Track Video Metrics with FastPix SDK for HLS.js Integration

The FastPix Data SDK for HLS.js monitors and analyzes key HLS player metrics, providing actionable insights to optimize video streaming performance and deliver a smoother viewing experience.

Key features:

Track viewer engagement: Gain insights into how users interact with your videos.
Monitor playback quality: Ensure video streaming by monitoring real-time metrics, including bitrate, buffering, startup performance, render quality, and playback failure errors.
Error management: Identify and resolve playback failures quickly with detailed error reports.
Customizable analytics: Configure tracking attributes to meet your business requirements, providing flexibility and scalability.
Centralized dashboard: Visualize and compare metrics on the FastPix dashboard to make data-driven decisions.

Step 1: Installation and setup

This package can be installed using npm, a CDN, or your preferred package manager.

using npm:

npm install "@fastpix/video-data-core"

Using CDN:

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@fastpix/video-data-core@latest"></script>

PLEASE NOTE

Ensure that a package based on HLS Player is installed or accessible via a CDN.

Initialize FastPix Data SDK

To start tracking and analyzing video performance using FastPix, you need to initialize the FastPix Data SDK with your unique Workspace key. Follow these steps:

Log into your FastPix Dashboard and go to the Workspaces section.
Once you've identified the correct workspace, copy the Workspace Key associated with it. This key is essential for client-side monitoring and should be included in the JavaScript code on every webpage where you want to track video performance and analytics.

Understand what is a Workspace.

Step 2: Import the SDK

import fastpixMetrix from "@fastpix/video-data-core"

Step 3: Basic integration

The workspace_id is a mandatory field that must be provided. In addition, install the hls.js package, import the Hls instance, and attach it to the HTML5 video element. Pass both the Hls instance and the Hls constructor function, along with custom metadata, to the fastpixMetrix.tracker function.

Once the player has loaded the URL and playback has started, the SDK will then begin tracking the analytics.

// Import HLS.js library for video streaming
import Hls from "hls.js";
import fastpixMetrix from "@fastpix/video-data-core";

// Reference to the video element
const videoPlayerElement = document.getElementById("video-player");
const initializationTime = fastpixMetrix.utilityMethods.now();

// Create a new HLS instance
const hlsPlayerInstance = new Hls();
hlsPlayerInstance.loadSource(""); // Load the video stream
hlsPlayerInstance.attachMedia(videoPlayerElement);

// Custom metadata for tracking
const trackingData = {
  workspace_id: "WORKSPACE_KEY", // Unique key to identify your workspace (replace with your actual workspace key)
  player_name: "Main Video Player", // A custom name or identifier for this video player instance
  player_init_time: initializationTime, // Timestamp of when the player was initialized (useful for tracking performance metrics)

  // Add any additional metadata
};

// Pass both `hlsPlayerInstance` and `Hls` to the FastPix tracker for correct tracking
fastpixMetrix.tracker(videoPlayerElement, {
  debug: false, // Set to true to enable debug logs in the console
  hlsjs: hlsPlayerInstance, // Pass the `hlsPlayerInstance` created above
  Hls, // Pass the `Hls` constructor (imported)
  data: trackingData, // Attach custom metadata for analytics and tracking
});

// To stop monitoring call when destroying the HLS player
// hlsPlayerInstance.fp.destroy();

PLEASE NOTE

When configuring the SDK, include both the hls instance and the Hls constructor in the options.

After successfully completing Step 3, you can track viewer metrics in the FastPix dashboard once playback ends. Steps 4, 5, and 6 are optional and can be utilized as needed to enhance your integration.

Step 4: Enhance tracking with user passable metadata

Check out the user-passable metadata documentation to see the metadata supported by FastPix. You can use custom metadata fields like custom_1 to custom_10 for your business logic, giving you the flexibility to pass any required values. Named attributes, such as video_title and video_id, can be passed directly as they are.

