Startup Video add/edit/remove

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Category:Modding

This tutorial will show you on how to Add, Edit or Remove the Startup Video.

File formats

As of 2025, the following video formats are supported by Valve engines:

Adding

Set the file name then click "Bink it!" to convert a .mp4 or .avi file to Bink.

If you like to add a Startup Video, in titles that use Bink video, you need "RAD Video Tools" from Bink Tools and a MP4 or AVI movie.

Note.pngNote:Current version of RAD Video Tools doesn't need QuickTime to convert MP4 to Bink. But if you have issues using latest RAD Video Tools, you can get older version here. Please note that older version of RAD Video Tools require QuickTime installed, which can be found here (Archived link).
1. Open your mod folder, example: hl2 for Half-Life 2, tf for Team Fortress 2.
2. Go to media (if already exist) or create a folder with the name media.
3. open startupvids.txt or create a text document named startupvids.txt, then add the following content below:
media/YourFileName.bik media/MyFirstHL2ModIntro.webm media/valve.bik (default)
Note.pngNote:Replace YourFileName.bik with the actual video file name.
4. Finally, go to the Game directory and place the YourFileName.bik (or YourFileName.webm) video file.

Now the Startup Video has been added.

Note.pngNote:When the game is launched with -novid (-nosierra for WON/Retail GoldSrc), the intro will be automatically skipped, so don't forget to remove it.
Note.pngNote:File extensions are ignored, regardless whether the game use AVI, Bink or WebM. If you specify media/valve.bik, games using WebM will automatically look for valve.webm instead.

Regardless, games using AVI format uses .avi file extension, .bik for Bink, and .webm for WebM.

Edit a Bink File

  • Follow the same method as above.

Remove

  • Edit startupvids.txt, and leave it's content blank.

Licensing

Bink

For a commercial product you need the license:

Licensing RAD has the most flexible licensing in the industry.

We try to make licensing our products as easy as using them is! Hopefully, your accountants and/or lawyers will love us as much as your programmers do. Our standard agreement is about three pages long and almost every game and multimedia company in the world has used it by now.

Pricing-wise, we cover it all. We offer licenses for video games on every platform and for every use. This includes AAA games, mobile, indie games, simulators (educational), DLC, kiosks, arcade games, gaming and gambling (including slot machines, poker machines, and the like). Buying multiple platforms, or multiple products, at once will get you big discounts. We have bulk licenses, per-site licenses, and world-wide enterprise licenses available - just email us with what you need, and if we don't already have a license, we'll craft one to fit!

Also note that most publishers already have bulk licenses purchased, so if you are using a major publisher - email us, you might already have a license.

Click here for more info about Licensing on Epic Games Tools (RAD) website

WebM

Unlike Bink, WebM is a open-source format, and can be freely be used on commercial product.