Forum Discussion
Videos freezing randomly
Hi. I've been struggling with 2 videos built by a vendor that need to be included in our LMS. I created a Storyline 360 module with both videos added. They are each 30 min in length (I know that's not ideal for a number of reasons). The issue I'm having is with the videos freezing in random places. We decreased the size of the files to MP4s because the original MOVs were huge, but we're still having issues with random freezing.
I'm wondering if it is browser related - so far, the people seeing this behavior were using Chrome.
One thing the vendor brought up is the bitrate. Does anyone know if there is a maximum recommended bitrate?
Thanks
Hi, Leah. Welcome to the community!
I'd be happy to work closely with you to find out why both videos are freezing. A few questions to help us narrow down the cause:
- What version of Chrome are you and your team using? An easy way to grab this detail is to go to http://supportally.com/
- Is the Video Compression feature enabled or disabled on both MP4 videos? If it's turned off, Storyline will publish what's given with no maximum bitrate. If it's turned on, the maximum will vary per video since Storyline will handle the compression.
-
Would you be able to share your .story file with me here? Feel free to add the project as a comment by using the Add Attachment button in your reply or send it privately via this link. I'll test in another LMS environment and let you know what I find!
I'll be here!
- LeahRickerCommunity Member
Hi Katie,
Thanks for responding.
The version of Chrome is: Version 71.0.3578.98 (Official Build) (64-bit)
The compression is set to Automatic for both videos. Perhaps we should try changing that?
I've shared the .story file privately via the link you provided.
Thanks!
~Leah
- RussellEngoranCommunity Member
Hi,
This page refers to fixing videos that do not progressively stream/play properly.
Might be worth a shot.https://articulate.com/support/article/mp4-movie-doesnt-begin-playing-until-it-has-fully-downloaded
I hope that helps.
Russ Good morning, Leah.
Thanks for sharing your file with me! I've replied in the case. Also, a great tip from Russell there on what to do when an MP4 file takes a while to play.
- BrianAucoinCommunity Member
Thx for your help Katie. Leah works on my team and I think she just provided the source mp4 video files also. To give you a sense of our audience, this LMS course will be going out to over 30, 000 staff which we have done before in our LMS system ( SABA) with other courses so we want to solve this freeze issue before we deploy.
Hi there, Brian. Thanks for this handy insight, and confirming receipt of both .MP4 files!
To keep you in the loop, I've enlisted the help of our Support Engineers so we can do a deep dive here. I'll follow the case along to share any relevant insight here – and let me know if I can help add your contact to the follow-up emails. 😊
- BrianAucoinCommunity Member
Katie,
We met with the SABA content consultant to look at the video freezing issue with Google Chrome. The Sl360 settings look good and the mp4 files we use in the SL360 are at the lowest compression for decent video quality so he thinks the issue may be with hardware acceleration in Chrome ( http://www.tomsguide.com/answers/id-2618854/google-chrome-freezing-playing-youtube-videos.html)
That browser adjustment didn't fix the issue and we are evaluating the embedded video option ( hosted either on Vimeo or Warpwire) in the SL360 project but that present issues with video quality and control.
Is it worth building and publishing this content in Storyline2 vs 360 to see if a "old fashioned" project works better? We haven't encountered this issue before across our 1000+ courses..now this one has a longer mp4 video than most but not the longest or largest . Those longer/larger mp4 files were published in SL2.
Hello, Brian. Appreciate you circling back with this update from SABA!
I've been keeping a pulse on Leah's case with one of our support rockstars, Renz, where I see he recommended to compress the videos further or to split them into smaller videos so they won't need any additional resizing. I'm going to share your LMS' findings with him so we can look into other approaches, as I would hate for you and your team to rebuild the project!
Also, Storyline 2 publishes Flash first with the ability to include the HTML5 output. I'm curious if the issue may lie in just the HTML5 output. Talk soon!
- LauraShelleyCommunity Member
Hi, I'm also having an issue with embedded videos freezing at random times. I have not personally been affected by this issue, but it is being reported by some of our employees. We require them to use Chrome. I have attached the Storyline file for one of the affected trainings.
Hi there, Laura!
Sorry you're at this obstacle. I can appreciate that it's frustrating when only a few learners are experiencing freezing while you're unable to replicate the behavior on your end.
I'm also unable to reproduce any issues in the published output on SCORM Cloud/Chrome 75, but I won't give up until we sort what's happening! Let's see if we can find a trend:
- Where did you host the published output?
- What version of Chrome are the affected learners using?
- What happens when they view my published output link on their machine?
- LauraShelleyCommunity Member
Hi Katie,
We're hosting the published output in a password protected directory on our website server. The version of Chrome used by an affected learner is Version 74.0.3729.169 (Official Build) (64-bit).