Problem Statement
When watching a short video (like <30 seconds) that wasn't posted as a Short (i.e. not in vertical format), it opens in the Shorts format (in the vertical video player). This can be irritating due to the little ribbon on the right side of the Shorts player interfering with horizontal videos that weren't intended to be played in that format. It also messes with muscle memory, as scrolling up on the regular video player shows me recommended videos (expected), but the Shorts player just brings up a new video altogether (unexpected, when the video I initially selected was not a Short).
Proposed Solution
I'd like short duration videos (not videos that were posted as YT Shorts) to be playable as regular videos, not only in the Shorts player. There are a couple different ways this could be addressed:
-
A toggle for this could be added somewhere in settings. You could even get granular with it and let people set a minimum duration to open a video as a Short.
-
You could add a dedicated "play as Short" button or an option in the three-dots options menu to switch to the Shorts player.
-
The nuclear option (for people like me who generally hate Shorts): you could add a toggle in settings disabling the Shorts player entirely, so that even videos posted as Shorts play in the regular player (with empty space on either side to pad the vertical format).
User Story
As a casual viewer (who admittedly despises the vertical Shorts format),
I want to be able to view shorter videos in the usual player, not the Shorts player. <-- This formatting makes it sound kind of aggressive; this is really just a small feature that would improve customizability and visual comfort for some users (myself included).
Alternatives Considered
None that I can think of, besides opening the video in NewPipe or in YT in a browser.
Priority Assessment
Low — Minor improvement, not urgent
Feature Category
Platform Considerations
Existing Solutions
This isn't an issue I've seen either on YT in browser or using NewPipe. Short-length (but still horizontally formatted) videos, play regularly on those platforms, not in the Shorts player. Pretty easy to test: find a short (but horizontal) video on YT or NewPipe and it will play normally; open the same video in Flow and it will play as a Short.
Additional Context
None, but thanks for all the hard work you've put into this app. I'm really enjoying it :D
Problem Statement
When watching a short video (like <30 seconds) that wasn't posted as a Short (i.e. not in vertical format), it opens in the Shorts format (in the vertical video player). This can be irritating due to the little ribbon on the right side of the Shorts player interfering with horizontal videos that weren't intended to be played in that format. It also messes with muscle memory, as scrolling up on the regular video player shows me recommended videos (expected), but the Shorts player just brings up a new video altogether (unexpected, when the video I initially selected was not a Short).
Proposed Solution
I'd like short duration videos (not videos that were posted as YT Shorts) to be playable as regular videos, not only in the Shorts player. There are a couple different ways this could be addressed:
A toggle for this could be added somewhere in settings. You could even get granular with it and let people set a minimum duration to open a video as a Short.
You could add a dedicated "play as Short" button or an option in the three-dots options menu to switch to the Shorts player.
The nuclear option (for people like me who generally hate Shorts): you could add a toggle in settings disabling the Shorts player entirely, so that even videos posted as Shorts play in the regular player (with empty space on either side to pad the vertical format).
User Story
As a casual viewer (who admittedly despises the vertical Shorts format),
I want to be able to view shorter videos in the usual player, not the Shorts player. <-- This formatting makes it sound kind of aggressive; this is really just a small feature that would improve customizability and visual comfort for some users (myself included).
Alternatives Considered
None that I can think of, besides opening the video in NewPipe or in YT in a browser.
Priority Assessment
Low — Minor improvement, not urgent
Feature Category
Platform Considerations
Existing Solutions
This isn't an issue I've seen either on YT in browser or using NewPipe. Short-length (but still horizontally formatted) videos, play regularly on those platforms, not in the Shorts player. Pretty easy to test: find a short (but horizontal) video on YT or NewPipe and it will play normally; open the same video in Flow and it will play as a Short.
Additional Context
None, but thanks for all the hard work you've put into this app. I'm really enjoying it :D