QR code for a video

A video needs a player or a file host before a code can point at it. The steps below work for a public video and for a private link that only the right people can open.

1. Upload the video to YouTube, Vimeo, Google Drive or your own site. Choose a streaming page for a normal watch, or a file host if the scan should download the video.
2. Set the visibility. A public video is simplest; a private one needs “anyone with the link” rather than a permission request.
3. Open the link on a phone that is not signed in to your account. Check that the video plays or downloads without an app or a login.
4. Paste the link above. Add a logo only if the print needs it; error correction is forced to High, which makes the code denser.
5. Scan the preview and a printed proof at the final size. Use two phones if you can.

A YouTube or Vimeo link opens a player and keeps the video inside that platform. A link to a video file asks the viewer to download it. The first is better for a trailer, a public episode or a clip you want people to share; the second is better for a file someone has bought.

A video file is large, and hosting it badly makes the scan feel broken. Use a host that streams or serves the file reliably, and test playback on a phone before you print. A code that opens a page saying “no preview available” has wasted the scan.

A QR code on a poster or a table card can open a behind-the-scenes cut, a trailer or a private link after a screening. It is also useful on a stream overlay, where viewers cannot click a link but can point a phone at the screen.

For a public video, paste the YouTube or Vimeo link. For a paid cut, sell the file from a link and put the QR code on the card or the printed programme. The buyer scans, pays and gets the download without you sending a file by hand.

Test the code on the screen as well as on paper. A code displayed on a monitor can pick up glare, and a code on a dark poster needs a light background behind it.

If the video is an image or video, you can share it free on your creator page: it is shown view-only, with no checkout and no download, once an automatic check has passed it. Some items are held for review by the team. Or you can sell the full-resolution file from £5, with a link that can expire or be capped at a number of unlocks.

On a paid sale, 10% comes from the creator and a 10% privacy and security fee is added to the buyer’s total. Card processing is covered. Unlockable is not a merchant of record, so creators handle their own tax.

This generator makes static codes. The link is encoded in the pattern and there is no redirect service that can switch it off or charge to keep it working. If the video remains online, the code keeps working.

A dynamic code points at a redirect the provider controls. It can be edited and counted, but it depends on that provider. This page does not make dynamic codes and does not promise per-code scan counts.

On an Unlockable link, the creator can set the link to expire or cap the number of unlocks. The code is still static; the creator is choosing how long the destination stays open. The app’s stats show views, unlocks and earnings by share channel, including QR code.

Keep the quiet zone; cropping it is the most common reason a printed code fails. Use dark modules on a light background with at least 4:1 contrast, and do not invert the colours. The generator warns about both.

As a rule of thumb, do not print below about 2 cm (0.8 in) square, and allow roughly 1 cm of code for every 10 cm of scanning distance. A code on a poster read from two metres away wants about 20 cm. Print a proof on the actual material and test it on two phones.

The free QR code generator handles any link. For an image, use the image QR code; for a channel, try the YouTube QR code. To sell video, see selling video content.