QuickTime video control
IMPORTANT NOTE - The QuickTime video control has been removed from Repeat Signage 2010 version V1.0.42 onwards. We now recommend that if you need to use .mov or .mp4 files that you use Free make video converter to convert these files for free into .wmv (Windows Media Video) files instead.
| Supported file types |
*.3gp, *.3g2, *.avi, *.m4v, *.mov, *.mp4, *.mpg |
| Playlist support | Yes |
| Scheduler support | Hourly, daily and weekly scheduling |
| Scrolling support | Yes |
| Rotation support | No |
| File locations | Files on local or network drives, Internet websites and FTP sites (Standard and above editions) |
Description
Apple QuickTime is video and audio playing software with a player that allows the playing of many file types including .mov and .mp4 files. QuickTime is free to download with the option of upgrading to the paid for professional edition for extra features such as video editing. Repeat Signage uses QuickTime to enable it to play .mov and .mp4 files using the 'Video using QuickTime' control rather than the normal Video control.
The Video using QuickTime control is used to play video files on screen along with the accompanying audio. There is also the option to mute videos using the Audio tab on the control properties page. Muting audio can be useful when you have several videos playing on the same page and the audio of each playing at the same time making a din. You could mute all the videos and then play a separate audio file using the audio control instead to give a nicer effect.
A video file is has a resolution, such as 640x480 pixels. Try to make sure that when you size a video control that you do not make your control bigger otherwise you may get a poorer quality of image.
Simple QuickTime videos
On the designer screen menu, click on 'Insert' then 'Insert video using QuickTime'. This will allow you to choose an QuickTime video file. You can then position and size your QuickTime video control as required. Double click the QuickTime video control to view the properties.
Playing part of a video file
Insert a 'Video using QuickTime' control as above and then double click it to view the properties page. The first tab is the 'Choose video' tab. Look at the bottom of this tab for the 'Play time settings'. Select 'Specify part of video to play' to display the 'Play settings' box. You can manually type in from and to values but it is easier to click the 'Play video and get play times' button. This buttons opens a screen that shows you how long the video file is and have options to play the video file and set start and end positions. For more information on using this screen, press the F1 button when you are on it. When you have finished selected the start and end times then press the OK button to return to the properties screen. Then click on the OK button on this screen to play just part of your file in a loop.
Playlists of QuickTime videos
You can create a play list of QuickTime videos. Insert QuickTime video as for 'Simple QuickTime videos' above. Then double click the QuickTime video control to display it's properties. Put a tick in the 'Use play list instead' tick box. This will take you to the Playlist tab. Your first QuickTime video appears in the grid for you. Use the 'Add' button to add other QuickTime videos to the list. Use 'Add blank' to add blank items which can be used to give a pause between playing your video files. For example, you could insert a single video file and set it to display for 2 seconds. Then insert a blank item again for 2 seconds. This would then give the effect of flashing the QuickTime video on and off the screen.
Note - look at the different tabs when adding/editing play list items. You can use the 'Play type' tab to specify the start and end points of a video file rather than playing the whole thing.
Scrolling QuickTime video files
Create a play list of QuickTime videos (see above). Open the control's properties by double clicking it and select the 'Scrolling tab'. Change the 'Scroll direction' combo box to an entry other than NONE, for example RIGHT TO LEFT. Click on OK to see it scrolling. For more scrolling options, on the properties 'Scrolling tab', press the F1 key to see the various options.
NOTE - Whilst it is possible to scroll video files, your system may struggle to do so because of the high level of system resources needed to do so.
Also see Single, playlist, scrolling and advanced scrolling for visual examples of what is currently possible.
Scheduling the playing of QuickTime video files
The information on creating a play list above shows you how to create a play list that just loops files. On the play list tab, there is a 'Schedule type' drop down list. You can change this from 'PLAYLIST' to 'HOURLY', 'DAILY', or 'WEEKLY'. The difference between this and the 'PLAYLIST' option is that when you add items you have to specify 'From' and 'To' time values.
For example, an HOURLY scheduler can be used to play a file at the start of every hour for 1 minute (0 minutes 0 seconds to 0 minutes 59 seconds). You have to put in files to cover the entire hour. If you don't want anything playing for the rest of the hour, then insert a blank item that covers from 1 minute 0 seconds to 59 minutes 59 seconds. At the end of an hour, the entire hourly schedule will loop again. When you play a presentation, it displays items based on the current time or day.
When you add a blank item, you can decide whether to make the blank item display the background of the control (which you can specify a colour or picture for) or whether to make the entire control invisible. When adding or editing a blank item, go to the 'Blank item' tab and either tick or un-tick the 'Entire control is visible' box. This is useful for scheduling when you want a control invisible.
The DAILY schedule type allows you to specify files and blank items to cover the entire day. At the end of the day, the schedule will start again. WEEKLY allows you to schedule what happens on each day of the week (at any time), and then restarts at the beginning of the next week. Repeat Signage uses Monday as the first day of the business week. Another thing to note is that every control that supports scheduling runs independently of all others, so you can have lots of different controls all doing different things.
Tools have been added to Repeat Signage to help you test scheduling. On the designer screen menu, you can click on 'View' then 'View program time for schedule testing'. Clicking on this puts the time on the bottom right of the designer screen menu. This is the clock that Repeat Signage uses with controls. You can change this time using 'View' then 'Change program time for schedule testing'. This allows you to change either the time or date, so that you can see what will be displayed at any point. For example, you may have an 'offer of the day' for each day of the week, made by displaying pictures in a picture control. Changing the program date to another day will allow you to test that the correct picture file, with that day's offer on, is being displayed.
Sources of QuickTime video files
Try a google.co.uk search on 'copyright free QuickTime videos' to find footage that you may be able to use within your Repeat Signage presentations free of charge.
Troubleshooting QuickTime video problems
QuickTime videos are the most troublesome files to play within Repeat Signage. Please see our Troubleshooting video problems page.