Viewer for .mp4?
 

I had a site submitted today that had videos in .mp4 format and I couldn't view them. I downloaded one and WinAmp and RealPlayer wouldn't play the vid. What do I need to view .mp4 videos? Do most surfers have the capability to view them? Am I just out of the loop or what?

Sorry about that Licker4 U. I was wondering when someone was going to have an issue with MP4 video freesite I made.

There are other players besides quicktime that will play mp4 movies.
Here is a list of some of them. I haven't actually used any of them.
http://www.divx-digest.com/software/...r_classic.html
http://www.leadcodecs.com/Codecs/LEAD-H264.htm
http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/info.html
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/...Codec_Pack.htm
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
http://www.elecard.com/products/prod...r/mpeg-player/
http://filehippo.com/download_quicktime_alternative/

There are also a bunch more listed over here.
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=95939

Also here is a plugin for WMP that claims to allow WMP to play H.264 vids
http://www.wmplugins.com/ItemDetail.aspx?ItemID=1129

http://www.videolan.org/ - Video Lan Client will do the trick.

Are my surfers going to have to download viewers to view the vids? When I click on a vid on a free site I want it to play without me having to do anything. I know my computer is two years old but if this is a new format how many surfers are going to have the software available to view the vids? Or am I just totally out of touch?

I believe this is what you want:

http://developer.apple.com/quicktime/compatibility.html

You would use that code in your gallery which would prompt the user to install the missing plugin. That would install the quicktime plugin rather than one of the alternatives, but, at least it would run. Its up to you whether you force your user to use Quicktime, or suggest alternates.

I believe I have this page properly coded (Sparky's posted code in another thread) to prompt the user to download the proper plugin if they don't have a player for mp4 files.

The problem is that usually movie files are linked directly to the movie instead of being embedded in a page.

This is why I'm stuck in the stone age of using mpeg-1 (mpg) files since they play in anything without any plug-in.

That being said QuickTime is installed as part of iTunes so a lot of Windows users do have it.

But that being said other Windows systems, like Win98, can't install Quicktime.

I want my surfers to click the video link and watch the vid. I don't want to have to "suggest" anything. If it's not "click and view" I have a problem.

I don't believe you can suggest the plugin on a click and view, only embedding. And, a link to apple's site to download the plugin counts against you I believe. Because the person is downloading, there is no ability to let the activeX handler auto-install.

mpg and wmv files usually play just fine and that seems to be the norm.

I don't have iTunes and I can't assume my surfers do....|huh

Movies in wmv do need a plug-in and also can't easily be protected against hotlinking using htaccess.

Windows comes with a player/plug-in for wmv, just like Macs come with a player/plug-in for mp4. Macs need to download Flip4Mac to play wmv files and even then there are issues.

Flash movies seem to work real well but then you need the Flash player/plug-in.

As far as I know only mpg movies work on everything, don't need a plug-in, and can be easily protected using htaccess.

Personally I would never use mp4 or wmv for galleries.

We use mp4 (h.264 format) for FoxyAngel and FoxyEbonyTgirls member's area but have also started adding a medium size wmv movie for her members that are on older PCs.

mp4 is also the format that iPods and iPhones use although it is preferred to use the m4v extension so that it gets automatically added to iTunes when double clicked .

I think that D2222 needs to buy a copy of Episode Pro to encode his vids.

Can you not run a converter that takes the mp4 and replaces it with a flash video, kinda like what youtube does when you upload videos?

I'll add my 2 cents here -

As a surfer I prefer wmv files over all other formats. They simply play best on my machine (and most windows machines). I absolutely hate the quicktime player - and I mean I detest the fucker! If I get in a members are that makes me use quicktime - I cancel immediately.

I also don't care for embedded videos - I'll live with them on a tour but if they're embedded in the members area, count me out again. This said, we're looking at embedding the tour vids on the new tour for Real Colorado Girls - just haven't decided if they will be embedded wmv's or flv's - there are a few problem with loading more than one flash video on a single page that we need to find a fix for. (I had a link to the fix and now I can't find it). Part of the reason I hate embedded videos is that few offer me that chance to go full-screen. Part of the reason I hate them is that I run a screen rez of 1920x1200 - if the site is setup with a page width of 800 pixels, and a video size of less than 300 pixels - the embedded video looks like a fuckin postage stamp on my monitors. And I just hate jerking off to a postage stamp!

As far as percentages go, over 90% of my visitors are using Windows with IE - so that's the audience that gets most of my attention. 5% are using MAC's and the last 5% are fucking geeks and that can figure out their own compatibility issues.

Just my 2 cents.......