controlling a loaded video (a swf made with flix)

[bingwah]

I have a swf which contains a rather large video file. I made the swf using Wildform Flix Lite. The swf is about 12 megs and the video is about 3 minutes long. I am loading it into a movie clip in another swf which acts as a holder for the video. The holder has controls such as play, stop, ff, rew, and pause. All these controls work fine on the video but the audio sometimes stops if I use any of the controls. Sometimes it stops, sometimes it doesn't. It seems to happen randomly.

I'm thinking it may have something to do with the source video but I don't know enough about video to be sure. The source video was an AVI made with Adobe Premiere. I then took that video and used Wildform Flix to make it a swf. Maybe the length of the video is afffecting the audio?

Has anyone encountered a problem like this? I have used this same technique on another swf (about 4 megs and 1 minute long) which was made with Flix and it worked perfectly (video and audio). That source video was an mpeg.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Jonathan_B]

Hi.
The source video should have no effect. Once the video is converted into SWF it's a SWF - doesn't matter what the source is.
It could be the size of the file (in relation to the computer it is being played on), it could be the controls you are using (which might be buggy), or it could be the Flash player version you are using (which may be buggy).
There are known issues with using the Flash player to create video controls. However, you should be able to get acceptable results.

jb
http://www.wildform.com

[bingwah]

What are some of the known issues regarding flash video and controls?
In the code for the controls I'm using I make no reference to sound at all. I'm loading the video swf into a movie clip (loader) in another swf using loadmovie. My fast forward control basically says take loader._currentframe and add 4 frames to it so that the video has the effect of fast-forwarding. It's pretty basic video controls.

The thing that's really bugging me is that sometimes the sound comes on and sometimes it doesn't.

Any idea how file size would create this problem?

Thanks for your input!

[Jonathan_B]

Does the problem occur on all computers? Have you tried it on others? What version of the Flash player are you using (you may want to try installing the latest version)?
Where did you get the code you are using for the FF and REW buttons?
Does the problem occur after a certain sequence of events?
If you go to one of the video demos on our site does the same thing happen if you select the FF and REW buttons?
jb
http://www.wildform.com

[bingwah]

The problem occurs on every computer I've tried it on (3 diff PCs). I'm using the latest version of the Flash Player. I made the code for the FF and Rew buttons. Like I said before they work perfectly on a different swf video I made. It seems to be a problem with this particular swf.

The problem doesn't occur after any specific chain of events. Basically the video starts and will be running fine with the sound in sync. If I hit pause and then hit play the video will start playing again, sometimes with the sound and sometimes without it. The same thing occurs if I use the FF and Rew buttons. Ignore the FF and Rew buttons for a second. Let's just assume they're buggy and I've taken them out. The problem occurs with the pause button which has code that says loader.stop(); and then the play button has loader.play(). That's all, and the problem still occurs.

I don't think it's the file size because I tried editing the video down to about 20 seconds and I still get the same problem.

I checked out the video demos on your site and they worked fine.

[Jonathan_B]

Was the SWF framerate different from the SWF that worked to the SWF that doesn't work?

[bingwah]

both frame rates are 30

[Jonathan_B]

Any reason why you're using such a high framerate?
Can you post both the one that works and the one that doesn't work for me to check out?

[bingwah]

I thought a lower framerate would slow the movie down. Is that not the case?

Unfortunately I can't post either because they are confidential work for a client. I know it's probably near impossible to help me out without looking at the files but thanks anyway. I was just wondering if anyone else had the same problems as I had. Thanks a lot for your help! I'm sure this one will keep me up late.

[Jonathan_B]

The video framerate determines what speed the video plays at. If you want a video framerate of 30 fps, then you have to have a swf framerate of 30. But if your video framerate is lower, you can use a lower swf framerate.
You may want to experiment with that.
Also, if you want to email me the links, I'll check them out and keep them confidential.
jb@wildform.com

[bingwah]

I tried lowering the framerate on both the swf being loaded and the swf that loads it and it worked! I still don't really understand why but it definitely works perfectly now. Thanks a lot for all your suggestions and help, its much appreciated!