11 The player

Section 11.2 describes the player as it is deployed today. The sections after it are the target, the player as it is meant to be, and section 11.16 lists every difference between the two as a numbered change. Only a change the owner has approved is built, one change at a time; anything no change names stays as it is deployed.

The chapter covers what the player shows and how its controls work, how a title resumes and when it counts as finished, the qualities and their names, the player's menus, the picture, and what the player says when it changes the quality by itself. Subtitles, and the panel in which people pick the audio and the subtitles, have chapter 12, and what a screen says when something couldn't load, by cause, is in chapter 17.

11.1 Purpose

The player plays a movie, an episode or a trailer. It shows the picture as large as the screen allows and keeps its controls out of the way until they are wanted. It opens from play, resume and start over on a title's page (chapter 6), from home (chapter 4), and from zap's watch, at the scene zap showed (chapter 10).

The player has no frame around it: no top bar, no tabs and no rail. Its own top holds the way back. Every app follows the same rules, so a title resumes and finishes the same way everywhere.

11.2 As deployed

This section says what the four players do as of 6 November 2026: the web as the public demo showed it that day, on the same build as production, and the apps as their code had them that day. The phone app, Android TV and the Samsung TV are described from their code until screenshots of them are taken. The Samsung TV app isn't released yet.

11.2.1 The web

Figures 11.1 to 11.3 are screenshots of the web's player while a title starts. The picture is black in all three, because the browser that took them couldn't decode the original and the server was still converting it; the controls are the ones that show while a title plays. Figure 11.1 shows a movie on a computer.

Figure 11.1: The web's player as deployed on 6 November 2026, on a computer, at 1280 × 800.

1. Top left: back and home, two dark squares with an arrow and a house, then the title, “Sintel”, in the monospace face.
2. The middle: the loader alone, a turning arc in a dark square. No line says what is loading.
3. The seek bar along the bottom, “0:00” on its left and the length, “14:48”, on its right, with a round white handle ringed in blue. The amber stretch near its end is the credits.
4. Bottom left: pause and the speaker, then the volume slider, blue, with a round handle.
5. Bottom right: subtitles, quality, speed, playback info and fullscreen: a caption box, a gear, a gauge, an “i” in a circle and four corners. A movie with one audio track has no audio button, and a movie has no previous or next episode.

The buttons are 36 × 36 px squares. Their tooltips are capitalised, and some name what is set: “Back”, “Home”, “Pause”, “Mute”, “Subtitles”, “Quality (High (1080p))”, “Playback speed (normal)”, “Playback info”, “Fullscreen”.

Figure 11.2 shows the same movie on a phone held upright.

Figure 11.2: The web's player as deployed on 6 November 2026, on a phone held upright, at 360 × 780.

1. Top: back, home and the title, as on a computer.
2. The middle: the loader alone.
3. The seek bar, shorter, with the credits in amber near its end.
4. One row of buttons: pause and the speaker on the left; subtitles, quality, speed, playback info and fullscreen on the right. Below 768 px wide there is no volume slider, so the speaker only turns the sound off and on. The row doesn't wrap: an episode, with previous and next episode, has more buttons than 360 px hold.

Figure 11.3 shows another movie on a phone held sideways.

Figure 11.3: The web's player as deployed on 6 November 2026, on a phone held sideways, at 780 × 360.

1. The panel in the middle, the loader with “Converting the video for this browser…”: the server converts this title for the browser as it plays, and the start has taken more than 5 seconds.
2. The volume slider is back, because the screen is 768 px wide or more.
3. subtitles is dimmed, as it is for a title with no subtitles to offer.
4. The credits, a longer amber stretch at the end of the seek bar.

When a phone, a screen whose short side is 600 px or less, is turned sideways, the player asks the browser for full screen and to hold the page sideways; it doesn't go full screen as it opens. It leaves full screen when the page turns upright again, but where the browser holds the page sideways the page doesn't turn, so full screen then ends only with exit fullscreen or the phone's back. fullscreen itself asks for full screen without turning the page.

What the screenshots can't show, such as the menus, the skip buttons, up next and what the player says when a title can't be played, is in the table of section 11.2.5.

11.2.2 The phone app

The Android app's player has the web's layout: back, home and the title at the top, with cast at the right while a device that can play is on the network, and the seek bar and one row of buttons at the bottom. The buttons are 36 dp circles: play, the speaker, which opens an 88 dp volume slider beside it, the audio chip with the language's code, there for a title with one track too, subtitles, speed, quality, previous and next episode, playback info and fullscreen. The row doesn't wrap, so on a phone 360 dp wide held upright an episode's buttons don't fit. Held sideways, the system bars hide and a swipe from the edge brings them back for a moment; fullscreen hides them upright too. Upright the picture always fits; sideways, two fingers spread apart fill the screen with it.

The controls hide after 4 seconds while the title plays and 8 seconds while it is paused, and a tap on the picture shows them but never hides them. While a title starts, a spinner turns alone, without the top, until the server has sent what to play; then the screen stays black until the first picture, and nothing shows when the player waits later on. The quality notices come at the bottom. Up next shows only with Auto-play next episode on, and counts down from 5 seconds, a time Settings doesn't offer. Settings has “Auto-skip intros & recaps” and “Auto-skip credits”, but the player reads neither, so it skips nothing by itself.

The iOS app adds picture in picture and AirPlay to the bar, plays the sound on in the background with the title on the lock screen, and puts its buttons on two rows when the phone is upright: play, the volume, previous and next episode and fullscreen, then audio, subtitles, speed, quality, picture in picture, AirPlay and playback info. Its fullscreen turns the player sideways.

11.2.3 Android TV

The Android TV player has the layout of the target (section 11.5): back, home and the title at the top, then the seek bar and one row: play, the volume, audio, subtitles, speed, quality, previous and next episode, and playback info. The buttons are 40 dp squares with capitalised names, “Pause”, “Audio track”, “Playback speed”. The volume is one focus stop: OK turns the sound off and on, and ↑ ↓ set the player's own level. subtitles is there for a title without subtitles too, and its menu then says “No subtitles available”; previous and next episode are there on every episode, and at a season's ends they do nothing.

Skipping is a note in the corner: “Skipping intro in 5s” over “Press BACK to cancel”, on every episode, the first one too. An episode opened by up next or by the episode buttons starts past its intro instead, whatever the setting, with “Skipped intro” over “Press BACK to watch from the start”. Up next is the note “Up next in 5s”, without buttons, and after a movie the first unwatched title of “more like this” starts. The player goes on by itself only after a picture showed and 10 seconds played. A title starting says “Preparing…”, then a spinner turns alone, and a title that can't be played shows the player's error in red, “Playback failed: ERROR_CODE — message”, with report this problem and no try again.

11.2.4 Samsung TV

The Samsung TV player has no top. The episode's code and its own name, without the show's, stand above the seek bar, and every control is in the row under it: back, back 10 seconds, play or pause, forward 10 seconds and next episode, then audio, subtitles and quality, quality with a gauge. It has no home, volume, speed, previous episode or playback info. The buttons are 56 px squares. The seek bar takes no focus: ← → go back and forward 10 seconds while the controls are hidden, and fast forward and rewind 30 seconds.

The controls hide after 3.5 seconds while the title plays, and never while it is paused. Auto-skip counts down from 10 seconds, “Skipping intro in 10…”, with “Press any key to cancel”, on every episode, and it skips the credits too, on at first, before the next episode starts at the end. A title starting shows a spinner with “Preparing your title…” or “Preparing the trailer…” on a darkened screen, and “Buffering…” while it waits. It shows none of the quality notices. A title that can't be played says “Playback failed” with the error's text and Back, and Try again only for a trailer.

