Unbranded player and embeds

Autoplay, muted, loop: the video embed.
Two URL parameters, and the browser rules they follow.

To make an embedded film start by itself, silently, and repeat, add autoplay=1 and loop=1 to the iframe's src. autoplay=1 also forces the film muted, because muted autoplay is what browsers allow before a visitor has interacted with the page. Here are all eight parameters the embed reads, the recipes that use them, and what Chrome, Safari on iOS and MDN actually say about autoplay.

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By uncompressed.io · Updated September 2026

The short answer

Add two parameters to the src,
and the film starts muted, then repeats.

Copy the embed code from the film’s dashboard page, then change only the address inside src. Nothing else in the snippet needs editing, and no background-video plugin or site-builder workaround is involved.

The snippet the dashboard copies carries no parameters:

<iframe src="https://uncompressed.io/embed/VIDEO_ID"
        title="Your film" width="1280" height="720"
        frameborder="0" loading="lazy"
        allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write"
        allowfullscreen
        style="border:0;max-width:100%;aspect-ratio:16/9;height:auto;"></iframe>

For a silent loop, the src becomes https://uncompressed.io/embed/VIDEO_ID?autoplay=1&loop=1. Paste the result into any block that accepts an HTML iframe.

Two details in that snippet do real work. The allow attribute lists autoplay, and MDN describes allow as the frame’s Permissions Policy; Chrome’s documentation shows the same allow="autoplay" form for letting a top frame pass autoplay permission to a cross-origin iframe. If a page builder strips attributes it does not recognise, check that allow survived the paste. And the style line makes the frame responsive at 16:9; a vertical or square film needs that aspect-ratio changed to its own shape.

URL parameters

autoplay, muted, loop, title, playbtn, accent, controls and bg. Anything else in the query string is ignored.

Muted

whenever autoplay=1

The player forces silence on autoplay, whatever else the URL or the saved settings say.

platform logos

The player shows your logo and accent colour, and no platform branding, ads or related videos, on every plan.

The full list

Every parameter the embed reads,
and only these eight.

URL values override the settings saved in the film’s Embed panel, which in turn override your profile defaults. That makes the URL the right place for a per-site variation, such as a chromeless loop on one page and a normal player on another, from the same film.

Value

What it does

Worth knowing

autoplay

autoplay=1

Starts playbackas the frame loads

Also forces muted

muted

muted=1

Starts silenced

Already impliedby autoplay=1

loop

loop=1

Returns to the startat the end, and plays on

The usual pairingwith autoplay

title

title=1 or title=0

Shows or hidesthe title chip

Works in bothdirections

playbtn

playbtn=0

Removes the largecentre play button

The control bar keepsits own play and pause

accent

accent=RRGGBB

Sets the accent colour

Six hex digits,no hash

controls

controls=hover orcontrols=none

hover: the film fills theframe, controls float over itnone: no controls at all

none also removesclick-to-pause andthe play button

bg=transparent orbg=RRGGBB

Colours the area aroundthe film inside the frame

transparent letsyour page show through

Read from the embed route on 17 September 2026. Parameters such as a start time, a quality setting, controls=0 or a captions switch do not exist and are silently ignored. Saved captions play in the embed with their saved style regardless of the URL.

Four recipes

Pick the src
depending on what the loop is for.

A silent hero loop with controls on hover

?autoplay=1&loop=1&controls=hover. The film fills the frame, starts muted and repeats, and a visitor who moves the pointer over it gets the controls, including volume. The safest default for a homepage reel.

A chromeless loop, like a moving image

?autoplay=1&loop=1&controls=none&bg=transparent. No controls, no play button, no click-to-pause, and the page shows through around the film. The visitor cannot unmute or stop it, so use it only for footage that is meant to be seen, not heard.

A quiet start the viewer controls

?muted=1&loop=1. Nothing plays until the visitor presses play; the film then starts silent and repeats. Useful for a gallery of loops where several autoplaying frames would compete.

A normal player that repeats

?loop=1&title=0. No autoplay, sound on when the viewer presses play, the title chip hidden, and the film starts over at the end. The right choice when the audio matters.

What the embed will not do for a background

The film is drawn to fit, keeping its own aspect ratio, and is never cropped or stretched to fill. If the design calls for a video that covers a full-bleed section edge to edge and crops whatever overflows, the embed is the wrong tool: a short, small file in a video element of your own, styled to cover, is the better build. The embed is for a film that should be seen whole.

Why muted

The browsers set the rules,
and they agree on muted.

No host decides whether a film may start with sound. The viewer’s browser does, and the three references below are the ones to trust when an autoplay behaves unexpectedly.

