Digital Workshop

I'm baffled - hopefully even writing out the question will help me think of an answer!

I've created a presentation for a customer - It's 7 talking slides which automatically move on from one slide to the next to tell his story.

We've been building such presentations for some years - there's nothing extraordinary in it as far as I know.

It runs perfectly on every test pc here (from an ancient XP home with 248mb ram to vista laptops to a Windows 7 i7 with 16 gb ram).

But: The client has 5 demonstration laptops. All XP pro. On three of them it plays perfectly, but on two it freezes at the end of a certain screen.

Because I can't replicate the error, I can't figure what to change.

And because he's the client, I can't keep sending him copies to test.

So I'm trying to work blind.

What have other users come across that would cause a presentation to freeze on one machine but not another?

All suggestions appreciated. I can send a link to download the published file if someone wants: please email me linda at rossiterandco.com

Thanks, Linda

Graphics drivers-----very often the cause of laptop problems. Try downloading the latest drivers. Sometimes there are no updates, but look here viewtopic.php?t=2667&highlight=graphics+drivers
good luck.

2 people have offered to take a look, many thanks.

In replying to them, I'm fairly sure the problem lies with a video clip within the presentation.

Until last year I always used mpg clips.

But increasingly I found problems with playback on vista and win7 (I have to cover all OS's) so recently I'd moved to wmvs, which seemed more successful.

However, assuming that it's the wmv clip that's causing the presentation to crash, is there any video format that plays on all os's through Opus?

Or is the wmv ok, but i need to change the video setting?

Thanks, Linda

The video would be my first assumption having seen the wmv file that you sent. I'll have a closer look when the imp arrives.

Contrary to you, I'd say that wmv is less stable than mpg which is the only format beside the aforementioned that is available in Windows by default.

Your only other option is to use Flash Video which is now supported under Opus 7.0 which would also remove that damn flicker as Aero turns off!

BTW, it did crash on a desktop machine running XP. Are your clients machines SP3 and have the latest WMP install as it might simply be an old codec issue?

Regards,

Mack

Thanks very much. I'm relieved to be able to test it on someone other than the client!

They're running xp sp3.

But they want to be able to send it out to clients so it needs to work regardless of whether they've updated the wmv codec - just getting it working on their laptops wouldn't be enough.

So: I'll test it with an mpg tomorrow, and send you a new version, if you don't mind.

You mentioned flash video. We've had a lot of new work in this month, and I've not yet had the time to look at Opus 7.

So it supports flvs? Just as-is, or does the pc need something installed to play back?

I'll go and read the spec - you've got me excited!

Linda

You'll need flash.

I posted a load of information about this in reply to somebody's else question before Christmas. It works really well.

Okay, just finished testing, it's the codec. I'd bet the other laptops aren't running the latest WMP - hence the discrepancy. I updated to v11 on the test machine from v9 and the publication run fine now.

Mack

Right, I've just paid for the new version.

Meanwhile, thanks very much for telling me what's wrong with the current one.

Can I have your opinion as to what I should do about it?...

> Produce an earlier wmv version (would this make a difference?)

> Replace with an mpg clip

> Tell him he has to update wmp (I'm loathe to do this though)

> Install v7 and replace with an flv?

Presumably I can still get hold of v9 wmp - I'lll install it on one of the pcs here for testing.

Thanks again, Linda

You can pick up old versions of anything here:

http://www.oldversion.com/

but it won't help, I think. I encode as WMV8 and it still failed but then older versions weren't exactly known for their stability.

Yes, the client should upgrade the WMP, this was an option for SP3 anyway I think but this probably isn't practical.

I guess the best solution would be MPG at this point. I know it normally comes highly recommend by Fred and I think he has the most experience in this area so it should be safe bet. What are you encoding with?

Mack

The video was actually supplied by the client (!) but I'm encoding with Adobe CS4 so I can turn it into anything...

Having paid for Opus v7 last night, I guess I'll get a download link today.

If I upgraded the presentation would I be able to use an flv video?

Thanks, Linda

Many thanks for all the help.

I sent the client's IT department the link as seen below.

It clearly says that v9 is for windows 98, SE, Me and 2000 only.

They instantly decided that their XP machines were out of date.

So they've updated and it all works again.

Off to experiment with flvs.....

Linda

If memory serves me, then you need to use a VP6 encoded video in a SWF for an Opus publication but you can use FLVs (still VP6) in Flex directly.

Mack