I will try to summarize the technical requirements of my site. Here are the basics of controlling the videos on the site:
I was torn about the best way to deliver high quality content in an efficient manner. There were a lot of factors involved in the decision. Which player do I choose? How do I embed the movies? What level of quality are people wanting and expecting? etc…
I quickly came to the realization that I needed to draw a line in the sand… Unfortunately, not everyone is going to be able to experience the show to its full potential. That being said, here are some requirements to ensure proper playback:
- Browser:
I have tested in the following browsers on Mac and Windows based machines – IE6/7, Firefox 1.5+, Safari – Basically, any browser that is able to interpret JavaScript properly should work with the popup delivery method I am using.
- Movie Playback:
You NEED the LATEST Flash player (version 9.0.115.0 or later- get it here). This is where the line in the sand came into play… I went with Flash player – BUT – underneath, its really a H.264 mpeg movie. And realize that H.264 playback relies heavily on the CPU. What does this mean to you? In simple terms, you need a newer computer or the videos will just chunk along. Any computer purchased in the past few years will have no problem. And older machine should only have a problem with the HD version.
Another factor with playback is your display resolution. Everyone should be fine with the standard definition version as they are only 640×360 in resolution.
Now, the HD version is 720P… which is 1280×720 (+ the size of the player and pop window). So, if your browser window cannot support that large of a popup, the video will be scaled and frankly look like crap! So, if you see “jaggy” lines, its probably being scaled… poorly.
One tip, in most browsers you can hit F11 to get rid of all the tool bars (kind of a full screen mode). This will allow you to view the entire show the way it was intended… assuming you are running a screen resolution that will allow the BROWSER window to be displayed at 1300×800. When I say browser window, I mean the webpage content area – not including the tool/status bars and such.
That’s pretty much it… I realize some people will have issues or even suggestions on how to improve the experience. If you do, post them here and I will do my best to help.
Thanks for tuning-in!
