LiveKit docs › Hooks › useStartVideo

---

# useStartVideo

> ℹ️ **Note**
> 
> This feature is experimental and may change or be removed based on developer feedback and real-world usage.

In some browsers to start video playback in low power mode, the user must perform a user-initiated event such as clicking a button. The `useStartVideo` hook returns an object with a boolean `canPlayVideo` flag that indicates whether video playback is allowed in the current context, as well as a `startVideo` function that can be called in a button `onClick` callback to start video playback in the current context.

## Import

```typescript
import { useStartVideo } from "@livekit/components-react";

```

## Properties

- **`{ room, props }.props`** _(React.ButtonHTMLAttributes<HTMLButtonElement>)_: 

- **`{ room, props }.room`** _(Room)_ (optional): 

## Returns

```typescript
{
    mergedProps: React.ButtonHTMLAttributes<HTMLButtonElement> & {
        className: string;
        onClick: () => void;
        style: {
            display: string;
        };
    };
    canPlayVideo: boolean;
}

```

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This document was rendered at 2026-06-07T11:33:37.378Z.
For the latest version of this document, see [https://docs.livekit.io/reference/components/react/hook/usestartvideo.md](https://docs.livekit.io/reference/components/react/hook/usestartvideo.md).

To explore all LiveKit documentation, see [llms.txt](https://docs.livekit.io/llms.txt).