Storyline 2 - Problem with FLV files with alpha channels

Sep 19, 2014

Hi there Articulate. First of all congratulations with a new solid product. Looking forward to spending alot of time with it in the future. Now to my problem.

I record alot of material on green screen and use the video material in Articulate. But there is a problem with these FLV files in Storyline 2. Take a look at the following movies.

FLV movie with alpha in Storyline 1

http://meddev.uio.no/elaring/fag/ernaring/storyline1

In Storyline 1 this flv file is perfect. No problems at all.

FLV movie with alpha in Storyline 2

http://meddev.uio.no/elaring/fag/ernaring/storyline2

when I use the exactly same file in Storyline 2, the alpha channel doesent work. Here are my render settings in After Effects.

Please help me. I really want to use Storyline 2 for my projects.

Best regards

Morten Skoglund

82 Replies
Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi Morten,

How are you publishing the file? FLV alpha channel transparency is supported in the Flash Player and the Articulate Mobile Player app.

However, if you publish Articulate Storyline content for HTML5, FLV files in your project will be encoded as MP4 videos. As a result, alpha channel transparency won't be maintained in the HTML5 output.

From the links you shared, I couldn't tell if you were pointed to the HTML5 content specifically or not - but I saw what you're describing when viewing it in Chrome. 

Morten Skoglund

Ok I created another publish from SL2 with no HTML5 options to make sure that wasn't the problem.

Here are the publish settings for this link: http://meddev.uio.no/elaring/fag/ernaring/storyline2/

And here are the publish settings for this link: http://meddev.uio.no/elaring/fag/ernaring/storyline2b/

Still have the same problem with alpha in flv files. No matter what browser I use I still have the same problem. There is a problem with alpha files in SL2. When publishing from SL1 it works flawlessly

Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi Morten,

Thanks for sharing that here - and I talked about this with another colleague this morning and we were able to replicate your issue with the Alpha transparency in flv files within Storyline 2. I have reported this to our QA team for additional review, but at this time I don't have any other information to share in regards to a fix. 

I have linked the QA report with this thread so that I'll be able to share any additional information here. 

I also did confirm that the HTML5 output does not support the alpha transparency as described here. 

Ashley Terwilliger-Pollard

Hi Morten,

Yes, it seems to be a bug - and I am waiting to hear additional information from our QA team in regards to a fix or a workaround. Once I have additional information to share, I can post it here - but I don't have any timelines to offer. Possibly someone in the community with more video expertise may be able to offer additional ideas or guidance.

Thanks for checking in, and please ensure you're subscribed to this thread so that you get any updates via email. 

Robert Donnelly

Hi,

I have found the same bug. Video clips(flv) with transparent backgrounds, when imported into Storyline 2, appear with black backgrounds when the slide is previewed and published. The same video clips from E-learning bro's are fully transparent and are okay in Storyline 1.

Found this temporary fix. You however, need access to Storyline 1.

Save the slide containing the imported video clip(with the transparent background) in Storyine 1. Import this slide into Storyline 2. When previewed in Storyline 2 the transparent background now appears. NO black background while playing!

Normal rules apply when publishing.

The video transparency slide now works on the web and in mobile devices like the IPad using the Articulate player app via Storyline 2.

Looking forward to the next update as Storyline 2 is a great product.

Belen Ferrer

Hi Ashley & Articulate team,

I've been following this thread and was wondering: Is there a place where users can see what's being worked on by Articulate currently? Not an ETA, but a list of things that are being worked on and things that are on the docket to be worked on?

If it doesn't already exist, I think this would be useful! 

Let me know if there's a version of this out there already. 

Thanks, and I hope alpha-channel functionality as described in this post is restored soon.

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