11.2.5 Feature by feature

The table compares the four players feature by feature. “—” is a feature the app doesn't have, and “not found” one its code was searched for and doesn't have. A ready-made title is one that plays from the server's ready-made qualities.

Feature	Web	Phone app	Android TV	Samsung TV
The top	back, home and the title	back, home and the title; cast at the right, in a circle	back, home and the title	none: the episode's code and its own name above the seek bar, without the show; back is the first button of the row; no home
The buttons	36 × 36 px squares; tooltips capitalised, some with what is set: “Quality (High (1080p))”, “Next episode: S01E04 — Triangular Diplomacy”	36 dp circles; names lowercase, with what is set as their state: “subtitles”, “off”	40 dp squares; names capitalised: “Pause”, “Audio track”, “Playback speed”	56 px squares; names capitalised: “Rewind 10 seconds”, “Next episode”
The row	play, speaker, slider … audio, subtitles, quality (a gear), speed, previous, next, playback info, zoom to fill, fullscreen	play, volume … audio, subtitles, speed, quality, previous, next, playback info, fullscreen; iOS adds picture in picture and AirPlay	play, volume … audio, subtitles, speed, quality, previous, next, playback info	back, back 10 s, play, forward 10 s, next … audio, subtitles, quality (a gauge)
A phone, upright and sideways	upright, the same row, wider than 360 px for an episode; turned sideways, it asks for full screen and holds the page sideways	Android: the same row upright, wider than 360 dp for an episode; sideways, the system bars hide. iOS: two rows upright; fullscreen turns it sideways	—	—
The volume	the speaker turns the sound off and on; the slider from 768 px wide	the speaker opens an 88 dp slider; the sound goes off only by sliding it down; iOS: a mute button beside the slider	one focus stop: OK turns the sound off and on, ↑ ↓ 5% up or down	—
audio	a chip with the language's code, “ENG”, for two tracks or more	the chip, for one track too	an icon, for two tracks or more	an icon, for two tracks or more
subtitles	dimmed for a title without subtitles	there without subtitles, its menu “off” alone	there without subtitles, its menu “off” and “No subtitles available”	only for a title with subtitles
previous, next episode	only where there is one	only where there is one	both on every episode; at a season's ends they do nothing	next only, on every episode
Hiding the controls	after 3 s playing, 8 s paused; held by an open menu	after 4 s, 8 s; held by a menu, a drag and TalkBack's focus	after 4 s, 8 s; held by a menu	after 3.5 s; never while paused
A tap on the picture	shows the controls, and hides them when they show	shows them, never hides them	—	—
The seek bar	a round handle; intro blue, credits amber, recap green, a sponsor red; chapters as thin ticks	a round handle; intro yellow, credits orange, recap purple; chapters a band	a square handle; intro amber, recap grey, credits red; chapters a green band	a square handle; nothing loaded shown; intro and recap blue, credits amber; chapters a band
The still over the seek bar	every title, on hover and during a drag: “Intro · 1:30”	ready-made titles only, while pressed: “Intro · 1:30”	ready-made titles only, while the bar has the focus	ready-made titles only, always while the controls show, without a time
Seeking	a click; a drag seeks all along, by touch too	a drag seeks where the finger lets go	← → 10 s on the focused bar	the bar takes no focus: ← → 10 s with the controls hidden
The remote	—	—	OK, ← →, ↑ ↓, back, play, pause; fast forward and rewind 10 s; the subtitles and audio keys open their menus	OK, ← →, ↑, back, play, pause; fast forward and rewind 30 s; ↓ with the controls hidden does nothing; no subtitles or audio key
Skip buttons	white: “Skip Intro”, “Skip Recap”; “Skip Credits” only without a next episode	white: “Skip Intro”, “Skip Recap”, “Skip Credits”	“skip intro”, “skip recap”, “skip credits”, focus stops	“Skip Intro” and the others, and “Skip” with the part's name for any other part, a chapter too
Auto-skip	the intro only, on an episode of a show played in the last 6 hours: a card, “Binge mode”, “Skipping intro in 3…”, “Skip now”, “Watch intro”	nothing: the setting isn't read	intro and recap on every episode, the first too: “Skipping intro in 5s”, “Press BACK to cancel”	intro and recap on every episode: “Skipping intro in 10…”, “Press any key to cancel”
An episode opened from the one before	starts past an intro in its first 2 s, whatever the setting, without a word	—	starts past the intro and a recap next to it, whatever the setting: “Skipped intro”, “Press BACK to watch from the start”	—
The credits	“Skip Credits”, only without a next episode	“Skip Credits”, hidden while up next counts down	skipped by themselves with Auto-play next off: “Skipping credits in 5s”	skipped by themselves, on at first: “Skipping credits in 10…”
Up next	“UP NEXT”, the name over the code, “Play now (3)”, “Cancel”; counts down only with Auto-play next on	only with Auto-play next on: “Up next”, “Playing next episode in 5s”, “Play now”, “Cancel”, without the name	a note: “Up next in 5s”, “Press BACK to cancel”; no buttons	none: the next episode starts at the end
The countdown	3 s, from Settings	5 s, fixed	5 s, from Settings	10 s, from Settings
Without credits	nothing at the end	up next at the later of 20 s before the end and 95%	the next episode starts at the end	the next episode starts at the end
A teaser after the credits	plays on: “NEXT EPISODE”, “Next episode in 3s”, “Cancel”	plays on: “Preview playing — jump to the next episode”, “Next episode”, “Dismiss”	plays on: “Next episode ▶ in 5s”, “Press BACK to cancel”	skipped as a recap
After a movie	nothing starts	nothing starts	the first unwatched title of “more like this” starts	nothing starts; the player goes back
The next episode	warmed from the credits on; no rule before going on	warmed 30 s before the credits or the end; no rule before going on	warmed 30 s before the credits or the end; started by itself only after a picture and 10 s	not warmed; no rule before going on
The menus	audio, quality and speed right above their buttons, over the seek bar; subtitles above the whole bar	above the seek bar under their button; round corners	at the bottom right, above the bar	at one fixed place; a check mark; headers in capitals
Audio rows	“English” with “AAC · Stereo” beside it, for a ready-made title “MP4A.40.2 · Stereo”	“E-AC-3 · 5.1” under the name; a track it can't play greyed	“E-AC-3 · 5.1” under the name; only tracks it can play	“English”, “English 5.1”
Quality rows	ready-made: “Auto · Medium (720p)” first	the qualities, no Auto	ready-made: “Auto · Medium (720p)” first	ready-made: “Auto” first
A quality picked	the last picture stays under “Switching to Medium (720p)…”	loaded again where it was	loaded again where it was; the speed back to normal	loaded again where it was
The picture	the picture area fitted, its bars cropped; zoom to fill	Android: the picture area fitted, a pinch fills; iOS: the whole frame	the whole frame	the whole frame
A title starting	the loader alone	a spinner alone, without the top; then black until the first picture	“Preparing…”, then a spinner alone	a spinner, “Preparing your title…”, on a darkened screen
Waiting while it plays	the panel with a line, “Reconnecting…”, “Switching audio…”, “Converting the video for this browser…” and others; a notice, “Stream paused — reconnecting…”	nothing	a spinner alone	a spinner, “Buffering…”
The quality changed by itself	at the top, for 4 to 5 s, the four lines of section 11.13	at the bottom, the same lines	at the top, for 6 s, the same lines	—
No picture after 20 s	“this title won't start”, “Nothing playable came from the server within 20 seconds.”	not found	not found	not found
Couldn't play	a red triangle, “playback failed”, the reason, “Reported automatically as #12.”, try again · back · report a bug	“couldn't play this title”, the reason by cause, try again or back, details, Report a bug	the error in red, “Playback failed: ERROR_CODE — message”, report this problem; no try again	a red glyph, “Playback failed”, the error's text, Back; Try again only for a trailer
The title isn't there	“this title isn't in the library anymore”	“This title isn't available to stream yet.”	“This title isn't available to stream yet.”	the error's own text
Automatic report	when it gives up, at most 3 a session; its number on the screen	one for each failure shown, with a screenshot; nothing on the screen	one for every player error, recovered ones too; nothing on the screen	—
The place saved	every 10 s while playing	every 10 s, on pause and on leaving; only a place that has played; kept offline	every 10 s and on leaving	every 10 s, on leaving and on back; only a place that has played
Watched	marked in the credits or at 95%, besides the server's rule	the same	the same	the same
Picture in picture, AirPlay, the lock screen	the browser's own picture in picture	iOS: picture in picture, AirPlay, sound in the background, the lock screen's controls; Android: none	—	—
Playback info	a dialog: how it plays, the original, the stream now, its quality changes, what the browser can decode	the dialog without the quality changes	a card at the top right that closes after 8 s	—

