Discover the latest updates in the JWP iOS SDK 4.10.0. This release includes new features such as IMA ad companions and side-loaded captions enhancements, along with UI customizations. Additionally, improvements have been made to performance and error reporting.

New Features

 Google IMA

• Added support for IMA ad companions.
• Added support for additional IMA settings via JWIMASettings config.

Captions

• The default position of captions can be set via JWCaptionStyle.
• Side-loaded WebVTT captions are displayed when casting to Chromecast devices.
• A locale can be specified for side-loaded captions tracks using JWCaptionTrackBuilder.
• Improved error and warning reporting for side-loaded caption issues.

User Interface

• Added setVisibility API to JWPlayerObjcViewController to allow a developer using Obj-C to change the visibility of interface elements.
• Added ability to customer the color of ad cues and chapter cues displayed in the scrub bar, using JWPlayerSkin.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug were no tracks were selected when CC+SDH was enabled in the user’s devices settings.
• Improved performance and handling of potential hangs during playback.
• Fixed issue where errors pings were not being reported.
• Fixed issue with LLDB reporting.

New Feature

Added support for CEA-608 captions via API.

See https://docs.jwplayer.com/platform/reference/patch_v2-sites-site-id-channels-channel-id for implementation.

Service release. No new features. 

We've released a fix to watchlist playlists.

Bug Fix

• Watchlists are now working in DRM properties.

With v8.26.7, we've updated our HLS.js dependency version in addition to several other updates and fixes.

New Features

• Updated our HLS.js dependency to version v1.2.9.
• Updated the logic of autopause to prevent the autopause event from firing when player would go into floating.
• Updated our player element to use classes instead of IDs in some instances to prevent duplicate IDs in the DOM.
• Added additional adWarnings when the VMAP schedule is missing schema elements.
• Updated our CEA 608 positioning to be centered aligned.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue causing the preview thumbnail to crop at the edge of the player.
• Fixed an issue where our liveTimeout setting defaulted to null.

With our latest release, Apps has been released!

New Feature

 JWP has released Apps. Apps is comprised of two components: a configuration (app config) and a framework (JW Web App).

 The app config is a feature in the JW dashboard that enables content editors to specify what content is exposed in CTV, Mobile, or Web Apps and how it is monetized

The JW Web App exposes and monetizes content according to the app config.The JW Web App is an upgrade from Showcase and comes with several new features, such as the following: 

• New monetization options, such as subscription and pay-per-item
• Easier workflows with alternate thumbnails
• Stronger content protection with URL signing and DRM
• 24X7 live channels with channel guides, DVR, and replays
• Management of multiple apps from a single property

The JW Web App is open source and free of charge. Hosting and customization options are provided through JWP partners.

Deprecation

Showcase is being deprecated. Customers are requested to migrate to Apps before December 31, 2023.

Android v4.10.0 introduces ad companion support and addresses several issues.

New Feature

• Added support for Ad Companions. (Check implementation in the Best Practice App).

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue with methods openRelated Overlay and closeRelatedOverlay not functioning.
• Fixed an issue where calling onLevelsChanged would crash.
• Fixed an issue causing a null reference in CenterControlsViewModelImpl via the setPipActivity.
• Fixed an issue where changing the language to Portuguese language caused crashes when casting.
• Fixed a memory leak issue when destroying the player with IMA.
• Fixed an issue that cause ads to play in the background when an app is closed.

With the release of iOS SDK 4.9.1, various fixes have been deployed.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where the player UI became unresponsive after getting the app back from background or after closing the PiP window.
• Fixed the issue where the player was not displaying the default caption label when a single caption track is provided.
• Fixed issues with caption alignment, height, and extra lines.
• Fixed an issue where the currentCaptionsTrack API was returning an unexpected index.
• Fixed an issue where the player would close unexpectedly while being used in a UITableView.
• Fixed an issue where GoogleIMA ads caused unexpected behavior when the user device is behind an ad blocker mechanism.
• Fixed an issue where the player UI became unresponsive while the device had no internet connection.
• Fixed an issue where ad tag macros were not replaced while using the GoogleIMA ad client.
• Fixed an issue where the replay button was not working.

New Feature

An Offline policy has been added to the Default DRM Policies. Offline playback will no longer be checked by default in the Highest and High Default DRM Policies. Learn more about the Offline and other Default DRM Policies.

Android 4.9.1 addresses an offline DRM issue.

Bug Fix

• Addressed an issue where one of the Offline DRM classes was obfuscated.