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Chrome Tests Picture-in-Picture API To Show Floating Video Popups Outside the Browser (bleepingcomputer.com)

Posted by msmash on from the up-next dept.

Browser makers are working on a new W3C API that will standardize Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode and allow websites to show a floating video popup outside the browser window itself. From a report: In the past, picture-in-picture has only been supported inside a web page's canvas as a floating window that only appeared inside the current website, as the user scrolled up and down the page. Some platforms added support for a picture-in-picture mode, but those were OS-specific APIs that worked with all sorts of video apps, not just browsers. Now, the Web Platform Incubator Community Group (WICG) at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), has released details about a browser-specific API for standardizing picture-in-picture interactions that allow websites to open an external "floating video" popup outside the browser window itself. [...] Chrome and Safari have already shipped out the new Picture-in-Picture API.

10 of 150 comments (clear)

  1. Worst. Idea. Ever. by ErikTheRed · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You thought pop-over ads and auto-play videos were bad before?!?? Hopefully this can be disabled...

    --

    Help save the critically endangered Blue Iguana
    1. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm with you on this:

      You thought pop-over ads and auto-play videos were bad before?!?? Hopefully this can be disabled...

      Do. Not. Want.

      I can think of a few legitimate uses for this outside advertising, but I know that advertising will be the main use of this. This WOULD make me switch browsers. I would not use a browser that allows such an egregious violation of my desktop. Implement this and be boycotted.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    2. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Lab+Rat+Jason · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I came here to say this... Who is asking for these features?

      --
      Which has more power: the hammer, or the anvil?
    3. Re:Worst. Idea. Ever. by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You forget, you are the product. Your opinion doesn't count.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
  2. Why? by Train0987 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    No user has ever asked for this. Advertisers, yes, but actual users, no. This move should prove once and for all who Google exists for.

    1. Re:Why? by Lunix+Nutcase · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Google’s customers are ad buyers. Now this decision makes much more sense, no?

    2. Re:Why? by WaffleMonster · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Window border, scroll bars, single tab wasting space, address bar row, bookmarks bar. Lots of wasted screen space. And then the video playing site would waste more space with its own UI. Plus, no always-on-top option.

      All anyone can do is hope those advocating for a windowless context free area outside the browser window simply to avoid "wasting space" are either kidding or trolling.

  3. News sites terrible offenders by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Almost every news site now is already being offensive with their autoplay video that follows you and also jumps around on the page as you scroll down. And the video players don't all work the same -- some of them you click in the middle to pause, some you have to locate the pause button (wherever it may be), some of them can be closed entirely, others cannot. But universally I stop all of these videos. Neither the video nor the audio are wanted.

    Putting these autoplay video sinto a popout window doesn't solve the problem, it only moves the problem into a popout window. W. T. F.

  4. Stop Using Chrome by ecsyle · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Stop using a web browser developed by an advertising company. This is all of our fault, for making Chrome popular.

    1. Re:Stop Using Chrome by Merk42 · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Exactly! You should use something like Safari since Apple isn't dependent on advertising dollars and has said how they care about your data and...

      Chrome and Safari have already shipped out the new Picture-in-Picture API

      ...oh...