CD Creation - Video Queries

GordonH · Post by **GordonH** » 01 Jun 2012 22:22

I decided to add some short videos to my family history and have encountered two issues.

Firstly, it seems that Family Historian 5 does not recognize .wmv files - Windows Media Audio/Video File. I have had to convert it to a .mpg file but so far am having some trouble doing that successfully. The conversion to .mpg plays fine in Windows Media Player, unfortunately, Family History - although it plays the converted file - presents a blank screen for the duration of the video. A native .mpg plays fine in Family History. Is there any way that native .wmv files be imported to FH5?

Secondly, I had hoped that by adding a video to an event/attribute it would have, as do images, appeared in the CD's individual family summary for the person concerned. It doesn't - it seems the only way I can add videos to a CD/DVD is to use the 'Gedcom File or Other Download' option for the table of contents.

Unfortunately this separates the video from the record stream of events for that person concerned and is an unsatisfactory solution - I had hoped videos would be treated as images and simply open a play window if clicked upon. I haven't tried adding a video to the Multimedia tab yet - would I be right in thinking it will also require a 'Gedfile or Other Download' option to make it available on the CD?

Hoping someone can tell me if there are, or are not, ways round these two issues.

If there is no solution at present it would be good to know if the software developers will consider these issues. Video, especially via smartphones, is an increasingly popular way of recording family events and it should be treated no differently from photographs - i.e. become part of the record stream for the individual(s) concerned.

ID:6284

Post by **tatewise** » 01 Jun 2012 23:11

Firstly, it seems that Family Historian 5 does not recognize .wmv files - Windows Media Audio/Video File.

I have no problem adding .wmv files to Family Historian and it plays them OK via the red triangular Open in Editor/Player button.

I suspect the hurdle you are encountering is when you try to Insert From File the dialogue does not mention the .wmv file type.
However, if you select All files (*.*) then the .wmv files are listed and can be added OK.

Secondly, I had hoped that by adding a video to an event/attribute it would have, as do images, appeared in the CD's individual family summary

.
This is a standard limitation for any Multimedia that do NOT display directly within Family Historian Reports, Diagrams, or Multimedia windows.
This includes not only .wmv files but any video, or audio, or word-processor document files such as .mpg, .wav, .doc, .pdf, etc...

With a little HTML knowledge it is possible to add a hyperlink in the appropriate Event/Attribute to invoke the video file. e.g.

Code: Select all

<td>
<OBJECT ID='MediaPlayer' WIDTH='600' HEIGHT='400' CLASSID='CLSID:22D6F312-B0F6-11D0-94AB-0080C74C7E95'
STANDBY='Loading Windows Media Player components...'
TYPE='application/x-mplayer2'>
<PARAM NAME='FileName' VALUE='video.wmv'>
<PARAM name='ShowControls' VALUE='true'>
<param name='ShowStatusBar' value='true'>
<PARAM name='ShowDisplay' VALUE='true'>
<PARAM name='autostart' VALUE='true'>
<EMBED TYPE='application/x-mplayer2' SRC='video.wmv' NAME='MediaPlayer' WIDTH='600' HEIGHT='400'
ShowControls='1' ShowStatusBar='1' ShowDisplay='1' autostart='1'> </EMBED>
</OBJECT>
</td>

where video.wmv is the video filename (in two places).
If you don't want it to autostart, then set autostart='0' .

GordonH · Post by **GordonH** » 01 Jun 2012 23:39

Many thanks for your prompt and detailed response! I'm glad there seems to be solutions and I will follow your guidance.

Re the html, I'll try and implement that too but it would be helpful to the less technically inclined if this were not necessary. I think video should really be just as automatic as image display (i.e. on CD/DVD/BluRay/website & clicking via Multimedia windows) - hopefully Calico Pie are listening to this conversation

I'll get back here and let you know how I get on, or if I still have problems or a lack of understanding. Thanks again for your help.

