Methods for Installing TechSmith Codec

[Corey]

OK I looked into this. A person could actually create a native dependency for the Techsmith TSCC codec installer in AutoPlay Media Studio, but it would not be 100% reliable on all Windows operating systems. So that didn't work for me. The good news is that the Techsmith installer does it's own checks and only installs if needed. The Techsmith TSCC codec installer can also be run silently, as per Techsmith's own direction here:

http://www.techsmith.com/products/studio/tsccinst.txt

So obviously they don't have a problem with that. They're just glad to get their codecs out there at this point. Very intelligent strategy, Techsmith is a very good team I think. At any rate so you can add the Techsmith TSCC codec installer to your AutoPlay Media Studio apps and that will be 100% reliable.

But the problem remains that no user without admin priveleges can install the TSCC codec. To solve this problem I package the Techsmith Camplayer.exe with my videos and that ensures that people on machines with no Techsmith TSCC codec present will be able to view my video content by simply using the Camtasia Player. It's free, and it's a good player actually.

http://www.techsmith.com/products/studio/player.asp

For me what I am doing is this. I will have my videos on a menu. "Click to play". At the top of the AutoPlay Media Studio project is a checkbox option to "Launch videos in default player". The very first time they check that box:

1. AutoPlay Media Studio creates a reg key so any subsequent launches bypass the Techsmith TSCC codec check.
2. My own custom dialog appears informing them that, "These videos require the Techsmith TSCC video codec for proper playback. Click OK to install codec or CANCEL to exit." Then it will launch the Techsmith TSCC codec installer silently if they press OK. It automatically checks the version and updates if need be, without so much as a flash, in like 20 milliseconds. It's very fast.

If they don't check that box, the videos are launched in the Camplayer.exe which requires no TSCC to be present. Some big advantages to this approach over a dependency check. For example, any user can view your video on any machine, guaranteed. They don't need admin rights. Also you get to totally customize the installation process. You could do it all silently even if you wanted, but I support informing users at all times and never installing anything on anyone's system without asking first, just as an ethical issue anyhow.

Bottom line, this technique is fool proof and it will work on any windows machine, even if they have no internet access or system rights. Plus, the Techsmith TSCC codec installer and Camplayer.exe are super tiny. Can't say enough good things about the guys at Techsmith. They remind me of Indigo Rose in the sense of the approach. Good people making good software because they love doing it. I wish there were more Techsmiths in the world, those guys are a class act.

Incidentally. I've done numerous tests on Techsmith video content vs. all the other options and you simply cannot beat it for quality if you are doing video screen capture training material.

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software

[Intrigued]

I was reading the CampPlay.txt file and noticed some extra command-line options and examples. Here is that excerpt:

4.1 Command Line Parameters

When you launch Camtasia Player, by default it has a title bar,
a menu bar, a tool bar, a status bar. You can customize those
elements by specifying arguments on the command line when
launching Camtasia Player. Here is the exact syntax for the
command line arguments:

CAMPLAY [<options>] [<file>]

where <file> is an optional movie file name and <options> is an
optional set of options among the following:

/A - Launches with "Always on top" option
/BC RGB(255,0,255) - Set background color, default is black
/D - Launches without allowing "Dragging" by the movie area
/E - Exits after playing the movie
/F - Launches in Full Screen Mode
/M - Launches without a menu bar
/MX - Launches with its window maximized
/open - Open the specified movie (<file>) but does not play it
/play - Immediately play the specified movie (<file>) [default]
/R - Repeats the movie forever
/S - Launches without a status bar
/ST - Stay on last frame after playing
/T - Launches without a title bar
/TB - Launches without a tool bar

Notes:
- For the /BC background color, you must supply a color argument
with the syntax RGB(r,g,b) where r, g, and b are the red, green
and blue components of the color. Valid values for r, g, and b
are in the range 0 to 255. For example:
RGB(0,0,0) = black
RGB(255,255,255) = white
RGB(0,0,255) = blue
RGB(128,128,128) = dark gray
The background color shows only when the movie that is playing
does not fill the entire frame. For example, if the player is
maximized while a 360x240 movie is playing, the background color
will show.

Examples:
CAMPLAY "clip1.avi"
- play "clip1.avi" with the default user interface

CAMPLAY /E /F "my movie.avi"
- play "my movie.avi" full screen and exit after playing

CAMPLAY /M "clip2.avi"
- open "clip2.avi" without a menu bar (i.e. no File>Open menu
option)

CAMPLAY /BC RGB(128,128,128) /F "clip3.avi"
- play "clip3.avi" full screen and fill the background with dark
gray if the movie does not fill the entire screen.

Sincerely,

[Intrigued]

Here is a very simple example of how to use AutoPlay Media Studio 5 (Pro for this example) and the CamPlay.exe (.avi video player) application via command-line usage.

Note: Double-click the Play Video button object to see all of the code and the command-line options that are available (credit: www.techsmith.com for command-line documentation)


Download Example!

Sincerely,

[Corey]

Yep exactly. Those text files have to be distributed with the player too. It's a great little player. The file size is tiny.

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software

[Intrigued]

I updated that sample. Now it has the documents required to accompany the player. Thanks Corey.

[Corey]

I figure it's the least we can do for those guys given how easy they make it for us.

Corey Milner
Creative Director, Indigo Rose Software

[Intrigued]

I figure it's the least we can do for those guys given how easy they make it for us.

I fully agree with you. It is appreciated for sure!

[4thstar]

Hello.
I hope all is well.

I have downloaded the example above and i see that it works just fine.
My first idea was to have the movie play inside the main display, however i may consider the external camplayer to do things.

My concern was to make sure the action of installing the codec was as seamless as possible.

I already have the techsmith codec installed via camtasia so heres where i get a little confused....

the example has a play button that when pressed produces the camplayer.
but what happens if the computer its run on does not have the codec installed ?
does the camplayer have it built in?
does it install the codec from within the camplayer file ?

Please advise.
Many thanks
Kind regards
Carl

[Intrigued]

Camtasia Player also now has the TechSmith Screen Capture Codec (TSCC) built into it

source: http://www.techsmith.com/products/studio/player.asp

Note: Camtasia Player only plays AVI video files. Any audio codecs required by the AVI file must be installed before Camtasia Player can play the video.

[Corey]

Yes, you can use Pack and show to package movies with the codec also.