MistPlayer React

A React component library for streaming on the Stronk Tech CDN with automatic load balancing. Supports multiple player types including MistPlayer, Canvas WebRTC, and WHEP (WebRTC-HTTP Egress Protocol) players.

The Player component automatically contacts the Stronk Tech load balancer to find the best streaming host, while the raw components accept URIs directly for custom implementations.

Installation

npm install --save @stronk-tech/mistplayer-react

Usage

Basic Usage

Import the components you need:

import { Player, MistPlayer, CanvasPlayer, WHEPPlayer } from '@stronk-tech/mistplayer-react';

Player Component (Recommended)

The Player component provides a clean interface that handles Stronk Tech CDN load balancing and renders the appropriate player based on the playerType prop:

import React from 'react';
import { Player } from '@stronk-tech/mistplayer-react';

function App() {
  return (
    <div style={{ width: '100%', height: '500px' }}>
      <Player streamName="your-stream-name" />
    </div>
  );
}

You can specify which player to use and enable development mode:

<Player 
  streamName="your-stream-name" 
  playerType="whep" // 'whep', 'mist', or 'canvas'
  developmentMode={true} // enables 'dev' skin for MistPlayer
/>

Thumbnail Support

The Player component supports thumbnail images for all player types:

MistPlayer Poster Override

For MistPlayer, the thumbnailUrl overrides the default poster image:

<Player 
  streamName="your-stream-name" 
  playerType="mist"
  thumbnailUrl="https://example.com/thumbnail.jpg"
/>

Canvas/WHEP Player Overlays

For Canvas and WHEP players, you can use interactive thumbnail overlays:

Click-to-Play Mode

Shows a thumbnail image with a play button until the user clicks to start:

<Player 
  streamName="your-stream-name" 
  playerType="canvas" // or "whep"
  thumbnailUrl="https://example.com/thumbnail.jpg"
  clickToPlay={true}
/>

Autoplay Muted Mode

Starts playing muted with a "Click to unmute" overlay:

<Player 
  streamName="your-stream-name" 
  playerType="canvas" // or "whep"
  thumbnailUrl="https://example.com/thumbnail.jpg"
  autoplayMuted={true}
/>

Note: MistPlayer uses thumbnailUrl as a poster image override, while Canvas and WHEP players support interactive thumbnail overlays with click-to-play and autoplay-muted functionality.

Raw MistPlayer Component

Use MistPlayer directly when you want to provide your own URIs (bypassing load balancer):

import React from 'react';
import { MistPlayer } from '@stronk-tech/mistplayer-react';

function App() {
  const baseUri = "https://your-mist-server.com/view/";
  
  return (
    <div style={{ width: '100%', height: '500px' }}>
      <MistPlayer 
        baseUri={baseUri}
        streamName="your-stream-name" 
        developmentMode={true} // optional: uses 'dev' skin
      />
    </div>
  );
}

Raw CanvasPlayer Component

Use CanvasPlayer directly when you want to provide your own WebRTC URI:

import React from 'react';
import { CanvasPlayer } from '@stronk-tech/mistplayer-react';

function App() {
  const webrtcUri = "wss://your-mist-server.com/view/webrtc/your-stream-name";
  
  return (
    <div style={{ width: '100%', height: '500px' }}>
      <CanvasPlayer webrtcUri={webrtcUri} />
    </div>
  );
}

Raw WHEPPlayer Component

Use WHEPPlayer directly for WHEP (WebRTC-HTTP Egress Protocol) streaming:

import React from 'react';
import { WHEPPlayer } from '@stronk-tech/mistplayer-react';

function App() {
  const whepUrl = "https://your-mist-server.com/view/webrtc/your-stream-name";
  
  return (
    <div style={{ width: '100%', height: '500px' }}>
      <WHEPPlayer whepUrl={whepUrl} />
    </div>
  );
}

Component Props

Player (with Stronk Tech CDN Load Balancing)