Chrome

Safari on iOS (WebKit)

MDN, across browsers

Silentautoplay

Always allowed

Allowed without a gesturewhen the video is mutedor has no audio track

Allowed when the audio ismuted or at volume 0

Autoplaywith sound

Only after the viewer interactedwith the domain, crossed theengagement threshold on desktop,or installed the site

Playback pauses if the videobecomes unmuted withouta user gesture

Generally blocked when a scriptstarts it before anyinteraction in the tab

Insidean iframe

The top frame can delegatepermission with allow="autoplay"

Not addressed inthe policy post

Allowed when the autoplayPermissions Policy grants itto the iframe

Otherbehaviour

None listed beyondthe conditions above

With playsinline, plays inline oniPhone; autoplaying video pauseswhen scrolled out of view

Browsers may also blockin other circumstances

Chrome for Developers, the WebKit iOS video policies post and MDN's autoplay guide, all fetched 17 September 2026. See the sources list for each page.

The player follows those rules rather than fighting them. Its video element carries playsinline, so an autoplaying embed stays in the page on an iPhone instead of jumping to fullscreen. When autoplay is set, the element starts muted, and once the page has loaded the player makes a second, muted play attempt in case the first one was refused.

One consequence of the iOS rule is worth designing for: a looping film that scrolls out of view on an iPhone pauses, and WebKit’s post says so directly. A loop further down a long page is not playing the whole time a visitor reads. MDN’s own summary is the one to remember for everything else: a video element’s autoplay only means the film begins “as soon as it can”, and the browser decides when that is.

When the embed sits still

Six checks,
in the order they usually go wrong.

The parameter is not in the src

autoplay=1 has to be inside the src address, after a question mark, with further parameters joined by &. Parameters added as iframe attributes are not read.

The allow attribute was removed

Some site builders rewrite pasted HTML. Inspect the live page and confirm the iframe still carries allow with autoplay in it.

The film cannot play in an embed

Password-protected, Private and vaulted films show a This video is unavailable card inside every embed. Use Public, Unlisted or Embed only.

The browser cannot decode the file

Browser playback uses your uploaded export without another platform re-encode. Codec, device and connection requirements still apply. A ProRes or DNxHR master is hosted for download but does not play in a browser tab; embed an H.264, HEVC or AV1 export.

The file is still arriving

There is one file per film and no lower-bitrate version to fall back to, so on a slow connection the loop buffers instead of dropping quality. A short, modest export makes a better autoplay than the full-bitrate master.

It is an iPhone and the frame is off screen

iOS pauses autoplaying video that is not visible. Scroll the embed fully into view before deciding it is broken.

Want the reel to autoplay on your uncompressed.io profile rather than on your own site? That is one account setting, not a URL: Autoplay hero (muted) plays the Hero film silently as the profile opens. To keep a looping film off every public page while it still plays in the iframe, set its visibility to Embed only. If the loop shows bars around the film, see removing black bars from an embedded video.

Questions

Frequently asked

Can I autoplay the embed with sound?

Not through the URL. autoplay=1 always sets the player muted, and muted=0 is not a parameter. That matches the browsers: Chrome allows sound on autoplay only after the viewer has interacted with the domain, crossed the media engagement threshold on desktop, or installed the site, and MDN says audio playback started by a script is generally blocked before the viewer interacts. A viewer who wants sound clicks the volume control, which is the interaction browsers wait for.

Can the URL turn autoplay or loop off if the film's saved embed settings have them on?

No. The embed only reads autoplay=1, muted=1 and loop=1; there is no =0 form for those three. URL values override the film's saved embed settings, but only in the on direction. To stop a film autoplaying everywhere it is embedded, switch autoplay off in the film's Embed panel. title=0, playbtn=0 and the controls and bg values do work as overrides in the off direction.

Does an autoplaying embed cost me anything per view?

Unlimited video streaming is included, with no per-view or bandwidth overage charges. Storage and team-seat charges are separate.

Will a looping embed inflate my view count?

It counts page loads, not attention. Every load of the embed is logged as an open of the film, with the site hosting the iframe recorded as the source, so a hero loop on a busy homepage adds an open for each visitor who loads that page. Read those numbers as reach, and use the per-film play and watch-time figures for interest.

Can I stop other sites from embedding my looping film?

No. There is no domain or referrer check on the embed, and the Embed only visibility hides the watch page, not the iframe address. Password-protected, Private and vaulted films refuse to play in any embed.

Put a looping film on your own site

The embed, its eight URL parameters and the unbranded player are on every plan, the free one included, which holds 5 GB. Unlimited video streaming is included, with no per-view or bandwidth overage charges. Storage and team-seat charges are separate.