Digital Workshop

Problem is that when using trying to add video to one of my presentations I am hitting snags.

1.. Video will only work when 'on top'

2. Once published as a stand alone presentation and transferred to CD videofile does transfer but will not show during presentation.



any help out there.

Danny

Hi,

Thank you for your enquiry.

It sounds as though you may be using AVI files encoded with a non-standard or incorrectly-installed codec. This is causing Opus problems when trying to render the video file or display it in Chroma Key mode. It also sounds as though the machine upon which you are testing the resulting CD does not have this codec installed, hence the video is not being displayed.

You can determine what codec has been used to encode an AVI video using the GSpot Codec Information Appliance (http://www.headbands.com/gspot)

To ensure maximum compatibility, reliability and streaming performance, I always recommend using MPEG-1 video. Try converting your current video files to this format and see if the problems are still apparent. As the Microsoft MPEG-1 decoder has been included in all versions of Windows (since Windows 95), your end-users should encounter no problems viewing this type of video.

Kind regards,

Robin

Thank you,

I took the easy way out and conveted the video to MPEG 1 and this is working well. The video camera that shot the film was MPEG 2 so that was the main problem.

Again a first class back up system that is second to none.

Danny

Hi,

Thank you for your enquiry.

Most MPEG-2 decoders do not allow video to be run in rendered or Chroma Key mode as this would allow the movie to be captured using video capture or frame server software (hence bypassing the CSS protection mechanism used on commercial DVDs). The MPEG-2 decoder will therefore only allow the video to be played 'On Top' which forces the video stream to be handled directly by the video hardware and prevents the video stream from being captured using software.

I believe that there are some high-end MPEG-2 decoders which will allow the video to be run in rendered mode, but these are usually only available through agreement with the MPEG-2 patent holders and priced at a level prohibitive to anyone but major video production companies.

The other major problem with MPEG-2 video is that only systems which have a software DVD decoder installed (such as Cyberlink PowerDVD or Intervideo WinDVD) will be able to play these files. If your end-user does not have a DVD-ROM drive, they are unlikely to have this kind of software installed and will be unable to view your video files.

It is therefore best to use MPEG-1 for all video requirements, unless you are certain that your end-users have the capability of viewing an alternative format.

Kind regards,