Video buffers on unfocused workspace

[analyticmind]

• Sway Version: 1.9
• GPU: Intel CoffeeLake-S GT2 (desktop), Intel Alder Lake UP3 GT2 (laptop), Intel Skylake GT2 (laptop)
• Distro: Arch

Recently installed intel-media-driver to get hardware acceleration, and after installing it I noticed that whenever a video is left playing in an unfocused workspace, it will buffer. In some cases, it will just stop playing. This happens whether the video is in a browser or a standalone application like FreeTube or mpv.

Searching through this repository, I found a workaround for a similar issue (#3716), i.e. set the environment variable vblank_mode=0. However, the initial purpose of getting hardware acceleration was to save some battery, whereas the workaround is said to negate this by maxxing the GPU.

I was able to replicate the issue in 2 laptops and 1 desktop PC.

Any ideas for a better workaround?