Video Starts In Middle Instead of at the Beginning

May 14, 2020

Wondering if you can help.  I have inserted a video and for some reason after clicking the play button, the video starts in the middle versus at the beginning of the video.  I have checked and rechecked my settings/triggers/etc. and when I preview the video using the video tools, the full video does play from the beginning.  Thoughts?

21 Replies
Lauren Connelly

Hi Susan!

This doesn't sound right! Let's start with a few troubleshooting questions.

  • Is the video embedded from a website?
  • Are you noticing this when replaying a slide or even when starting the course from the beginning?
  • Have you tried publishing the course and seeing if it behaves the same on Review 360 or another web output?
  • Which version of Storyline are you using?

These questions will get us started! I'm eager to see what the fix is.

Robert Leier

I have noticed the same problem using Storyline 360. I embedded a 30 second video into a slide as a file, not from a website. The video is placed on the timeline to start about 20 seconds into the slide. Whenever I run the slide in design mode, it always starts the video somewhere just after the middle, and appears to start from that same middle spot every time I run it. The same thing happens when running it in preview mode if I scrub ahead any amount. If I run in preview mode without touching the seekbar, the video starts at the beginning.

Becca Levan

Hello Ashley, and welcome to E-Learning Heroes! ⭐️

Sorry to hear you're hitting this issue as well, and I'm happy to help!

I'm not spotting any similar bugs reported, but here's where I'd start:

If things don't improve, our support engineers are happy to lend a hand! Feel free to upload your file so they can help troubleshoot further!

CONNECT WITH A SUPPORT ENGINEER.
Marni Levett

Same issue here. The video displays on the timeline about 1 minute into the slide. It's not set on a delayed start, but should start as soon as it's on the screen. Both in preview and when published to review360, it displays about half way through the video - and doesn't play every time. If I refresh, then it works. 

It almost sounds like the video doesn't completely load the first time the slide is shown. It reminds me of "preloading" scripts on websites to make sure they are there in the memory when they are needed. I'm wondering if there's a way to preload the videos so they are ready to go when the timeline calls for them. (I did read the article about how things are preloaded, but it doesn't seem to be doing the job - https://articulate.com/support/article/how-content-is-preloaded-in-storyline)

If there is a fix for this that could apply to everyone - it would be great if it was posted here so we don't have to send our files to support and overload you! :)

Kelly Auner

Hi Marni,

I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing an issue with your video playing at the incorrect time. I'm happy to help troubleshoot.

  • Are you working from your local drive? Working from a network drive can cause erratic behavior. 
  • Do you have the most up-to-date version of Storyline installed on your machine? We're currently on Build 3.68.28887.0.
  • If you have the latest update and you still encounter the same issue, you can try closing Storyline, duplicating your project file, and renaming it.

If the issue still persists, I'd like to take a look at your file. You can share it here or privately in a support case. We'll delete it from our systems once troubleshooting is complete.

Heather  Sternitzky

8/30/23 -- Still an issue. 

In my case, I have 2 videos. One that plays from 0 - 27 seconds on the timeline, then the other is supposed to pick up at 27 seconds. I moved it to that spot on the timeline (didn't cut it short just moved the entire asset) and it seems like it picks up at the 27 mark of the video itself. The 2nd video is 30 seconds, so essentially it only plays the last 3 seconds. This is true in the edit mode and when I published it. 

Oddly enough, when I preview within Storyline, the videos seem to play correctly. Unfortunately, as soon as I went to Review to look at the course, the same issue was happening. 

Steven Benassi

Hi Heather!

I'm so sorry to hear you're also experiencing issues with videos playing at incorrect times! I'm happy to help troubleshoot and have some follow-up questions to start.

It would be helpful to take a closer look at the affected file so we can test the behavior on our end. Would you be willing to share a copy here in this discussion or privately through a support case? We'll delete it from our system as soon as we're finished!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Heather  Sternitzky

Hi Steven, 

Thanks for the reply. Both videos are mp4 format downloaded to my local computer, and the Storyline is also on my local computer. I have not tried the repair, but I will try that today. I will also send the file as a support case so your team can get eyes on it and hopefully provide more guidance if the repair doesn't fix the issue. 

Thanks!

Eric Santos

Hi Heather,

I appreciate the troubleshooting you've done, and thanks for reporting this in a support case as well! I see you've connected with my teammate, Georvy; you're in good hands!

I encourage you to continue troubleshooting with him so that we can find a fix. Please let me know if I can assist with anything else.

Carol Payne

12/28/23 - still an issue.

In my case I have three screen captures I've recorded using the "Record your screen" option in Storyline.  The first time it goes through fine, but after that the video never seems to reset to the beginning of the recording.... which basically means I can't get the audio and video synced because I never know where the video truly is.   When I go to edit the video in Storyline, it works fine... it just doesn't want to start from the beginning when it's played on the timeline (either in storyline or when using the "Preview This Slide" function.

Has anyone figured this out yet?

Lauren Connelly

Hi Carol!

Thanks for sharing these details with us! Some have found success with turning off OneDrive or another backup that syncs your files automatically. Have you tried that? If that doesn't do the trick, it would be helpful to see your project file. You can share that with us in this discussion or privately in a support case.