11.3 The player on a computer

Figure 11.4 shows the player on a computer, with its controls showing. The player fills the window; the frame's top bar isn't there.

Figure 11.4: The player on a computer, at 1280 × 800, with its controls showing.

1. The top: back, home and the title. back returns to where the player was opened from, and home goes to home. The title names what plays: a movie by its name, an episode by its show, its code and its name, “Pioneer One — S01E03 · Alone in the Night”.
2. The seek bar. The time played is on its left and the title's length on its right. The bar shows what has played in blue, what is loaded ahead in a lighter grey, and the intro, a recap and the credits, where the server knows them, as stretches in a lighter tone of the bar under them; where the title has chapters, a thin tick marks where each one starts. Its handle is a square. Pointing at the bar shows a still of that moment above it, with its time and the part's or the chapter's name, “intro · 1:30”; a click or a drag seeks there, and a click on a tick starts that chapter.
3. play or pause, and the volume. The first button pauses while the title plays and plays while it doesn't. The speaker turns the sound off and on again, and the slider beside it sets how loud.
4. The other buttons, in this order: audio and subtitles, where the title has two audio tracks or more, or a subtitle to pick, blue while a subtitle is on, which opens the audio and subtitles panel (chapter 12); speed; settings, where its menu has something to set, a choice of quality or the timing of a subtitle that is on; previous episode and next episode, for an episode with one before or after it; playback info, what plays and how it reaches the screen (section 11.15); and fullscreen. Section 11.10 sets out the menus.
5. The picture, as large as the window allows, in its middle (section 11.11). Where the title has a picture area and filling the window would change the picture, zoom to fill comes before fullscreen.

The buttons are 48 × 48 squares on a solid surface, their icons alone. Each one's name shows over it as a tooltip and is what a screen reader says; a button with something set adds it after a comma: “audio and subtitles, English (original), subtitles English”, “settings, Auto · Medium (720p)”, “next episode, S01E04 · Triangular Diplomacy”. Section 11.18 lists them. Behind the top and the bottom, the picture darkens towards the edge, so no time and no title stands on the bare picture.

The keyboard works without the controls: space or k plays and pauses, ← and → go back and forward 10 seconds, ↑ and ↓ set the volume, m turns the sound off and on, and f is fullscreen. Every key the player answers to shows the controls, wherever the focus is. Esc closes an open menu or the audio and subtitles panel, and with neither open it leaves a trailer. With a mouse, a click on the picture plays or pauses; on a touch screen a tap only shows the controls (section 11.6).

11.4 The player on a phone

The phone plays upright and sideways, and the player turns with it. Figure 11.5 shows it upright and figure 11.6 sideways, as most people watch. The parts are those of figure 11.4; the numbers mark where the phone differs, and section 11.4.3 says what happens when the phone is turned.

11.4.1 Held upright

Figure 11.5: The player on a phone held upright, at 360 × 780 dp.

1. The title has a line of its own under back, home and cast, and two lines where it needs them, so an episode keeps its name.
2. The picture, across the width, in the middle. Upright it always fits: two fingers spread apart don't fill the screen (section 11.11). A tap on it shows the controls, and a tap while they show hides them.
3. The first row: play or pause and the volume on the left; previous and next episode and fullscreen on the right. While the volume's slider is open, it takes the place of previous and next episode, and they come back when it closes.
4. The second row, at the right: audio and subtitles, speed, settings and playback info, those the title has, in the order of figure 11.4. On iOS, picture in picture comes after settings.
5. fullscreen turns the player sideways and full screen (section 11.4.3).

The buttons go on two rows on a screen less than 600 dp wide, as a phone held upright is; a tablet keeps one row. While the phone is upright its status bar and navigation bar stay, and the controls keep clear of them.

The web on a phone held upright has the layout of figure 11.5 without cast. Its speaker turns the sound off and on, the phone's own buttons set the volume, and fullscreen asks the browser for full screen without turning the page.

11.4.2 Held sideways

Figure 11.6: The player on a phone held sideways, at 780 × 360 dp.

1. The cast button, at the right of the top, where a device that can play is on the network (chapter 14). On iOS, AirPlay is in its place (section 11.12).
2. The volume. The speaker opens a slider beside it and closes it again, so the bar has room for its buttons; the phone's own buttons set the volume as well.
3. The picture. A tap on it shows the controls, and a tap on the picture while they show hides them. Two fingers spread apart fill the screen with the picture and brought together fit it again (section 11.11).
4. exit fullscreen. Held sideways the player is full screen, so the last button is exit fullscreen, and it turns the player upright.

Held sideways, the player hides the phone's status and navigation bars, and a swipe from the edge brings them back for a moment. The picture and the controls keep clear of the camera's cutout and of the navigation bar. On the seek bar, a touch shows the still of that moment, and the seek happens where the finger lets go. A menu taller than the room above the bar scrolls within itself.

The web on a phone has the layout of figure 11.6 without cast and without the slider: there, the speaker turns the sound off and on, held either way, and the phone's own buttons set the volume.

11.4.3 Turning the phone

The player turns with the phone, and turning it never interrupts the title: it plays on, or stays paused, where it was, with its audio, subtitles, quality and speed; an open menu stays open at its button, and the audio and subtitles panel stays open too (chapter 12).

• Turned sideways, the player goes full screen by itself. The phone app hides the status and navigation bars. The web asks the browser for full screen on a phone, a screen whose short side is 600 px or less, and only when the phone is turned, never as the player opens; a tablet or a laptop turned sideways stays as it is. The picture fits the screen's height, and filling it becomes possible, with two fingers in the app and with zoom to fill on the web.
• Turned back upright, the bars come back and the picture fits the width again. A fill ends, because upright the picture always fits, and comes back when the phone is turned sideways again during the same title. The web leaves the full screen it went into when the phone was turned; it never holds the page sideways, so the page can turn back. A full screen someone asked for with fullscreen stays.
• fullscreen, in the phone app held upright, turns the player sideways and full screen, and the person turns the phone to follow it. From then on the player turns with the phone again: turned back upright, it leaves full screen. Held sideways, the button is exit fullscreen, and it turns the player upright. On the web, fullscreen and exit fullscreen only ask the browser for full screen and leave it, without turning the page.

