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ApsaraVideo VOD:Overview

Last Updated:Mar 08, 2024

You can integrate ApsaraVideo Player SDK for Web into your web applications and use the SDK for live streaming and video playback on demand. This topic describes the features of ApsaraVideo Player SDK for Web and its compatibility with browsers.

Introduction

ApsaraVideo Player SDK for Web uses the <video> tag of the HTML5 player and the Flash player to play videos in web applications. ApsaraVideo Player SDK for Web is compatible with multiple browsers such as Chrome and Safari to provide unified video playback effects on multiple platforms. ApsaraVideo Player SDK for Web also supports features such as hotlink protection, encrypted video playback, and quality monitoring based on ApsaraVideo Live and ApsaraVideo VOD.

Note

Flash Player is out of service and not supported by mainstream browsers. If you use Internet Explorer or a browser that does not support the HTML5 player, you can use the Flash player.

Supported protocols

VOD scenarios

The following table describes the playback protocols and codecs supported by ApsaraVideo Player SDK for Web.

Player

Video codec

Video protocol

Audio codec

Audio file format

H5

H.264

  • MP4

  • FLV

  • HLS

AAC

MP3

H.265

Note
  • If you want to play H.265 videos, you must submit a request on Yida to apply for a license.

  • Specific browsers do not support the playback of H.265 videos.

  • If you enable playback of H.265 videos, the startup loading time is extended and traffic consumption increases.

  • MP4

  • FLV

  • HLS

AAC

-

H.266

Note
  • If you want to play H.266 videos, submit a request on Yida to apply for a license.

  • H.266 videos are not supported on specific browsers.

  • If you enable playback of H.266 videos, the startup loading time is extended and traffic consumption increases.

MP4

AAC

-

Flash player (update stopped)

H.264

  • MP4

  • FLV

  • HLS

  • RTMP

  • AAC

  • MP3

MP3

Live streaming scenarios

The following table describes the live streaming protocols and codecs supported by ApsaraVideo Player SDK for Web.

Video codec

Video protocol

Audio codec

Audio file format

H.264

HLS, FLV, and RTS

AAC

-

H.265

HLS and FLV (codec ID = 12)

AAC

-

The following table describes the benefits and limits of each live streaming protocol.

Protocol

Advantage

Disadvantage

Latency

HLS

HLS is compatible with a variety of browsers.

The latency is high.

> 10s

FLV

FLV supports high concurrency and is suitable for native applications.

Browsers require integration with ApsaraVideo Player SDK for Web to play videos.

1s~3s

RTS

RTS performs well under poor network conditions. You can smoothly play streams even at a packet loss rate of 30%.

Browsers require integration with ApsaraVideo Player SDK for Web to play videos.

< 1s

Browsers supported by the HTML5 player

Note
  • The HTML5 player can be used in browsers on PCs and mobile devices.

  • We recommend that you use the browsers described in the following table for video playback. Otherwise, the playback may fail.

Supported browsers on PCs

Important

To play videos in the FLV or HLS format by using browsers on PCs, you must enable cross-origin resource sharing (CORS). For more information, see Configure CORS.

Browser

MP4

FLV

HLS

MP3

Chrome

Google Chrome 34 and later

Google Chrome 34 and later

Firefox

Firefox 49 and later

Firefox 49 and later

IE

Internet Explorer 9 and later

  • VOD: Internet Explorer 11 and later for Windows 8.1 and later

  • Live streaming: Internet Explorer 11 and later for Windows 8.1 and later

Important

You cannot play video streams in the FLV format in Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 8 and later. This is because the value of mseLiveFlvPlayback is false in the flv.js file for Internet Explorer 11.

Internet Explorer 11 and later for Windows 8.1 and later

Internet Explorer 9 and later

Edge

Opera

Safari

Safari 8 and later

Safari 8 and later

Supported browsers on mobile devices

Note

ApsaraVideo Player SDK for Web does not allow you to play FLV videos by using the HTML5 player on mobile browsers.

