Wowza Video Platform Integration plugin

The Wowza Video Platform Integration plugin makes it easier to include videos and live streams you've created in Wowza Video into your development chain. For example, when you use the plugin, video metadata is included instead of relying on the API to fetch the metadata.

The plugin allows configurations to be managed via the platform so non-technical team members can easily configure players and build deep integrations. The plugin also maximizes performance by reducing the number of API calls and batching requests into composite responses. Ultimately, this eliminates the need to maintain API integrations and other custom performance integrations.

Before you start

Before you can use this plugin with the standalone player, make sure you have a Wowza Video subscription. For more, see get started with a Wowza Video trial.

Install the plugin

You can use the manual JavaScript approach to install the plugin. Include the ovp.min.js plugin next to the core player:

<script src="//cdn.flowplayer.com/releases/native/3/stable/flowplayer.min.js"></script>
<!-- load HLS plugin as platform videos default to HLS -->
<script src="//cdn.flowplayer.com/releases/native/3/stable/plugins/hls.min.js"></script>
<script src="//cdn.flowplayer.com/releases/native/3/stable/plugins/ovp.min.js"></script>
<!-- load additional plugins if needed
<script src="//cdn.flowplayer.com/releases/native/3/stable/plugins/ads.min.js"></script>
-->

Load media ID sources

The Wowza Video Platform Integration plugin is a loader plugin, meaning it loads a particular src type that is otherwise not supported in the native HTMLVideoElement. With this functionality, you can leverage live stream or video media IDs from your Wowza Video account with the Wowza Flowplayer.

Retrieve a video ID

Video media IDs can be retrieved from the URL of the Video details page in the Wowza Video platform. The format of the URL is https://app.wowza.com/videos/[video-id]. You can also find the video ID on the Videos > Metadata tab for each video asset.

When you locate the video identifier, include it in your player configuration as in the following example:

flowplayer("#player",
  { token : "[your-token]",
    src   : "[video-id]"
  })

This also works for playlist IDs in JavaScript embeds using the Playlist plugin.

Retrieve a live stream ID

Live stream IDs can be retrieved from the URL of the Live stream details page in the Wowza Video platform. The format of the URL is https://app.wowza.com/livestreams/[live-stream-id]. You can also find the live stream ID in the Live > Live streams > Overview tab > Playback section for each live stream asset.

When you locate the live stream identifier, include it in your player configuration as in the following example:

flowplayer("#player",
  { token : "[your-token]",
    src   : "[live-stream-id]"
  })

Add composite media IDs

Additionally, the Wowza Video Platform Integration plugin enables you to create composite media IDs. These composite identifiers can combine a video or live stream media ID from Wowza Video with a player configuration ID from the same platform. You can then reduce the number of API calls so your video player can start playback as soon as possible.

You can get your player configuration-id from the https://app.wowza.com/players/[configuration-id] URL in Wowza Video. You can also find the configuration ID on the Players > Configurations > General tab in Wowza Video. For more, see Player configuration details page.

flowplayer("#player",
  { token : "[your-token]",
    src   : "[configuration-id]/[video-id]"
  })

flowplayer("#player",
  { token : "[your-token]",
    src   : "[configuration-id]/[live-stream-id]"
  })

Recommend video content

With the composite media ID approach, you can use the Wowza Video Platform Integration plugin with the Endscreen plugin to recommend video content. For this set up to work and to get the recommended videos, you must:

• Install both the Endscreen plugin and the Wowza Video Platform Integration plugin.
• Create a player configuration in Wowza Video that includes the Endscreen plugin . You can use an existing playlist to specify the recommendations list or let Wowza Video select the recommendations for you. This feature applies to videos only.

You can then use a composite media ID to specify the source from the Wowza Video platform:

flowplayer("#player",
  { token               : "[your-token]",
    src                 : "[configuration-id]/[video-id]",
    recommendations     : false
  })

When a list of videos is available, the flowplayer.endscreen.events.RECOMMENDATIONS_READY event is emitted by the plugin.