11.5 The player on a TV

Figure 11.7 shows the player on a TV, with its controls showing. It fills the screen, without the rail.

Figure 11.7: The player on a TV, at 960 × 540 dp, with its controls showing.

1. The top: back, home and the title, as on a computer.
2. The seek bar. With the focus on it, left and right go back or forward 10 seconds at a time, with the still of that moment above the bar, and the title goes on from there.
3. The focus. Whenever the controls come back, the focus is on play or pause. Left and right move along the row, up and down between the row and the seek bar. A menu or the audio and subtitles panel that closes gives the focus back to its button.
4. The band: one solid surface under the seek bar and the buttons, out to the screen's edges. The controls stay inside the safe area, with room for the focus ring. The TV has no fullscreen button: it is always full screen.

The volume is one focus stop, the speaker with its level beside it: OK turns the sound off and on, and up and down set the player's own level, 5% a press, so left and right never get caught on a slider. The remote's volume keys set the TV's own volume, as everywhere on the TV.

The remote works with the controls hidden too. Any key brings them back, and some keys do more:

Key	With the controls hidden	With the controls showing
OK	Pauses or plays	Presses the focused button
← →	Back or forward 10 seconds	Moves the focus; on the seek bar, 10 seconds
↑ ↓	Only shows the controls	Moves between the seek bar and the row; on the volume, sets how loud
back	Leaves the player	Closes an open menu or the panel first; then leaves the player
play, pause	Plays or pauses	The same
fast forward, rewind	Forward or back 10 seconds	The same
The remote's subtitles key, its audio key	Opens the audio and subtitles panel, with the focus in its subtitles column or in its audio column; the controls stay hidden	Opens the panel the same way

While a card of section 11.8 shows, back is that card's way out first: watch the intro on the auto-skip card, watch from the start on the skipped intro's, and cancel on up next.

11.6 Showing and hiding the controls

The controls show when a title starts, and whenever the person moves the mouse, touches the screen or presses a key. They hide again after 3 seconds while the title plays and after 8 seconds while it is paused. They stay while a menu is open, while the person drags the seek bar or the volume, and while a screen reader's focus is on one of them, so it never loses the control it is on. While the audio and subtitles panel is open they step back, and they come back when it closes. A tap on the picture while they show hides them; a tap on the bars, between their buttons too, keeps them. They come and go with a short fade; the subtitles rise above them while they show and come back down when they hide (chapter 12).

11.7 Play, resume and a finished title

• A title people stopped part way, more than 30 seconds in, shows resume 1:43, with start over beside it.
• A title stopped within its last 5% or its last 2 minutes, whichever is longer, counts as finished: it shows play, from the start, and the watched mark. For a short title, finished never starts before its second half.
• The server decides finished, once, from the place the apps save, so every app agrees; no app marks a title watched by a rule of its own. Continue watching drops a finished movie and moves a finished episode on to the next one.
• Removing a title from continue watching doesn't mark it as watched.

The player saves the place every 10 seconds while the title plays, when it is paused, and when the player is left or the app goes to the background. It saves only a place that has really played, never the start of the stream before a resume has landed, so opening a title and leaving it at once doesn't lose the place. Without a connection, the phone app keeps the place and sends it later, with how long ago it was played, so a newer place from another device stays.

A trailer plays in the same player, with the same controls, from its start and with its sound. It keeps no place, counts as nothing watched, has no subtitles, no marked parts and no next episode, and at its end the player goes back to the title.

11.8 Skip and up next

Where the server knows a title's intro, its recap and its credits, the player helps past them. The settings this section names are in chapter 16.

11.8.1 skip intro, skip recap and skip credits

While the title plays in one of those parts, a button at the bottom right, above the controls' place, jumps to its end: skip intro, skip recap or skip credits. It is there whether the controls show or not, on the solid surface of the controls, and on a TV it is a focus stop. Other parts, such as a chapter, have no skip button. In the credits of an episode that has another after it, up next takes the place of skip credits (section 11.8.3).

11.8.2 Auto-skip

With Auto-skip intros on, the player skips the intro and the recap by itself on every episode after the first one watched in a row; the first keeps them. An episode is watched in a row when another episode of the same show started playing on the device less than 6 hours before.

• An intro or a recap on the way. When the title reaches one, a card takes the skip button's place: “Skipping the intro in 3 seconds.” with skip now and watch the intro, or “Skipping the recap in 3 seconds.” with skip now and watch the recap. It counts down from the Countdown setting, 3 seconds unless it was changed, so the person can keep what is about to go. At zero the player jumps to the part's end, and where a recap and an intro follow each other within 2 seconds, past both in one jump. watch the intro or watch the recap takes the card away and lets the part play. On a TV the card's buttons are focus stops like the controls' ones.
• An episode that starts with its intro. Opened from the episode before, by up next or by next episode, an episode whose intro begins in its first 2 seconds starts past it, and past a recap next to it, with nothing to count down. A card in the skip button's place says “Skipped the intro.”, or “Skipped the intro and the recap.”, with watch from the start, for 6 seconds, and that button goes back to 0:00.

With Auto-skip intros off, nothing is skipped by itself, however the episode was opened. The credits are never skipped by themselves: in an episode with another after it, up next takes their place, and a movie's credits play.

11.8.3 Up next

In the credits of an episode that has another after it, a card takes the place of skip credits, as figure 11.8 shows.

Figure 11.8: Up next, in the credits of an episode, on a computer.

1. The next episode, by its code and its name, under the card's heading up next. With Auto-play next episode on, a line counts down, “Starts in 3 seconds.”, from the Countdown setting (3 seconds unless it was changed), and the next episode starts at its end. With the setting off, the card has no line and waits.
2. play now starts the next episode at once; cancel lets the credits play on and takes the card away. On a TV the card's buttons are focus stops like the controls' ones, and back is cancel.

11.8.4 Going on to the next episode

• Without credits. Where the server knows no credits, up next comes at the later of 20 seconds before the end and 95% of the episode, so a short episode doesn't get it in its first half.
• A teaser after the credits, a part the server marks as a preview of the next episode or a recap that starts after the credits, plays on under the up next card. It is never skipped and never offered skip recap. With Auto-play next episode on, the card counts down over it again, and cancel lets the teaser play to its end.
• Only after it has played. The player starts the next episode by itself, at the end of a countdown or at the end of the episode, only once this one has shown a picture and played for 10 seconds. Until then up next waits for play now, so a title that fails at once can't run through a season.
• Warmed ahead. From 30 seconds before the credits, or before the end where there are none, the player asks the server for the next episode's stream the way the next player will ask for it, so its first parts are made when it starts.
• After a movie, nothing starts by itself.

11.9 Quality names

The server names every quality, by one fixed table of heights, so a name means the same picture size on every title and every installation. The apps show the name as the server gives it.

A frame's height for naming is its step: its own height, or the height its width stands for at 16:9, whichever is larger. A scope film of 1920 × 818 is 1080p, like a 16:9 film of 1920 × 1080, because both are full HD.

