Flash Video in Captivate?

I've used Captivate for a while now to create basic web-based
courses that are launched from our internal LMS. Now I would like
to include some video that I have converted into Flash Video. Where
do I start with this? Can I just point to the file on a network
drive or must I "stream" the video from a media server?
Has anyone successfully done this before? What steps did you
take? What were some pitfalls?
Thanks!

I use videos in our courses and normally we just include them
as an asset in the SCORM package.
It all depends on the speed of your LMS and the geography
involved. Are you distributing courses on your LMS through a
corporate LAN? Are you distributing courses to Asia? The bandwidth
can be a showstopper, but it all depends on how big the videos are.
How many users needs to view the videos and how many will view them
at the same time - the question is if your LMS can cope with
delivering videocontent to say 50 users at the same time.
We distribute courses through our LMS located in Europe to
countries all over the world. In the beginning we had some issues
with users from USA and users from Thailand and China.
The thing we did to make it work better was to compress the
videos even more. We have reached a level of acceptable video
quality and acceptable size, which seem to work worldwide.
There is no real recipe for how to do it - you need to test
and see the capabilities of your LMS and the bandwidth to your
users. A streaming solution could work if you just need one
streaming server located in one country. When we looked into it we
were looking at an extremely complicated (and very expensive) setup
with streamingservers located in various parts of the world.
Instead we solved it by recoding the videos again to compress them
more.

Similar Messages

Adding accessibility to a Flash Video in Captivate distorts the slide text

Greetings,
I need to add accessibility to a few 3 minute Flash Video files in Captivate. I tried to use closed captioning but it is distorting the text on the slide as there is so much text to provide. I have the transcription of the audio and could close caption it, assuming the displayed course does not then overwrite text elementsin the original slide. An image is attached to show this problem.
thoughts?
Thanks,
AMP

It always amazes me that the default size for CC text is so tiny. If CC text is supposed to be assisting users with disabilities or language issues what makes us think they have such exceptional vision they can read this miniscule text?
I don't think you issue is that the CC text 'distorts' the on screen text. I think you just need to ensure that the on screen text does not transgress into the area at the bottom of the screen where the CC text box will be.
I usually make my CC text 20 points and Verdana or Arial so that it is easier to read and I set the background opacity to 100 percent so that objects underneath the CC text do not make it any harder to read.

Importing Flash Video

I need some help. I have a video. The video is in an *.avi
format and in an *.swf format. When choosing to import a flash
video in Captivate 3, I can only select *.flv file. Can anyone
recommend software that will allow me to convert the avi or swf to
the format that Captivate can import?

You'll probably need to get Flash. The FLV (Flash video)
encoder comes with
Flash 8 or higher.
It's a separate program and takes in avi's or other video
formats and
outputs FLV. It will not convert a SWF to FLV -- FLV is a
video format not a
Flash format, if that makes sense.
Contact me offline if you need further explanation.
Marc Lee
[email protected]
"Turnerbk" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:fce4gr$ohn$[email protected]..
> I need some help. I have a video. The video is in an
*.avi format and in
an
> *.swf format. When choosing to import a flash video in
Captivate 3, I can
only
> select *.flv file. Can anyone recommend software that
will allow me to
convert
> the avi or swf to the format that Captivate can import?
>

RE: captivate flash video output may not be proper

flash video cannot be loaded. the output may not be proper
What does this mean? I am inserting .flv files so why do I
get this message when I try to publish captivate projects? What can
I do about it?

I stumbled across a solution to this in a moment of desperation. If you put the video file back into Adobe media encoder and convert it to an FLV (even if the file is already an FLV), then it seems to sort itself out.
When you insert a video file, like an mp4, captivate automatically configures it as an FLV so my assumption is that the "not proper" error happens because of something (bad magic, maybe) during this process. Since discovering this I always encode videos as FLVs in Adobe Media encoder before inserting them into the captivate file. Not had a problem like this since (touch wood).

