Setting Up Full Video Background using video.js


Video.js is a powerful tool for working with video on the web, providing a common interface for different types of video players including HTML5, Flash, and others. It is designed to be easy to use and customize, with a wide range of options for controlling the look and feel of the player.

In this tutorial, we will show how you can set up a full video background for a video player using this open-source JavaScript library called video.js.

For the purpose of this tutorial, we will focus on how to set up a full video background using video.js. This can be a great way to add visual interest and engagement to your website, whether you're using video as a background for your homepage, or incorporating it into other pages of your site. This feature can be especially useful if you are looking to create a dynamic and engaging user experience, and it can be achieved relatively easily with the help of video.js. So, let’s move on to the next section of the tutorial to understand how we can set up full video background for a video player using video.js.

Setting Up Full Video Background using video.js

Setting up a full video background refers to the process of making a video the background of an entire webpage, rather than just a small embedded player within the page. This means that the video takes up the entire browser window and can be seen behind the content of the webpage. This technique can be used to create a dynamic and engaging user experience and can be especially useful for homepage or landing pages to attract the user's attention.

Prerequisite − Assuming that you know how to create a basic video player using the video.js library, let’s learn to increase the buffer size or time for a video.js player.

For setting up the full video background, we’re going to change the CSS properties of the video element as well as the video.js class.

Consider the following CSS code for setting up the full video background −

<style>
   body {
      margin: 0;
      padding: 0;
      }

   .video-js {
      width: 100%;
      height: 100%;
   }

   #my-video-player {
      position: absolute;
      top: 0;
      left: 0;
      width: 100%;
      height: 100%;
      object-fit: cover;
   }
</style>

The CSS code in the example is used to style the video element and make it fill the entire background of the webpage. Here is an explanation of the different parts of the CSS code −

body { margin: 0; padding: 0; } − sets the margin and padding for the body element to 0, so that there is no space between the edge of the page and the video background.

video-js { width: 100%; height: 100%; } − This sets the width and height of the video element to be 100% of the parent container. So it will take the full screen.

#my-video-player { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: cover; } − This styles the video element with the id of "my-video-player" and positions it to be at the top left corner of the page, taking up the entire space of the page. The object-fit: cover property makes sure that the video is scaled to fill the entire background while maintaining its aspect ratio and cropping any parts of the video that don't fit within the background.

Changing the CSS properties of these three classes will make sure that our video player takes up the full background in our browser window.

Example

Using the above code snippet in the complete example to set up full video background using video.js will look something like this −

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
   <title>Video.JS Setting up Full Video Background </title>

   <!-- Importing Video.js CSS / JS using CDN URL -->
   <link href="https://vjs.zencdn.net/7.19.2/video-js.css" rel="stylesheet" />
   <script src="https://vjs.zencdn.net/7.17.0/video.min.js"></script>

   <style>
      body {
         margin: 0;
         padding: 0;
      }

      .video-js {
         width: 100%;
         height: 100%;
      }

      #my-video-player {
         position: absolute;
         top: 0;
         left: 0;
         width: 100%;
         height: 100%;
         object-fit: cover;
      }
   </style>
</head>
<body>
   <video
      id="my-video-player"
      class="video-js vjs-default-skin vjs-big-play-centered"
      controls="true"
      preload="true"
      muted="true"
      autoplay="true"
      poster="assets/sample.png"
      data-setup='{}'
   >
   <source
      src=" https://www.tutorialspoint.com/videos/sample720.mp4"
      type="video/mp4"
   >
   </video>
   <script>
      // Initializing the video player with video options
      let player = videojs('my-video-player');
   </script>
</body>
</html>

In the code excerpt provided above, we’ve tried to implement the following −

  • First, we’ve used the free CDN URL of video.js to import the required CSS and JS files of video.js in the <head> section of the code.

  • Further, we’ve created a <video> element inside the <body> section of our code. The <video> element has been initialized with classes like video.js, video-default-skin, and vjs-big-play-centered.

  • The ‘id’ of the video element i.e. ‘my-video-player’ has been later used in the <script> section of the code to create a video player for this id.

  • We’ve also utilized some standard HTML video options like controls, muted, and poster for the <video> element and fluid attribute has been used to make the video player responsive.

  • In the <script> tag, the video player has been initialized for <video> element having id as ‘my-video-player’

  • In the <style> section of the code, we’ve added the CSS code which is used to set the video background to take up the entire browser window and position it at the top-left corner of the browser window. The object-fit: cover; property is used to make sure that the video will cover the full area without being distorted.

When the above code is executed in a web browser, it will remove the space around the body, make the video player take up the entire browser window, position the specific video element to be flush with the top-left corner of the browser window and make sure that the video will cover the full area without being distorted. This will create the effect of a full video background that takes up the entire browser window and is positioned at the top-left corner of the browser window. So, this is how we can set up full video background using video.js

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we delved into the topic of setting up a full video background using video.js. We provided a comprehensive guide on how to get started with video.js, including the process of including the library in your HTML file, adding the video element, and using CSS to set the video as the background of the webpage. We also provided a fully working example to demonstrate the process and make it easy to understand for readers. Setting up a full video background using video.js is a great way to add visual interest and engagement to your website.

Updated on: 13-Apr-2023

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