Height	Name
2160p and up	“Ultra (2160p)”
1080p	“High (1080p)”
720p	“Medium (720p)”
480p	“Low (480p)”
below 480p	“Lowest (360p)”
the original, played as it is	“Original”

A step up to 10% above a standard height, in a frame no taller than it, or up to 3% below it, counts as that height. The standard heights are 240, 360, 480, 540, 576, 720, 1080, 1440, 2160 and 4320. So frames cut a little wider or narrower keep their name: 1916 × 800 and 2048 × 858 are “High (1080p)”. Any other step takes the name of the table's next lower height, with its own number: 1024 × 576 is “Low (576p)”, 2560 × 1072 is “High (1440p)”, 1666 × 900 is “Medium (937p)”, and a scope film's 720-line encode, 1728 × 720, is “Medium (972p)”. A re-encode at the original's size is named by its step like any other.

11.10 The player's menus

People pick a title's audio and its subtitles in one panel, and the player has two menus for the rest. audio and subtitles opens the panel, the title's audio on the left and its subtitles on the right, over the dimmed picture; chapter 12 sets it out, both of its columns included. settings opens the settings menu, figure 11.9, and speed the speed menu.

Figure 11.9: The settings menu, on a computer, with its quality and its subtitle timing.

1. quality, where the title has two qualities or more. A title that plays from the server's ready-made qualities starts with Auto, which picks the quality by the connection and names the one playing: “Auto · Medium (720p)”. The other rows are the names of section 11.9.
2. subtitle timing, while a subtitle made as text is on: − and + move the subtitles a quarter of a second earlier or later with each press, up to 10 seconds either way, the value between them says where they are, “+0.25s”, and reset goes back to the subtitles' own timing.
3. settings, the sliders, which opened the menu. Without a choice of quality and without a subtitle made as text on, the bar has no settings button.
4. The subtitle line, moved left of the menu, so the menu never hides the line it times.

• One choice each. quality and speed are lists of one choice, like the panel's columns: the picked row has a check before its name and the brighter text, and every row keeps the check's room, so the names line up. A pick closes the menu. The speed menu, headed speed, offers 0.5x, 0.75x, normal, 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x and 2x.
• The timing holds while the title plays, for any subtitle made as text that is on, and the next title starts at “0.00s”. A press on −, + or reset keeps the menu open, so the line can be watched as it moves. For subtitles made as pictures, and while subtitles are off, the menu has no timing.
• The look. The headers are lowercase, in the monospace face: “quality”, “subtitle timing”, “speed”. The rows are names, in the body face. Controls over the picture, such as a chip, sit on a solid surface, never on a see-through one, and every menu is square.
• Where they open. One menu, or the panel, is open at a time. A menu opens above the whole control bar, at the end where its button is, so it never covers the seek bar, and a press outside it or Esc closes it. On a TV the focus goes into the open menu, left and right move between the timing's buttons, and back closes it.

A quality picked in the menu keeps the last picture on the screen, under “Switching to Medium (720p)…”, until the new quality's first one, so the screen never goes black between two qualities; the position and the speed stay.

An open menu never covers the subtitle line. Where it would, the line is centred in the part of the picture left of the menu, within 80% of that part, or, where that part is narrower than ten times the text's size, it goes above the menu, so a menu never hides the line it changes. The audio and subtitles panel ends above the line's place instead (chapter 12).

11.11 The picture

The player shows a title's picture, not its frame. Many files keep a whole 16:9 frame with the picture inside it and black bars baked in: above and below a 2.39:1 film, at the sides of a 4:3 show. On a screen of another shape the picture would float in black on all four sides. The server says where the picture is: the play info's picture area (pictureArea), the part of the frame the picture takes over the whole title, as fractions of the frame's width and height, so the same for every quality. It leaves it out where it doesn't know, or where the picture is the whole frame.

• Fit, unless the person zooms: the picture as large as the screen allows, in its middle. The bars are cropped where they would show; the picture never is. Without a picture area, the whole frame fits, as before.
• The camera's cutout: held sideways, a phone's cutout or notch takes a band at one side. The fitted picture keeps out of a band as wide on both sides, so it stays in the middle; only the sides count, so upright, with the cutout over the bars at the top, the picture keeps its place. Fill covers the band where the app draws there (Android 15 and later; the web where the page reaches under the notch). The subtitles keep out of it either way.
• Fill: the picture covers the whole screen, its edges cropped. Only on a screen wider than tall, and only where it is larger than fit; upright, the picture always fits. The web offers it only for a title with a picture area; on Android a pinch fills any title.
• Zooming: in the Android app, two fingers spread apart fill the screen and brought together fit it again; the picture follows them and settles at one or the other when they lift, and TalkBack has the same as an action on the picture, “zoom to fill” or “zoom to fit”. On the web, the button zoom to fill beside fullscreen, shown only where fill changes the picture of a title with a picture area. The iOS app and the TV fit the whole frame, as before: on a 16:9 TV that is the same picture for a letterboxed or a pillarboxed title, and a windowboxed one keeps its bars there.
• Remembered on the device, for the titles it suits: a fill chosen on one title starts the next one filled only where that title has a picture area and fill crops at most a tenth of its picture's width and of its height - a scope film on a phone held sideways or on a 21:9 screen. Any other title starts fitted, and a fill chosen on it is for that title alone.

Subtitles go with the picture (chapter 12): nothing of them is ever cropped.

11.12 Picture in picture, AirPlay and the lock screen

A title can play on when the person leaves the player.

• The iOS app has picture in picture in the bar, after settings, blue while the title plays in its window, and leaving the app while a title plays carries it on in picture in picture by itself. AirPlay sits at the right of the top, where cast is on Android, and opens the phone's own list of screens. With the screen locked, or the app left without picture in picture, the sound plays on, and the lock screen shows the title with its artwork, play or pause, back and forward 10 seconds, and its place, which can be dragged.
• The Android app does the same in Android's way: leaving the app while a title plays carries it on in picture in picture, and the lock screen and the notification show the title with play or pause and back and forward 10 seconds.
• The web follows the browser's own picture in picture, started from the browser, and the subtitles then show as the browser's captions. It has no button for it.
• A TV has none of these.

While the player is on the screen, the phone and TV apps keep the screen on, and the TV's screen saver stays away.

11.13 When the quality changes by itself

When playback has to step down, the player says what it did and why, at the top of the picture, on a solid surface, as figure 11.10 shows. {label} is the quality's name from the table in section 11.9: “Medium (720p)”, “Low (480p)”.

Figure 11.10: The player stepped down, on a computer.

• From the original, when the connection is too slow: “Switched to {label} quality: the connection can't keep up with the original.”
• When the original can't be streamed: “Switched to {label} quality: the original couldn't be streamed.”
• One step down between qualities: “Switched to {label} quality: the connection can't keep up.”
• When a quality between can't be streamed: “Switched to {label} quality: {previous} couldn't be streamed.”, {previous} named from the same table: “Switched to Low (480p) quality: Medium (720p) couldn't be streamed.”

It keeps the position. Status codes go into the playback report, never into the line.

11.13.1 When the stream falters

The player watches that the picture moves while the title plays, and tries to get it going again before it says anything went wrong:

• The picture stands still for 8 seconds. The panel of section 11.17 says “Reconnecting…”, and the player picks the stream up where it stopped, first in place and then by loading it again there. A ready-made title keeps its quality, Auto or the one picked. A title the server converts as it plays steps down one quality where that doesn't help, and on its lowest quality loads again there; the original played as it is moves to Medium (720p). Each step down comes with its notice.
• Three waits within 30 seconds, each with the picture standing still, step down the same way, at most once every 2 minutes, so the quality never falls through every step at once. On Auto, the ready-made qualities step down by themselves, and a quality the person picked stays picked.
• A part that can't be decoded is skipped, “Skipping a part that couldn't be played…”. Where the browser can't play the original's format, the web asks the server for one it can: “This browser can't play this video's format. Switching to one it can…”.
• Back after a while away. Where the server no longer accepts the stream after a long pause, the player asks for it again once, without a word, and plays on where it was. On the web, a tab that was hidden for more than 15 seconds loads the stream again where it was when it shows again.

