This There a Rule To Good Media Player Playback?

[Incrocci]

Yes, I am new to this great product - and I have one question I can't seem to find a solid answer to - realible media player playback.

I use all MPeg1 video - length anywhere from 5 seconds to 5 minutes. Sometimes (on the same computer) when I playback in testing and hit a button for full screen - the screen goes black a few times and then it could play great or it could play in what looks like 256 colors. On most other computers (I have 7) it works fine - on another, it'll give me the same problem.
Is there a rule of thumb? Sometimes I'll have more than one video on a page (only one playing at a time) and it'll give me that same problem.
Another problem - if I have more than two or three (small) videos on one page, the page looks like it's loading slowly - showing the "black boxes" where the video will be. Is there a way to "fade" from page to page?

What I'm asking here is, again, some dos-and-don'ts when it comes to using the media player.

My screen size is usually 630x425

Rick

[eric_darling]

Several universal rules of thumb for MPEG-1 video:

BOTH width and height must be divisible by 16.
Files MUST be 30 (29.97) frames per second (FPS) for NTSC. 25 for PAL.
Data rate must be commensurate with the speed of your CD-ROM playback device. For 2X CD-ROM, it's 300 KB/sec. Double that for 4X CD-ROM. The higher the data rate, the tougher it will be to spin up to speed (meaning the longer it will take to actually start playing your video).

What are you using to encode the files? Are these files that you have encoded? MPEG-1 is a widespread standard, so you'll find it highly reliable once you nail down the basics.

[Incrocci]

TMPEGnc - bit rate is low and plays good on CD. All my MPegs were encoded from Pinnacle AVIs (DV500). No problem with the right video format/size, but I have noticed some "peculiarities" when using AutoPlay Media. Like I mentioned above - when I give an option to play full screen some computer screens go blank for a second or so then show the video in what looks like 256 colors - whereas other computers would play the full screen option just fine. Any ideas? Refresh rate? Resolution? Jupiter aligned with Mars - or is it the witch who lives next door causing all this?

Rick

[eric_darling]

How low is the bit rate? It could be that it's actually too low. Best target is somewhere around 1200 bps muxed (audio and video rates considered together) for universal playback. (that's just a suggestion, BTW, you can push it higher)

What size are the native files, actually (in terms of pixels)? Do you have similar issues when playing the same files from a CD on the same computers that glitches colors inside the Windows Media Player, that is, when they are switched into full-screen mode? What version of Windows Media Player is installed on your system(s) that exhibit the strange color behavior?

Sorry for so many questions - I'm looking for a clue. I really don't think it's AMS that's causing the problem, considering that AMS taps directly into your Media Player controls on the systems in question.

It has nothing to do with your refresh rate. Resolution, probably not. Jupiter's interplanetary alignment? It's never that simple. /ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif

[Incrocci]

Hey Eric:
Thanks for keeping up with this:
Windows ver. 9, frame size 352x240, 29.97 fps, 1150 kbps - alls well here.
I do believe now it's the editing computer that I test it out on. There is sooo much video codecs/drivers/captures/etc going on that it will "sometimes" screw up my playback. All other computers play it back just fine EXCEPT my son's computer (a 3 or 4 yr. old HP - perhaps too much **** video on it).

I guess it's just something I have to watch carefully. I ran the video directly from windows media player 9 - the only thing different I noticed is that there is less "stretching" top and bottom when playing full screen - giving a more accurate picture. I further guess that that's just the way AutoPlay Media handels it.

I will even further "assume" that there are no other guide lines for putting video into AutoPlay Media other than what we talked about and, of course, obvious ones?

Rick

[eric_darling]

Ah, don't be so quick to assume that I know everything there is to know about digital video, or that I can use one thread in a forum to explore all the different aspects. It's an organic process of trial and error, much like any programming job.

The switching into 256 colors is perplexing to me, since I've never actually heard of such a thing (but hey, there's a first time for everything). Although I don't think "too much **** video" would cause this kind of a thing, I still wouldn't recommend editing your projects on anything but the "cleanest" of machines, if for nothing else than to develop and deploy projects that couldn't possibly have anything accidentally included in its distribution.

It surprises me that AMS "stretches" your video strangely. That shouldn't happen.

Do this:

1) Upgrade to 4.0.0.4 immediately
2) Re-install Windows Media Player v. 9
3) Create a BRAND NEW project in AMS
4) Add the video clip into a new Media Player Object
5) Preview the project - still the same problem?

Delete any unnecessary software from the computer - clean machines build clean projects.