Products · Pattern or everyday thing
Video players on websites
Raised as a usability problem by 17 people on Hacker News over 15 years (2012–2026), in 15 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Pausing unmutes the video and keeps it playing, needing a second pressUnreviewed
20122026- Dragging the playhead while paused makes the video start playing again2022-11-28
- Pausing unmutes the video and keeps it playing; needs a second press to stop2019-07-20
- Video restarts and goes fullscreen again after user pauses or exits it on iOS2015-04-24
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 17 complaints
- Play/pause controls block content in lower frame and don't fade when paused2026-03-09
- Autoplays video at full volume and hides the controls where they are hard to find2024-02-19
- Speaker icon shows current state rather than action, unlike play/pause, so it's confusing which click does what2024-01-28
- Player controls overlay the video, blocking the view needed to check subtitles and safe area2022-12-24
- Dragging the playhead while paused makes the video start playing again2022-11-28
- Scrolling got blocked so the user couldn't reach the fullscreen button2022-05-08
- Pausing unmutes the video and keeps it playing; needs a second press to stop2019-07-20
- UI elements too small to tap accurately, and forms don't scroll as expected on touch2019-02-09
- Can't see or use the product on the landing page; no clear demo2019-02-09
- Modal video disappears and resets playtime when clicking anywhere, and can't be resized2018-05-11
- Page loads slowly and video repeatedly tries to play and refresh2017-03-26
- Can't find a previously skimmed section again on the timeline2016-11-02
- Video restarts and goes fullscreen again after user pauses or exits it on iOS2015-04-24
- Forced embedded plugin or JavaScript video UI is hard to use compared to direct links2014-03-08
- Clicking HD gives no clear indication whether HD is on or off2013-12-29
- Button labels show current state instead of the action they perform, so users can't tell what pressing them does2012-11-05
- Unclear whether the pause icon shows current state or an action to perform2012-11-05