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Overview

The VideoBGRemover API offers multiple background options for different use cases. This guide covers the technical details of each format and how to use them in your projects. For complete workflows and implementation examples, see the Background Removal Guide.

🎨 Color Backgrounds

Replace background with solid colors using hex codes

✨ Transparent Videos

Create videos with transparency for custom overlays

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Quick Navigation

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Color Backgrounds

Perfect for simple background replacement with solid colors. No additional processing needed - just specify a hex color code.

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Simple Color Replacement

Replace the background with any solid color using hex codes: 
import { VideoBGRemoverClient, Video } from '@videobgremover/sdk'

const client = new VideoBGRemoverClient(process.env.VIDEOBGREMOVER_API_KEY!)
const video = Video.open('https://example.com/video.mp4')

// Start job with red background directly
const finalStatus = await video.removeBackground({ client, options: {
  background: { type: 'color', color: '#FF0000' }
}})
console.log('Red background video URL:', finalStatus.processed_video_url)
ColorHex CodeUse Case
🔴 Red#FF0000Bold, attention-grabbing
🟢 Green#00FF00Chroma key standard
🔵 Blue#0000FFProfessional, clean
⚪ White#FFFFFFClean, minimal
⚫ Black#000000Dramatic, cinematic
🎨 Custom#7C3AEDAny hex code

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Transparent Formats

For advanced compositing, custom backgrounds, and professional workflows. These formats preserve transparency for maximum flexibility. What are transparent formats? Video files that preserve the alpha channel (transparency) so you can overlay them on custom backgrounds. However, they can be tricky to use - WebM works in Chrome but not all browsers, MOV works in Safari but requires specific codecs. When you need custom backgrounds or advanced compositing, use transparent formats:

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Format Comparison

FormatFile SizeQualityUse CaseCompatibility
WebM VP9🟢 Small🟢 ExcellentEasy overlay, API usageRequires VP9 decoder
MOV ProRes🔴 Very Large🟢 PerfectLarge files, professional editingVideo editors
PNG Sequence🔴 Very Large🟢 PerfectGIF creation, frame-by-frameUniversal
Pro Bundle🟡 Medium🟢 PerfectUnscreen workflows, ZIP handlingUniversal
Stacked Video🟡 Medium🟢 PerfectUniversal, single file (top: video, bottom: mask)Universal
Best for: Easy overlay workflows, API usage, small file sizes
Decoder Required: WebM VP9 transparency requires libvpx-vp9 decoder. Works most of the time, but not guaranteed on all systems.
import { VideoBGRemoverClient, Video, RemoveBGOptions, Prefer } from '@videobgremover/sdk'

const client = new VideoBGRemoverClient(process.env.VIDEOBGREMOVER_API_KEY!)
const video = Video.open('https://example.com/video.mp4')

// Remove background with WebM VP9 format
const options = new RemoveBGOptions(Prefer.WEBM_VP9)
const transparent = await video.removeBackground({ client, options })

console.log('Transparent WebM ready:', transparent.primaryPath)

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Using WebM Videos in Your Projects

    # Overlay WebM on custom background
    ffmpeg -i background.jpg -i transparent_video.webm \
      -c:v libvpx-vp9 \
      -filter_complex "[1:v]setpts=PTS-STARTPTS[video]; \
                       [0:v][video]overlay=x=(W-w)/2:y=(H-h)/2:shortest=1" \
      -c:v libx264 -c:a aac output.mp4

# Important: Use -c:v libvpx-vp9 decoder to preserve alpha channels!
WebM Alpha Channel Issue: The default VP9 decoder strips alpha channels. Always use libvpx-vp9 decoder for proper transparency. If unavailable, use Stacked Video format instead.

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MOV ProRes (Professional)

Best for: Professional video editing (Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro) 
import { VideoBGRemoverClient, Video, RemoveBGOptions, Prefer } from '@videobgremover/sdk'

const client = new VideoBGRemoverClient(process.env.VIDEOBGREMOVER_API_KEY!)
const video = Video.open('https://example.com/video.mp4')

// Remove background with MOV ProRes format
const options = new RemoveBGOptions(Prefer.MOV_PRORES)
const transparent = await video.removeBackground({client, options})

console.log('Transparent MOV ready:', transparent.primaryPath)

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Using MOV Videos

    # Overlay MOV ProRes on background
    ffmpeg -i background.jpg -i transparent_video.mov \
      -filter_complex "[1:v]setpts=PTS-STARTPTS[video]; [0:v][video]overlay=x=100:y=200:shortest=1" \
      -c:v libx264 -c:a aac output.mp4

