Help
FAQ
Quick answers about the extension + player workflow, free vs Pro, and why some streams don’t last forever.
Do I need the FacetPlayer browser extension?
For getting video from the web into FacetPlayer, yes — that’s the path we support. The Chromium extension discovers playable URLs on the pages you visit and sends them to your open player session. FacetPlayer is built around that combo: extension for intake, player for layout and control.
Other ways to add media may still appear in the app, but they aren’t reliable enough yet; we’re removing or tightening them before production. Plan on extension + player as the real workflow.
What does the browser extension do?
The FacetPlayer extension runs alongside your browsing. It looks for playable video URLs (including ones hidden behind page scripts or network requests) and forwards them to FacetPlayer so they show up as candidates you can assign to tiles — instead of copying links by hand from devtools.
Use listening mode when you want it to keep scanning in the background; turn it off when you’re done. The extension doesn’t replace the player — it feeds it.
How do the extension and the app work together?
Keep FacetPlayer open (web or desktop, depending on your build). The extension POSTs candidates to your open player session (desktop intake when running locally, or the Web app URL you configure in the extension); the player lists them and you drag or assign them onto the grid. You control playback, tiling, zoom, and queues — the extension only helps with discovery and handoff from the web.
Is FacetPlayer free? Do I need an account?
Yes — you can use FacetPlayer without signing up. Accounts are optional. Pro is there if you want features like persistent grids across sessions and local offline backups.
What is Pro, and how is it different from free?
Pro is for people who want the full experience: grids that stay meaningful across sessions, with offline backups saved on your machine — not uploaded to the cloud. You can restore a layout in the same state you saved it, including how tiles were set up.
Free users can still use as many grids as they want, but without Pro’s local backup workflow, many stream URLs are ephemeral and stop working after a short time — so a “saved” grid may not play back the same way later.
I saved a grid — why did my streams stop working?
A lot of web video links expire or rotate quickly. Saving a grid remembers your layout and the URLs you had, but if the source link dies (often within ~20 minutes or sooner for some providers), playback will fail until you paste a fresh link.
Pro helps by letting you keep a trustworthy local backup and reload the grid in the same state — but you still need valid, non-expired URLs for sources that require them.
Where does Pro store my grids?
On your computer, as local offline backups — not on our servers as your video layout library. That’s by design: your grid snapshots stay under your control.
What data do you collect?
Free users without an account: we don’t require personal info for core use. Pro accounts may need things like an email for sign-in and subscription management; see the Policy page for details.
What browser or device should I use?
FacetPlayer is best on desktop browsers where you have room for multiple tiles and precise control. Mobile may work for light use but isn’t the focus.
What about paste, drag-and-drop, or other ways to add video?
The product is converging on extension → player for web streams. Remaining shortcuts are not dependable for most sites yet, and we’re stripping or replacing them before the production release. If something still exists in the UI, treat it as temporary — the supported path is the extension feeding the player.