Flash video not running in Captivate 7

Hi. I created an .swf file that has a short Flash video (.flv) file and audio file associated with the very first slide. The audio runs fine, but the .flv file does not run. Instead, I get "connection error" notice where the video should display.
Any clue why this is occurring and how I can get the .flv file to run?
Thanks,
- Michael Fekete

Placing video and audio on the very first slide of a project is never a good idea. Put them on the second slide at least. With video, you might end up significantly delaying the playback start if it's too heavy.
If you're testing this on your local hard drive, your issue might be due to Flash Global Security settings. Read this post:
http://www.infosemantics.com.au/adobe-captivate-troubleshooting/how-to-set-up-flash-global -security
If you're testing this from a web server, your issue might be that the web server is not set up to serve FLV files. Talk to your server admin to verify the FLV mime-type is supported. If you are able to link directly to the FLV file on the web server, try to play it in your browser directly. If that works, then the mime-type is supported but your connection error might be something else, e.g. using spaces in filenames, using mixed case filenames on a web server that doesn't handle mixed case without breaking links etc. Lots of potential reasons.

Flash Video Not Playing in Captivate Project

I've put in a flv video at the beginning of a Captivate Project. When I press F4 from within the project, it works fine - flash video slide works, transitions into Captivate build, etc. However, when I publish the file as a Flash Project and then try and open the HTML link from within the published folder, I am told that there is a Connection Error. The project proceeds, progresses until the Captivate portion of the project comes up and works fine from there.
Any ideas or suggestions?

Have you copied the FLV file into the same folder as the published SWF? Captivate doesn't do this automatically for you.

Captivate 6 Video Issue: "The flash video can not be loaded. The input may not be proper"

I've already published this particular project with multiple videos embedded with no problems in Captivate 6. I had to change one video and went to re-publish the project. Upon completing the publish, I receive an error message on EACH slide that has embedded video:
"The Flash Video Can Not Be Loaded. The Input May Not Be Proper"
There wasn't any issues with the project until changing the one video that needed to swapped out. I also tried publishing this in Captivate 8 to the same results.
Specs:
Windows 7 Pro
Captivate Version 6.1.1.240
Intel Core i5 25-20 CPU @ 2.5 Ghz
4 GB RAM
32-Bit Operating System
If anyone knows why this issue has presented itself and how we can get around it, much would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Jon

Hi there,
Thanks for reaching Adobe Community. Please accept my apologies for the inconvenience.
I am a little confused here. Are you getting this error while inserting a FLV video through Insert option or inserting a video through Video > Insert Slide Video or inserting a new slide?
Re-linking means reinserting the video file. If you have already tried reinserting the video file, then have you tried inserting a different video?
Also what operating system you have on your system?
Thanks!
Shekhar

Cp4 - Retain more than 1 Flash Video in slide to view independently

I have 3 rollover slidelets that each have a Flash video in each. The slidelet that contains the flash video is 'not visable' - (options properties).
The concept: The user hovers the mouse over one of three buttons. When finding the one to play the button is clicked to displayed the slidelet and flash video. The user then clicks on the video playbar to run the video. I 'loop' the video so that the video stays within the slide. I now want to select another clip, so I pause the open video and then click on another button. What happens is that this action closes the slide and moves onto the next slide.
I want to allow the user to select any video clip and play them at any time without closing the slide and moving to the next slide.
Slide 1 showing the positioning of the buttons and rollover slidelets containing the flash videos
Slide 2 shows the published slide ready for user activity
Kind regards,
s9500aol

Hi there
When you insert a Rollover Slidelet you get two objects on the stage. Just click OK on that dialog you posted and you will see. One object is the area your user mouses over. The other area presents what the user sees. The slidelet area has its own Timeline. You click the Slidelet area and it gains focus. You then insert the objects into this area.
Cheers... Rick
Helpful and Handy Links
Captivate Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form
Adobe Certified Captivate Training
SorcerStone Blog
Captivate eBooks

