Announcing our new video player

api.video makes the delivery of streaming video easy. Just use our API to upload a video, and we handle all of the transcoding, storage and video delivery for you. All you need to do is add the url (or iframe) to your site or app, and we handle the rest - ensuring fast, easy video delivery to all of your users.

The url (or iframe) from api.video that you add to your site contains a customisable video player full of great features. Today, we are announcing the release of our new video player with more incredible features to wow your customers.

 

 

A video describing the new api.video player, inside the new api.video player!

Our new player is completely rewritten from the ground up, built on top of the video.js architecture. So, what that does this mean for you? For existing api.video users - all your videos have been automatically upgraded to the new player, and all future videos will automatically use the player as well! New Features In addition to the new sleek look of the player, there are a lot of new features that we would like to share with you.

Captions and chapters

Captions and Chapters were supported in the last player, and continue to be supported by the api.video player.

Chromecast

If there is a Chromecast on the same network as the device playing the video, a “cast” button will appear, so you can send to the larger screen.

Picture in picture

Pop the video out of your browser, and keep watching, even when you visit different pages - or even different screens! The video follows along so you can keep tabs of what is going on!

Responsiveness

One unique feature in Video.js is that the player automatically delivers the appropriate stream based on both the network bandwidth available AND based on the size of the video viewport. If you are watching a video on a small screen, or small window in the page, api.video only sends the largest appropriate size video to the screen - ensuring the highest quality, without sending extra data to your customers (that they cannot consume).

Video playback speed

For longer videos, some viewers may wish to watch at a slightly faster rate. The speed button in the bottom right allows you to watch as much as 2x faster than the original recording.

Video rewind and fast forward

Surrounding the video speed option are rewind and fast forward buttons. The rewind backs up the video 10 seconds, and the fast forward moves the video ahead 20 seconds. This is great when you miss a scene or critical bit of content, and want to quickly seek around in the video.

But, that is not the coolest part of the rewind and fast forward.

Live DVR

Yes! The rewind works on a live stream! If you are watching a live stream on api.video and miss a word, or want to review a slide - you can rewind and pause the video. Then press play, and increase the playback speed to zip back to the “live” coverage!

We are really excited to share these great new features with you, and can’t wait to see what cool videos and ways you might implement these features to better display your content. Please let us know what you think about the new video player in our developer forum: community.api.video

 

To start using api.video for your videos, sign-up for a free sandbox account now.