[whatwg] Full screen for the <video> element

[Dave Singer]

At 0:48  +0000 26/10/07, Ian Hickson wrote:
>On Sat, 13 Oct 2007, Mihai Sucan wrote:
>>  > >
>>  > > Shouldn't the video API include a way to toggle full screen on/off?
>>  > > This is a rather basic feature of videos. If it will not be
>>  > > available, video sites will hack around missing full screen support.
>>  > >
>>  > > The current spec doesn't define it.
>>  >
>>  > Currently, the spec recommends that user agents provide a way to
>>  > switch the view of the video to full-screen. We can't provide a
>>  > programatic way of doing it because it is too easily abused. (Can you
>>  > imagine if every time you went to a new site, a full-window or
>>  > full-screen advert played?)
>>
>>  Yep, that's a problem. I was also thinking along the lines of allowing
>>  fullscreen() within non-synthetic event handlers, in a similar fashon to
>>  popups (just like Kornel suggested).
>
>Given how often popups are abused today even with those requirements, I
>hesitate to do this. (Can you imagine if every time you clicked a link to
>go to a new site, a full-window or full-screen advert played?)
>
>
>>  If that's not a desirable solution, then other solutions, which don't
>>  require confirmation, are not easy to find.
>
>Indeed (and explicit confirmation is pretty bad UI).

But you don't need to tell the browser that explicit confirmation is 
required;  you merely need to say that, if the browser supports 
fullscreen requests (and it may ignore them), it must be clear to the 
user that the screen is 'filled' with the video and not his normal 
desktop.  Yes, a dialog before is one way, but so is, for example, a 
blinking red 10-pixel border around the screen that says "security 
warning! do not treat as desktop!" continuously.  There are (I hope) 
better designs. :-)  i.e. state the requirement, not the solution.
-- 
David Singer
Apple/QuickTime