Video widget
What it is
Plays a video from YouTube, Vimeo, or a direct video file URL inside a dashboard tile.
Config fields
| Field | What it controls | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Video URL | URL of the video. Accepts YouTube watch/share URLs, Vimeo URLs, or direct .mp4/.webm file URLs. Max 2048 characters. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ |
| Fit Mode | How the video frame fills the tile: Contain, Cover, or Fill. Applies to direct video files only — YouTube and Vimeo embeds control their own sizing. | Contain |
| Muted | Mutes the audio. Automatically enabled when Autoplay is on (browser requirement). | enabled |
| Autoplay | Starts playback immediately when the tile is visible. Enabling autoplay automatically enables Muted. | disabled |
| Loop | Restarts the video when it ends. | enabled |
| Show Controls | Shows the native browser video controls (play/pause, volume, scrubber) on direct video files. YouTube/Vimeo have their own controls. | disabled |
YouTube and Vimeo
YouTube and Vimeo URLs are converted to embed iframes automatically. The “Fit Mode” and “Show Controls” settings do not apply to these — the respective players control layout and UI.
- YouTube: paste any
youtube.com/watch?v=oryoutu.be/URL. - Vimeo: paste any
vimeo.com/<id>URL.
Common pitfalls
- Autoplay requires Muted. All major browsers block autoplay with audio. dotBlast enforces this constraint: enabling Autoplay also enables Muted automatically.
- Direct video files and CORS. If the video server sends
Access-Control-Allow-Originheaders that exclude your dashboard’s origin, the video will not load. Use a CDN that permits cross-origin video streaming, or host the file yourself. - Fit Mode on embeds. Setting Fit Mode on a YouTube or Vimeo embed has no effect; resize the tile to adjust how the embed sits within the grid.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Try |
|---|---|
| Video shows a placeholder / doesn’t load | Paste the URL in a new tab to confirm it resolves. Check the browser console for CORS or mixed-content errors. |
| No autoplay on display device | Confirm Autoplay is enabled and Muted is on. Some browsers also require the page to have had a prior user gesture — a fresh kiosk load can delay the first autoplay. |
| YouTube embed shows “Video unavailable” | The video may be age-restricted or embedding-disabled by the uploader. |