Linking to external video in Captivate 7

I develop video-based training. Each slide includes mostly video. I've been successfully embedding f4v videos into Captivate projects for some time but video quality and file size issues make it necessary to begin linking to videos on external servers.
I've tried a number of options without success.
I create a video event, choose the url option, and add the url from the uploaded video. The only usable server choice is the Adobe Media Streaming Service. I've tested the videos on different servers including Amazon since the troubleshooting advice alerted me that only Adobe partners servers will be recognized. The project previews and the progress bar moves as if the video is playing but only the background file is visible. I tried all the preview options - no luck.
I decided to try the YouTube widget. I uploaded test videos to YouTube, inserted the Interaction widget and added the url, etc. This option results in a successful preview only when I choose the html 5 output in web browser option. Captivate will successfully publish the project but I get "Java Script Error unable to acquire LMS, API content, may not play properly" messages.
The published file performs like all of the unsuccessful previews. The file loads and acts as if the videos are playing in that the progress bar moves but there is no video, just the slide background image. I tried different output settings like just SWF, just html5, both SWF and html5, different versions of the flash player, etc. I also added the output folder to the Flash Global Security settings in case it was a permissions issue.
I'm working on a mac so I emailed a zipped file to my PC and tried to open in Internet Explorer to see if the file might play on a different system or browser - same outcome - no luck.
Making external video work is critical to my work and use of Captivate so I'm hoping there's something I'm missing or misunderstanding about what I need to do.
Any help or advice will be appreciated.

I'm continuing to have problems with the YouTube widget. My client sent me YouTube links and when I copied and pasted the new links into the Captivate file and the published and uploaded the file, the links didn't work.
To review, I uploaded video files to YouTube and used the interactions widget to insert the linked videos. The videos which I uploaded can be previewed in html5 in web browser but not in any other way. When I publish this file and view the file on my system on my browser (Safari) the file opens but the videos do not play. However, when I upload to my ftp site and open the file from there, the linked YouTube videos play.
So this led me to believe that I have a file that will work at least in html5 output. But when I replace the original YouTube links that I uploaded with new links provided by my client the videos preview in html5 in web browser mode but do not play on my system or when uploaded to my ftp site. All of the videos (mine and my clients) play in YouTube and preview in html5 mode.
Additionally, when I ouput the html5 file, the quiz doesn't work properly. The radio buttons don't appear on screen so when answers are selected the user has no way of knowing their selections have been accepted. Oddly, the quiz is registering answers since when you submit there is a brief flash during which you can see the buttons but they quickly disappear and results are tallied accurately at the end. But the quiz is unusable without user feedback for selections. You can view this performance beginning on the sixth slide (the beginning of the quiz).
http://videoactive.org/PreventingObesityOnlinelinks/index.html
Are html5 output files compatible with Learning Management Systems? Is there a way to use the YouTube widget in SWF output files?

Unable to publish projects with inserted video - error message The Flash video can not be loaded

I've created a project in Captivate 6 with two slides that have inserted videos in them
Both the videos were created in Captivate 6 by publishing those projects as mp4 videos
They play fine in the previews but when publishing I get the error saying the Flash video can not be loaded for both of those slides and in the output files the area for the video is blank.
I have checked that the videos are not open anywhere else as I saw on a previous post this was the issue but the only place they are in use is in the project I am trying to publish.
Below are my settings and the error message
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Your screenshot indicates you are publishing to a folder on a network drive.
Have you:
Verified whether or not the video file exists at the published folder location? (It should ideally be sitting in the same folder as the SWF that calls it.)
Verified that the folder location is set up as a trusted location in your Flash Global Security settings?

