fine-tune parameters such as buffer size, segment length, and bitrate. The ability to stream HLS with hls.js is nearly universal in modern browsers, but it does require the support of Media Source Extensions (MSE) in HTML5.
Key Features:
- Fragmented MP4 support
- VOD and live playlists with ABR
- Alternative audio for VOD and live playlists
- Subtitles, captions, analytics, timed metadata
- Resilient to errors/built-in retry mechanisms
Cons:
- No encoding or hosting options
- Requires more advanced technical knowledge and resources to implement than some others
- No dedicated customer support
6. dash.js
The dash.js player provides MPEG-DASH playback in any browser supporting Media Source Extensions (MSE) and is built on JavaScript. With DASH being an adaptive bitrate streaming protocol, the dash.js player offers one of the best adaptive streaming algorithms. Since it’s the official reference player for the DASH Industry Forum, you can expect high quality and reliability in a production environment. It’s both codec and browser-agnostic and supports cross-browser DRM. Finally, dash.js does offer support for the newer low-latency DASH protocol.
Key Features:
- High-quality MPEG-DASH Playback
- Support for low-latency DASH
- Advanced ABR algorithms
- Cross-browser DRM, captions
- Live playback catchup
Cons:
- No built-in analytics and monetization options
- Requires more advanced technical knowledge and labor for implementation
7. jPlayer
jPlayer is an entirely free HTML5 video player because it’s an open-source media library built in JavaScript. You can use it to implement cross-platform video and audio and leverage its flexible API for customization and webpage implementation. Because it’s free and open source, no licensing is required, and a community of contributors is continually working to improve it. Plus, it’s only 14KB, so it’s a lightweight player that won’t overwhelm your code or bog down your page load speed.
Key features:
- Pick from many free plugins
- Supports multiple codecs, browsers, and other platforms
- Thorough documentation if you need help
- Both customizable and skinnable (also with CSS)
- Easy to use if you need a quick solution
Cons:
- Requires your own CDN and encode videos separately
- No closed captions
8. Clappr
Known as one of the first open-source HTML5 players to be created by a community on GitHub, Clappr is built on .js and also uses the default <video> element in HTML5. The Clappr player is highly customizable in the CSS, boasts rave reviews for being user-friendly, and offers easy access to its API library. You can expect seamless video content delivery across smartphones, tablets, desktops, and TVs. Clappr users will likely be impressed with the long list of specialty plugins for customization.
Key Features:
- HLS and DASH Playback
- Picture-in-picture support
- Support for 360 videos
- Plugin for playback statuses
9. Kaltura Player
Kaltura is an out-of-the-box streaming solution that specializes in conferences and educational videos. Ideal for virtual classrooms and meetings, Kaltura also offers its own player, so anyone invited will enjoy a high-quality user experience. Kaltura’s open-source nature means a community of developers is consistently making improvements. Plus, the player was designed with accessibility in mind, so students and event attendees can take advantage of screen reader support, easy-to-use controls, captions editing, high contrast mode, and more.
Key features:
- Extensible framework for plugin integrations
- Last mile optimization for reduced join times
- DRM support
- Interactivity support for VR, dual streams, quizzes, interactive pathways, etc.
- Brandable and customizable
Cons:
- Several integrations cost extra
- Pricing varies per product or uses case, no tiered plans
10. Cloudinary
Cloudinary’s HTML5 video player comes with a variety of customization and integration options, as well as monetization opportunities. It’s possible to use Cloudinary’s player on any screen size or device. You can implement multiple players on a single webpage, take advantage of built-in support for controls, create playlists, and even leverage shoppable video if you’re using your video strategy to sell physical products.
Key features:
- Monetize through VPAID, VAST, and VMAP advertising standards
- In-depth analytics (including duration percentage)
- Supports ABR with HLS and MPEG-DASH
- Display video recommendations when another end
- Floating player for when site visitors scroll away
Cons:
- Interactive video functionality is in beta
- A more advanced and, therefore, more complex platform to use if the video isn’t a core competency for businesses