Prop	Type	Required	Description
streamName	string	Yes	Name of the stream to display
playerType	'mist' | 'canvas' | 'whep'	No	Player type to use (defaults to 'mist')
developmentMode	boolean	No	Whether to use development mode (affects MistPlayer skin, defaults to false)
thumbnailUrl	string	No	URL to thumbnail image (all player types: MistPlayer uses as poster, Canvas/WHEP use for overlays)
clickToPlay	boolean	No	Show thumbnail until user clicks to play (Canvas/WHEP only)
autoplayMuted	boolean	No	Start playing muted with "click to unmute" overlay (Canvas/WHEP only)

MistPlayer (Raw Component)

Prop	Type	Required	Description
baseUri	string	Yes	Base URI for MistServer (e.g., "https://server.com/view/")
streamName	string	Yes	Name of the stream to display
developmentMode	boolean	No	Whether to use development mode ('dev' skin, defaults to false)
poster	string	No	URL to poster/thumbnail image (overrides default poster)

CanvasPlayer (Raw Component)

Prop	Type	Required	Description
webrtcUri	string	Yes	WebSocket URI for WebRTC signaling (e.g., "wss://server.com/view/webrtc/streamName")
muted	boolean	No	Whether to start muted (defaults to true)

WHEPPlayer (Raw Component)

Prop	Type	Required	Description
whepUrl	string	Yes	WHEP endpoint URL (e.g., "https://server.com/view/webrtc/streamName")
autoPlay	boolean	No	Whether to auto-play the stream (defaults to true)
muted	boolean	No	Whether to start muted (defaults to true)
onError	function	No	Callback function for error events
onConnected	function	No	Callback function when connection is established
onDisconnected	function	No	Callback function when connection is lost

Player Types

MistPlayer ⭐ Recommended for Most Use Cases

• Technology: Intelligent wrapper that automatically selects optimal protocol + player combo
• Best for: Universal compatibility with automatic optimization
• Pros: Chooses best protocol (WebRTC, HLS, DASH, etc.) per device, handles adaptive bitrate, maximum compatibility, automatic fallbacks
• Cons: Less direct control over specific playback technology

WHEPPlayer ⭐ Recommended for Low Latency

• Technology: HTTP signaling + WebRTC (WHEP standard)
• Best for: Universal compatibility with guaranteed low latency
• Pros: Works on all devices, standardized protocol, no WebSocket needed, just HTTP requests, ultra-low latency
• Cons: WebRTC limitations (CPU intensive, battery drain, network sensitivity), no adaptive bitrate

CanvasPlayer

• Technology: WebSocket signaling + WebRTC
• Best for: Legacy low-latency streaming applications
• Pros: Ultra-low latency when it works
• Cons: Device compatibility issues, requires WebSocket connection, more complex signaling

How It Works

Player Component (Stronk Tech CDN Load Balanced)

The Player component automatically contacts the Stronk Tech load balancer to find the best streaming host for your stream:

• MistPlayer: Loads from https://best-host/view/player.js and plays https://best-host/view/streamName.html
• CanvasPlayer: Connects to wss://best-host/view/webrtc/streamName for WebRTC streaming
• WHEPPlayer: Connects to https://best-host/view/webrtc/streamName using WHEP protocol

The /view path is a reverse proxy endpoint that routes to the appropriate MistServer HTTP services.

The component shows loading states while contacting the load balancer and provides clear error messages:

• "Finding best streaming server..." - while contacting load balancer
• "Stream is currently offline" - when stream doesn't exist
• "Connection error, retrying..." - on network issues

Raw Components (Direct URIs)

The raw MistPlayer, CanvasPlayer, and WHEPPlayer components accept URIs directly, giving you full control over which servers to use. This is useful when:

• You want to implement your own load balancing logic
• You're connecting to a specific known server
• You're building a custom player interface
• You need to bypass the Stronk Tech load balancer

Stronk Tech CDN

This library is designed to work with the Stronk Tech Content Delivery Network, which provides:

• Global Edge Nodes: Automatically find the closest streaming server
• Load Balancing: Distribute viewers across multiple servers
• Stream Health Monitoring: Detect offline streams and retry automatically
• Multiple Protocols: Support for HLS, DASH, WebRTC, and WHEP
• Low Latency: WebRTC and WHEP options for sub-second latency

The load balancer automatically handles failover and finds the optimal streaming endpoint for each viewer's location and network conditions.