vidinit

Play a full definition video (with sound) during Linux bootup.

Overview

vidinit allows you to display a video with audio during the Linux boot process. This is achieved using mpv and systemd to play the video early in the boot sequence.

this is the initial conception, i will explore a solution to have it spawn the video possibly at pre-initramfs stage, or immediately upon initramfs

the default behaviour may cut the video short once the system has booted, this is the intended behaviour, the system boots in the background. To make it wait, change Type=forking to Type=oneshot. You can also loop a video until the system has booted with the --loop option. See below for more options.

Installation

1. Install mpv (if not already installed):

   sudo apt install mpv  # Debian/Ubuntu
   sudo dnf install mpv  # Fedora
   sudo pacman -S mpv    # Arch Linux

2. Place your video file:

   sudo cp your-video.mp4 /boot/video.mp4

   Note: You can use a different location, but make sure to update the path in the systemd service file accordingly.

3. Create the systemd service file:

   sudo cp -av vidinit.service /etc/systemd/system/vidinit.service
   

4. Enable and test the service:

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   sudo systemctl enable vidinit.service
   sudo reboot

   for quick video testing on the TTY console (eg:(ctl + alt + F1), copy the one-liner and see which --vo and --ao works best for your system:

   mpv --no-config ---vo=gpu-next --gpu-context=drm --really-quiet --no-osc --no-osd-bar --no-input-default-bindings --no-terminal --loop-file=no /boot/video.mp4

   also consider different video formats (.mp4 H264 video AAC audio should work well)

Configuration Options

Video Output (--vo) Options

The default configuration uses ---vo=gpu-next --gpu-context=drm which works on most modern systems. If you experience issues, try these alternatives:

• --vo=drm - Direct Rendering Manager (modern systems)
• --vo=fbdev2 - Framebuffer device (better for older systems)
• --vo=fbdev - Legacy framebuffer
• --vo=caca - ASCII art output (text-based, fallback option)
• --vo=tct - True color terminal output
• --vo=gpu - GPU-accelerated (may require X/Wayland)

Example for older systems:

ExecStart=/usr/bin/mpv --really-quiet --no-terminal --vo=fbdev2 --ao=alsa /boot/video.mp4

Audio Output (--ao) Options

• --ao=alsa - ALSA audio (default, most compatible)
• --ao=pulse - PulseAudio
• --ao=pipewire - PipeWire

Additional Useful Options

• --loop - Loop the video until boot completes
• --fs - Force fullscreen
• --no-audio - Disable audio playback
• --volume=50 - Set volume level (0-100)
• --length=10 - Play only first 10 seconds
• --speed=1.5 - Adjust playback speed

Example with loop:

ExecStart=/usr/bin/mpv --really-quiet --no-terminal --vo=drm --ao=alsa --loop /boot/video.mp4

Troubleshooting

Video doesn't play

• Check that mpv is installed: which mpv
• Verify video file exists: ls -l /boot/video.mp4
• Check service status: sudo systemctl status vidinit.service
• View logs: sudo journalctl -u vidinit.service

Black screen or corruption

• Try different --vo options (fbdev2, fbdev, caca)
• Ensure your video format is supported (MP4 with H.264 is recommended)

No audio

• Check audio device: aplay -l
• Try --ao=pulse or --ao=pipewire instead of alsa
• Verify volume isn't muted

Video path

If you prefer a different location for your video, update the path in the service file:

ExecStart=/usr/bin/mpv --really-quiet --no-terminal --vo=drm --ao=alsa /path/to/your/video.mp4

Uninstallation

sudo systemctl disable vidinit.service
sudo rm /etc/systemd/system/vidinit.service
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo rm /boot/video.mp4  # if you want to remove the video

License

MIT License - Feel free to use and modify as needed.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues or pull requests.