Table 1. Supported browsers on Android devices

Browser

MP4

FLV

HLS

MP3

Chrome

×

Google Chrome 34 and later

Firefox

×

Firefox 49 and later

WeChat

×

Edge

×

Opera

×

Table 2. Supported browsers on iOS devices

Browser

MP4

FLV

HLS

MP3

Chrome

×

Google Chrome 34 and later

Firefox

×

Firefox 49 and later

WeChat

×

Edge

×

Opera

×

Safari

×

Safari 8 and later

Features of the HTML5 player supported by browsers

Feature

PC

Mobile device

References

Full-screen playback

By default, the full-screen playback feature is disabled.

By default, the full-screen playback feature is enabled. You can disable the feature based on your needs.

Note
  • The full-screen playback feature cannot be disabled in Safari on iOS versions earlier than iOS 10.

  • If you play videos in inline mode, you need to modify the video size based on the resolution of transcoded videos. Otherwise, black bars may be displayed.

Advanced features

Autoplay

The autoplay feature that is provided by ApsaraVideo Player SDK for Web is not supported in specific browsers.

  • Autoplay is not supported in Safari 11 and later on macOS High Sierra.

  • Autoplay is not supported in Google Chrome 55 and later versions.

By default, autoplay is disabled. You can configure specific settings to enable this feature.

Note

Specific browsers and WebView-based apps allow autoplay. This commonly occurs on Android devices.

Advanced features

Volume adjustment

Yes

The video.volume property is read-only in iOS and specific Android systems. Therefore, the getVolume and setVolume methods provided by ApsaraVideo Player SDK for Web are invalid for iOS and specific Android systems.

Basic features

Playback speed

Yes

You cannot set the playback speed in specific mobile browsers, such as the WeChat browser for Android.

Basic features

HLS-encrypted video playback

  • Chrome

  • FireFox

  • Safari

  • Edge

  • Internet Explorer 11 and later for Windows 8.1 and later

Yes

Play an encrypted video

Playback of videos encrypted by using Alibaba Cloud proprietary cryptography

Note

For security reasons, you cannot use actual videos that are encrypted by using Alibaba Cloud proprietary cryptography for debugging.

  • Google Chrome (Recommended)

  • FireFox

  • Safari

  • Edge

  • Internet Explorer 11 and later for Windows 8.1 and later

Note

Specific third-party browsers may modify the settings of ApsaraVideo Player SDK without your authorization or knowledge. In this case, videos encrypted by using Alibaba Cloud proprietary cryptography cannot be played. To resolve this issue, we recommend that you use the HLS or digital rights management (DRM) encryption method to encrypt videos.

  • This feature is not supported in iOS browsers.

  • This feature is supported only in Google Chrome for Android.

Playback of DRM-encrypted live streams

Windows

  • Chrome

  • Opera

  • FireFox

  • Edge

macOS

  • Chrome

  • Safari

  • FireFox

  • Opera

  • Edge

iOS

  • Chrome

  • Safari

Android

  • Google Chrome for Android 10 and later

  • Edge

Playback of DRM-encrypted VOD files

Windows

  • Chrome

  • Opera

  • FireFox

  • Edge

macOS

  • Chrome

  • Safari

  • FireFox

  • Opera

  • Edge

iOS

  • Chrome

  • Safari

Android

  • Google Chrome for Android 10 and later

  • Edge

Browsers supported by the Flash player

The Flash player is supported only by PC browsers. The following table describes the videos in different formats that can be played in the Flash player on specific browsers.

Note

To use the Flash player in Internet Explorer 8, you must add the reference to the json.min.js file in the browser. For more information, see Quick integration.

Browser

MP4

FLV

HLS

RTMP

MP3

Chrome

Firefox

IE

Internet Explorer 8 and later

Internet Explorer 8 and later

Internet Explorer 8 and later

Internet Explorer 8 and later

Internet Explorer 8 and later

Edge

Opera

Safari