Streaming on one platform and not the other...

[Jeff Farris]

Web delivery gurus...I need some help.

I am trying to set up some demonstration videos for streaming delivery. Being a Mac user, I am sensitive to the idea that any delivery should be cross platform. I have used Sorensen Squeeze to compress the video, and have tried various combinations of the settings, but always with the "Prepare for Streaming" options selected.

My file is large, at 32Mb, but on a Mac with broadband, it starts almost immediately and plays without hesitation, with the download finishing in about 3 minutes. The entire video is 5 minutes and change.

On a Windows machine (also with the latest version of QT), it will not start until the entire file is downloaded to the cache, and takes 10 minutes or so.

Any suggestions as to why the Windows system won't stream would be suggested. As would any alternative systems, as long as they are cross-platform and don't cost a fortune. (I already dropped the $$ for Squeeze).

I would also appreciate any feedback from folks willing to try the download. You're welcome to criticize the video itself, and I will listen, but I am most interested in comments on delivery.

Here's the address

http://www.sharptoolsusa.com/demo/step1large.mov

[Rob Lohman]

What HTML tag are you using to embed it? Or is it not on a
HTML page? I'm not sure whether the player on the PC will
start playing it right away when it is outside of a webpage.

[Jeff Farris]

Thanks Rob, I'll try that. I do not have it embedded at this time.

So, you think if I embed the movie into a page, it will stream? I'll try it right now.

[Jeff Farris]

That was it!

I'm headed in the right direction now. I didn't get controls for the video, and it started immediately instead of on command, but that's way further down the road than I was.

Thanks again, Rob. I'll dive into the QuickTime guides to see if I can figure out how to get video controls.

[Rob Lohman]

Glad it worked out. You should be able to get controls as well,
it all depends on settings if I remember correctly. John Locke
might be able to tell you some more on this...

[Jeff Farris]

Thanks, Rob.

I found the controls and have them on a page now. I am experimenting with skins, if I can figure it out in the short term, I'll add those, too. If it looks like a big learning curve, I'll put them up as is and add the skins later.

[Rob Lohman]

Can you tell us what you did to make it work? Others can benefit
from this as well. Please post the tags and parameters used.

[Jeff Farris]

It is a work in progress, but an update and some more feedback are in order, thanks for the suggestion.

As Rob first suggested, a QT movie will not stream on Windows as a .mov file. It must be embedded into an html page. This type of streaming does not require a specialized server, making it an easy way to get streaming up and running.

I used Go Live to create the first html page (sans controls). I opened the page in code view and compared it to the list of parameters on the QT website. In accordance with the suggestions from QT, I made the size 16 pixels taller than the movie size and the same width. Then in the Go Live code, I changed the "Controls" parameter from false to true. This page is strictly for broadband users. I will be producing postage stamp versions for dial up after I get this going down the right road.

I am now working on a "skin" for the movie, so that its place on the page is more well defined while the customer is waiting for the movie to start.

Further comments are always appreciated.

http://www.sharptoolsusa.com/demo/videodemotest.html

[Rob Lohman]

For the people who want to get down and dirty, this is the
object tag that he put on the page. I removed the source
where you would link to your QuickTime file. You also obviously
would need to change the width & height settings:

<object classid="clsid:02BF25D5-8C17-4B23-BC80-D3488ABDDC6B" codebase="http://www.apple.com/qtactivex/qtplugin.cab" height="376" width="480">
<param name="src" value="source removed">
<param name="autoplay" value="true">
<param name="controller" value="true">
<embed height="376" pluginspage="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/" src="source removed" type="video/quicktime" width="480" controller="true" autoplay="true">
</object>

[Jeff Farris]

Well, the QT Skin is going to take a little more time and research than I have right now, so, I just threw a logo above the movie, centered on the page, and added a disclaimer so people won't start fiddling with the buttons before the movie starts.

Here they are, in all their un-professional glory.

www.sharptoolsusa.com/demo/step1video.html

www.sharptoolsusa.com/demo/step2video.html

www.sharptoolsusa.com/demo/step3video.html

For you folks that make your living doing video for corporations, there's nothing here that is going to make you quiver. Today's video production capability reminds me of the introduction of page layout programs in the late 80's. Putting the tools in the hands of people looking to save a buck isn't always a tasteful solution. I muddled through that revolution, and eventually made myself a half way decent graphic artist. With the new video tools, I'll never be Spielberg, but hopefully, my customers will get the point.