If you have long videos, or popular ones, a streaming service takes the load off your own hosting. WP Lead Player plays them, and everything else — your opt-in form, call to action, social lock and overlays — works exactly as it does with any other video.
What you need from the streaming service
One thing: the video’s HLS playback URL. It ends in .m3u8.
Both Bunny Stream and Cloudflare Stream give you this in their dashboard alongside the embed codes. Their wording changes from time to time, so look for HLS or .m3u8 rather than a button with a particular name. Each service’s own documentation has the current steps.
Adding it to WP Lead Player
- Go to WP Lead Player › Add Video.
- Under Video Sources choose File or stream URL.
- Paste the
.m3u8link into Video Url. - Fill in the Video Size and save.
There is no separate option for Bunny or Cloudflare, and you do not need one. The plugin recognises a .m3u8 address automatically and plays it as a stream.
If the video stops working later
The most common cause is a signed or token-protected URL that has expired. These links are deliberately temporary, and when the token runs out the video simply stops playing — which looks exactly like a broken video.
Check in your streaming service whether the link you pasted has an expiry. If it does, use a permanent playback URL instead.
The other cause is a stream restricted by domain or referrer. If your service has a list of allowed domains, add your website’s domain to it.
Which to use
Streams suit long or popular videos, because the streaming service does the delivery rather than your web host. Uploaded files keep everything on your own site, which is simpler, but large files can slow your hosting down under load.
See Video sources: uploaded files, streams, YouTube and Vimeo for the full comparison.
Still stuck? Open a ticket on the support page on ABC and a real person will help.
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