Templot Club Archive 2007-2020                             

topic: 3802Downloading video Files for stand-alone use
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posted: 24 Oct 2020 00:37

from:

Rob Manchester
 
Manchester - United Kingdom

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Hi Martin,
I thought I had asked this some time ago but searching didn't come up with anything.

How does a user with a stand-alone device that doesn't have internet connectivity watch a video such as this one http://templot.com/companion/switch_close_behind_crossing.php

The 'user' concerned is very old and quite slow to pick things up but has made good progress with Templot over the years. I can't visit him due to the current rules on meeting with people so just wanted to take the easy route and post him a CD with this ( and maybe other ) files on so he could watch them. It would be better to do it this way if possible as he has small screens on both his Templot system and the non-connected device.

Thanks
Rob


posted: 24 Oct 2020 09:08

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Rob Manchester wrote:
How does a user with a stand-alone device that doesn't have internet connectivity watch a video such as this one http://templot.com/companion/switch_close_behind_crossing.php
Hi Rob,

The downloaded FBR video files can be found at:

 C:\TEMPLOT_DEV\VIDEO-FILES\

(or wherever you installed Templot).

Templot video files contain interactive stop/start pauses, so that you can read the text notes.

To watch them, you must use an FBR video player -- otherwise they won't pause and will be largely meaningless to watch as the text notes flash on and off.

That means to watch them offline they must be played

1. in the Templot Video Player, which is installed as part of Templot,

or alternatively

2. watch them online instead at FlashBackConnect.

(Unfortunately that means they won't work properly on a device which doesn't have Templot installed on it AND is not connected to the internet. You must have one or the other.)



I created a system using a separate downloader executable which is part of Templot, and which uses small text-based SK5 data files to download and play (or replay previously downloaded) FBR videos in the Templot Video Player. The downloader also checks the MD5 hash to ensure the FBR file is not corrupted.

It worked (and still works) great. In Firefox it is largely seamless. In other browsers it needs one extra click to open the linked SK5 file in the downloader.

However, I got so fed up explaining this over and over again to users who didn't know what to do with SK5 files (just open them!), or where to find them on their system, or complaining that 3rd-party antivirus programs wouldn't let SK5 files be downloaded, or opened, or accessed, that I have stopped using the system or creating new SK5 files. Or regarding the native FBR videos as the primary delivery means for Templot videos.

It's a shame, because although FlashBackConnect have improved the quality of their online MP4 videos, and now include the full interactive stop/start functions in them, the image quality is still inferior to the native lossless FBR videos, and the MP4 file size is massively increased for those with broadband quotas.



If you click the link at:

 http://templot.com/companion/switch_close_behind_crossing.php

you will be downloading an SK5 file and opening it in the downloader. The downloader will download the relevant FBR video file and open it in the Templot Video Player.

The downloaded FBR video file can be found at:

 C:\TEMPLOT_DEV\VIDEO-FILES\

(or wherever you installed Templot).

You can send that FBR file to anyone who has installed Templot on their system. If they click/double-click on it, it should open in the Templot Video Player.

(If it doesn't, in Templot go to the help > video player menu item. The Templot Video Player will open. On it, click the File > Open menu item and navigate to the FBR file, on a CD, USB stick, or wherever).



Alternatively, if you watch that video on FlashBackConnect instead:

 http://flashbackconnect.com/Movie.aspx?id=BDXvSdUuD-vmjFK4us4vxA2

2_240329_070000000.png2_240329_070000000.png

You can download the FBR video file by clicking the Download button.

Where you put it or what you do with it is up to you, but it will play only in the Templot Video Player (which needs Templot installed on the system), or in the FlashBack editor/player -- a free version can be downloaded from:

 http://www.flashbackrecorder.com/express

(scroll down for the free version)

cheers,

Martin.

posted: 24 Oct 2020 22:02

from:

Trevor Walling
 
United Kingdom

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Hello,
The HDMI socket on tv's is often a route to a larger screen for users that is overlooked as many laptops or desktops come with HDMI sockets these days.
Regards
Trevor:)

posted: 24 Oct 2020 23:19

from:

Rob Manchester
 
Manchester - United Kingdom

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Hi Martin,
Thanks for the lengthy reply. Did we both miss a trick here ? Templot Video player has a "Create Standalone exe" menu item - does this not bundle the video content and a micro-player into an executable which will then run on standalone sytems that don't have Templot.

Rob


posted: 25 Oct 2020 00:37

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Rob Manchester wrote:
Thanks for the lengthy reply. Did we both miss a trick here ? Templot Video player has a "Create Standalone exe" menu item - does this not bundle the video content and a micro-player into an executable which will then run on standalone sytems that don't have Templot.
Hi Rob,

Yes it does (for running on Windows systems, no good for mobile devices), or stand-alone executables can be created directly from the FBR recorder/editor.

The problem is how to distribute an exe? You immediately run into security issues with Windows warnings, downloaded executables in browsers being blocked, anti-virus programs blocking them, firewalls refusing to allow them through, etc.

I'm just getting too old and tired to keep dealing with the endless user support that would throw up. I used a similar system for the old Camtasia executable AVI videos, but web security has tightened up a lot since then.

The only practical way is to include the executable player as part of the Templot installation as we are doing. It then inherits the permissions from Templot, and the FBR video files are non-executable and can be distributed separately easily.

However, the latest Templot videos are the recorded extracts from the live session I did a few weeks ago. Those don't have any significant interactive content. So they could be downloaded or streamed as ordinary MP4 files on any device. But without interactive content I don't know how to link them back to the relevant pages of the Companion, to replace the detailed text explanations as in the interactive videos.

I'm in two minds about the best way forward. What I do know is that supporting Templot is a major pain compared with the enjoyment I get from working on the program code and developing new features.

cheers,

Martin.

posted: 25 Oct 2020 00:42

from:

Rob Manchester
 
Manchester - United Kingdom

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Martin Wynne wrote:


I'm in two minds about the best way forward. What I do know is that supporting Templot is a major pain compared with the enjoyment I get from working on the program code and developing new features.

cheers,

Martin.
Hi Martin,
Yes, I can understand the support issues :(
Anyhow, problem solved relating to my original question so thank you.
Rob




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