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Overview - Kaltura Player

Player Embedding & Control​

Embed Kaltura's PlayKit player in web applications using iframe or dynamic JavaScript. Both methods support KS-based access control, clipping, autoplay, and full programmatic control via the player API.

Base URL: https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/p/\{PARTNER_ID\}/embedPlaykitJs/uiconf_id/\{PLAYER_ID\} (may differ by region) Auth: Optional KS for access-controlled content (see Session Guide) Format: HTML embed (iframe) or JavaScript SDK (PlayKit)

When to Use​

  • Website and app video playback — Embed adaptive video and audio playback in websites, web apps, and mobile web views using iframe or JavaScript integration.
  • Branded player customization — Configure player appearance (watermarks, custom CSS, UI component toggles) and behavior (autoplay, looping, stream priority) to match your application's branding.
  • Interactive video delivery — Enable in-player experiences such as chapter navigation, dual-screen slides, in-video quizzes, hotspots, and transcript search through the 30+ plugin ecosystem.
  • Access-controlled content — Deliver protected video content using KS-based authentication, entry-scoped sessions, privacy contexts, and IP tokenization for CDN-protected delivery.
  • Programmatic player control — Build custom playback workflows with play/pause/seek APIs, event listeners for progress tracking, and runtime plugin control for dynamic layout switching.

Prerequisites​

  • KS (Kaltura Session): Optional for public content. For access-controlled entries, generate a USER KS (type=0) scoped with sview:ENTRY_ID on your server and pass it to the player. For IP-tokenized delivery, include iprestrict:VIEWER_IP.
  • Player instance (uiConfId): A player configuration created in the KMC under Studio > TV Platform or Studio > Player. The uiConfId determines which plugins are available and the default player settings.
  • Partner ID: Your Kaltura account ID, used to construct the player library URL and authenticate API requests.
  • Session management: See Session Guide for KS generation and privilege scoping.

Embed Type Comparison​

  • Iframe embed – Simplest drop-in, ideal for quick embedding where the host page manages layout only. Works well for sites that restrict JavaScript to first-party code. Control the configuration passed to the player by adding query string params.
  • Dynamic JS (PlayKit) – recommended when you need runtime config, start time, programmatic control, or richer integrations.