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Plays Block – Audio-video broadcast player with social features

0/5 (0 ratings) 40 active installs Updated Nov 3, 2026
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Download v1.0.2 Plugin Website

Plays Block is a comprehensive audio and video player plugin for WordPress that goes beyond simple media playback. It is designed for broadcasters, podcasters, radio stations, and content creators who want to build a social, interactive media experience on their website.

Unlike standard players, Plays Block integrates a full suite of social features, allowing your audience to engage directly with your content and with each other.

Core Features

  • Multi-Source Media Player: Seamlessly play audio, radio streams, and video content.
  • Social Engagement: Built-in social features including Playlists, Likes, Follows, and Notifications, turning passive viewers into an active community.
  • User Accounts: Integrated Login and Signup functionality for your visitors, enabling them to save preferences and interact.
  • AJAX-Powered Experience: Pages load via AJAX for a smooth, app-like browsing experience without full page refreshes.
  • AI Text-to-Speech: Generate audio from text using integrated AI services (Google, OpenAI, ElevenLabs).

Support for Popular Platforms

Plays Block allows you to easily embed and play content from a wide range of third-party services. The plugin includes dedicated integrations for:

  • Google YouTube: Fetch video details and embed players.
  • ElevenLabs: Access AI-powered text-to-speech voices.
  • HearThis.at: Resolve and play hosted audio tracks.
  • Mixcloud: Fetch track data and embed the Mixcloud widget.
  • Spotify: Embed podcast episodes and music tracks.
  • Vimeo: Embed and control Vimeo video playback.
  • SoundCloud: Embed audio players for tracks and playlists via the Widget API.

16 Custom Blocks

The plugin provides 16 custom Gutenberg blocks, giving you granular control over how user profiles, content, and interactive elements are displayed on your site. These include blocks for:

  • User Information: Avatar, Bio, Username, and User Menu.
  • Content & Interaction: Play Button, Comment, Note, and Notification.
  • Metadata & Structure: Tag, Meta, Info, Artist, Items, User Content, User Links, and Copyright.

External Services

This plugin connects to the following third-party services to provide its core functionality. For each service, the plugin lists the purpose, data sent, and links to their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy:

  1. Google YouTube Data API v3: Fetches video details for YouTube imports.
  2. ElevenLabs Text-to-Speech API: Retrieves available voices for TTS conversion.
  3. HearThis.at API: Resolves and plays audio tracks hosted on HearThis.at.
  4. Mixcloud API & Widget: Fetches track data and embeds the Mixcloud player.
  5. Spotify Embed API: Embeds the Spotify player for podcasts and music.
  6. Vimeo Player API: Embeds and controls Vimeo video playback.
  7. SoundCloud Widget API / oEmbed: Embeds SoundCloud audio players.