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PNG Sequence

Best for: GIF creation, frame-by-frame editing, maximum quality 
import { VideoBGRemoverClient, Video, RemoveBGOptions, Prefer } from '@videobgremover/sdk'

const client = new VideoBGRemoverClient(process.env.VIDEOBGREMOVER_API_KEY!)
const video = Video.open('https://example.com/video.mp4')

// Remove background with PNG sequence format
const options = new RemoveBGOptions(Prefer.PNG_SEQUENCE)
const transparent = await video.removeBackground({client, options})

console.log('PNG sequence ready:', transparent.primaryPath)

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Using PNG Sequences

    # Extract ZIP and create video from PNG sequence
    unzip png_sequence.zip -d frames/

    # Overlay PNG sequence on background
    ffmpeg -loop 1 -i background.jpg \
           -framerate 24 -i frames/frame_%04d.png \
           -filter_complex "[1:v]setpts=PTS-STARTPTS[video]; \
                            [0:v][video]overlay=x=(W-w)/2:y=(H-h)/2:shortest=1" \
           -c:v libx264 -t 5 output.mp4

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Pro Bundle (Professional Workflow)

Best for: Unscreen workflows, ZIP handling, maximum flexibility 
import { VideoBGRemoverClient, Video, RemoveBGOptions, Prefer } from '@videobgremover/sdk'

const client = new VideoBGRemoverClient(process.env.VIDEOBGREMOVER_API_KEY!)
const video = Video.open('https://example.com/video.mp4')

// Remove background with Pro Bundle format
const options = new RemoveBGOptions(Prefer.PRO_BUNDLE)
const transparent = await video.removeBackground({client, options})

console.log('Pro Bundle ready:', transparent.primaryPath)

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Pro Bundle Contents

The Pro Bundle ZIP contains:
  • color.mp4 - Normalized foreground video
  • alpha.mp4 - 8-bit grayscale matte
  • audio.m4a - Audio track (if present)
  • manifest.json - Technical specifications

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Using Pro Bundle

    # Extract bundle
    unzip pro_bundle.zip -d bundle/

    # Combine color and alpha for transparency
    ffmpeg -i bundle/color.mp4 -i bundle/alpha.mp4 \
           -filter_complex "[0:v]format=rgba[color]; \
                            [1:v]format=gray[alpha]; \
                            [color][alpha]alphamerge[transparent]" \
           transparent_video.mov

    # Overlay on background
    ffmpeg -i background.jpg -i transparent_video.mov \
           -filter_complex "[1:v]setpts=PTS-STARTPTS[video]; \
                            [0:v][video]overlay=x=(W-w)/2:y=(H-h)/2:shortest=1" \
           -c:v libx264 -c:a aac final_output.mp4

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Stacked Video (Universal Format)

Best for: Universal compatibility, single file handling (top: video, bottom: mask) 
import { VideoBGRemoverClient, Video, RemoveBGOptions, Prefer } from '@videobgremover/sdk'

const client = new VideoBGRemoverClient(process.env.VIDEOBGREMOVER_API_KEY!)
const video = Video.open('https://example.com/video.mp4')

// Remove background with Stacked Video format
const options = new RemoveBGOptions(Prefer.STACKED_VIDEO)
const transparent = await video.removeBackground({client, options})

console.log('Stacked Video ready:', transparent.primaryPath)

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Stacked Video Structure

  • Top Half: Original video (1080x1080)
  • Bottom Half: Grayscale mask (1080x1080)
  • Total Dimensions: 1080x2160 (2:1 aspect ratio)

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Using Stacked Videos

    # Extract and apply mask in one command
    ffmpeg -i background.jpg -i stacked_video.mp4 \
      -filter_complex "
        [1:v]split=2[original][mask_source];
        [original]crop=1080:1080:0:0[top];
        [mask_source]crop=1080:1080:0:1080,format=gray,geq='if(gte(lum(X,Y),128),255,0)'[binary_mask];
        [top]format=rgba[top_rgba];
        [top_rgba][binary_mask]alphamerge[masked_video];
        [0:v][masked_video]overlay=x=(W-w)/2:y=(H-h)/2:shortest=1
      " \
      -c:v libx264 -c:a aac output.mp4

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Testing Your Setup

Before processing videos, test your FFmpeg installation:
For detailed positioning and scaling techniques, see the Positioning Guide in the Video Composition section.
    # Check if libvpx-vp9 decoder is available
    ffmpeg -decoders | grep libvpx-vp9

    # Should output:
    # V..... libvpx-vp9           libvpx VP9 (codec vp9)