Queston about playing a movie in the Presenter Panel
Feb 02, 2011
Hey all,
Scenario:
I have a single .FLV "talking head" 5:45 video lecture. The person in the movie giving the lecture is talking the length of the movie. At certain time spots, the slides need to advance to the next screen/image. At the end of the movie, the video stops and the next slide auto advances to a quiz slide.
What I've done thus far:
As far as I can tell, the Presenter Panel and the Logo Panel will not accept an .FLV. To solve this first challenge, I embedded the .FLV into the timeline of an AS 2.0 .FLA and published it back out to .SWF. Normally I wouldn't do this, but since it's a relatively short video it works fine.
Next, the Presenter Panel only accepts a small thumbnail size image or .SWF file instead of filling the entire due to presenter name, title, etc. and bio and email buttons.
To overcome this challenge, I put the .SWF in the Logo Panel and it runs and fits nicely. In addition, I added the presenter's profile information in the Presenter Panel. With the presenter in the video giving the lecture and his profile information below, there is a nice balance.
Sync slides to timing in video:
In order to solve this challenge, I opened Audio Editor and set markers at specific times for the slides to advance. (:38, :51, 1:29, etc.) Also, all slides in the Slide Properties are set to advance automatically.
Conclusion:
Lecture "talking head" looks and runs fine. No audio lag. Slides advance on que (within :05 sec) of the lecture points.
Summary:
With all the basic mechanics in place, its' ready to go....at a basic level. However, all navigational controls had to be turned off in the Player. If a user chose to Pause the presentation, only the slide advancements would pause and not the video. A single Pause during this module would cause the video to be out of sync with the slides. As well, the volume control does not control the video. Hence, taking away those abilities.
The same happens when applying a control panel to the video. A user can start/stop/pause the video, but this will not control the timing of the slides in the player. Again, throwing off the timing of the slides.
Question:
I've used the API call in a video to control the stop/start/pause/volume controls on the Player, but that video resided in a slide and not in the panel. I haven't tested this yet, but if anyone has any suggestions and/or can confirm the API does in fact control the main player that will save me some time.
I suppose the amount of time it's taken me to write this I could have gone ahead and tested it anyway, huh? 
Thanks in advance!
Kevin
21 Replies
Hi Kevin,
Assuming that you're using Presenter '09, you can import an FLV into the Presenter Panel. From the Articulate menu, just click to insert Flash Movie, select the file & then you'll be given an option to "display in presenter panel." By importing an FLV or MP4 into the Presenter Panel, I think you'll find that some of your player control issues will go away.
Also, you'll want to check out this really good article on syncing video in your presentation:
http://daveperso.mediaenglishonline.com/2009/04/22/syncing-video-in-presenter-09/
If you have any other questions, please let me know.
Thanks Brian!
Yes, I'm using Presenter '09. I've been so focused on using the Presenter and Logo options in the Presentation Options, that it didn't occur to me to that inserting a Flash movie had that option. *hint* Perhaps these options should all be in the same place? *hint*
New problem...
Video runs and looks great AND the player controls also control the movie. However, in sync animations settings where I have markers for the slides to auto advance, they're not advancing. In addition, if I go back to review a slide previously viewed, the presenter video disappears. I have to go back to slide 1 for the video to re-appear...and it starts from the beginning again. I have various settings turned on/off as well. Would another setting have something to do with these problems?
Oh, and yes I've seen Dave's example. That's where I got the idea from
Hi Kevin,
Are you using SWF's, FLV's, or MP4 files?
FLV
Hi Kevin,
There might be something funky in the FLV that is preventing the end-user from auto-advancing. Can you try converting the file to MP4 to see if you can replicate the issue?
Might be. I struggled with it all weekend. The end-user in this case won't interact with the course at all until they reach the assessment and subsequent survey. It's a 5 minute lecture where the "talking head" is explaining the slides as they auto-advance. The slides are cued using the Audio Editor and specific times to advance. Also, in Slide Properties all slides are set to 'Advance > Automatic.'
I'm going to start from scratch today and see if it had something to do with the original PPT files I started with.
I haven't tried converting it to MP4. I thought once a video was in the .FLV format you can't change it? What program would you suggest to convert?
