In Video Settings → Video Lightbox, pick the source:
Self-Hosted Video — click Upload Video or paste an MP4 (h.264) video URL. Keep files small (5–20 MB) so they start fast on mobile connections; HandBrake converts/compresses to MP4 h.264 well.
YouTube / Vimeo — paste the public video URL (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=… or https://vimeo.com/295116835). A live preview appears under the field.
On the front end, items with a lightbox video show a play icon; clicking opens the video in the lightbox. Make sure Open Portfolio Items in a Lightbox is enabled in the block’s Other Settings.
Automatic featured images from videos
Two time-savers in the same metabox:
After pasting a YouTube/Vimeo URL, click Use This as the Featured Image to grab the video’s thumbnail (highest resolution available) as the post’s featured image.
For self-hosted MP4s, use Capture frame as Featured Image: play/pause the preview at the exact moment you want and capture that frame — no screenshot tools needed.
Video Background on Hover
Switch to the Video Background on Hover tab and choose:
MP4 — upload or paste the URL of a short clip. Recommended: 2–5 MB, H.264, 720p or smaller, a few seconds long. Tick Crop & Optimize Video to have WPZOOM’s video service trim it into an optimized short clip automatically (requires an active license).
YouTube / Vimeo — Trim Video from URL — see below.
The clip plays muted when a visitor hovers the item in the Portfolio block, and pauses when they leave.
Trim a clip straight from a URL
Paste a YouTube, Vimeo or .mp4 URL, choose the Start Time and Duration (1–15 s, default 5), optionally tick Remove black bars, preview the clip, and generate it. The processed clip is saved to your Media Library and attached to the item.
Notes: the tool runs on WPZOOM’s video service and needs an active license; source videos up to 30 minutes; private, age-restricted, region-blocked or live videos can’t be processed; some YouTube videos fail due to platform restrictions — Vimeo or direct MP4 links are the most reliable; processing can take up to ~30 seconds.
Playback options in the block
Default: the hover video plays only while the cursor is over the item.
Always Play Video Background (Fields panel of the Portfolio block) autoplays every item’s clip permanently — the “living grid” look of the Inspiro theme demo.
Player settings and lightbox icon
Portfolio → Settings → Video Settings — choose the player for self-hosted lightbox videos (WordPress MediaElement with Default/Minimal/Liquid styles, or the native HTML5 player) and a video border radius. See Settings & Permalinks.
Video Lightbox Icon — in the Portfolio block sidebar, pick the play-icon style: Circle Filled, Circle Outline, Triangle, Triangle Rounded or Outline Play.
Recommendations & troubleshooting
The play icon doesn’t appear — the item has no lightbox video, or the block’s lightbox option is off.
Hover video doesn’t play — check the clip is a valid MP4 (H.264); browsers block unmuted autoplay, the plugin plays clips muted by design.
MP4 won’t play from your own server — some hosts need MP4 MIME support enabled; ask your host if direct .mp4 URLs download instead of playing.
Trim tools show “Active License Required” — activate the license under Portfolio → License Key.
