This is not vanilla Shaka Player. This is a PubNub-enhanced fork that adds real-time playback synchronization—enabling "Watch Party" experiences where multiple viewers stay perfectly in sync.
Looking for the original? See shaka-player on npm.
| Feature | Shaka Player | @pubnub/shaka-player |
|---|---|---|
| DASH/HLS Streaming | Y | Y |
| DRM Support | Y | Y |
| Offline Playback | Y | Y |
| Real-Time Sync (Watch Party) | - | Y |
| Master/Follower Control | - | Y |
| Automatic Drift Correction | - | Y |
| Presence Events | - | Y |
npm install @pubnub/shaka-player shaka-player pubnub- Create an account at admin.pubnub.com
- Create a new app and grab your Publish Key and Subscribe Key
import shaka from 'shaka-player';
import PubNub from 'pubnub';
import { SyncManager } from '@pubnub/shaka-player';
// Initialize player
const video = document.getElementById('video');
const player = new shaka.Player();
await player.attach(video);
await player.load('https://example.com/manifest.mpd');
// Create SyncManager with your PubNub keys
const syncManager = new SyncManager(player, {
publishKey: 'pub-c-YOUR-PUBLISH-KEY',
subscribeKey: 'sub-c-YOUR-SUBSCRIBE-KEY',
PubNub: PubNub, // Pass PubNub class
userId: 'user-123', // Optional: auto-generated if omitted
maxDriftThreshold: 0.5, // Seconds before force-sync (default: 0.5)
syncIntervalMs: 5000 // Sync pulse interval (default: 5000)
});
// Join a watch party room
syncManager.connect('friday-movie-night');
// Control playback for everyone (or stay as follower)
syncManager.becomeMaster();| Method | Description |
|---|---|
connect(roomId) |
Join a sync room |
disconnect() |
Leave the current room |
becomeMaster() |
Take control of playback for all viewers |
becomeFollower() |
Follow the master's playback |
getRole() |
Returns 'master' or 'follower' |
isConnected() |
Returns connection status |
getRoomId() |
Returns current room ID |
getUserId() |
Returns this client's user ID |
destroy() |
Clean up resources |
syncManager.addEventListener('masterchanged', (event) => {
console.log('New master:', event.newMasterId);
});
- Master controls playback (play, pause, seek)
- Commands are sent instantly via PubNub to all connected clients
- Followers receive and apply commands with latency compensation
- Periodic sync pulses correct any drift between clients
| Build | File | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Full + UI | shaka-player.ui.js |
Complete player with UI controls |
| Full | shaka-player.compiled.js |
Player without UI |
| DASH Only | shaka-player.dash.js |
Lightweight DASH-only build |
| HLS Only | shaka-player.hls.js |
Lightweight HLS-only build |
All builds include the SyncManager for Watch Party functionality.
| Browser | Windows | Mac | Linux | Android | iOS >= 9 | iOS >= 17.1 | iPadOS >= 13 | ChromeOS | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chrome | Y | Y | Y | Y | Native | Native | Native | Y | - |
| Firefox | Y | Y | Y | untested⁵ | Native | Native | Native | - | - |
| Edge | Y | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Edge Chromium | Y | Y | Y | untested⁵ | Native | Native | Native | - | - |
| IE | N | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Safari | - | Y | - | - | Native | Y | Y | - | - |
| Opera | Y | Y | Y | untested⁵ | Native | - | - | - | - |
| Chromecast² | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y |
| Tizen TV³ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y |
| WebOS⁶ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y |
| Hisense⁷ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y |
| Vizio⁷ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y |
| Xbox One | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y |
| Playstation 4⁷ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y |
| Playstation 5⁷ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Y |
Notes:
- ²: The latest stable Chromecast firmware is tested. Both sender and receiver can be implemented.
- ³: Tizen 2017 model is actively tested. Tizen 2016 is community-supported.
- ⁵: Expected to work but not actively tested.
- ⁶: Community-supported. See official WebOS support issue.
- ⁷: Community-supported and untested by us.
iOS/iPadOS Notes:
- iOS 9+ supported through Apple's native HLS player
- iPadOS 13+ supports MediaSource Extensions
- iPadOS 17 and iOS 17.1+ support ManagedMediaSource Extensions
| Browser | Widevine | PlayReady | FairPlay | ClearKey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chrome¹ | Y | - | - | Y |
| Firefox² | Y | - | - | Y |
| Edge³ | - | Y | - | - |
| Edge Chromium | Y | Y | - | Y |
| Safari | - | - | Y | - |
| Opera | Y | - | - | Y |
| Chromecast | Y | Y | - | Y |
| Tizen TV | Y | Y | - | Y |
Notes:
- ¹: Only official Chrome builds contain Widevine CDM
- ²: DRM must be enabled by the user on first visit
- ³: PlayReady in Edge may not work on VMs or Remote Desktop
| Format | Video On-Demand | Live | Event | In-Progress Recording |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DASH | Y | Y | - | Y |
| HLS | Y | Y | Y | - |
Custom manifest formats can be supported via manifest parser plugins.
This package includes all features from Shaka Player:
- Offline storage and playback via IndexedDB
- Subtitles: WebVTT, TTML, CEA-608/708, SubRip (SRT)
- Thumbnails: DASH-IF, HLS Image Playlists, I-frame playlists, external WebVTT
- VR/360° video support
- Monetization: IMA SDK, IMA DAI, AWS MediaTailor, HLS interstitials
- Content Steering (v1)
- MPEG-5 Part2 LCEVC decoding support
| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| Watch Party Demo | demo/sync/ |
| Full API Docs | shaka-project.github.io/shaka-player/docs/api |
| Tutorials | Shaka Tutorials |
| PubNub Dashboard | admin.pubnub.com |
| PubNub Docs | pubnub.com/docs |
We welcome contributions. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
Apache 2.0 - See LICENSE