You might want to Google a program called FormatFactory. I've had a lot of good luck with that program.
Thanks Brian. I'll try it.
Well, still no dice.
Attached is a snapshot of the popup error I'm now getting when attempting to insert the MP4 video into the Presenter panel. I downloaded Format Factory and the only choices for codec are; MPEG(DivX), MPEG(Xvid), and ACH(H264). I tried all three. Also, I meant to tell you I have MacX HD File Converter that converts to MP4 as well. Same codec error.
If I remove the video from the Presenter panel and publish (no video at all in the project), the slides auto advance correctly according to the markers I have set in the Audio Editor. When I insert the FLV in the Presenter panel, the video plays fine and I can control it with the player controls, but the slides still don't advance.
The only two options I see when Insert Flash Movie > Display in Presenter Panel > Advance to Next Slide are:
1. Automatically when movie finishes
2. When user clicks next
In this case, the user is simply viewing the slides while the video (video lecture) is playing. At certain cue points the slides would advance automatically.
Another option I tried where the slides 'do' in fact auto advance is inserting the FLV in the timeline of a FLA and publishing out to a SWF. Then inserting the SWF in the Logo panel rather than the Presenter panel. Again, works fine but controlling the video with the Player controls is lost.
Speaking of lost. I am!
Any thoughts on this gremlin or am I missing something?
Fellow Mac users in the Community...
Has anyone tried this converter? I'm curious as I just found the site tonight:
Wondershare | Video Converter for Mac
(FormatFactory is for Windows OS only.)
@Kevin
Will this thread from the "old" Forums help you?
http://www.articulate.com/forums/articulate-engage/18232-will-not-import-mpeg-4-a.html
I'm not sure, but am hoping it does.
Thanks Jenise!
Through your link to the old forums, this link to the Knowledge Base indicates the only codec supported is the H.264. http://www.articulate.com/support/presenter09/kb/?p=1019
I think oozy stuff was leaking out of my ears by midnight when I posted (above). I'll go back and double check that I published to that format. I thought I did. This can't (shouldn't) be that difficult...
Thanks for jumping in!
You're welcome, Kevin.
I, too was up late, so glad I could be of help!
Okay, the H.264 codec is the key. Video plays and can be controlled by the Presenter navigation. Check.
Still not working:
Options:
This is a HUGE project and I'm spending WAY too much time on just getting a good prototype put together. Articulate rocks, but I'm at a point to look at other authoring tool options.
Oops, hit the submit button too soon. ANY help on this would be super duper!
Hi Kevin,
Would you mind submitting your project files to me so that I can take a closer look at the issue?
Please create an Articulate Presenter package, then upload the zip file to our server. You can review how to do this here:
Send to Articulate Presenter Package – Articulate Presenter ’09 Help
Upload the resulting zip file from your computer to our server using this upload form:
Articulate Support - Upload Your Files for Review
In the case subject, put Attention Brian Batt.
Also, please be sure to include a description of your issue, your version of PowerPoint, version of Windows and version of Presenter '09 which you can find in Help and Support -> About Articulate Presenter. Please also include the URL for this thread so we can follow up with you in the forums.
Ah, Brian, you beat me to the punch. I was still drinking my coffee.
Yes, as an independent consultant, I have found the support process that Brian describes above to be invaluable.
Sure, we can try and troubleshoot our projects, but I've learned to use and deeply appreciate the project submission process.
I also love the new Support feature where I can make a Screenr vid of what I see on my desktop to show the Support Team.
Best to you, Kevin!
Brian, I see your Hero cape billowing behind you.
I'm stubborn. Typical guy, right? Trying to fix it myself and forget that I have superhero support. Just sent the package. Hope we can figure this out.
And thanks Jenise!
Hee, Kevin, as a happily married woman, I was going to type something along the lines of a guy thing, "...not asking for directions..." but thought it was better to be nice to you instead. LOL
BRIAN: I have the same issue! Was this resolved?
Hi Sandy,
I'm having a hard time tracking down if / what the specific resolution was here. Would you like us to take a look at your files? You can create an Articulate Presenter Package of your presentation as described here. Then upload the resulting zip file from your computer on the second page of this form, and we''ll attempt to diagnose what's happening when we receive your upload. Thanks!
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