Some time ago there was an era of Flash players. Most companies in 2009 claimed that 99% of users were using it on their PCs. The first to abandon this player was Steve Jobs when he released his new iPhone. The reason was poor security and inoperability on touch screens. Huge amounts of content were created using this technology, but the era ended in early 2021. New standards have taken the place, one of the most popular being HTML5. Today, the HTML5 website player is widely used to embed video on websites.
You can use a free video player for site or premium versions. Video player websites include a variety of tools for commercial use, customizable embedded advertising. There are also popular online video platforms examples: YouTube, Vimeo. For some reason, they are not well suited for managing and monetizing videos on your site. So let’s focus on free and premium video player sites other than Youtube. If you’ve been looking for — which video player for my site is the best fit, then this review is for you. Ignore the order of the list.
Table of Contents
1. Plyr
A simple HTML player for a website. Considered by many, if not the best online video platform, the best free online video platform. Supports subtitles and screen readers. Allows you to work with Vimeo and YouTube. Open source and conditionally free distribution combined with convenience and simplicity will enable you to call it one of the best for beginners. There is a built-in full-screen mode, image quality settings, supports HLS, DASH, Shaka. Takes up very little space on the server. You can use the <video> command to add it to your site. You can find more details here: https://plyr.io/.
2. Video.js
The most popular embeddable player. Used on more than 300,000 websites, many of which have very high traffic. Very fast video playback on mobile devices and personal computers. Supports various plugins and formats: HTTP Live Streaming and Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP, WebM. You can use CDN for free. Various plugins, skins, and extensions are actively created and distributed in the community. Fully compatible with virtually all browsers. Follow this link to learn more https://videojs.com/.
3. JW Player
Originally a free product that has evolved over time into a platform for various tasks. The free version can only be used for non-commercial purposes. Provides analytics and allows full customization of HTML5 playback. Ideal for WordPress sites and compatible with all popular CMS. The main feature is the ease of use, even for people without much experience. If you were wondering, here is the address https://www.jwplayer.com/.
4. Cloudinary
This video player on the site is used mainly by large companies and enterprises. Allows you to play videos in high quality and without losing download speed. There are tools for processing and encoding video files. Provides hosting services. You can add a player to the site using embed code. There are tools for analytics and displaying audience interaction. If you are interested in this project, you can read more on https://cloudinary.com/documentation/cloudinary_get_started.
5. Shaka Player
Online video sharing platform free. You can use it offline, thanks to the boxed solution. Help in development is provided by Google. Open source code allows customization to individual requirements but requires community help when problems arise. A young and relevant project, worth paying attention to. To support advertising and analytics will have to use third-party services or look for a solution yourself. Details can be found here https://shaka-player-demo.appspot.com/docs/api/tutorial-welcome.html.
6. Kaltura Player
This is a web player based on Shaka Player from Google. Includes a long list of features, including support for ads and analytics. Used on a variety of platforms, allows you to easily customize the appearance of the player for your website. The distribution model is conditionally free. Learn more at http://player.kaltura.com/docs/.
7. MPV Player
MVP Player is a good website player. Service is also a young video hosting platform and online video advertising platform. It has some differences from HTML5 video players, you can read about them at https://mpvplayer.com/. You can monetize content in different ways, including cryptocurrency. With the help of the control panel and various tools for collecting statistics and analytics the integration of ad units is easy to set up.
8. JPlayer
A very old video player, but often found in reviews. We decided to add it to honor the memory. The player used scripts for the site in the form of an excellent PHP package. With this player, it was possible to create flexible solutions, innovative for its time. Alas, the community abandoned it and we can say that today it ceased to exist. This is one of the main disadvantages of an open-source product.
9. Lightbox
A free program that allows you to add a beautiful pop-up player window to your site. For commercial purposes, you will have to buy an expensive license. It is notable that it does not require any programming knowledge at all. Probably the best video player for site available for beginners. Without a single code in a few clicks, you can add a video, customize the appearance by choosing from a variety of templates. The embedded player on the site will look like a miniature window framed in a frame of your choice. To see if it’s worth it, go to https://videolightbox.com/.
10. Media Element.js
Last but not the worst on our list. This is a plugin that allows you to use under-tag AVC video. There are standard features for players but has a lot more. Translation with Google Translate, repeat playback, background highlighting from playing frames. Choose a video player site template. The product is free and open source. If your player does not support HTML5 format, the plugin changes it to another.
