Changelog

v3.3.0 - 2026-05

📥 Download v3.3.0

This is a major milestone release for the ZWPlayer v3.x series, centered on two core directions: video tool ecosystem and interactive video capabilities. It introduces the ZWMAP unified data protocol, six tool modules with companion online editors, plus magnifier and screen casting enhancements.

🔧 1. ZWMAP Unified Data Protocol

Introduced ZWMAP/1.0 (ZWPlayer Media Application Protocol), defining a standardized JSON data exchange format for six modules: thumbnails, subtitles, chapters, playlists, annotations, and watermarks. All online editors generate ZWMAP-compliant data that can be directly loaded by the player, achieving a closed-loop toolchain.

Protocol features: unified header fields (zwp_protocol/zwp_type/zwp_version) for automatic data type identification; backward compatibility for subtitles and chapters in legacy formats; version-based protocol evolution support.

🎯 2. Annotation System

Elevates video from one-way playback to two-way interaction, supporting 13 node types: hotspot, text, image, button, choice, quiz, form, vote, card, webview, map, countdown, and speed controller.

Core features: 3-phase animation system (18 effects), color-coded progress bar visualization, event-driven action chains, mandatory/no-skip and pause-on-show for educational scenarios, session variable system. A companion online annotation editor provides timeline-based visual editing with ZWMAP JSON export.

💧 3. Watermark System

Covers brand display, copyright protection, and anti-screen-recording tracing. Supports image/text types with three behavior modes: static, dynamic (moving for anti-recording), and tile (dense coverage). Text watermarks support template variables (e.g., {user_name}, {sys_time}) with runtime substitution. Backward compatible with legacy logo parameter. A companion online watermark editor provides WYSIWYG editing and multi-format export.

🛠 4. Tool Ecosystem

• Thumbnails: Progress bar hover preview via sprite sheets, with a thumbnail generator tool
• Chapters: Video segment navigation supporting JSON/VTT formats, color-coded progress markers, built-in search panel, with an online chapter editor
• Subtitles: Added ZWMAP protocol support, enhanced dual-subtitle, translation API, and drag-and-drop loading, with an online subtitle editor
• Playlists: See detailed description below

📋 5. Playlist

Designed for series courses, video albums, and multi-episode continuous playback scenarios, providing comprehensive list management and playback control.

Data Structure: Multi-level grouping (Group → Item) based on ZWMAP protocol. Each playlist item can independently configure video URL, poster, subtitles, chapters, thumbnails, annotations, and watermarks — a single data entry drives all features.

Playback Management:

• Auto-save playback progress per item, resume on next visit
• Auto-play next item when current ends (configurable via autoPlayNext)
• Auto-skip to next item on playback errors to avoid interruptions
• Previous/next navigation with seamless cross-group transitions

List Interaction:

• Favorites and play history with localStorage persistence
• Real-time search with keyword highlighting
• Dual-panel (groups + items) and single-panel adaptive layouts
• “Up Next” preview panel showing queued content

Companion Tool: The online playlist editor provides visual editing for groups and items, supports ZWMAP JSON import/export, and can also convert pasted XML formats.

✨ 6. New Features

• Magnifier: Canvas-based circular magnifier with 1.5x-4x zoom levels and Z hotkey toggle (config: zoomButton)
• Screen Cast: Google Cast and AirPlay support via native browser APIs with timeout protection and state recovery (config: castButton)

🌐 7. Framework Ecosystem Support

Building on existing Vue 2 / Vue 3 adapters (npm package zwplayervue3), ZWPlayer now also provides first-class support for React. Built with UMD module pattern, ZWPlayer is natively compatible with CommonJS, AMD, and browser global imports. React developers can integrate via useRef + useEffect hooks without any adapter layer, covering all mainstream frontend frameworks.

⚙️ 8. Configuration Enhancements

Property names now support singular/plural normalization (e.g., chapter / chapters).

📦 Upgrade

Replace zwplayer.js — fully backward compatible, all new features opt-in.

v3.2.2 - 2026-02-21

📥 Download v3.2.2

This update focuses on optimizing the autoplay mechanism in the WeChat environment, adding style isolation compatibility for complex WordPress themes, and centrally fixing several detail issues such as autoplay status, small screen UI adaptation, and fluid layout, further improving the integration stability and user experience of the player.

✨ New Features & Optimizations

• WeChat Autoplay Optimization: Implemented the autoplay function for the mobile WeChat built-in browser. At the same time, an intelligent fallback strategy is introduced: if non-muted playback fails, it will automatically fall back to muted playback and display a “turn on sound” prompt (PC WeChat maintains the normal playback process).
• WordPress Theme Compatibility: Isolated external page styles, effectively preventing the interference of ripple effects, global SVG styles, and custom button styles brought by some WordPress themes on the player’s UI and interaction.
• Small Screen Display Experience: Optimized the interface layout for small screen devices such as mobile phones.

🔧 Bug Fixes

• Fixed an experience issue where the video still has no sound after the user clicks the “turn on sound” button in some scenarios.

v3.2.1 - 2026-01-24

📥 Download v3.2.1

This update is an in-depth optimization version of the ZWPlayer v3.2.0 series. We have not only achieved a functional leap in the subtitle and chapter systems but also comprehensively polished mobile interaction, the WebRTC protocol ecosystem, and UI details, aiming to provide developers with a more professional and smoother cross-platform playback solution.