Inserting a Flash video and the Bandwidth Monitor

I am new to Captivate, and I want to be sure I'm following
some practical guidelines for inserting Flash video in my Captivate
slides.
I know there are quite a few variables relating to practical
bandwidth usage--basically, we are creating elearning presenations
that will have "talking head" videos embedded within. These
presentations will be available for download via our LMS site, both
within the US and overseas.
I have utilized Captivate's Bandwidth Monitor to gauge the
bandwidth hit each video slide is responsible for. However, I don't
believe the numbers I'm getting back: because I've set each
embedded video to "Pause slide till end of video", all the slides
are reporting the same length in seconds, KB per sec and Video KB
numbers.
Can someone suggest a practical method for setting up the
videos such that the Bandwidth Monitor can interpret them
correctly? Can you also suggest a rule of thumb for maximum length
for each slide with an embedded video (320 X 240) in it?
Thanks in advance,
Carl

I am new to Captivate, and I want to be sure I'm following
some practical guidelines for inserting Flash video in my Captivate
slides.
I know there are quite a few variables relating to practical
bandwidth usage--basically, we are creating elearning presenations
that will have "talking head" videos embedded within. These
presentations will be available for download via our LMS site, both
within the US and overseas.
I have utilized Captivate's Bandwidth Monitor to gauge the
bandwidth hit each video slide is responsible for. However, I don't
believe the numbers I'm getting back: because I've set each
embedded video to "Pause slide till end of video", all the slides
are reporting the same length in seconds, KB per sec and Video KB
numbers.
Can someone suggest a practical method for setting up the
videos such that the Bandwidth Monitor can interpret them
correctly? Can you also suggest a rule of thumb for maximum length
for each slide with an embedded video (320 X 240) in it?
Thanks in advance,
Carl

When importing a flash animation into captivate flash will not call external files

Is there a way to import flash into captivate and it still be able to call external files (ie. sound, video xml)? When I import flash into captivate it will not call any external file.

Hi all
Wow, I was so hoping fellow Adobe Community Expert Paul Dewhurst would pop in on this thread.
Why? Well, Paul sent me a way cool gizmo a while back that hacked the Info button. It used an external file for some of the information! So somehow Paul managed to sort what it took to insert a Flash object into Captivate and have that object extract data from an externally located file.
Cheers... Rick
Helpful and Handy Links
Captivate Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form
Adobe Certified Captivate Training
SorcerStone Blog
Captivate eBooks

Flash Video Size

Hello,
I am looking for a general rule of thumb for flv video within
Captivate 2.0... here goes...
If one is using flv format to progressively stream video,
what is the recommended maximum file size for optimal download
using DSL? Cable? Even bandwidth of approximately 400 kb up and
down.? I have not experimented with this much but I would like to
know what to avoid. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly
appreciated. Thanks!

quote:
Originally posted by:
auctioneer
I'm old fashion and still work with tables.
What? Learn CSS! Anyway...
Why are you using Flash? Just import the FLV into Dreaweaver.
If you need to use flash make sure to resize the stage, and use a
skin that goes OVER the movie, otherwise you'll need a bigger stage
to see it.
As always - publishing the file and posting the URL will get
you a much better answer then the guesswork used here.

Flash Video Encoder Version Update

I have version 1.0 of the Flash Video Encoder. This came
bundled with Adobe Web Bundle (Macromedia Studio 8 - including
Flash Professional 8 and Adobe Creative Suite 2). I need version
1.2 or above in order to include metadata so my .flv files will
play in Captivate and on web pages. How can I get an upgrade of the
Encoder?

You are mistaken about that I think. There is a Flash Video
Exporter for MX 04 that can go up to version 1.2. The Flash Video
Encoder that comes with Flash Pro 8 only goes to 1.0.
http://www.adobe.com/support/documentation/en/flash/mx2004/readme/fmxpro2004_video.html
http://www.adobe.com/products/flash/flashpro/productinfo/encoder/
So, does Captivate say it needs V1.2 of the Exporter or the
Encoder? I don't have Flash MX04 so I don't know the
difference.

Flash Video Lost when Published

I included a flash video in my captivate project. It looks fine in the preview. When I published my project the flash video does not play it just displays a blank slide. I appreciate any advice.

Hi there
Where are you playing the file from? Did you copy it to a server or are you testing on your own PC and seeing the issue?
If you copied to a server, did you remember to copy the FLV file?
Cheers... Rick
Helpful and Handy Links
Captivate Wish Form/Bug Reporting Form
Adobe Certified Captivate Training
SorcerStone Blog
Captivate eBooks

Flash Video in Captivate?

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