Whatever the player loads again goes on from the same position. When nothing helps, it gives up, with the screen of section 11.17.

11.14 The audio setting

Settings has one audio language, “Original” or a language, with this text under it, the same in every app:

Titles play with audio in the language you pick here, where they have it. With Original, each title plays in the language it was made in. A choice in the player applies only to what's playing now.

11.15 Playback info

playback info opens a panel over the player for the people who fix things: what plays, and how it reaches the screen. It holds:

• how it plays: packaged, passthrough, remux or transcode, by the server's name for it, and why the server chose it for this device;
• the original: its container, its video and its audio;
• the stream now: the quality, the encoder, what the stream was made for, the position, how much is loaded ahead, and the player's state;
• quality changes: the last 16, each with its time, the quality before and after, and whether the person picked it, the player stepped down or a stall moved it, with the reason;
• this browser can decode on the web, this device can decode in the apps: the formats it can play.

The panel stays until it is closed, with its close button, Esc, or back on a TV.

11.16 Changes

Every difference between section 11.2 and the target is one change in the table. A change names the apps it is built in, what they do today and the target, with the figure or the section that sets it out; it is built as its row says, and nothing else changes with it. Each change starts as proposed; once the owner approves it, it is built, one change at a time. A target that starts with “Recommended” was an open decision, or takes away something an app has today. The settings' own rows, such as the countdown's first value, belong to chapter 16, and the audio and subtitles panel and the look of subtitles to chapter 12.

