The Floating Video Player lets you pull any camera out of its grid tile and watch it in a movable, resizable window that stays on top of your layout. Keep an eye on a camera while you work with other views, review an event without losing your place, or send the video to a second monitor.
📰New in October 2026. The Floating Player is available to Video Portal and NextGen Monitoring Portal users, and works with Live video, Recorded playback and Event playback.
Why Use It?
- Keep watching while you work. Your video stays visible above the grid while you browse other cameras or layouts.
- Get a closer look. Resize or maximize one camera without changing your grid.
- Use more than one screen. Open the player in its own browser window and move it to another monitor.
- Nothing gets lost. You can send the video back to its original tile at any time.
Quick Start
- Hover over a video tile that has a camera in it.
- Click Open in Floating Player in the tile's toolbar.
- Drag the player where you want it and resize it as needed.
- When you're done, click X to close it and return the video to its tile.
Controls at a Glance
| Control | Where you'll find it | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Open in Floating Player | Toolbar of a video tile (and in Search Results where supported) | Opens the video in a floating player |
| Bring Back | On the original tile | Returns the video to its original position |
| Hide Timeline / Show Timeline | Top-right of the player | Hides or shows the timeline to free up viewing space |
| Open in a separate window | Top-right of the player | Opens the player in its own browser window (for multiple monitors) |
| Maximize / Restore | Top-right of the player | Expands the player to fill the screen, or returns it to its previous size |
| Back to Tab | Top-right of a separate player window | Brings the player back into the original browser tab |
| X (Close) | Top-right of the player | Closes the player and returns the video to its grid tile |
Open the Floating Player
- Hover your mouse over an occupied video tile.
- Click Open in Floating Player.
You can also open it from Search Results where supported.
The video opens in a floating player inside your current browser tab. It stays above the surrounding layout, and you can move and resize it to suit your screen.
What Happens to the Original Tile
While the video is in the Floating Player, its original tile shows a status message, Playing in the floating player, along with a Bring Back button. Click Bring Back any time to return the video to its original position.
Use the Timeline
The Floating Player keeps the full timeline, including the color-coded analytics event markers, so you can scrub through recordings and jump to events just like in the grid.
Need more room for the picture?
- Click Hide Timeline (top-right of the player) to give the video the full window.
- Click Show Timeline to bring it back.
|
Timeline shown |
Timeline hidden |
Hiding the timeline is temporary, and it doesn't affect your recordings or events.
Make It Bigger: Maximize and Restore
- Click Maximize to expand the player to fill the available screen.
- Click Restore to return it to its previous size.
Use a Second Monitor: Open in a Separate Window
If you work across more than one screen, you can move the player out of your main browser tab:
- Click Open in a separate window (top-right of the player).
- Drag the new window to your other monitor.
- Resize it as needed.
Return to Your Original Tab
To bring the player back into your original browser tab, click Back to Tab in the separate window. The video stays in the Floating Player, now inside your original tab.
Close the Player
Click the X button to close the Floating Player. The video returns to its original grid tile straight away. (If the player is in a separate window, the button's tooltip reads Back to layout.)
Ways to Put It to Work
| If you want to… | Try this |
|---|---|
| Watch one camera closely while the rest of the grid stays in view | Open it in the Floating Player and resize it to a comfortable size |
| Review an event without losing your live grid | Open the event from Search Results in the Floating Player and keep your layout behind it |
| See as much of the picture as possible | Click Hide Timeline, or click Maximize |
| Dedicate a screen to one camera | Click Open in a separate window and move it to your other monitor |
| Return to your normal view quickly | Click Bring Back on the tile, or click X on the player |
Troubleshooting
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| I can't find Open in Floating Player | Hover over a tile that has a camera in it, since the option appears in the tile's toolbar. From Search Results, the option is available where supported. |
| My tile says "Playing in the floating player" | This is normal. Click Bring Back on the tile, or click X on the player, to return the video. |
| The player is covering other cameras | Drag it to a new spot, resize it, or click Bring Back to return it to the grid. |
| The picture feels too small | Click Hide Timeline or Maximize. |
| I can't see the player anymore | Check for a separate browser window, which may be on another monitor. Click Back to Tab there to bring it back into your original tab. |
Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Floating Player | A movable, resizable video window that stays above your layout |
| Tile | One camera's position in your video grid |
| Layout / grid | The arrangement of video tiles in the viewer |
| Timeline | The bar showing recording availability and analytics event markers |
| Event playback | Playing back the recording of a specific detected event |
Questions about the Floating Video Player? Contact 3dEYE Support📧.