Video player features

Captions, translations, and transcriptions

Skills courses include English captions and subtitles by default. You can customize your caption settings using the Settings menu in the video player.

To manage captions:

1. Click the Settings gear icon.
2. Click Audio settings to see available audio language options.
3. Click Subtitle settings to translate captions into another language. You’ll be able to choose from a list of available Google Translate-supported languages (external site, opens in new tab).
4. Click Subtitle position to choose whether you want captions positioned at the top or bottom (default) of the player.
5. Click the Closed captions icon to turn captions on/off.

If you have a specific course captioning request, please contact Pluralsight Support.

Transcripts are also available for all video courses. Learn more about transcripts.

Playback speed

Click Playback speed under the Settings gear icon to choose a playback speed ranging from .5x (half speed) to 2.0x (double speed).

Thumbnail previews

Use thumbnail previews to skip to a specific section of a video clip. Hover over the progress bar to see a preview of the video at any point without leaving your current place. Once you’ve found the section you’re interested in, click the progress bar or drag the progress marker to move to that point.

Video quality adjustment

The video player automatically adjusts the streaming quality to optimize your experience.

Modify the video quality in the settings menu to adjust for any bandwidth issues you may be having. Click the Settings gear icon, then click Quality and choose your resolution. See bandwidth troubleshooting and tips to resolve issues.

Video format adjustment

By default, all videos play using HLS format. If your browser or OS cannot play HLS, the video will play as an MP4.

Badges

As you work through a course, the video player provides badge updates, displaying badges earned and badge progress between video modules. Check out our badges article to learn more.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts control playback settings for the video player.

Press Shift+? to view the shortcuts in the player.

A list of these shortcuts is below:

Feature and Course Feedback

Ready to share your thoughts on features or courses? Click Send Feedback in the Settings menu to access the feedback form. Then, follow these steps:

1. Fill out your personal information and the other required fields.
2. Choose Feedback/feature request from the Select an option that best describes your request dropdown menu.
3. Narrow your request to a specific area or topic in the What would you like to send us feedback about? dropdown menu.
4. Include additional details in the description field.
5. Click Submit.

We value input from our learners and work very closely with our content and product teams to make sure your feedback reaches the right people. We may reach out to you for clarification, but most feedback won't receive a personal response.

Troubleshooting checklist and tips

• Check your internet connection.
• Use the video checkup tool (opens in new tab) to identify playback issues.
• Confirm you’re using a recommended browser.
• Disable all browser extensions/add-ons (they may interfere with video playback).
• If issues persist, try another recommended browser.
• Ensure your internet speed is at least 3 Mbps for smooth Pluralsight video streaming.
• If your speed is below 3 Mbps:
  • Create a channel or bookmark courses to watch later.
  • Download courses for offline viewing using the mobile or desktop apps (opens in new tab).
  • Stream from your device to your TV.
  • Refer to Desktop and mobile app troubleshooting if questions arise.

WFH troubleshooting

Sometimes, internet bandwidth isn't large enough to handle the demand. There are a few reasons why this might happen.

We find that most buffering issues occur when users switch from the Auto setting to a higher quality setting. The video player automatically detects bandwidth availability and adjusts play quality accordingly to keep a continuous stream. If you manually adjusted it to a higher quality setting, try changing it back to Auto.

Other reasons for buffering issues include:

• an increased number of people watching Skills video content on the same network
• a large number of devices using your Wi-Fi
• your Wi-Fi connection not being strong enough

If you're having buffering issues, you can:

1. Make sure your Wi-Fi router is centrally located.
2. Switch the video player setting to Auto.
3. Download the video using our mobile and desktop apps. Once your video is downloaded, you can watch the video without an internet connection. See instructions on downloading courses for offline viewing on our mobile apps, the macOS desktop app.
4. Decrease the bandwidth demand by turning off other internet devices.

Advanced troubleshooting

If the previous steps didn't resolve the issue, you can perform some advanced troubleshooting by using your browser’s diagnostic tool and sending our Support team the results. To run your browser’s diagnostics tool:

1. Open our video player in your desktop browser, then open your browser's diagnostic tools (F12 or CMD-OPTION-I on Mac)
2. Go to the console tab, then reload or refresh the page.
3. Take a screenshot of any errors that show up under the console tab.
4. Navigate to the network tab, refresh again, and take another screenshot. You must refresh the page to get the network tab to populate.
5. Please contact Pluralsight Support with those screenshots and information, and we will look into this further for you.