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Add a video screen

Goal: place a screen in the room that plays a YouTube video.

New to Unity? The basic terms (Scene, Hierarchy, Play mode) are explained in Before you start.

Before you start: check the video in YouTube​

The screen can only play videos that YouTube allows in other apps:

  • Public and unlisted videos work. Unlisted is a good choice for your own lesson videos: they play in the lesson but don't show up in YouTube searches.
  • Private videos don't work.
  • Videos whose owner has switched off Allow embedding don't work. For your own videos, you find this setting in YouTube Studio under the video's details.

The tool checks this for you when you paste the link (step 4 below).

Steps​

  1. Open ALF > Content Creation > YouTube Player Setup.

    ALF menu with YouTube Player Setup highlighted

  2. The window has two halves. On the left, YouTube players in this scene lists the screens already there. On the right is the form for a new one. If a screen is selected, press + Add a new video on the left to get an empty form.

  3. Under 1. Video Source:

    • Name: what the screen is called in the Hierarchy and in the list, for example Intro video. Left empty, it's called YouTube Player.
    • YouTube URL: paste the video's link. Normal, share, embed, shorts and live links all work.

  4. Check the boxes below the link:

    • The video ID appears: the link works. If you see No video ID could be read from this URL, copy the link again from YouTube.
    • The video check shows the video's title and whether it can be embedded. If it says the video is private or embedding is switched off, change that in YouTube Studio, or choose another video.

    YouTube Player Setup with a link pasted, the video ID and the video check

  5. Under 2. Placement:

    FieldWhat to do
    Video Player PrefabLeave as it is. It's filled in for you.
    Player SizeSmall, Default, Big or Large, or Custom with your own Custom Multiplier.
    Spawn CoordinatesWhere the screen appears, in metres from the centre of the world.

    The YouTube Player Setup window

  6. Press Generate YouTube Player.

  7. The screen appears in the scene and in the list on the left. Move it into its final place in the Scene view if needed.

  8. Save the scene with Ctrl+S.

Result​

The screen stands in the room. In the headset, learners first see the video's preview picture with a large Play video button. They press it, or Play below the picture, to start the video. See What learners see.

Good to know​

  • The video plays only on the headset. In the Unity Editor, and over Quest Link, the screen stays empty and says so. Test videos in the app on the headset.
  • The headset needs internet access to play the video.
  • Choosing a size changes the height. Bigger screens grow downwards, so the tool lifts them to keep the controls above the floor. Set Spawn Coordinates after choosing the size if you want a different height.
  • You can add several screens. Press + Add a new video for each one. Two screens with the same name get a number added, for example Intro video (1).