If we support transparency in the dispmanx layer we use for graphics on the Pi and place it above layer 0 then we can run a native video player at the same time as JavaFX. JavaFX will then appear on top of the video.

This will be a visible change from current behavior. If an application uses less than the full screen then whatever was on the screen beforehand (usually the console) will still be there. This could be confusing if a user runs an application that does not take up the whole screen at the same time as an X11 desktop. The X11 desktop will be visible but JavaFX will grab input an the user will not be able to interact with X11 windows.

To avoid confusion we should have a property for the background clear color. If this color is transparent then we get video underlay support. We should default to black, the current behavior. This is not in order to maintain the current behavior. It's OK to change behavior at this stage. It is to avoid having confusing interactions with other graphical applications and to maintain the principle that on the framebuffer ports JavaFX owns the screen.

This is a hardware-dependent feature and will not be implemented on the BeagleBoard at this stage.