No.	Change	Apps	Today	Target	Status
11.C1	The buttons' look and names	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web: 36 × 36 px, tooltips capitalised, “Quality (High (1080p))”. Phone app: 36 dp circles, back, home and cast too. Android TV: names capitalised, “Pause”, “Audio track”. Samsung TV: 56 px, names capitalised	48 × 48 squares, 40 dp on a TV, icons alone; lowercase names with what is set after a comma, “speed, normal” (section 11.3, words in section 11.18)	proposed
11.C2	One audio and subtitles button	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	an audio button and a subtitles button, each with its menu: Web: audio a chip with the language's code, “ENG”, and subtitles a caption box. Phone app: the chip, for a title with one track too, and subtitles. Android TV, Samsung TV: an icon each	one button, audio and subtitles, the caption box, in their place, blue while a subtitle is on, opening the audio and subtitles panel of chapter 12 (figure 11.4, part 4)	proposed
11.C3	settings in place of quality, with the subtitles' timing	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	quality, a menu of its own, for two qualities or more: Web: a gear, before speed. Samsung TV: a gauge. The subtitles' timing only on the web, in its subtitles menu; the apps have none	settings, the sliders, after speed, where it has something to set: its menu with quality and subtitle timing (figure 11.9)	proposed
11.C4	audio and subtitles only where there is something to pick	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web: subtitles dimmed for a title without subtitles, audio for two tracks or more. Phone app: audio for one track too, subtitles with “off” alone. Android TV: subtitles with “off” and “No subtitles available”. Samsung TV: subtitles only with subtitles, audio for two tracks or more	the button only for a title with two audio tracks or more that the device plays, or a subtitle the panel lists (chapter 12)	proposed
11.C5	Android TV: previous and next only where there is one	Android TV	both on every episode; at a season's ends they do nothing	previous episode only for an episode with one before it, next episode only for one with one after it (figure 11.4, part 4)	proposed
11.C6	Web on a phone: no volume slider	Web	the slider shows from 768 px wide, so a phone held sideways mostly has it (figure 11.3)	on a phone, a screen whose short side is 600 px or less, no slider, held either way: the speaker turns the sound off and on (section 11.4.2)	proposed
11.C7	Upright: two rows and the title on a line of its own	Web, Phone app (Android)	one row, which an episode's buttons make wider than a 360-wide phone; the title on one line, cut. iOS has the two rows already	figure 11.5; while the volume's slider is open, it takes the place of previous and next episode	proposed
11.C8	The phone app's fullscreen turns the player	Phone app	Android: fullscreen hides the system bars and doesn't turn the player, and held sideways the button still offers fullscreen. iOS: fullscreen turns the player sideways and exit fullscreen upright, but a phone turned sideways by hand still offers fullscreen	upright, fullscreen turns the player sideways, and then it turns with the phone again; held sideways, however it got there, the button is exit fullscreen and turns it upright (section 11.4.3)	proposed
11.C9	Web: turning a phone back upright leaves full screen	Web	turned sideways, a phone asks for full screen and holds the page sideways, so where the browser holds it, turning back upright doesn't leave full screen	ask for full screen without holding the page sideways; turned back upright, leave only the full screen it went into when the phone was turned, never one asked for with fullscreen (section 11.4.3)	proposed
11.C10	iOS: AirPlay at the top	Phone app (iOS)	AirPlay and picture in picture sit in the bar after quality; held sideways, playback info comes before previous and next episode	AirPlay at the right of the top, in cast's place; picture in picture after settings; previous, next, playback info and fullscreen as in figure 11.4 (section 11.12)	proposed
11.C11	Samsung TV: the top and the row	Samsung TV	no top: the code and the episode's name above the seek bar, back the first button of the row; no home, volume, speed, previous episode or playback info; quality with a gauge; the seek bar takes no focus	figure 11.7: back, home and the title with its show at the top; play, the volume, audio and subtitles, speed, settings, previous and next episode and playback info in the row; the seek bar a focus stop	proposed
11.C12	Samsung TV: no buttons for 10 seconds back and forward	Samsung TV	“Rewind 10 seconds” and “Forward 10 seconds” beside play	Recommended: left out; ← → on the focused seek bar go back and forward 10 seconds, as on Android TV (section 11.5)	proposed
11.C13	Samsung TV: the remote's keys	Samsung TV	fast forward and rewind 30 seconds; the subtitles and audio keys unused; ↓ with the controls hidden does nothing; back during a countdown leaves the player	the table in section 11.5: 10 seconds, the subtitles and audio keys open the audio and subtitles panel, ↓ shows the controls, back closes a card first	proposed
11.C14	Showing and hiding the controls	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web: a drag and a screen reader's focus don't hold them, and a key shows them only while the focus is in the player. Phone app: 4 s, and a tap never hides them. Android TV: 4 s. Samsung TV: 3.5 s, never while paused	3 s playing, 8 s paused; held by a menu, a drag and a screen reader's focus; a tap on the picture hides them; any key shows them (sections 11.3, 11.6)	proposed
11.C15	The seek bar's look	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web, Phone app: a round handle. The parts in colours: Web intro blue, credits amber, recap green, a sponsor red; Phone app intro yellow, credits orange, recap purple; Android TV intro amber, recap grey, credits red; Samsung TV intro and recap blue, credits amber, nothing loaded shown. Chapters a band, on Android TV green; on the web, ticks	a square handle; what is loaded in a lighter grey; the parts in a lighter tone of the bar under them; chapters as thin ticks, a click on one starting its chapter (figure 11.4, part 2)	proposed
11.C16	The still over the seek bar	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV: for ready-made titles only. Samsung TV: always above the handle, without a time. Web, Phone app: “Intro · 1:30”	a still for every title, while the bar is pointed at, touched or focused, with its time and the part in lowercase, “intro · 1:30” (figure 11.4, part 2)	proposed
11.C17	Web on a phone: seeking by touch	Web	a touch drag seeks all along, and a press seeks at once	a touch shows the still, and the seek happens where the finger lets go (section 11.4.2)	proposed
11.C18	The seek bar for a screen reader	Web, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web: “Seek”, with a value from 0 to 100. Android TV, Samsung TV: not found	“seek”, with “17:23 of 41:23”, 10 seconds a step (section 11.18)	proposed
11.C19	The skip buttons	Web, Phone app, Samsung TV	Web, Phone app: white, “Skip Intro”, “Skip Recap”, “Skip Credits”. Samsung TV: “Skip” with the part's name for any part under the playhead, a chapter too	skip intro, skip recap and skip credits on the controls' surface, for those three parts only (section 11.8.1)	proposed
11.C20	Auto-skip counts down, on the episodes in a row	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web: the intro only, a card “Binge mode”, “Skipping intro in 3…”, “Skip now”, “Watch intro”. Phone app: nothing skipped. Android TV: intro and recap on every episode, the first too, “Skipping intro in 5s”, “Press BACK to cancel”. Samsung TV: the same, “Skipping intro in 10…”, “Press any key to cancel”	Recommended: section 11.8.2, a card that counts down from the Countdown setting, with skip now and watch the intro, from the second episode in a row; an intro and a recap next to it in one jump	proposed
11.C21	An episode that starts with its intro	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web: opened from the one before, it starts past an intro in its first 2 s, whatever the setting, without a word. Android TV: past the intro and a recap next to it, whatever the setting, “Skipped intro”, “Press BACK to watch from the start”. Phone app, Samsung TV: nothing skipped	only with Auto-skip intros on: past the intro and a recap next to it, and “Skipped the intro.” with watch from the start for 6 seconds (section 11.8.2)	proposed
11.C22	Up next: one card	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web: “UP NEXT”, the name over the code, “Play now (3)”, “Cancel”. Phone app: only with Auto-play next episode on, “Up next”, “Playing next episode in 5s”, “Play now”, “Cancel”, without the name, 5 s whatever the setting. Android TV: a note, “Up next in 5s”, “Press BACK to cancel”, no buttons. Samsung TV: none, the next episode starts at the end	figure 11.8, counting from the Countdown setting; with Auto-play next episode off, the card without its line, waiting	proposed
11.C23	Up next without credits	Web, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web: nothing. Android TV, Samsung TV: the next episode starts at the end	the card at the later of 20 seconds before the end and 95% (section 11.8.4)	proposed
11.C24	The teaser after the credits	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web: “NEXT EPISODE”, “Next episode in 3s”, “Cancel”. Phone app: “Preview playing — jump to the next episode”, “Next episode”, “Dismiss”. Android TV: “Next episode ▶ in 5s”, “Press BACK to cancel”. Samsung TV: skipped as a recap	it plays on under the up next card, never with skip recap (section 11.8.4)	proposed
11.C25	Going on only after a picture and 10 seconds	Web, Phone app, Samsung TV	no such rule; Samsung TV starts the next episode at any end of the stream	section 11.8.4	proposed
11.C26	The next episode warmed 30 seconds ahead	Web, Samsung TV	Web: from the credits on. Samsung TV: not warmed	from 30 seconds before the credits, or before the end without them (section 11.8.4)	proposed
11.C27	No auto-skip of the credits	Android TV, Samsung TV	Android TV: with Auto-play next episode off, “Skipping credits in 5s”. Samsung TV: on at first, “Skipping credits in 10…”, then the next episode	Recommended: the credits are never skipped by themselves; up next takes their place, and a movie's credits play (section 11.8.2). The phone app's unused “Auto-skip credits” switch is chapter 16's	proposed
11.C28	Nothing starts after a movie	Android TV	the first unwatched title of “more like this” starts, after “Up next in 5s”	Recommended: nothing starts by itself after a movie (section 11.8.4)	proposed
11.C29	Where the menus open, and their look	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web: quality and speed open right above their buttons, over the seek bar, round corners, the picked row blue with a small square. Phone app: above the seek bar under their button, round corners, the same mark. Android TV: at the bottom right, the same mark. Samsung TV: at one fixed place, round corners, a check at the row's end, headers in capitals	settings and speed above the whole bar at their button's end, square, lowercase headers; the picked row with a check before it and the brighter text, as in the audio and subtitles panel (section 11.10)	proposed
11.C30	The audio rows	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web: “English” with “AAC · Stereo” beside it, for a ready-made title “MP4A.40.2 · Stereo”, “English 5.1”, “English (2)”. Phone app: “E-AC-3 · 5.1” under the name, a track it can't play greyed with “Not available on this device”. Android TV: “E-AC-3 · 5.1” under the name. Samsung TV: “English 5.1”. No app marks the original or a described track	the audio column of chapter 12: the language alone, “English (original)” where the title has audio in more than one language, “English (audio description)”, the channels only where two tracks of one language would read the same, “English (5.1)”, “English (stereo)”; a track the device can't play left out. The server's play info passes on the file's mark of a described track	proposed
11.C31	The quality menu's Auto	Phone app, Samsung TV	Phone app: the qualities only, no Auto. Samsung TV: “Auto”, without the quality playing	for a ready-made title, Auto first in the settings menu's quality, “Auto · Medium (720p)” (figure 11.9)	proposed
11.C32	A quality picked keeps the picture and the speed	Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	the stream is loaded again where it was, without the last picture held; Android TV also goes back to normal speed	the last picture stays under “Switching to Medium (720p)…” until the new quality's first, and the speed stays (section 11.10)	proposed
11.C33	The subtitle line keeps clear of an open menu	Web, Phone app, Samsung TV	nothing moves the line for an open menu	section 11.10	proposed
11.C34	The quality notices at the top	Phone app, Samsung TV	Phone app: at the bottom. Samsung TV: none	figure 11.10, with the four lines of section 11.13	proposed
11.C35	Getting the stream going again, by one rule	Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Phone app: a ready-made title tried again in place 3 times, a converted one moved one quality down. Android TV: the same, with a watchdog at 12 s. Samsung TV: the hls.js engine's own recovery, nothing found for AVPlay	section 11.13.1	proposed
11.C36	Back after a long pause	Android TV, Samsung TV	not found	section 11.13.1	proposed
11.C37	Android: picture in picture and the lock screen	Phone app (Android)	none: no picture in picture, no controls on the lock screen	section 11.12	proposed
11.C38	Samsung TV: no screen saver while the player shows	Samsung TV	not found	section 11.12	proposed
11.C39	Finished by the server alone	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	each app also marks a title watched by itself, in the credits or at 95%, and starts one stopped in its last 60 seconds from the start	the server's rule alone: the apps save the place and show what the server says (section 11.7)	proposed
11.C40	Saving the place	Web, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web: every 10 s while it plays, only. Android TV: every 10 s and on leaving, without checking that the place has played. Samsung TV: every 10 s, on leaving and on back	also when paused and on leaving, only a place that has played (section 11.7)	proposed
11.C41	Phone app: a trailer without subtitles	Phone app	a trailer offers its own subtitles	a trailer has none (section 11.7)	proposed
11.C42	A title starting: the loader with its line	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web: the loader alone at once, and without the top until the server grants the stream. Phone app: a spinner alone without the top until the server answers, then black until the first picture. Android TV: “Preparing…”, then a spinner alone. Samsung TV: a spinner, “Preparing your title…”, on a darkened screen	Recommended: figure 11.11, nothing for 0.4 seconds, then the loader with “Loading the episode…”, the top from the start	proposed
11.C43	Waiting while it plays	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web: “Stream paused — reconnecting…” as a notice while it recovers. Phone app: nothing. Android TV: a spinner alone. Samsung TV: a spinner, “Buffering…”	the panel of figure 11.11, with the line for what the player does, the converting line included (section 11.17)	proposed
11.C44	A start that hangs gives up after 20 seconds	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web: after 20 s on the screen, “this title won't start”, “Nothing playable came from the server within 20 seconds.” The apps: not found	“couldn't play this title” with that sentence, after 20 seconds on the screen (section 11.17)	proposed
11.C45	Couldn't play: one screen, report a bug under details	Web, Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Web: a red triangle, “playback failed”, report a bug a third button. Phone app: Report a bug a third button. Android TV: the error in red, “Playback failed: ERROR_CODE — message”, report this problem, no try again. Samsung TV: “Playback failed” and the error's text, Back, Try again only for a trailer	Recommended: figure 11.12, the sentence by cause, try again or back, report a bug under details	proposed
11.C46	The automatic report, with its number	Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Phone app: one for each failure shown, nothing on the screen. Android TV: one for every player error, recovered ones too, nothing on the screen. Samsung TV: none	one when the player gives up, “Reported automatically as #12.” on the screen (section 11.17)	proposed
11.C47	A title that isn't there anymore	Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Phone app, Android TV: “This title isn't available to stream yet.” Samsung TV: the error's own text	“this title isn't in the library anymore”, with back (chapter 17)	proposed
11.C48	Playback info	Phone app, Android TV, Samsung TV	Phone app: the web's dialog without the quality changes. Android TV: a card at the top right that closes after 8 seconds. Samsung TV: none	section 11.15	proposed

