Audio & Video Players

Video players

• ★ Vidstack — modern, web-component-based, framework-agnostic (React, Vue, Svelte, Solid wrappers). HLS/DASH, captions, theming. The default for new projects.
• Mux Player — drop-in player tuned for Mux-hosted videos; works for non-Mux videos too. Free.
• Plyr — small, accessible, themable; supports YouTube/Vimeo embed.
• Video.js — long-standing classic; massive plugin ecosystem.
• Shaka Player (Google) — robust DASH/HLS, DRM (Widevine, PlayReady, FairPlay).
• HLS.js, dash.js — protocol-only libs; pair with <video> directly.
• react-player — wraps YouTube / Vimeo / Twitch / SoundCloud / direct files.
• media-chrome — web-component primitives for building custom players (used by Mux Player).

Audio players

• ★ Howler.js — simple, cross-browser audio API; the default for game / app sound.
• wavesurfer.js — waveform visualization + playback; great for podcast / DAW UIs.
• Tone.js — for music apps; high-level web-audio framework.
• Audio Motion Analyzer — real-time audio spectrum.

DRM / encrypted streams

• Shaka Player — most flexible.
• Video.js + EME plugin — works for many cases.
• Cast Receiver / Chromecast SDK — for living-room streaming.

Subtitles / captions

• subtitle (npm) — parse / generate WebVTT, SRT, etc.
• subtitlesOctopus — render .ass (advanced subtitles) in browser.
• @vidstack/captions-parser — Vidstack's bundled.

Hosting / streaming services

• ★ Cloudflare Stream — generous free tier, simple pricing, MP4 + HLS + DASH.
• ★ Mux — best DX in the space; pay-per-minute encoded; trial credits.
• Bunny Stream — cheap, good DX.
• Vimeo OTT / Vimeo API — end-user-facing video.
• YouTube — free hosting, you give up the player UX.
• AWS IVS — interactive (low-latency live) video.

Live streaming

• OvenMediaEngine, MediaMTX, NMS — open-source live streaming servers.
• Cloudflare Stream Live, Mux Live, AWS IVS — managed.

Pick this if…

• Default video player: Vidstack (or Mux Player if you're on Mux).
• Smallest possible video player: Plyr.
• Need DRM: Shaka Player.
• Audio playback: Howler.js.
• Waveform UI: wavesurfer.js.
• Hosted video, DX matters: Mux.
• Cheapest hosted video: Cloudflare Stream or Bunny.