// Import HLS.js library for video streaming
import Hls from "hls.js";
import fastpixMetrix from "@fastpix/video-data-core";

// Reference to the video element
const videoPlayerElement = document.getElementById("video-player");
const initializationTime = fastpixMetrix.utilityMethods.now(); // Get the current timestamp for player initialization

// Create a new HLS instance
const hlsPlayerInstance = new Hls();
hlsPlayerInstance.loadSource(""); // Load the video stream
hlsPlayerInstance.attachMedia(videoPlayerElement);

// Custom metadata for tracking
const trackingData = {
  workspace_id: "WORKSPACE_KEY", // Unique key to identify your workspace (replace with your actual workspace key)
  player_name: "Main Video Player", // A custom name or identifier for this video player instance
  player_init_time: initializationTime, // Timestamp of when the player was initialized (useful for tracking performance metrics)
  video_title: "Test Content", // Title of the video being played (replace with the actual title of your video)
  video_id: "f01a98s76t90p88i67x", // A unique identifier for the video (replace with your actual video ID for tracking purposes)
  viewer_id: "user12345", // A unique identifier for the viewer (e.g., user ID, session ID, or any other unique value)
  video_content_type: "series", // Type of content being played (e.g., series, movie, etc.)
  video_stream_type: "on-demand", // Type of streaming (e.g., live, on-demand)
  // Custom fields for additional business logic
  custom_1: "", // Use this field to pass any additional data needed for your specific business logic
  custom_2: "", // Use this field to pass any additional data needed for your specific business logic

  // Add any additional metadata here if needed
};

// Pass both `hlsPlayerInstance` and `Hls` to the FastPix tracker for correct tracking
fastpixMetrix.tracker(videoPlayerElement, {
  debug: false, // Set to true to enable debug logs in the console
  hlsjs: hlsPlayerInstance, // Pass the `hlsPlayerInstance` created above
  Hls, // Pass the `Hls` constructor (imported)
  data: trackingData, // Attach custom metadata for analytics and tracking
});

DEVELOPMENT TIP

Keep metadata consistent across different video loads to make comparison easier in your analytics dashboard.

Step 5: Advanced configurations with HLS.js

Enhancing your video player with advanced options can significantly improve user experience and data tracking. Below are key configurations you can implement when using the FastPix SDK with your HLS.js player instance.

Attribute	Description	Type	Example usage
`disableCookies`	FastPix Data SDK uses cookies by default to track playback across page views and to identify unique viewers. If your application is not intended to collect cookies, you can disable this feature by setting `disableCookies: true`. This ensures that no cookies are set during the user's session, enhancing privacy and compliance with user preferences.	Boolean	`disableCookies: true`
`respectDoNotTrack`	Set to true to honor users' privacy preferences regarding the 'Do Not Track' setting.	Boolean	`respectDoNotTrack: true`
`automaticErrorTracking`	FastPix automatically tracks errors that occur during playback failures. To disable this feature, set `automaticErrorTracking` to false. This allows you to have more control over which errors are considered fatal and helps you manage error reporting according to your application's needs.	Boolean	`automaticErrorTracking: false`
`debug`	Set to true to enable debug logs in the console for troubleshooting purposes.	Boolean	`debug: true`

Example:

// Reference to the video element
const videoPlayerElement = document.getElementById("video-player");

// Configuration for FastPix tracker
const trackingData = {
  debug: true, // Set to true to enable debug logs in the console
  hlsjs: hls, // Pass the HLS.js instance
  Hls: Hls, // Pass the Hls constructor (imported)
  disableCookies: true, // Set to true to disable cookies for tracking sessions and unique viewers
  respectDoNotTrack: true, // Set to true to honor users' 'Do Not Track' preferences
  automaticErrorTracking: false, // Set to false to disable automatic tracking of fatal errors
  data: {
    workspace_id: "WORKSPACE_KEY", // Replace with your actual workspace key
    // ... add other metadata as needed
  },
};

// Initialize the FastPix tracker with the configuration
fastpixMetrix.tracker(videoPlayerElement, trackingData);

Step 6: Emit custom events

Advanced error reporting and contextual tracking

By default, FastPix tracks errors that occur during playback failures. However, you can also emit a custom error event for non-severe issues that arise outside of these failures, allowing you to provide additional context for tracking purposes.