11.17 States

The player is drawn in figures 11.4 to 11.7 while a title plays. Figures 11.11 and 11.12 show the states in between.

Figure 11.11: A title starting, on a phone.

While a title starts, the player shows nothing for the first 0.4 seconds, and after that the design system's loader in the middle, on a solid surface, with one line that says what is loading: “Loading the episode…”, “Loading the movie…” or “Loading the trailer…”. The top is there from the start, so back works while it loads. A start the server converts as it plays says so after 5 seconds, so it doesn't look stuck: “Converting the video for this browser…”, in the apps “Converting the video for this phone…” (“…for this tablet…” on a tablet) or “Converting the video for this TV…”. Later waits use the same panel, with a line for what the player does: “Reconnecting…”, “Switching to Medium (720p)…”, “Switching audio…”, “Skipping a part that couldn't be played…”, “Trying again…”, and on the web “This browser can't play this video's format. Switching to one it can…”. The picture under the panel isn't dimmed.

Figure 11.12: A title that couldn't be played, on a TV.

1. What couldn't happen, and why. “couldn't play this title”, with the reason by cause under it, here that the stream stopped before the title was done. Where the request for the stream fails, the sentence is the one chapter 17 gives for its cause; what only playback has, as here, is listed in this chapter's states.
2. The report the player sent by itself, with its number, so the person knows the people who fix things have it.
3. try again has the focus and starts the title again where it stopped; where trying again can't help, as for a title the server doesn't let the account play, back is the only button.
4. details and report a bug. The details hold the code that tells the cases apart, for the people who fix things. On a TV they show without being opened, as chapter 17 has it; on a computer and a phone details opens them. report a bug comes under them.

When the player gives up, it files one bug report by itself, where the server takes reports, and the line under the reason gives the report's number. It files none for a title the server doesn't have, because a link that leads nowhere isn't a bug, and at most 3 in a session and one for each kind of failure. report a bug opens the dialog of chapter 16 with the failure's details in it, for the person's own words; on a TV, its list of choices.

A title that shows no picture within 20 seconds of the player opening, or of try again, gives up the same way, with “Nothing playable came from the server within 20 seconds.” Only the time the player is on the screen counts, so a tab opened in the background isn't taken for a start that hangs.

State	What the player shows
Starting	Figure 11.11
Converting as it plays	After 5 seconds of a start, the line of figure 11.11 says so: “Converting the video for this browser…”
Waiting while it plays	The panel of figure 11.11 with the line for what it does, over the picture
The quality changed by itself	Figure 11.10, with the line of section 11.13
A start that hangs	After 20 seconds without a picture, figure 11.12 with “Nothing playable came from the server within 20 seconds.”
Couldn't play	Figure 11.12, with the sentence for the cause and the report's number
The title isn't in the library anymore	“this title isn't in the library anymore”, with back (chapter 17)
A trailer that isn't there	“trailer not available”, with a link to the title's trailer online where it has one
The browser wouldn't start the title by itself (the web)	play in the middle, which starts it with its sound
The browser started it without sound (the web)	unmute at the top, until it is pressed

11.18 Words

Where	Text
The top	the buttons back · home; the title “Tears of Steel”, an episode “Pioneer One — S01E03 · Alone in the Night”
The buttons' names, over them and for a screen reader	play · pause · volume · audio and subtitles · speed · settings · previous episode · next episode · playback info · zoom to fill · zoom to fit · fullscreen · exit fullscreen · picture in picture (iOS); with what is set after a comma: “volume, 80%”, “audio and subtitles, English (original), subtitles English”, “speed, normal”, “settings, Auto · Medium (720p)”, “next episode, S01E04 · Triangular Diplomacy”; the cast button's and AirPlay's are the platform's own (chapter 14)
The seek bar	“17:23” and “41:23”; over the still “intro · 1:30”, “recap · 0:40”, “credits · 39:50”, or the chapter's name; for a screen reader “seek”, “17:23 of 41:23”
The menus' headers	quality · subtitle timing · speed; the panel's are in chapter 12
The menus' rows	Original · Auto · “Auto · Medium (720p)” · the names of section 11.9 · − · + · “0.00s”, “+0.25s”, “−0.50s” · reset · 0.5x · 0.75x · normal · 1.25x · 1.5x · 1.75x · 2x
Skip	skip intro · skip recap · skip credits
Auto-skip	Skipping the intro in 3 seconds. · Skipping the recap in 3 seconds. · skip now · watch the intro · watch the recap · Skipped the intro. · Skipped the intro and the recap. · watch from the start
Up next	up next · “S01E04 · Triangular Diplomacy” · Starts in 3 seconds. · play now · cancel
The quality notices	the four lines of section 11.13
Waiting	Loading the episode… · Loading the movie… · Loading the trailer… · Converting the video for this browser… · Converting the video for this phone… · Converting the video for this tablet… · Converting the video for this TV… · Reconnecting… · Switching to Medium (720p)… · Switching audio… · Skipping a part that couldn't be played… · Trying again… · This browser can't play this video's format. Switching to one it can…
Couldn't play	couldn't play this title · the sentence for the cause · Nothing playable came from the server within 20 seconds. · Reported automatically as #12. · try again · back · details · report a bug
A trailer that isn't there	trailer not available
The web only	play · unmute
Playback info	playback info · how it plays · the original · the stream now · quality changes · this browser can decode · this device can decode
The audio setting	the text of section 11.14