.MP4 videos no longer beginning to play on page load

[rsbisa]

I routinely add stock or self-made AE or AN mp4 videos to epub docs. Generally animations that spice up the pages as accents. Usually pretty small and ornamental. In the Media panel, I check the boxes, Play on Load, and Loop. This has worked fine for years. Today, working on a new project, these checked boxes no longer cause the media to play. It's necessary to click the Play button in order to get them to work. 

Has something changed?

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

What platform, OS and InDesign versions? 

[rsbisa]

Sorry! Should have included: iD 20.2, Mac Mini, Sequoia 15.3.2 (24D81). 

I have produced an example of this issue here.

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @rsbisa,

Thanks for sharing the details. I tried reproducing the issue on my end, and the video playback seems to be working as expected. Could you please share your sample InDesign file, so I can take a closer look? Also, let me know which application or EPUB reader you're using to test the output.

Looking forward to your update!

Abhishek

[Laura Brady · Accepted solution]

It may be a change in the reading system you are using, and not the fault of the InDesign export at all. I would suggest testing it in a few different environments — Adobe Digital Editions, Apple Books, Thorium, etc. to see if it is auto-playing in some places but not others. 

[rsbisa]

Thank you, Laura. This was helpful, as it led me to discover the problem: I'm an idiot. 

The working objects from previous work were not .MP4 (the object for which I deploy for interactive PDFs), but OAM objects, created in An!  The updated EPUB with the OAM is working famously.