Player example
In the HTML, this example uses inline styles in the div tags around the player embed code to display a vertical video in the Brightcove Player.
Additional CSS and JavaScript code is available if you want to add the added functionality where the video view width expands to full width when being viewed on a mobile device.
See the Pen Vertical Video by Brightcove Learning Services (@rcrooks1969) on CodePen.
Source code
View the complete solution on GitHub.
Using the CodePen
Here are some tips to effectively use the above CodePen:
- Toggle the actual display of the player by clicking the Result button.
- Click the HTML/CSS/JS buttons to display ONE of the code types.
- Later in this document the logic, flow and styling used in the application will be discussed in the Player/HTML configuration, Application flow and Application styling sections. The best way to follow along with the information in those sections is to:
- Click the EDIT ON CODEPEN button in the CodePen and have the code available in one browser/browser tab.
- In CodePen, adjust what code you want displayed. You can change the width of different code sections within CodePen.
- View the Player/HTML configuration, Application flow and/or Application styling sections in another browser/browser tab. You will now be able to follow the code explanations and at the same time view the code.
Development sequence
Here is the recommended development sequence:
- Use the In-Page embed player implementation to test the functionality of your player, plugin and CSS (if CSS is needed)
- Put the plugin's JavaScript and CSS into separate files for local testing
- Deploy the plugin code and CSS to your server once you have worked out any errors
- Use Studio to add the plugin and CSS to your player
- Replace the In-Page embed player implementation if you determine that the iframe implementation is a better fit (detailed in next section)
For details about these steps, review the Step-by-Step: Plugin Development guide.
iframe or In-Page embed
When developing enhancements for the Brightcove Player you will need to decide if the code is a best fit for the iframe or In-Page embed implementation. The best practice recommendation is to build a plugin for use with an iframe implementation. The advantages of using the iframe player are:
- No collisions with existing JavaScript and/or CSS
- Automatically responsive
- The iframe eases use in social media apps (or whenever the video will need to "travel" into other apps)
Although integrating the In-Page embed player can be more complex, there are times when you will plan your code around that implementation. To generalize, this approach is best when the containing page needs to communicate to the player. Specifically, here are some examples:
- Code in the containing page needs to listen for and act on player events
- The player uses styles from the containing page
- The iframe will cause app logic to fail, like a redirect from the containing page
Even if your final implementation does not use the iframe code, you can still use the In-Page embed code with a plugin for your JavaScript and a separate file for your CSS. This encapsulates your logic so that you can easily use it in multiple players.
API/Plugin resources used
| API Methods | API Events |
|---|---|
| addClass() | play |
| addChild() | ended |
| close() | |
| currentTime() |
Player/HTML configuration
This section details any special configuration needed during player creation. In addition, other HTML elements that must be added to the page, beyond the in-page embed player implementation code, are described.
Player configuration
No special configuration is required for the Brightcove Player you create for this sample.
Video configuration
This sample uses a video asset that was created on a mobile device in portrait mode. This vertical video has been ingested using a standard ingest profile.
HTML inline styling
The <video> tag's style attribute sets the size of the player to fill its parent <div> element.
The two <div> elements around the <video> tag are used to create a responsive player that has a maximum width of 286px.
Application flow
If you are satisfied with the player sizing with the HTML styles, then you can implement your player without the following CSS and JavaScript code.
Optional: Additional code is needed if you would like the player to expand to the full width of the device view when playback starts, and then return to the original 286px width when the video has ended. The basic logic is:
- Initialize variables and check for mobile device
- Define a modal close button
- When playback begins, enter full width mode
- When playback ends, exit full width mode
Initialize variables and check for mobile device
Find the code which is labeled:
// +++ Initialize variables and check for mobile device +++
Check if playback is happening on a mobile device.
Define a modal close button
Find the code which is labeled:
// +++ Define a modal close button +++
If the user is on a mobile device, then define a close button to exit from full width mode. The player will exit full width mode at the end of video playback, or when the user taps on the close modal button.
When playback begins, enter full width mode
Find the code which is labeled:
// +++ When playback begins, enter full width mode +++
When video playback begins, set the player to the full width of the device view.
When playback ends, exit full width mode
Find the code which is labeled:
// +++ When playback ends, exit full width mode +++
When video playback ends, set the player to the original width.
Application styling
The CSS styles the close button and the big play button.
Plugin code
Normally when converting the JavaScript into a Brightcove Player plugin nominal changes are needed. One required change is to replace the standard use of the ready() method with the code that defines a plugin.
Here is the very commonly used start to JavaScript code that will work with the player:
videojs.getPlayer('myPlayerID').ready(function() {
var myPlayer = this;
...
});
You will change the first line to use the standard syntax to start a Brightcove Player plugin:
videojs.registerPlugin('pluginName', function(options) {
var myPlayer = this;
...
});
As mentioned earlier, you can see the plugin's JavaScript code in this document's corresponding GitHub repo: vertical-video.js.
Using the plugin with a player
Once you have the plugin's CSS and JavaScript files stored in an Internet accessible location, you can use the plugin with a player. In Studio's PLAYERS module you can choose a player, then in the PLUGINS section add the URLs to the CSS and JavaScript files, and also add the Name and Options, if options are needed.