✨ 1. Subtitle & Chapter System: From “Static Display” to “Deep Interaction”

• Intelligent Content Retrieval: Added a built-in subtitle and chapter search panel, supporting fast retrieval of content via keywords and one-click jump to the corresponding video progress, realizing subtitles as an index and lines jumping in seconds.
• Zero-Threshold File Access: Supports dragging and dropping local subtitle (SRT/VTT/BCC) or chapter (JSON/VTT) files directly into the player to load, significantly improving content debugging and viewing efficiency.
• Full Lifecycle Callbacks: Added onSubtitleLoaded and onChapterLoaded events to facilitate deep linkage of business logic.
• Automatic Format Detection: The player can now automatically recognize multiple subtitle and chapter content formats such as VTT, SRT, JSON, etc.

🚀 2. Streaming Media Protocol Family: Comprehensive WebRTC Matrix Coverage

• Deep Integration with Multiple Cloud Platforms: Based on supporting standard WHEP, added official adaptation to Alibaba Cloud ARTC and Tencent Cloud TRTC protocols, enabling ultra-low latency live broadcast scenarios.
• Protocol Intelligent Recognition: Strengthened the underlying detection logic, supporting automatic parsing and instant opening of multiple protocol headers such as webrtc://, artc://, trtc://, brtc://.
• Full Browser Recording Compatibility: Conducted special optimization for Firefox and Safari browsers, ensuring that the recording function runs stably in mainstream browsers.

📱 3. Mobile Adaptation: Interaction Design That Understands Touch Screens Better

• New Efficient Fast-Forward Experience: Introduced a long-press mechanism to trigger 2x speed playback, immediately restoring to the original speed upon release, aligning the operation logic with mainstream short video APPs.
• Spatial Layout Optimization: Intelligently hides non-essential toolbars in small window mode and reduces the size of the central play button to ensure maximum visual information on small screens.
• WeChat Environment Intelligent Strategy: Added WeChat browser environment detection, automatically disabling the autoplay configuration in WeChat to avoid continuous waiting, improving the first-screen experience.

🎨 4. UI/UX Evolution: Eliminating Interference, Returning to Visual Purity

• Global Panel Mutually Exclusive Mechanism: Established a global panel manager to ensure that only one function panel such as subtitle search, settings, and chapters is active at the same time, avoiding UI overlap and visual confusion.
• Cross-Platform Interaction Compatibility: Fixed the “sticky display” issue of menus caused by the :hover pseudo-class in mobile browsers.
• Unified Visual Language: Unified the styles of recording options, scroll bars, and pop-up boxes to enhance the overall brand feel.

🔧 Bug Fixes

• Fluid Mode Adaptation Optimization: Corrected the issue where the container could not correctly match the ratio when playing a vertical video in fluid adaptive mode, resulting in unexpected scroll bars.
• Multi-Language Core Fixes: Corrected some multi-language mappings of prompts and the issue where the disableMutedConfirm configuration failed when switching languages.
• Shortcut Key Conflicts: Solved the conflict issue where operating arrow keys in the search panel unexpectedly triggered the volume adjustment of the underlying player.

v3.2.0 - 2025-12-01

📥 Download v3.2.0

This update is an important functional version, focusing on adding multiple practical configuration items, significantly enhancing the player’s localization, interactivity, and playback capabilities.

✨ New Features & Optimizations

• Local File Playback (localPlayback): Supports directly playing local video/audio files on the user’s device. No need to upload to the server, providing users with a faster and more private playback experience.
• Segment Loop Playback (segmentButton): Allows users to select specific segments in the video for loop playback. Greatly facilitates scenarios such as teaching reviews and highlights replay.
• Recording Function (recordButton): Supports recording the playing video or extracting audio only.
• Multi-Language Support (lang): Added internationalization configuration items, supporting UI language switching.
• Volume Gain Adjustment: Adjustable volume gain, supporting up to 4x volume.
• Rich Shortcut Keys: Added more keyboard shortcut operations to improve the operational experience for advanced users.

🔧 Bug Fixes

• Fixed the issue where some videos were not displayed completely in fluid mode.

v3.1.5 - 2025-11-01

✨ New Features & Optimizations

• Added disableMutedConfirm configuration item: used to disable the mute confirmation prompt box triggered by the browser’s autoplay policy, providing a smoother experience for scenarios requiring uninterrupted autoplay.

🔧 Bug Fixes

• Fixed the issue where link clicks failed in the player’s right-click menu.

v3.1.4 - 2025-08-30

✨ New Features & Optimizations

• Protocol Support Expansion: Added support for webrtc:// and brtc:// streaming media protocols.
• HLS Enhancement: Added compatibility for HEVC encoding formats in HLS streams to support more efficient video playback.
• Live Stream Optimization: When setting isLive=true, the player will automatically enable the live frame-catching function to ensure lower latency.

🔧 Bug Fixes

• Fixed the issue where playback might not be normal in HTTP-FLV VOD mode.

v3.1.2 - 2024-05-07

• Framework Adaptation: Added official adaptation support for Vue 2 and Vue 3 frameworks, facilitating integration in mainstream frontend projects.
• Style Optimization: Solved the UI style compatibility issues on some mobile devices, improving visual consistency on the mobile end.
• 🎉 Official Release: ZWPlayer v3.1.2 version officially released.