How do I play a YouTube video on my player using BrightAuthor?

Follow Avatar Brandon
Last updated: March 27, 2020
 
Note: These instructions are for playing a single YouTube video.  If you want to play a YouTube playlist, see How do I play a YouTube playlist on my player? instead.
Don't know if you're on a single video or a playlist?  See the main article, How do I display a YouTube video or playlist on my player? for guidance.
 
EXPERT SUMMARY
Lost or confused by this?  Continue reading below for step-by-step instructions.
 
YouTube video URL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1XxnZA1yiQ
HTML Site for BrightAuthor:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/y1XxnZA1yiQ?playlist=y1XxnZA1yiQ&autoplay=1&rel=0&controls=0&loop=1
(Start playing automatically, don't show related videos from other channels, don't show controls, loop the video)
 
 
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
 1. Open the YouTube video or playlist in a web browser on your computer.  You should be on www.youtube.com
 
2. Look at the address bar.  We need to note the URL we are looking at.
This is a single video and the URL is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1XxnZA1yiQ
 
3. We need to extract a few elements from the URLs
First we need the ID of the current video, which is v parameter, which appears after the v= in the URL.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1XxnZA1yiQ
The current video ID here is y1XxnZA1yiQ
 
4. We also need the ID of the playlist, but single videos don't have a playlist, so we're going to use the current video ID as the playlist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1XxnZA1yiQ
The playlist ID is y1XxnZA1yiQ
 
5.Now we can start constructing the URL we need.
Start with
https://www.youtube.com/embed/
Then add the current video to the end.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/y1XxnZA1yiQ
 
6. Next we need to add the playlist, so the first, part, add ?playlist= to the URL we're constructing.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/y1XxnZA1yiQ?playlist=
 
7. Then we add the playlist ID, which for a single video, is the video ID again.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/y1XxnZA1yiQ?playlist=y1XxnZA1yiQ
 
8 . Now we add a series of parameters to control how the video gets displayed.  These might be different if you're displaying the video interactively, but we'll assume a non-interactive display for now.
To automatically start playing without interaction, we need to add &autoplay=1
https://www.youtube.com/embed/y1XxnZA1yiQ?playlist=y1XxnZA1yiQ&autoplay=1
 
10. Do you want related videos from other channels as suggestions?  Probably not!  Add &rel=0 to the end.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/y1XxnZA1yiQ?playlist=y1XxnZA1yiQ&autoplay=1&rel=0
 
11. The video controls aren't useful in a non-interactive situations, turn them off by adding &controls=0 to the end.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/y1XxnZA1yiQ?playlist=y1XxnZA1yiQ&autoplay=1&rel=0&controls=0
 
12. Finally, in most cases you want the video to loop when it reaches the end.  Add &loop=1 to the end.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/y1XxnZA1yiQ?playlist=y1XxnZA1yiQ&autoplay=1&rel=0&controls=0&loop=1
 
13. Now add the URL we constructed into BrightAuthor as the URL for an HTML Site. (File>Presentation Properties, HTML Sites tab)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/y1XxnZA1yiQ?playlist=y1XxnZA1yiQ&autoplay=1&rel=0&controls=0&loop=1
mceclip0.png
 
14 . Then add an HTML5 State with Enable external data and Enable native video plane playback ticked.
Note that BrightAuthor does not know when a YouTube video ends, so if you want it to move to the next state after the video is complete, you will need to set the Time on screen value on a non-interactive HTML5 state, or put a Timeout event on an interactive HTML5 state in order to get it to move to the next item if you do not want the video to loop endlessly or just stay "stuck" at the end of the video.
 
 
15 . You're done! Publish the presentation and unless the video is restricted (not all videos can be embedded, and some aren't in a compatible format for our players), your Internet connection is broken, or the player's clock isn't set (prevents HTTPS from working), it should play!
 
For more URL parameters, see the YouTube's Player Parameters page - https://developers.google.com/youtube/player_parameters
 
 
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11 Comments

Date Votes
  • 0
    Avatar
    Alwin Hendriks

    Should this setup work on every BrightSign box or only on later builds?

    I have a XD1030 but my screen just stays black.

  • 2
    Avatar
    Brandon

    Should work on any player that supports HTML5, though there definitely can be variations depending on the firmware build.

    Does the BrightSign Overview video from the instructions work for you?

    If not, export your presentation to a folder, zip the folder and submit a support ticket with a download link for the folder.  Also include the player's log from the Diagnostic Web Server is possible.

  • 0
    Avatar
    Alwin Hendriks

    It does indeed work. Our players are on an internal network so I needed to put in the proxy details.

    The playback is not a smooth as I had hoped so I will probably fall back on downloading the clips and playing them from the server.

    Thanks.

     

  • 1
    Avatar
    R Mussa

    Hello,

    How can I add subtitles to the URL link?

     

    Thanks.

  • 1
    Avatar
    Charles Latour

    I tried to force subtitles of my YouTube videos by adding &cc_load_policy=1 in the URL link and it doesn't work. Do you have any solution to display Youtube videos with subtitles?

    Thanks

    Edited by Charles Latour
  • 1
    Avatar
    Brandon

    It should work if you disable HWZ (disable the Enable native video plane playback option in the HTML5 state) but video performance may be reduced.

  • 0
    Avatar
    Charles Latour

    Thanks a lot. It does display the subtitles now.

  • 1
    Avatar
    Lcarrillo

    Hello. i am following the procedure to see a youtube playlist on a LS424 and I only am trying to use this url i built

     

    https://www.youtube.com/embed/qCPxmUs0awg?playlist=UUUjJID2EKaHLJcX211qKkgw&autoplay=1&rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0&loop=1

     

    However in the presentation i can only see an image that says "Click here to watch the video on youtube"

     

    Is there something i am making wrong?

  • 0
    Avatar
    Eric Palenkas

    Having the same issue as lcarrillo

  • 0
    Avatar
    Brandon

    https://www.youtube.com/embed/qCPxmUs0awg?playlist=UUUjJID2EKaHLJcX211qKkgw&autoplay=1&rel=0&controls=0&showinfo=0&loop=1

    plays on my players, but not all YouTube videos are set to allow embedded playback.  The content owner has the ability to change that permission.

  • 0
    Avatar
    Evan Shriver

    I have a HTML5 video stream of the ISS that i am trying to use on LS424. The stream site loads, and shows ok, but it is not auto playing. The site loads and shows a still of the camera, and the PLAY button on the screen. I tried the &autoplay=1 string after the link. But that does not work. Any assistance is appreciated. 

    https://www.ustream.tv/channel/17074538

     

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