// videoPlayerElement is the HTML5 <video> element representing your video player.
const videoPlayerElement = document.getElementById("video-player");

videoPlayerElement.fp.dispatch("error", {
  player_error_code: 1024, // Custom error code
  player_error_message: "Description of error", // Generalized error message
  player_error_context: "Additional context for the error", // Instance-specific information
});

TIP

Use custom error codes and messages that are meaningful for your debugging process to streamline troubleshooting.

Changing video streams in player

Effective video view tracking is crucial to track multiple videos back-to-back in the same player in your application. You can reset tracking when loading a new source, such as in video series or episodic content or in cases where the user wants to play any other video.

Emitting avideoChange event:

To inform the FastPix SDK of a new view, emit a videoChange event immediately after loading the new video source. Include relevant metadata about the new video:

// videoPlayerElement is the HTML5 <video> element representing your video player.
const videoPlayerElement = document.getElementById("#my-player");

videoPlayerElement.fp.dispatch("videoChange", {
  video_id: "abc345", // Unique identifier for the new video
  video_title: "My Other Great Video", // Title of the new video
  video_series: "Weekly Great Videos", // Series name if applicable

  // Additional metadata can be included here
});

PLEASE NOTE

Always ensure that this event is dispatched right after the new source is loaded to maintain accurate tracking.

Example to configure HLS with FastPix Data SDK

Here are platform-specific examples to help you integrate the FastPix Data SDK with your HLS player. Use the following React or JavaScript or HTML code into your application:

import React, { useEffect, useRef } from "react";

import Hls from "hls.js"; // Import HLS.js library for video streaming
import fastpixMetrix from "@fastpix/video-data-core";

export default function VideoPlayer() {
  const videoElementRef = useRef(null);

  // Replace with your actual stream URL
  const videoSourceUrl =
    "https://stream.fastpix.io/027a90e4-f5e2-433d-81e5-b99ee864c3f6.m3u8"; // Your HLS stream URL

  useEffect(() => {
    let hlsInstance;

    // Check if the videoElementRef.current is available before proceeding
    if (videoElementRef.current) {
      const videoElement = videoElementRef.current;
      const playerInitTime = fastpixMetrix.utilityMethods.now(); // Get player initialization time

      // Check if the video element can play HLS natively (Safari support)
      if (videoElement.canPlayType("application/vnd.apple.mpegurl")) {
        // For Safari, which has native HLS support
        videoElement.src = videoSourceUrl;
      } else if (Hls.isSupported()) {
        // For other browsers, initialize Hls.js
        hlsInstance = new Hls();
        hlsInstance.loadSource(videoSourceUrl); // Load the video stream
        hlsInstance.attachMedia(videoElement); // Attach the stream to the video element

        // Custom metadata to be passed for tracking
        const customData = {
          workspace_id: "WORKSPACE_KEY", // Replace with your workspace key
          player_name: "Main Player", // Identifier for the player instance
          player_init_time: playerInitTime, // Player initialization time

          // Add any additional metadata here
        };

        // pass both `hlsInstance` and `Hls` to the FastPix tracker for correct tracking
        fastpixMetrix.tracker(videoElement, {
          debug: false,
          hlsjs: hlsInstance, // Pass the `hlsInstance` created above
          Hls, // Pass the `Hls` constructor (imported)
          data: customData,
        });
      }
    }

