Skip to main content
Version: 6.13.0

How to track ID3 cues / tags?

The question above is commonly asked by the developers who want to introduce a certain behavior depending on the metadata contained by the ID3 cues. For example, the developer wants:

  • to schedule advertisements dynamically by using information passed on by the ID3 metadata.
  • to overlay certain text on top of the player (e.g. the score of a football match).
  • ...

ID3 is a type of metadata which can be inserted in HTTP livestreams. Once an ID3 cue is inserted, it'll be added to a THEOplayer TextTrack. The demo at https://demo.theoplayer.com/audio-id3-metadata demonstrates a usage of ID3 metadata. Just before the song changes, an enter event will be dispatched, the song information (title, album, etc.) is contained within this enter event, and can be used to update the UI.

SDKs​

Web SDKAndroid SDKiOS SDKtvOS SDKAndroid TV SDKChromecast SDK
YesYesYesYesYesN/A

Tracking ID3​

This guide will show a couple of examples of tracking ID3 cues / tags, including:

  • how to listen for timed metadata events
  • how to track the enter event

Code examples​

Listening for timed metadata events​

Below you can find an example of how timed metadata events can be captured when using THEOplayer.

Web SDK​
var player = theoplayer.player(0);
player.textTracks.addEventListener('addtrack', function (addTrackEvent) {
  var track = addTrackEvent.track;
  // assert track.kind === "metadata"

  track.addEventListener('cuechange', function (cueChangeEvent) {
    // here you can access the cue and other properties of the track and display the metadata to the outside
  });
});
Android SDK​
EventListener<CueChangeEvent> cueChangeListener = (CueChangeEvent event) -> {
    event.getTextTrack().getCues();
};

EventListener<AddTrackEvent> handleTrackCreation = (AddTrackEvent event) -> {
    event.getTrack().addEventListener(TextTrackEventTypes.CUECHANGE, cueChangeListener);
};

this.tpv.getPlayer().getTextTracks().addEventListener(TextTrackListEventTypes.ADDTRACK, handleTrackCreation);
iOS/tvOS SDK and Legacy iOS/tvOS SDK (4.12.x)​
let cueChangeListener = { (event: CueChangeEvent) in
    // do something with the cue
}

let handleTrackCreation = { (event: AddTrackEvent) in
    if let textTrack = event.track as? TextTrack {
        _ = textTrack.addEventListener(type: TextTrackEventTypes.CUE_CHANGE, listener: cueChangeListener)
    }
}

_ = player.textTracks.addEventListener(type: TextTrackListEventTypes.ADD_TRACK, listener: handleTrackCreation)

Track the enter event​

The snippet below explains how you correctly track the enter event, which is part of the TextTrack API. The enter event maps to the moment in time when the ID3 cue is relevant.

⚠ Migrating from version 3.x or lower

Previously, the exit event was used to signal when an ID3 cue becomes relevant. As of THEOplayer version 4.0, the enter event is used instead.

Web SDK​
function enterListener(e2) {
  // log enter event
  console.log(e2);
}
function handleTrackCreation(e0) {
  e0.track.cues.forEach(function (cue) {
    cue.addEventListener('enter', enterListener);
  });

  // detect cues being added to the track
  e0.track.addEventListener('addcue', function (e1) {
    // detect a cue being shown from a track
    e1.cue.addEventListener('enter', enterListener);
  });
}
player.textTracks.addEventListener('addtrack', handleTrackCreation);
Android SDK​
final EventListener<EnterCueEvent> enterListener = new EventListener<EnterCueEvent>() {
    @Override
    public void handleEvent(EnterCueEvent enterCueEvent) {
        System.out.println("enterCueEvent: " + enterCueEvent.getCue().getContent());

    }
};
EventListener<AddTrackEvent> handleTrackCreation = new EventListener<AddTrackEvent>() {
    @Override
    public void handleEvent(AddTrackEvent addTrackEvent) {
        addTrackEvent.getTrack().addEventListener(TextTrackEventTypes.ENTERCUE, enterListener);

    }
};
tpv.getPlayer().getTextTracks().addEventListener(TextTrackListEventTypes.ADDTRACK, handleTrackCreation);
iOS/tvOS SDK and Legacy iOS/tvOS SDK (4.12.x)​
let enterListener = { (event: EnterCueEvent) in
    // do something with the cue
}

let handleTrackCreation = { (event: AddTrackEvent) in
    if let textTrack = event.track as? TextTrack {
        _ = textTrack.addEventListener(type: TextTrackEventTypes.ENTER_CUE, listener: enterListener)
    }
}

_ = player.textTracks.addEventListener(type: TextTrackListEventTypes.ADD_TRACK, listener: handleTrackCreation)

Sample application​

The demo below illustrates the use of ID3 in production.

Resources​