Videos
Since version 1.17 the gallery shows videos as well as photos. Put them in the same folder as the images: in the grid they appear with a play icon, in the lightbox they play with sound, seeking and full screen. Videos are part of the free version.
What you’ll learn
Section titled “What you’ll learn”- Which formats play in the browser
- Why even large files start quickly
- How videos are handled in downloads
- What applies to the watermark
Which formats work
Section titled “Which formats work”| Format | In the browser |
|---|---|
| MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio | plays in every current browser, on phones and desktops — the recommendation |
| HEVC (H.265), MKV, AVI, MPEG-2 | usually not — the lightbox then shows a note, with a download button when downloads are allowed |
| 4K camera originals with a very high bitrate | start, but may stutter |
For your clients, export a delivery version as MP4 with H.264 and AAC — in Premiere, DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut that is the standard H.264 preset. With the free HandBrake, the “Fast 1080p30” preset is enough.
Why even large files start quickly
Section titled “Why even large files start quickly”The plugin does not download a video to your server first. It passes it on to the browser in pieces of 16 MB, and the player fetches the next piece when it needs it. That is why a film starts within a few seconds and seeking jumps straight to the new position. With Dropbox the browser even plays the video directly from Dropbox, through a time-limited link — unless the privacy switch (Settings → Advanced) is on; then it also runs through your site.
Poster frames
Section titled “Poster frames”Google Drive creates a still frame for every video, which appears as the tile. For freshly uploaded videos this takes a few minutes. Dropbox provides no still frames for videos — there you see a dark tile with a play icon.
Videos and downloads
Section titled “Videos and downloads”- Single: visitors download a video with the download button in the lightbox, just like a photo.
- Selection and favorites: include videos when they are selected or marked.
- “Download all”: includes videos only if you switch it on per gallery — under Edit gallery → Features & cookies → “Include videos in ‘Download all’”. It is off by default, because a single film can be several gigabytes.
Watermark
Section titled “Watermark”The watermark (Pro) is applied to the preview images — including the poster frames of videos. The videos themselves get no watermark.
When something is off
Section titled “When something is off”| What you see | Why | What helps |
|---|---|---|
| Note “This video can’t be played in the browser.” | a format browsers cannot play | export as MP4 (H.264/AAC) |
| Video starts, then stutters | bitrate higher than the connection | export a delivery version with a lower bitrate |
| Dark tile instead of a still frame | Dropbox, or Drive is still processing the video | with Drive, wait a few minutes |
| Video missing from the “Download all” ZIP | intended, off by default | tick the option in the gallery |