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It's been a while since this went out and I've been diligently following
the directions given here (and reading the list). I've learned a great
deal and would like to express my gratitude to the list, especially the
post by George...very, very helpful.
However, two new problems have reared their ugly heads and I'm not sure
what to do about it. Here's what's been done so far:
1) The movie was encoded (using Handbrake) as mp4
2) Encoded movie was then opened in QT Pro and exported as H264 .mp4 in
multiple versions (in order to accomodate a variety of connection speeds
and, yes, George, I was kidding about the 28 k modem version). The
exported product was then exported again as a hinted movie. So far so
good. The product was very nice and easily viewed.
3) MakeRefereneMov was then used and all versions were dragged and
dropped into a single MakeRef file.
4) The multiple versions were then uploaded to a single file in a
container on a web server
5) This movie is for a college class so a link to the MakeRef file was
created in a different container (this container is in Blackboard, a
software class management solution used extensively in higher education)
6) The link works perfectly on this Mac from my home connecting to the
institution's network from outside of said network.
Here are the problems:
1) The QT Ref movie opens up beautifully in a separate browser window (a
setting that was manually done in creating the Blackboard link).
However, clicking on the pull down menu at the bottom right hand corner
of the QT window, then selecting "Save as a QuickTime movie" allows the
user to save the entire video on the hard drive. As you all know, this
behavior is unacceptable and renders useless the video for online
purposes. I assumed (I know "Don't assume as you make an [donkey] out of
"u" and "me") that MakeRefMovie disallowed this, but perhaps I've not
set things up properly?
2) In attempting to access the video through the link using a PC, the QT
logo appears and suddenly a large question mark place itself over the
logo. ("O, merciful Creator, how have I offended Thee???")
These processes have taken an enormous amount of time as I'm coding and
encoding on a 500 MHZ processor and working through a 256 kbps pipe. So,
I beg of you on this list........
PLEASE HEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPP!
Thank you so much,
mark hertica
PS Sorry to scream so loudly, but all is better now...
George Cook wrote:
Mark:
You will need different versions of the movies at various bandwidths.
You could link to the individual streams and let your users pick.
Some information on linking to streams is here: http://
soundscreen.com/streaming/embed_streams.html). If you want to get
fancy, store a cookie and remember the user's selection.
You could used MakeRefMovie to create a reference movie that
references different streams for various bandwidths. Some information
on using MakeRefMovie is here: http://soundscreen.com/streaming/compress_hint.html#makerefmovie
Note that the reference movie goes on a *web* server. It doesn't
contain any movie data - it just points to urls that have the media.
You link to the ref movie like any other QuickTime movie.
Another approach is to use one a script that tests the users
connection speed, then dynamically generates a link on a page. This
is a generic approach that can also be used to redirect a user to a
different web site.
BTW, I hope you weren't really serious about a 28k dial-up modem.
Those users will have to wait for jpeg's, let alone streams! Even for
56k dial-up modem users it is often best to link to or reference a
media file on a web server instead of a streaming server. From a web
server the file will be delivered as fast as the connection will
handle. It may not playback in real-time, but dial-up modem users are
used to waiting ;-)
Note that you can use MakeRefMovie to create a reference movie that
delivers rtsp streams to users with faster connections, and http fast-
start movies to dial up users.
If you really want to stream to a 56k modem user, the video has to be
very small (i.e. 128x96 pixels or less) and the audio has to be low
bit-rate. A safe streaming data-rate for a 56k modem is 40kbits/
second. You can get halfway decent audio at that bit-rate, but video
+ audio streaming is pushing it. If you want better quality for low
bandwidth users, put your media on a web server and make them wait.
hope this helps,
-George
On Aug 18, 2006, at 8:00 PM, mark hertica wrote:
Charles,
I have not received Brad's response, thank you for your input. I
have viewed the HandBrake-encoded video on my computer and on the
video monitor in my classroom and they look just fine. I'm not
dealing with movie trailers, just instructional video and this
software seems to work well. (i.e., I ain't selling something here,
just trying to provide a convenient, pleasant learning experience)
I encoded the video directly from the DVD. It was encoded as MP4 and
AAC audio (very few steps, KISS method). I followed the
instructions on a "How-to" site explaining (with pictures!!) how to
use HandBrake. (I also remember Frank Fulchiero, I believe,
mentioning this software to another novice.)
I've just downloaded MakeRefMovie from Apple and am reading (while
furiously scratching my head) how to make reference movies for a
variety of connection speeds. My concern is that the content is
available to *all* those who have access to the website, whether
their connection speed is 28k dialup or DSL/cable or the T1
connection at the school. This is why I'm concerned about the size
of the files. So, if my understanding of your response is correct,
then the "secret" to this is not re-compressing the material but,
rather, creating different options to access the stream based upon
the client's connection speed.
This being the first time I've attempted something of this nature
and, having neither training nor experience in this field, I'm kind
of feeling my way through it. I've been reading the postings on this
list (and the streaming server list) for a couple of years now and
have learned a great deal from you all...and I'm extremely grateful,
but there is still so much to learn. (BTW I've consulted the wiki
several times, thanks.)
I, too, am all for open-source materials when appropriate. (Not that
I'm against capitalism or making a buck, but I operate on an adjunct
faculty personal budget. i.e., I have to purchase all of my own
software, hardware, materials, and training.)
Again, thank you,
mark
Charles wrote:
BTW, my response should not be interpreted as anti-DVDxDV (which
I've never
used). I mention it because it kind of came off that way, and I
didn't
intend for it to.
Instead, think of it as
"pro-not-spending-money-if-there-are-tools-that-are-as-good-as-or-
better-tha
n". FWIW, we use open source tools like the ones I mentioned in true
broadcast environments.
-- Charles
-----Original Message-----
From: quicktime-users-bounces+lists06=email@hidden
[mailto:quicktime-users-bounces
+lists06=email@hidden] On
Behalf Of Charles
Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 2:43 PM
To: email@hidden
Subject: RE: new @ this
Mark,
Handbrake totally destroys the quality of the video both in color
and in compression.
<slapping forehead> Brad sells DVDxDV, which competes with the free,
open-source Handbrake and similar tools (e.g. MPEG Streamclip,
ffmpegx).
You don't need to spend money to do what you need to do.
Ideally, you want to encode to your destination format from your
source
format in as few steps as possible. This means either going right
from the
DVD to MPEG-4/QuickTime files, or copying the VOB files off the DVD
and
encoding from those.
I am planning on creating hinted movies from these smaller files,
but I'm not sure if they are simply too big to stream.
Note that you can hint files without recompressing them. You
definitely
want to avoid recompressing already-heavily-compressed source.
-- Charles
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