Quicktime movie not loading in .exe

[wuzzle]

I have a Quicktime movie in a Director .exe. In my Flash program, I call the Director .exe and the movie plays.

I tested my Flash program on a test machine, and it asked me where my .mov file is. I added my .mov file to the proper directory, and now when I load up the Director .exe there's a big red X where my movie should appear.

Why is it doing this?

 

[kramerpup]

In my experience (I am assuming you're testing on a PC here), when I have gotten the "big red X," generally the quicktime player is missing on the PC on which I'm testing.

Alternatively, you might be missing a codec, though that typically happens more with .avi's.

Have you tried opening just the .mov file on the test machine?

TomK

 

[wuzzle]

I just tried playing only the .mov file and you're right - no Quicktime.

What is the best video format to use so that it will work a) without needing a plugin and
b) cross platform

?

I thought Quicktime is the best for cross platform, but if it needs a player it doesn't help me much.

 

[kramerpup]

Cross platform video is a tricky situation. I agree that Quicktime is more universal for the web, but I generally use .avi's as most of my director projects are designed for windows machines.

The problem with quicktime and pc's is that it's generally not bundled with pc browsers, and on the pc there's no native support of quicktime, because, well, Bill and Steve have this thing...

Anyway, the problems with avi's can be compunded by the fact that your user may not have the correct codec, or decompressor, to play the video. If you get sort of a gray window where your .avi should be, then you're probably missing the codec.

If your project needs to be universal, your pc users will have to download quicktime to view it. There's really no way of getting around it.

For a project to be universally playable, such as a cd, most developers include a copy of quicktime on the cd. For the web, check out technote 15087 on the MM site.

Hope all this rambling helps!

TomK

 

[wuzzle]

Your rambling was very useful to me!

I am actually not making this for the web, it's for a digital business card.

I guess my only solution is to package the Quicktime player with my Flash program. What file is it that I have to include exactly? Will the player have to install on their system or will it just be on the cd to support the movie files? (Kind of like how a Director or Flash .exe contains its own player without having to install)

Sorry I'm such a dimwit!

 

[kramerpup]

Haven't done an autoinstall with anything on a cd, some users might find this intrusive. If you use the example in the tech note I mentioned, you could direct the user to a frame or open a small movie in a window that would allow them to click on a link that would run the quicktime installer.

Go here:

http://developer.apple.com/mkt/swl/agreements.html#QuickTime

Find the link that says <self-contained installers>.

You will find the package there for your cd. I believe there's no obligation to Apple until distribution.

Just be aware of the legal implications of distributing the Apple software with your project.

TomK

Thanks for your question. I hadn't really investigated this far enough before. Now I know where to get the self-install kit! ;-)

 

[wuzzle]

Ok, I'm going to look into this over the weekend and see how much it can drive me up the wall. Expect more dimwit questions in the next day or 2

Thanks!