March 24, 2026
88% smaller, 100% hotter takes
Show HN: I took back Video.js after 16 years and we rewrote it to be 88% smaller
The skinny new video player has fans cheering, skeptics side‑eyeing who’s in charge
TLDR: Video.js is back with a major rewrite that makes the player dramatically smaller and faster, plus a modular engine for streaming. The community is excited but probing ownership and sponsorship ties, with ex‑users ready to retry while others wait to see if stability and transparency keep pace.
The comeback tour is ON: after 16 years, the creator of Video.js just dropped a v10 beta that’s a whopping 88% smaller and the crowd is loud. Fans are hyped, with early replies like “Absolutely love what you and your friends have built.” Meanwhile, the meme of the day is the dev’s boasty line — “Sir, how did you make it so great?” — which commenters gleefully quote with a wink.
Under the hood, it’s a ground-up rebuild with rival players teaming up, plus a new “SPF” streaming engine (yes, like sunscreen) that snaps in only the parts you need. Translation: lighter pages, faster video, fewer headaches. They even call it “vroooom” — and the thread is more than happy to vroom-vroom along.
But the plot twist is trust. One user asks point-blank about domain control: “Did the private equity buy the domain videojs.org…?” Another flags sponsorship ties: “Video.js is sponsored by Mux,” and notes Mux’s recent takeover of another popular video tool, stirring merger-and-acquisition vibes. Ex‑users who bailed on past bugs say they’ll give it another shot, while cautious types will “wait until things stabilize.” And in perfect internet fashion, someone derails the thread asking for a “battle‑tested slider” — because no launch party is safe from a good feature request.
Key Points
- •Video.js released the v10.0.0 beta after a ground-up rewrite, collaborating with Plyr, Vidstack, and Media Chrome.
- •The v10 default bundle is 88% smaller than v8’s default; without ABR, v10 remains 66% smaller than v8’s comparable bundle.
- •ABR support is unbundled from the default player, with optional inclusion via a new modular engine.
- •First-class support is added for React, TypeScript, and Tailwind, with multiple targeted HTML and React bundles (video, audio, background video).
- •A new Streaming Processor Framework (SPF) enables functional, composable engines; a simple HLS setup is 19% the size of Video.js v8 with ABR, outperforming setups like Vidstack/HLS.js and Media Chrome/HLS.js in size.