Customize player behaviors
Customize behaviors
Use the following steps to customize player behaviors:
- From the Players page, select an existing player. The player builder page appears. If you have clicked Create Web Player to create a new player, the player builder page will also appear.
- Set basic behaviors for the player.
- Set advanced behaviors for the player.
- Click Save.
As changes are made to the player settings, these changes appear in the player preview on the right side of the screen in real-time.
Player Behavior
The Player Behavior section allows you to adjust how each player functions and is presented to the viewer.
Use the following steps to customize the basic behaviors of a player:
- On the Configuration tab, expand the Player Behavior section. The basic player behavior options are displayed.
- Set the playback size.
- Enable playback behavior settings.
- Configure autostart settings.
Playback Size
- Under Playback Size, click the Aspect Ratio or Fixed Size radio button to configure the dimensions of the player.
- Choose the aspect ratio from the dropdown (Aspect Ratio) or set the player dimensions in pixels (Fixed Size).
When Aspect Ratio is selected you have the option to use the icons above the player preview to toggle between Desktop, Mobile-Portrait, and Mobile-Landscape. When Fixed is selected, the preview player appears with the dimensions that have been set.
Player Behavior settings
The Player Behavior section allows you to configure the behavior of the player. The following table explains each display option.
Option | Description |
---|---|
Loop | Automatically repeats video content. This will only work for single videos. Videos within playlists do not loop. Toggle ON to loop the video in the player. The default is OFF. |
Mute on Start | Starts playback with video muted Example use case: Use when viewers watch your content on a mobile device and On Always or On When Player is in View is selected for Autostart. Toggle ON to keep the video muted when played. The default is OFF. |
Autostart
The Autostart section allows you to configure the autostart behavior of the player and to decide when or if autostart is available.
The following table explains each autostart option.
Option | Description |
---|---|
On Always | Playback automatically begins when the page is loaded |
On When Player is in View | Playback automatically begins when more than 50% of the player is viewable |
Off | Playback does not automatically start when the page is loaded |
The majority of modern browsers force autostarted content to begin playing with muted audio. JWP cannot override this, as muted audio is enforced by browsers, not from within the player.
It is important to note that in most cases a viewer must interact with the player to enable sound once autostart begins. This may not be an optimal user experience if unmuted audio is desired as soon as the media plays.
The table below provides detailed information about each browser’s audio and general autostart policies.
Browser | Sound Default | Policies |
---|---|---|
Chrome | Muted | Autoplay with sound is allowed when:
|
Firefox | Muted | Firefox blocks all media with sound from playing automatically, by default. If users want a website to automatically play media or to make other changes to their autoplay settings, they can use one of these methods. |
Safari | Muted | Safari uses an automatic inference engine to block media elements with sound from auto-playing by default on most websites. The settings menu gives users control over which websites are allowed to auto-play video and audio. |
Enable muted ads
Under the the Autostart radio buttons is a final checkbox: Allow ads to play muted when the browser requires it. Click this check the checkbox to enable muted ads.
Some browsers require ads to be initially muted when video playback starts automatically. This browser requirement improves the user experience if the viewer is not expecting sound or if the player is not immediately in view. This option is only available when On Always or On When Player is in View is selected for the Autostart option.
Advanced Options
The Advanced Options section provides a variety of additional player options to further enhance usability and SEO viability.
Use the following steps to customize the advanced behaviors of a player:
- On the Configuration tab, expand the Advanced Options section. The advanced player behavior options are displayed.
- Click the toggle to ON next to any of the advanced features to enable a feature.
- Configure media preloading and the default bandwidth estimate.
Advanced Features
The Advanced Features section allows you to enable advanced player behaviors.
If you are a developer, you can also configure these behavioral settings in the player configuration code block.
The following table explains each option.
Features | Description |
---|---|
Float on Scroll | When selected, the player remains visible when the original player location is scrolled out of view by minimizing it to a corner of the screen. On devices in portrait orientation, the player becomes fixed to the top of the page using its original dimensions. When floating, the viewer can drag the player to reposition it. This functionality is disabled during ad playback. Float on scroll cannot be used with a player that is embedded in an iframe. |
Picture in Picture | When this option is selected picture-in-picture becomes available to the user so that the player video continues to play and display while on top of other content on the device. |
Pause if Offscreen | When this option is selected, video playback pauses when the player is no longer viewable. Playback resumes when the player becomes viewable again. If the player is no longer viewable after an ad break begins, the ad break will continue to play to completion before pausing. |
Google Analytics | In addition to the video analytics and insights provided by JWP, you can enable direct integration with Google Analytics. Follow the steps below to enable and integrate with Google Analytics: 1. Click the toggle to ON to enable tracking playback events using Google Analytics. 2. Set up Google Analytics. If you are a developer, you can also send events with Google Analytics to your analytics platform. |
Google Search Optimized | When this option is enabled, Google Search Optimization is enabled. |
Casting | When this option is enabled, a viewer can stream the video using Chromecast (Chrome) or Airplay (Safari). |
Playback Speed | Enables a menu that allows the viewer to adjust playback speed The predefined options available in the menu are 0.5x, 1x, 1.25x, 1.5x, and 2x. NOTE: For mobile web, adjusting the playback rate is not currently supported on Android devices with HLS streams. |
Media Preloading and Default Bandwidth Estimate
Media Preloading allows the video preloading setting to be configured. When a portion of a video is preloaded, the time is reduced between a viewer clicking the play button and the beginning of playback.
Default Bandwidth Estimate (Optional) allows you to define an estimate of your viewer's connection type. When defined, the player may attempt to start playback at a higher quality.
If you are a developer, you can use the preload and defaultBandwidthEstimate properties to configure these settings in the player configuration code block.
Use the following steps to define these settings:
- From the Media Preloading dropdown menu, select a preloading option.
- Select a Default Bandwidth Estimate from the dropdown menu.
Media Preloading Options
Options | Description |
---|---|
None | Configures the player to begin loading media only after the viewer clicks the play button. The viewer may experience a delayed start to video playback. No additional bandwidth is used to load media. |
Quick start (default) | Configures a single player to begin loading the metadata for the video and up to one segment of the video. If additional players are embedded on the same page, each player will preload content when more than 50% of the player is viewable. |
High-quality | Configures a single player to begin loading up to the first 30 seconds of the video content. If additional players are embedded on the same page, each player will preload content when more than 50% of the player is viewable. |
Updated 8 months ago