Black Background Around Replay Videos

Hi there, Ned.  We're exploring this issue where Replay is adding width to screen recordings beyond what you set in the dimensions.  This is only occurring on some instances of Replay.

To help us nail down the root, could you share some details with me?

• Windows version
• Replay version (Help > About Replay)
• Whether this happens on all recordings (landscape, portrait, full screen)

In the meantime, I'll add this discussion to our report so we can keep you updated with any changes.

Hi Crystal,

Thanks for your reply. I am using Windows 10 Pro (64-bit OS version) and Replay 360 version 2.20.16882.0. I have tried a number of different sized recording windows in both portrait and landscape and the results are always the same. If I do a full screen recording, there is no spare space around the video recording window and hence no black space is created.

Before going any further, I should just check that I am not doing something wrong. The way I am inserting a Replay video into Storyline is to record the video, edit as necessary and then publish the Replay project to a video file. I then insert that video file into my Storyline project.

The black area around the video is created within Replay and forms part of the published video file. If I drag the sizing handles on the video to reduce its size once it is in the Storyline slide, the white background on the slide is revealed underneath, but the black space still remains within the video sizing box.

Thanks, Ned for that additional info. I know we've seen a small number of reports of this where some black spacing is added to the width of the video while in Storyline.

I'd love to take a look a look at your file to confirm it's the same issue and then I can share that with our team as a part of the report we have filed. Are you able to share the .mp4 from Replay and the .story file here with us? If you'd prefer to share privately, you can also upload it to me here.

Hi Ashley,

At this stage I haven't yet included any Replay videos in my current project and have simply been testing them on a single Storyline slide whilst trying to resolve the black space problem. As a result, I don't really have a .story file to forward to you. I have, however, attached a short test .mp4 file from Replay that will highlight the problem.

I have used videos direct from Storyline in my project and they look great, but I am keen to use the additional editing power of Replay if possible, but I can't do that if I can't get rid of the black space.

Thanks, Ned for sharing that file. I took a look at the MP4 and then added it into my own Storyline file, and both showed the black edges. This matches the bug Crystal mentioned earlier where some Replay videos are adding width to the set dimensions of the original video and causing those black bars. This will be a helpful example for our team to take a look at! 

Can you also let me know what your screen resolution is? I'd like to include that in the bug report. 

Hi Ashley,

I use an HP ZBook Studio G4 laptop with a Xeon processor and 16 Gb of RAM with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080.

One other thing I should point out; both yourself and Crystal talk about Replay adding width to videos, it also adds height as well.  If you record a video where you have reduced the height of the recording window relative to the width, the black bars will appear above and below the video as opposed to at either end.

Thanks, Ned for that detail on your setup. I'll also add the piece about height to the bug as our team investigates. 

Hi,

I have used replay without problems in the past but am experiencing the same issue  as described by Ned where all the videos created have the black border around it. Have tried various screen settings too.

It works fine when video created from within storyline but I would like to use these videos directly in Rise.  Appreciate any feedback 

Have noticed the black background only appears when I deviate from the standard screen settings ie stretch the frame to my required setting which is essential in this project as the focus area does not fit in the frame.

Hi Shilpa,

That's an issue our team has seen too, and we're continuing to investigate. While we keep working on that, if you need to record a video have you looked into using Peek? Those can be added directly into Rise as well, and they also export as an MP4.