A QR code that plays your video when scanned

A QR code is a picture of a web address. The phone camera reads it, shows a small banner, and one tap opens the address in the phone's browser. Here that address is your video link, so the page loads a player and the clip starts with the normal controls: play, pause, scrub, volume, full screen. On a phone the video is streamed with range support, which means jumping to the middle of a three-minute clip does not fetch the first half first.

Most failed scans come from a code that is too small for the distance, not from the phone. A useful rule of thumb: the code should be at least one tenth of the distance it will be scanned from. Someone reading a table card from 30 cm needs a 3 cm code; a poster read from 2 metres needs a code about 20 cm wide. The PNG you download is 512 pixels, which prints sharp at any size up to roughly 10 cm; for bigger prints, scale it in your layout tool without smoothing so the squares stay crisp, or print at a lower dpi, the squares are simple shapes and tolerate it well.

• ·Keep the white border. The PNG already has a quiet zone around the code; do not crop it or run artwork into it. Scanners use that blank frame to find the edges.
• ·Dark on light, never inverted, never stretched. A black code on white paper or a pale background scans best. Keep it square; a code squeezed to fit a column will fail.
• ·Matte beats gloss. Laminated or glossy prints throw reflections under shop lights and spotlights. If you must laminate, use a matte film.
• ·Add three words next to it: "Scan to watch". People scan a code when they know what they get.
• ·Test the print, not the screen. Print one copy at the final size, stick it where it will live, and scan it with an old phone from where people will stand. Only then order the run.

This is the whole reason to put a hosted link in the code instead of a raw file. The printed code is a picture of your link address, and that address never changes. The video behind it can change as often as you like. Packaging gets printed in batches of thousands, trade-show banners cost real money, and a museum label is set in the wall; none of them should have to change because the video did. Replacing the file is free on every plan, takes about as long as the upload, and keeps the view count and every link setting. The one thing to remember: pick a custom link name before you print, if you want one. The name is part of the address inside the code.

• ·Fix a mistake. A wrong price in the demo, a typo in the caption, an old logo: re-export, replace, done. The boxes already on shelves show the fix.
• ·Change the message with the season. The same code on a window sign can play the spring collection today and the sale reel in November.
• ·Keep old versions on Pro. Version history keeps earlier files so you can restore last month's cut if the new one flops.

Anywhere a printed surface has thirty seconds of attention and a story that reads better moving than still. The pattern is the same each time: a short clip, a code sized for the viewing distance, three words of instruction, and a link you can refresh without touching the print.

• ·Posters and flyers. A trailer for the show, a teaser for the launch, a thank-you from the band. The poster stays up; the clip can change weekly.
• ·Product packaging. A 40-second setup video on the box beats a folded leaflet nobody reads, and support tickets drop when people can see the step.
• ·Event screens and name badges. Put the code on the welcome slide or the lanyard so attendees can rewatch the keynote highlight on the train home.
• ·Museum and gallery labels. A curator explaining the piece in 60 seconds, next to the piece, in the visitor's own hands.
• ·Real-estate signs. A walkthrough on the board outside the house, so a passer-by sees the kitchen before they call the agent.
• ·Restaurant table cards. The chef on the dish of the week, or how the cocktail is made, while the table waits for the first course.
• ·Trade-show booths and machines. The demo loop on the banner when staff are busy; the maintenance video stuck on the machine it belongs to.

Someone who scans a code is standing up, on mobile data, with one hand free. Export for that. MP4 with the H.264 codec plays on every phone; MOV and WebM are accepted too. 1080p is plenty, and for a code on a table card or a label, a vertical 9:16 export fills the phone screen instead of leaving black bars. Keep it short: 30 to 90 seconds holds attention and loads fast. Free covers files up to 100 MB, Pro up to 200 MB and Lifetime up to 250 MB, but a well-exported one-minute clip is usually far under the free limit anyway.

• ·Make the first two seconds the point. No logo sting, no fade from black; people decide whether to keep watching before the intro ends.
• ·Burn in captions. Phones in public are often muted, and a scanned video with no captions is a silent film.
• ·Aim for a few megabytes per minute. HandBrake's "Fast 1080p30" preset gets a phone recording there in one click.

A printed code gives nothing back unless you count. Every link here counts views for free, so you know whether the box video is watched at all. The address inside the code carries a scan marker, and on Pro the Sources panel splits QR scans from direct opens, so a link you also pasted into a newsletter does not muddy the poster's numbers. Pro also shows device, country and how long people stayed, which answers the question that matters: did they watch, or did they bounce at the first frame? If you need to compare the lobby poster with the one in the car park, give each its own link and its own code; one upload per location is the honest way to get per-location numbers.