How to watch video in picture-in-picture on Windows

Two ways to keep a film going while you do something else, and they solve different problems.

Picture-in-picture

The video floats in a corner of the screen, on top of whatever application you are using, and stays there as you switch between them. Resize it, move it to whichever corner suits, and carry on working.

The mini player

This keeps playback going inside AIX Player while you browse the rest of your library — useful for queueing what comes next without stopping what is on.

Speed, for long material

Playback speed goes up to 2× and down below normal, which makes long recordings and lectures far quicker to get through. One tap returns to normal speed.

When to use which

Picture-in-picture floats the video above every other window, so it is what you want while working in something else — a document, a browser, a spreadsheet. The mini player keeps playback going inside AIX Player while you browse your own library, which is what you want when queueing up what comes next. They solve different problems and it is worth knowing which is which.

Getting through long recordings faster

Playback speed goes above normal, and for lectures, talks and tutorials it is transformative — a two-hour recording at one and a half times is forty minutes shorter with almost no loss of comprehension. One tap returns to normal for a section you need to hear properly, and the speed control sits on a keyboard shortcut so it does not interrupt what you are doing.

Listening without watching

For anything that is mostly talking, background audio keeps playback going when the window is not visible at all — useful for a podcast-style recording while you work on something that needs the whole screen. And if you would rather have the picture somewhere else entirely, casting it to a television frees your PC completely.

Worth knowing