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Direct links to video files

This feature requires a Pro, Business, Premium, Standard, Advanced, or Enterprise membership.

This feature enables access to direct links to your converted video files, which can be used to download or play videos hosted on Vimeo through a third-party player or web page. 

In this article:

Access your video's direct links for third-party playback

To access direct links for your video that you can play in a third-party player or web page:

  1. Open your video from the Library.
  2. Select the down arrow ⌄  in the top left corner of the video page next to the video title.
  3. Select Video file links.

  4. Choose Play the video from the dropdown menu on the modal window.
  5. Select Copy link next to the one you want to grab.

We recommend using Open Source players (e.g. Dash.js and HLS.js) for video playback. You will see these, as well as a list of progressive mp4 links as well as an HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) and a Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) link. 

HLS is Apple’s proprietary method of adaptive streaming and sends video over HTTP from a web server for native playback on Apple devices. ​​Using a library like HLS.js can extend HLS playback to platforms that do not natively support it.  

DASH, otherwise known as Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP, links are for serving Vimeo-hosted files in another player, typically non-Apple devices or environments. Known for being highly customizable, DASH supports the most features out of any other streaming protocol.

image1.pngTip: How can you know if the content you’re watching is streaming via HLS or DASH? 

  • Consider the viewing environment: HTTP Live Streaming - Anything Apple-based (Apple TV, Safari, and iOS).
  • Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP - All browsers and environments except for Apple products.

Access your video’s direct links for downloading

Follow these steps to access your video's download links:

  1. Open your video from the Library.
  2. Select the down arrow ⌄  in the top left corner of the video page next to the video title.
  3. Select Video file links.

  4. Choose Download the video from the dropdown menu on the modal window.
  5. Click Copy link next to the one you want to grab.

⚠️Caution: The download URLs provided do not expire. Once your download URLs are out there, anyone who knows the link will be able to download your videos. The only way to stop this is to delete your video from Vimeo.

The direct links under both the Play the Video and Download the Video dropdown menus contain the same files. For downloads, we return a special header to tell the browser to download it to the local disk instead of playing it back, but nothing prevents downloading the Play URL (or prevents playing back download URLs, if used in a player).

2K/4K direct links

If you have uploaded a 2K/4K video, after transcoding you can go to Advanced Settings > Distribution > Video file links > Download the video, and you will have access to the original mp4 4K/2K file link and you will be able to download it. 

If you do not see the link to download the 2k or 4k version, check your source file to ensure it was compressed properly. If you still do not see the 2k/4k version to download, please contact us for assistance.

Privacy for your videos in third-party players

Vimeo's privacy settings and custom embed settings do not apply to third-party player links. The third-party player you're using might support its own set of customizations, but you will need to check out their support documentation for more info.

Third-party player links do not expire, so anyone can view your videos through these URLs. If you add them to a third-party player outside of Vimeo, people may be able to find and share these links.

⚠️Note: When you paste a third-party player link in a browser, it redirects to a link with an expiring token. When sharing third-party links, make sure that you are copying the link address directly from your video settings (which starts with https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/) and not the redirected link in the browser (which starts with https://fpdl.vimeocdn.com/ or https://gcs-vimeo.akamaized.net). Also, modifying the URL in any way will result in a 403 error.

Analytics for your videos in third-party players

We are limited by how much data we can gather from non-Vimeo players. With third-party players, we can only approximate the number of times the video file is being played.

We also cannot count finishes or engagement analytics for views outside of the Vimeo player. In many cases, we will still be able to detect the website where the view is happening, the location of the view, and the device, however, this data is less reliable in third-party players.

Downgrade to a Basic or Plus membership

If you downgrade to Free or Starter or to Basic or Plus, any direct links you've shared or embedded will no longer work (for example, your embedded video will no longer load). If you decide to re-upgrade to Standard or Pro or higher, your links will automatically reactivate.

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