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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “hls streaming”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “hls streaming”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 3 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Castio.live – WordPress Streaming Plugin with Chat (HLS) shows at wp.org #5 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 20+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

All-in-One Video Gallery – Video Player & Galleries for YouTube, Vimeo & Self-Hosted Videos places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 136 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 HTML5 Video Player – embed fast, responsive videos with ease 20K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #3 ↑2 2 too low 2 WpStream – Live Streaming, Video on Demand, Pay Per View 3K+ · 4.8★ (78) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Presto Player 100K+ · 4.8★ (346) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #9 ↑2 5 too low 5 Broadcast Live Video – Live Streaming : WebRTC, HLS, RTSP, RTMP 400+ · 2.7★ (14) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 Movie Engine – OTT Streaming Platform for Movies & TV Series 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 FluentPlayer – Video Player With Forms & Lead Capture 2K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 HTML5 Audio Player – The Ultimate No-Code Podcast, MP3 & Audio Player 10K+ · 4.6★ (169) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 All-in-One Video Gallery – Video Player & Galleries for YouTube, Vimeo & Self-Hosted Videos 20K+ · 4.8★ (136) wp.org #22 ↑1 13 too low 10 Videojs HTML5 Player 7K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 FV Flowplayer Video Player 10K+ · 4.4★ (90) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 MediaHaven – Video Gallery, HLS Player & WooCommerce Product Videos 40+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Video Player Block – play videos beautifully on any device 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 Bradmax Player 1K+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #14 ↓1 15 Super Video player – Fully Customizable Video Player with Playlist 2K+ · 4.2★ (30) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 Castio.live – WordPress Streaming Plugin with Chat (HLS) 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↓2 11 too high 17 Radio Player Page 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↑2 5 too high 18 SmartVideo – Video Player and CDN 1K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 MediaBlaster – Video CMS, Vimeo Import, Live TV & Podcasts 200+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 HLS Player 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓1 10 too high 21 GreetPlayer – Video Player, Video Bubble, Audio Player & Lead Capture 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 VideoFlowEngine HLS Streaming — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Media Player Addons for Elementor – Audio and Video Widgets for Elementor 1K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 FV Player 8 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #18 6 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.