JW Player

JW Player is a powerful video platform for delivering high-quality playback experiences. Median's JW Player Native Plugin integrates the JW Player iOS SDK and Android SDK into your app to provide native video playback with support for single videos, playlists, and adaptive streaming.

Why Use JW Player?

• Native SDK playback: The plugin uses JW Player's native iOS and Android SDKs to deliver smooth, high-quality video playback.
• Flexible input formats: Play a single video file, an array of video files as a playlist, or load a playlist directly from a JW Player playlist URL.
• Cross-platform support: One JS Bridge API works across iOS and Android with platform-appropriate behavior.
• Chromecast on iOS: When you configure an App ID, Chromecast initializes automatically at app launch on iOS.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

• A Median app with the JS Bridge enabled.
• A valid JW Player license key (licenseKey is a required configuration field).
• Access to App Studio to configure the plugin in the Native Plugins section.

Implementation Guide

App Configuration

1. Open App Studio and navigate to the Native Plugins section.
2. Locate the JW Player plugin and enable it.
3. Enter your JW Player Android and iOS License Keys.
4. If you want to enable Chromecast on iOS, enter your Google Cast App ID in the appId field.
5. Save your configuration.

Plugin Configuration options

JavaScript bridge functions

Initialize the JW Player SDK

↔️Median JavaScript Bridge

JavaScript

const result = await median.jwplayer.initialize({
  licenseKey: 'YOUR_JW_PLAYER_LICENSE_KEY'
});

// result object
{
  success: true | false,
  error: {                // present on failure only
    code: "NOT_INITIALIZED",
    message: "Invalid license key"
  }
}

Parameters

Play a Video

Present a full-screen native player and begin video playback. You can provide a single video file, an array of video files (playlist), or a JW Player playlist URL.

↔️Median JavaScript Bridge

To play a video:

JavaScript

// Play a single video
const result = await median.jwplayer.play({
  file: 'https://example.com/video.mp4',
  startTime: 30             // optional: start at 30 seconds
});

// Play a playlist
const result = await median.jwplayer.play({
  files: [
    'https://example.com/video1.mp4',
    'https://example.com/video2.mp4'
  ]
});

// Play from a JW Player playlist URL
const result = await median.jwplayer.play({
  playlistUrl: 'https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/playlists/abc123'
});

JavaScript

// Callback example
median.jwplayer.play({
  file: 'https://example.com/video.mp4',
  callback: function(result) {
    if (result.success) {
      console.log('Playback started');
    }
  }
});

Optional Parameters

**At least one of file, files, or playlistUrl must be provided**

Return Values

The callback data differs between platforms:

iOS returns when the player has been configured:

{
  success: true
}

Android returns when the player is closed, including playback state:

{
  success: true,
  position: 120,            // playback position in seconds at close time
  state: "playing",         // player state: "playing" | "paused" | "idle" | "complete"
  file: "https://...",      // URL of the current playlist item
  isMute: false,            // whether the player was muted
  currentQuality: {},       // current video quality
  currentAudioTrack: {},    // current audio track
  currentCaptions: {}       // current captions track
}

Error Response

{
  success: false,
  error: {
    code: "NOT_INITIALIZED" | "INTERNAL_ERROR",
    message: "..."
  }
}

Chromecast Support (iOS)

On iOS, Chromecast support is automatically initialized at app launch when the appId is configured in the server configuration. No additional JavaScript calls are required.

To enable Chromecast, add your Google Cast application ID to the JW Player configuration in the App Studio as shown in the App Configuration section above.

Testing Checklist

Use this checklist to ensure JW Player is working correctly in your iOS or Android app:

• The SDK auto-initializes or manually initializes using median.jwplayer.initialize()

• Using median.jwplayer.play() launches the player

• Chromecast works using an iOS appID or Android Google Cast application ID.

Troubleshooting