VideoJS Playlist: How to Fetch Dynamic Video Sources and Set Player to Loading State on Playlist Item Click?

Are you tired of dealing with static video sources in your VideoJS playlist? Do you want to take your video player to the next level by fetching dynamic video sources and setting the player to a loading state on playlist item click? Look no further! In this article, we’ll take you on a step-by-step journey to achieve just that.

What is VideoJS?

VideoJS is a popular, open-source JavaScript library used to create customizable video players for the web. It’s widely used by developers and websites around the world to create engaging video experiences. VideoJS provides a robust framework for building video players, including support for multiple video formats, responsive design, and customizable skins.

What is a VideoJS Playlist?

A VideoJS playlist is a collection of video sources that can be played in a VideoJS player. A playlist can be static, where the video sources are hardcoded, or dynamic, where the video sources are fetched from an external API or database. In this article, we’ll focus on creating a dynamic VideoJS playlist that fetches video sources from an external API.

Fetching Dynamic Video Sources

To fetch dynamic video sources, we’ll use the VideoJS playlist API to make an AJAX request to an external API. In this example, we’ll use a fictional API that returns a JSON response containing an array of video sources.

// Define the API endpoint and video sources array
const apiEndpoint = 'https://example.com/api/videos';
let videoSources = [];

// Make an AJAX request to the API endpoint
fetch(apiEndpoint)
  .then(response => response.json())
  .then(data => {
    videoSources = data.videos;
  });

In the above code, we define the API endpoint and an empty array to store the video sources. We then make an AJAX request to the API endpoint using the fetch API, and parse the JSON response using the `.json()` method. The video sources are stored in the `videoSources` array.

Creating the VideoJS Playlist

Now that we have the video sources, let’s create a VideoJS playlist and add the video sources to it.

// Create a new VideoJS player instance
const player = videojs('my-player');

// Create a new VideoJS playlist instance
const playlist = player.playlist();

// Add the video sources to the playlist
videoSources.forEach(video => {
  playlist.addItem({
    sources: [{
      src: video.src,
      type: video.type
    }]
  });
});

In the above code, we create a new VideoJS player instance and a new VideoJS playlist instance. We then add the video sources to the playlist using the `addItem()` method, which takes an object with a `sources` property containing an array of video sources.

Setting the Player to Loading State on Playlist Item Click

To set the player to a loading state on playlist item click, we’ll use the VideoJS playlist API to listen for the `beforechange` event. This event is triggered when the user clicks on a playlist item.

// Listen for the beforechange event
playlist.on('beforechange', () => {
  // Set the player to a loading state
  player.loading Spin(true);
});

In the above code, we listen for the `beforechange` event using the `on()` method, and set the player to a loading state using the `loadingSpin()` method. This will display a loading spinner on the player, indicating that the video is loading.

Full Example Code

Here’s the full example code that fetches dynamic video sources and sets the player to a loading state on playlist item click:

<!-- Create a VideoJS player container -->
<div id="my-player"></div>

<!-- Fetch dynamic video sources from API -->
<script>
  const apiEndpoint = 'https://example.com/api/videos';
  let videoSources = [];

  fetch(apiEndpoint)
    .then(response => response.json())
    .then(data => {
      videoSources = data.videos;

      // Create a new VideoJS player instance
      const player = videojs('my-player');

      // Create a new VideoJS playlist instance
      const playlist = player.playlist();

      // Add the video sources to the playlist
      videoSources.forEach(video => {
        playlist.addItem({
          sources: [{
            src: video.src,
            type: video.type
          }]
        });
      });

      // Listen for the beforechange event
      playlist.on('beforechange', () => {
        // Set the player to a loading state
        player.loadingSpin(true);
      });
    });
</script>

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve demonstrated how to fetch dynamic video sources and set the player to a loading state on playlist item click using VideoJS. By following these steps, you can create a dynamic VideoJS playlist that loads video sources from an external API and provides a seamless user experience.

API Endpoint	https://example.com/api/videos
Video Sources Array	videoSources
VideoJS Player Instance	player
VideoJS Playlist Instance	playlist

I hope you found this article helpful! If you have any questions or need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

• VideoJS Official Website
• VideoJS GitHub Repository

Happy coding!

Here are 5 questions and answers about “VideoJS Playlist: How to Fetch Dynamic Video Sources and Set Player to Loading State on Playlist Item Click”:

Frequently Asked Question

Get answers to your burning questions about VideoJS Playlist and dynamic video sources!