Video and Audio
Which player Kalium uses for video and audio, and how autoplay, repeat and YouTube behave.
Kalium replaces WordPress's plain media player with a themed one, so video and audio match the rest of your site rather than looking like a browser default.
The settings are at Appearance -> Customize -> General -> Media, and they apply to every video and audio on your site at once.
Media Player
Video.js Kalium's themed player. This is the default, and it's what makes video match your site's styling. It is loaded on demand, only where the page actually holds a video or audio element, so it costs nothing on pages without one.
Browser Native The player built into the visitor's browser. It differs from browser to browser, but it is the lightest option.
Stay on Video.js unless you have a reason not to.
Player Skin
Only appears when Media Player is Video.js.
Minimal A clean, understated set of controls. This is the default.
Standard The fuller control bar.
Autoplay Videos
Disable Videos wait for the visitor to press play. This is the default, and the safest.
Always Videos start on page load.
When Visible on Viewport Videos start when they scroll into view. This is the one to use if you want autoplay at all.
Browsers block autoplay with sound. Kalium mutes autoplaying media for you so it will actually start, otherwise browsers would simply refuse.
Always frequently doesn't work as expected, because a browser may decline to play a video the visitor hasn't scrolled to yet. When Visible on Viewport is far more reliable.
Auto Repeat
Restarts video or audio from the beginning when it finishes.
Good for a short background clip. Irritating for anything with sound.
Default YouTube Player
Only appears when Media Player is Video.js.
On YouTube videos use YouTube's own player, with its branding and suggested videos at the end.
Off YouTube videos use Kalium's player, matching everything else on your site.
Overriding these on one video
The site-wide settings apply everywhere, but an attribute on an individual shortcode always wins. So you can autoplay one video without autoplaying all of them:
Kalium adds several attributes WordPress doesn't have, including playsinline (play inline on iPhone rather than going fullscreen), object_fit, and poster on audio.
Common questions
Every video on my site autoplays. That's Autoplay Videos here, not the individual videos.
A video won't autoplay.
Browsers block audible autoplay. Kalium mutes autoplaying media so it can start, unless you've set muted="false" yourself. Prefer When Visible on Viewport.
The video looks different in the editor than on the site. Expected. Kalium deliberately leaves the editor's media preview alone, so you see the plain player there and the themed one on your site. Check the front end.
My audio player is tiny.
Without a poster image, audio defaults to a narrow bar. Give it a width, or a poster.
Videos are slow to load. Host long videos on YouTube or Vimeo rather than uploading them to your site. Self-hosted video is the heaviest thing most sites serve.
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