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Synthesia’s API helps create and integrate videos; it is not the video player. When you publish through a Synthesia share page, embed, or SCORM package, Synthesia says those routes load its hosted player. That means playback and updates are convenient to manage, but those destinations depend on Synthesia’s publishing service.

What “Synthesia owns the player” means

The title is best understood as a statement about how Synthesia controls delivery, not as a standalone legal finding about a separately named player asset. Synthesia’s publishing documentation says its share pages, embeds, and SCORM packages load the Synthesia-hosted player. Its terms say Synthesia owns its Services and their components, while customers own their Customer Data, excluding Synthesia Content and service components. The terms do not separately identify the player as an independent asset.

That distinction matters: the video a customer creates and the software that plays it are different things. The player claim does not mean Synthesia owns every customer-created video. The legal terms establish the broader ownership distinction, while the publishing guide explains which player serves hosted publishing routes.

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What the API does—and what it does not do

Synthesia describes two APIs for different jobs. The Video API creates finished video files and supports integrations and automated workflows, including templates, translation, and dubbing. The separate Interactive Avatars API is for rendering an avatar in a real-time conversational session. Neither description makes the API itself a viewer-facing player.

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Publishing is a separate layer. A finished video can be delivered through a share page, an embed, or an LMS package that loads Synthesia’s hosted player. For the documented Video API quickstart, developers need a Legacy (v2)-scoped key. API keys are associated with a user account, not a workspace. Synthesia’s help article lists Legacy (v2) access for Creator and Enterprise plans; confirm current plan eligibility and access requirements in the official API help article before building an integration.

How the publishing options differ

Route What happens Main trade-off
Share page Loads Synthesia’s hosted player; the page can be configured and its public link deleted. Simple to distribute, but availability depends on Synthesia’s publishing service.
Embed Loads Synthesia’s hosted player and can show edits after the video is reshared. Convenient for updates, but playback depends on the hosted service and the configured access settings.
SCORM Loads the Synthesia player in an LMS. The guide describes completion and quiz-score tracking in the applicable circumstances. Supports LMS workflows, but the publishing guide identifies SCORM as an Enterprise feature.
Downloaded MP4 Provides a static video file that can be distributed separately. More portable, but after edits you must download the new version and replace older copies yourself.

The key choice is not simply “player or no player.” It is whether you value centrally managed playback and updates, LMS tracking, or an independently distributed file that you can manage outside Synthesia.

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What happens when a video changes or a link is deleted

Synthesia’s publishing guide says hosted embeds, share pages, and SCORM packages show the latest edits after you reshare the video. Creating a new draft alone does not publish those edits. By contrast, a downloaded MP4 does not update when the project changes; download the revised file and replace each copy you distributed.

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Deleting a public link takes the video down across the public link, embeds, and SCORM packages that use it. The video remains unavailable through those routes until the link is recreated. This makes link management an operational dependency: a change to publishing access can affect several destinations at once.

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Can you use SCORM offline without Synthesia’s player?

Not as a standard feature, according to Synthesia’s publishing guide. Its SCORM packages embed the Synthesia-hosted player; the guide does not offer a self-contained offline SCORM package that avoids that player. If an LMS course must remain available independently of Synthesia, a downloaded MP4 may be more portable, but it does not provide the same documented SCORM tracking workflow.

Which option fits your distribution needs?

  • Choose a share page or embed when centralized publishing and showing reshared edits matter more than independence from Synthesia’s service.
  • Choose SCORM when you need an LMS workflow with the tracking described in the guide and your plan includes the feature.
  • Use an MP4 when you need a file you can distribute separately and can manage version replacement yourself.
  • Use the API to automate video creation or integrate video generation into workflows; treat playback and distribution as a separate decision.

Synthesia also documents controls that can affect access, including domain restrictions for embeds, disabling public project pages, and requiring authentication. Per-video options described include SSO, password protection, and browser-language defaults for multilingual videos; availability varies by plan. Check the current publishing settings and plan details before relying on a particular control.

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Player ownership is separate from video licensing

Ownership of the service components and rights to use a video are separate questions. Synthesia’s licensing guidance, dated July 23, 2026, says permitted uses depend on whether a video uses a stock, synthetic, or custom avatar, and distinguishes permitted from restricted uses. Check the current policy for your avatar type and intended use, especially before using a video in commercial advertising or public distribution.

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  • Up to 4K HDR with Dolby Vision delivers captivating, true-to-life detail[4]; and you can connect speakers that support Dolby Atmos for more immersive 3D sound

Official documentation

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