    // Cleanup on component unmount
    return () => {
      if (hlsInstance) {
        hlsInstance.destroy(); // Clean up HLS.js instance when the component is unmounted
      }
    };
  }, [videoElementRef]);

  return (
    <video
      controls
      ref={videoElementRef}
      style={{ width: "100%", maxWidth: "500px" }}
    />
  );
}

import Hls from "hls.js";
import fastpixMetrix from "@fastpix/video-data-core";

const videoElement = document.getElementById("video-player"); // Video element reference
const videoSourceUrl =
  "https://stream.fastpix.io/027a90e4-f5e2-433d-81e5-b99ee864c3f6.m3u8"; // Your HLS stream URL

// Ensure the video element is available
if (videoElement) {
  let hlsInstance;

  const playerInitTime = fastpixMetrix.utilityMethods.now(); // Get player initialization time

  // Check if the video element can play HLS natively (Safari support)
  if (videoElement.canPlayType("application/vnd.apple.mpegurl")) {
    
    // For Safari, which has native HLS support
    videoElement.src = videoSourceUrl;
  } else if (Hls.isSupported()) {
    
    // For other browsers, initialize Hls.js
    hlsInstance = new Hls();
    hlsInstance.loadSource(videoSourceUrl); // Load the video stream
    hlsInstance.attachMedia(videoElement); // Attach the stream to the video element

    // Custom metadata to be passed for tracking
    const customData = {
      workspace_id: "WORKSPACE_KEY", // Replace with your workspace key
      player_name: "Main Player", // Identifier for the player instance
      player_init_time: playerInitTime, // Player initialization time

      // Add any additional metadata here
    };

    // pass both `hlsInstance` and `Hls` to the FastPix tracker for correct tracking
    fastpixMetrix.tracker(videoElement, {
      debug: false,
      hlsjs: hlsInstance, // Pass the `hlsInstance` created above
      Hls, // Pass the `Hls` constructor (imported)
      data: customData,
    });
  }
}

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@fastpix/video-data-core@latest"></script>
    <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/hls.js@latest"></script> <!-- Use the HLS CDN as preferred -->
    <title>FastPix Hls Analytics</title>
</head>

<body>
    <video id="video-player" controls width="660" height="380"></video>
    <script>
        // Get the video element reference 
        const videoElement = document.getElementById('video-player'); // Video element reference 
        const videoSourceUrl = "https://stream.fastpix.io/027a90e4-f5e2-433d-81e5-b99ee864c3f6.m3u8"; // Your HLS stream URL 

        // Ensure the video element is available 
        if (videoElement) {
            let hlsInstance;
            const playerInitTime = fastpixMetrix.utilityMethods.now(); // Get player initialization time 

            // Check if the video element can play HLS natively (Safari support) 
            if (videoElement.canPlayType("application/vnd.apple.mpegurl")) {

                // For Safari, which has native HLS support 
                videoElement.src = videoSourceUrl;
            } else if (Hls.isSupported()) {

                // For other browsers, initialize Hls.js 
                hlsInstance = new Hls();
                hlsInstance.loadSource(videoSourceUrl); // Load the video stream 
                hlsInstance.attachMedia(videoElement); // Attach the stream to the video element 

                // Custom metadata to be passed for tracking 
                const customData = {
                    workspace_id: "WORKSPACE_KEY", // Replace with your workspace key 
                    player_name: "Main Player", // Identifier for the player instance 
                    player_init_time: playerInitTime, // Player initialization time 
                    // Add any additional metadata here 
                };

                // Pass both `hlsInstance` and `Hls` to the FastPix tracker for correct tracking 
                fastpixMetrix.tracker(videoElement, {
                    debug: false,
                    hlsjs: hlsInstance, // Pass the `hlsInstance` created above 
                    Hls, // Pass the `Hls` constructor (imported) 
                    data: customData,
                });
            }

            // Ensure to clean up HLS.js instance to end FastPix tracking 
            window.addEventListener('unload', () => {
                if (hlsInstance) {
                    hlsInstance.destroy(); // Clean up HLS.js instance 
                }
            });
        }
    </script>
</body>

</html>