Picture in Picture is a multi-window mode usually used for video playbacks. The Picture-in-Picture (PIP) mode is useful to watch the video even while surfing through different applications or tabs, as the video is played on a small screen that remains intact at the position wherever you fix it on the screen.
In this article, we will focus on learning more about Picture-in-Picture mode and how to use Chrome’s Picture-in-Picture mode and to play local videos!
Picture-in-Picture mode
Want to watch a video but send an important email at the same time? Not to worry, here is the solution for you to enjoy your movies or videos uninterruptedly even while working on another screen. The PIP mode enables you to toggle between different screens but still watch the video!
Click here to know about: Everything You Need To Know About Miracast
Why use the PIP mode
- To use applications on phones or laptops/PCs simultaneously while playing a video.
- Usually, a picture in picture mode can be witnessed during video calls, in which you can access the multi-window and expand it by clicking on it.
- Earlier, PIP was available on some televisions in which you can tune a channel and watch it on the main screen whereas tune another in the PIP mode. However, only the main screen video could be heard.
- On the whole PIP mode is available across several interfaces that enable the user to multitask.
Source: Tweaklibrary.com
Activate PIP in Google Chrome
Let us begin with how to enable the PIP mode in Chrome before getting into how to use it. You can access the picture in picture in Windows, Linux, and iOS using Chrome by two methods:
Using the built-in PIP feature
- Open the video you want on YouTube.
- You can right-click on the video to open a menu dialog box.
- Then right-click again to open Chrome’s menu.
- Select the ‘Picture in Picture’ option.
- Now you see that the video is being displayed on a smaller screen which can be hovered around across the different tabs.
- The message stating “The video is playing in picture-in-picture mode” would be displayed on the top of your video.
Note: This is one of the options to access Picture in Picture mode through the in-built Chrome menu. This usually works but can cause some issues on some websites.
Using the Picture-in-Picture (PIP) extension for Chrome
Through this, you can view the video available online or play the local videos stored on your device.
Note that not all video formats are supported on the picture in picture extension for Chrome. The video formats supported are: MP4, WebM
Click here to know more about Google Chrome’s PIP extension.
Follow these steps to play local videos using the PIP Google Chrome extension
- Grant permission to access the URL of the video file.
Open Chrome > Go to the ‘Toolbar’ > Select the ‘More tools’ option > Select the Extension icon > Select the ‘Manage Extensions’ option > Select the ‘Allow Access to File URLs’ and turn it on.
- Now go to the folder in your device with the local video file you want to play.
- Right-click the File to open the menu and click on ‘Open With’.
- From the ‘Open With’ dialog box search for play with the ‘Google Chrome’ option.
- If you are not able to find the ‘Google Chrome; option in the list then search for it in the ‘Choose another app’ or ‘More apps’.
- Click ‘Ok’.
- You can also try dragging your local video to a new tab in Google Chrome, after which it will automatically start playing.
- After you successfully bring in the local video, click on the ‘Extensions’ symbol at the top right corner.
- A small screen or a mini-player would pop out to your screen which can be placed anywhere you want.
Some tips that might help you understand this better are mentioned here:
- To see a sample of how PIP works on your device click here.
- To know about the specs of the extension, demonstrations, and documentation, visit the official website by clicking here.
- You can also get the extension from Google Chrome’s web store by:
- Chrome’s web store > Home > Extensions > Picture-in-Picture Extension (by Google) > Add to Chrome
- Other details about the extension and the reviews can be seen here.
- For Windows, you can use the shortcut: Alt + P
Closing the Picture in Picture mode player
Now we know how to use Chrome’s Picture in Picture mode to play local videos and other videos from the web, lets see how to turn off that mode:
- Select the mini-player or the PIP player on your screen.
- Search for the ‘Close’ button or the ‘X’ button on the top-right corner of the player and click on it.
- To re-open the video once again, follow the same steps as mentioned above.
Chrome’s Picture in Picture mode for Android
Since the year 2017, Picture in picture mode for playing local videos or web videos has been enabled on Android platforms. So one can use this on mobiles or other gadgets with Android.
Several video players also have updated to provide this mode. Some of such players and applications that allow PIP for Android are:
- MX player
- VLC Player
- Radiant Media Player
- Google Maps
- Netflix
- Google Duo
- Telegram
Check out this to know more about Android: Android 11: All the features and reviews you need to read!
Source: phoneweek.co.uk
To use PIP mode to play local videos on Android devices, follow these steps:
- Open the ‘Settings’.
- Click on the ‘Apps & notifications’.
- Go to Advanced and select Special app access.
- Select the ‘Picture-in-picture’ option.
- Choose an application from the list.
- Tap the toggle turn on the PIP mode.
You can similarly turn off the video from PIP mode and change the settings to turn it off.
There are several applications available through which you can play your local videos in Picture-in-Picture mode. So, when you use applications, follow these steps:
Open the application > Turn on the option to play the video as PIP > Select the video you want from the device > Select the ‘Fullscreen’ option > Click on your ‘Home’ button > Play it as a PIP video.
In this article, we have covered the tricks to use the Picture-in-Picture mode in Chrome as well as another interface. Use this to save time and keep watching your videos without being disturbed!
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