Movie Theater Mode for YouTube and HTML5 Video

The lights go down, the video takes the stage

Movie Theater Mode, also called cinema mode or lights-off mode, dims everything on the page except the video, the way a real cinema darkens the room when the film starts. It is the signature feature of the free Turn Off the Lights browser extension: one click on the gray lamp button fades the whole page to dark, so the video is the only thing glowing on your screen. And unlike YouTube's own Theater mode, it works on every website with an HTML5 video.

Better than YouTube's built-in Theater mode

YouTube's Theater mode, the t shortcut on its player, only stretches the video wider on YouTube's own page. Turn Off the Lights goes much further:

• The whole page fades to dark, not just the area around the player, comments, sidebars, and ads all disappear behind the dim layer.
• It works on every site. Vimeo, Twitch, Dailymotion, Facebook, news sites, and online course platforms, anywhere the browser plays HTML5 video.
• You control the room light, set the dim level and even the layer color on the Opacity Layer settings, with smooth fade-in and fade-out effects.
• Press T for the cinema feeling, the same letter YouTube uses, but here it turns your lights off instead of just resizing the player.

The Movie theater mode option

Inside the Turn Off the Lights Options page, the Movie theater mode setting places the lights-off layer strictly on top of the window. That matters on sites where a video player or popup tries to cover the dark layer, the cinema effect always stays visible and the video always stays lit.

Automatic cinema: dim on play

Want the room to go dark by itself? Enable the option to dim the screen the moment you click a video's play button. The page darkens when the video starts and lights back up when it ends, an automatic theater mode on every site, not just one where the site remembered your preference. Pair it with Atmosphere Lighting for a glow around the video frame, and use the Video Speed Controller and Mousewheel Volume Control right from the dimmed view.

How to turn on Movie Theater Mode

1. Install the free Turn Off the Lights extension for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Safari, or your favorite browser.
2. Open any page with an HTML5 video, such as a YouTube video.
3. Click the gray lamp button in your browser toolbar, or press the T key, and the whole page fades to dark except the video player.
4. Click anywhere on the dark layer, or press T again, to bring the lights back on.

Frequently asked questions

Is Movie Theater Mode the same as cinema mode?

Yes. Movie Theater Mode, cinema mode, and lights-off mode all describe the same idea: dimming everything on the page except the video, like the lights going down in a cinema. Turn Off the Lights does this on any website with an HTML5 video.

How is this different from YouTube's built-in Theater mode?

YouTube's Theater mode only widens the player on the YouTube site. Turn Off the Lights dims the entire page to black around the video, on YouTube and on other sites such as Vimeo, Twitch, and news pages with fade effects and a dim level you control.

Can the page dim automatically when a video plays?

Yes. In the Turn Off the Lights Options page you can set the screen to dim automatically when you click a video's play button, and undim again when the video ends or is paused.

Is Movie Theater Mode free?

Yes. It is the core feature of the free and Open-Source Turn Off the Lights browser extension, with no in-app purchases or subscriptions, on Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Safari, and other supported browsers. You can read the code yourself on GitHub.

It's the ultimate tool for your web browser to control your web and video experience, made for video lovers like you. Download Turn Off the Lights today and give every video the cinema it deserves.