playing .flv media file

[ldelaney]

Can anyone tell me how to insert a .flv file in my web page

[millie]

Re: playing .flv media file

Hi

You may have to convert your flv to a format that is compatible to windows media player, quicktime or real. Google the free flv converter.

Cheers

Millie

https://www.subeagl.com

[Hester]

Re: playing .flv media file

I actually use .flv files on my site, but I need to use an external player.

You can download a free player (the one I use) from here:

http://www.longtailvideo.com/

and all you need to do is upload the player to your file manager... /public_html - any folder you want - and then copy the link to that location. (I pasted it to a text file I have saved for easy access... I recommend you do that because you'll have to copy/paste a couple things and this will save time of going back and forth).

Then you upload the .flv video file to your file manager as well. Maybe the same folder as the player. copy that link location now - (paste it to the text file under the link you just copied for the player).

Then, you go to this page and set up the player:

http://www.longtailvideo.com/support/jw-player-setup-wizard

There are lots of features to play with. Feel free to experiment but the ones you need to be most concerned with are:

Embed parameters:

source: * paste the link to the player that you uploaded - the .swf file *
height: * type the height you want the player to be *
width: * type the width of the player *

--

File properties:

file: * paste the link to the file - the .flv file *

--

That's it. (for the basics)

Click on the "update preview and code" to see the preview of the movie. You can play it and see what it'll look like and all that. (and from there, you can customize where the control bar is, adjust the way the movie fits the screen, etc).

Once you have tweaked it to your liking, on the very bottom is says "Copy your Code" and you will need to click the "For blogs and sites like MySpace, use the embed code."

Copy that embed code and then paste it to a new HTML window on your page in BlueVoda. (Assuming you're using BV... it could be anything, I guess. It's just an HTML embed code).

Then preview the page and it should work. :)

[millie]

Re: playing .flv media file

Thank you George

So that is how it is done. What I do is covnert my flv to avi. This way, I save a step.

Thanks

Millie

https://www.subeagle.com

[ahimsa]

Re: playing .flv media file

Hi George,
nice explanation.....thanks for the tip,
david

[ldelaney]

Re: playing .flv media file

Hi George, Thank you for that detailed explanation. It sounds a bit complicated for a "private" like me, but I will certainly give it a go. (I may need to come back to you for more help !!!). Liam (ldelaney).

[Hester]

Re: playing .flv media file

Liam,

Trust me... it's not simple the first time doing anything like this. I hope my list of instructions aren't too complicated to read. Sorry if I went way over your head with my earlier post.

A friend of mine suggested I use this player when I was asking the same question about .flv movies on my site. Needless to say, his description of what to do left much to be desired. I actually sat on it for weeks before I could figure out how to get it to work. :)

If you need a step-by-step in more detail than I have here, I can try... the last thing I'd want to do is make it totally confusing. But the good thing is that once you get the player uploaded and you've gone through all of this for the first time, it's really a piece of cake if you ever need to do it again.

A few things to do that will save you loads of time later:

- Bookmark the second link I posted (the Setup Wizard page)
- Create a folder for the player and your videos and use this folder for ALL of your .flv movies. (you can name it anything. "videos" would be a given). :)
- copy/paste the link to your .swf player and a 'blank' .flv link to a text file on your desktop or in a folder with your other BV/website files for easy access later on.

example of what you should have on your text file:

player URL - http://www.yoursite.com/video/player.swf
blank file URL - http://www.yoursite.com/video/.flv

* Note - leaving it blank as just video/.flv makes it easy for you to manually enter the file name later on without actually going into your file manager, copying the link and then pasting it. I would suggest naming each .flv file you upload as something very simple and short - something you can easily remember.

If you do all that, the steps on adding future videos to your website will be a breeze. All you would have to do is note the name of the .flv movie, upload it and just go straight to the Setup Wizard that you bookmarked. Open the text file with the two addresses on it and copy/paste the .swf URL to the "source" and the blank .flv URL to the "file". Simply type the file name from the video you just uploaded like so - /video/filename.flv - and the rest if history.

Good luck, and I'll be around if you have any questions. :)