GordonH · Post by **GordonH** » 02 Jun 2012 10:45

Following your notes I've had some success and was able to add a .wmv file to multi-media. For the DVD I'm still using the 'Gedcom File or Other Download' option and doing this the video will play from the DVD but only if my default browser is Internet Explorer.

I normally use Firefox as my default browser but for some reason Firefox presents a black window when I click on the video in the Table of Contents and will not play the video. Internet Explorer on the other hand opens the video in a Windows Media Player window and the video plays as it should. It may be something to do with my Firefox settings and I'm still looking into that.

I'm uncertain about where to add the html set out in your reply to the event/attribute in question. Do I need to go to the html generated for the CD, then find the html for the individual concerned, then find within their html the html for the specific event/attribute and edit it?

Post by **tatewise** » 02 Jun 2012 11:13

Different web browsers such as IE and Firefox and Chrome often need add-ons or Plug-ins to render video and audio correctly.
So it depends on what you have got and what your recipients of the CD have got as to whether the video will play.

Even the script I have supplied will probably only work on Windows PC and not Macs.

Yes, you have got it exactly right regarding inserting the script.
Use a plain text editor such as Start > All Programs > Accessories > Notepad.
The HTML for the CD is in the project ...PublicFH CD-DVDdata folder.
The individual file will be ind99.html where 99 is the individual's Record Id.
The Events and Attributes section starts:

Code: Select all

<h2 class='FhHdg2'>Individual Events and Attributes</h2>
<table class='fhdatatable'>
<col class='fhcolw15 FhLbl2' /><col class='fhcolw18 FhDat2' /><col class='fhcolw67 FhDat2' />

and a typical Event entry such as Birth, after inserting script looks like:

Code: Select all

<tr><td>Birth</td>
<td>Jun 1924</td>
<td>New Jersey, U.S.A.</td>
<td>
<OBJECT ID='MediaPlayer' WIDTH='600' HEIGHT='400' CLASSID='CLSID:22D6F312-B0F6-11D0-94AB-0080C74C7E95'
STANDBY='Loading Windows Media Player components...'
TYPE='application/x-mplayer2'>
<PARAM NAME='FileName' VALUE='vadeo.wmv'>
<PARAM name='ShowControls' VALUE='true'>
<param name='ShowStatusBar' value='true'>
<PARAM name='ShowDisplay' VALUE='true'>
<PARAM name='autostart' VALUE='true'>
<EMBED TYPE='application/x-mplayer2' SRC='vadeo.wmv' NAME='MediaPlayer' WIDTH='600' HEIGHT='400'
ShowControls='1' ShowStatusBar='1' ShowDisplay='1' autostart='0'> </EMBED>
</OBJECT>
</td>
</tr>

Note that tags such as & and & are in matched nested pairs.

GordonH · Post by **GordonH** » 02 Jun 2012 18:38

The Firefox problem is resolved, it had a default application set for .wmv files that didn't work, I changed it to Windows Media Player and that problem is now gone!

Thanks for confirming my thinking. It will probably be tomorrow or Monday before I have a chance to edit the html in the way you suggested. I may also try and include the video in the first section where the images associated with that person's events are already reproduced - it may be a better place for the video to appear. The html formatting there is a little different and I see for each image html is bracketed between -

Code: Select all

 <div class="fhimgwrap fhimgdimc288"> 
and
   </div>

I assume I would just create a new

Code: Select all

<div ...> </div>

where I want it between which the htm you suggested could be inserted. I have some very basic knowledge of html so hopefully this exercise will lead me to a better understanding!

I assume I would just create a new where I want it between which the htm you suggested could be inserted. I have some very basic knowledge of html so hopefully this exercise will lead me to a better understanding!

I'll let you know how I get on.

GordonH · Post by **GordonH** » 03 Jun 2012 16:20

Success with the video! I decided that the best place was to include it in the first section which displays portraits for the individual plus the images associated with their events and attributes. I inserted the following html at the point at which I wanted the video to appear -

Code: Select all

<div class="fhimgwrap fhimgdimc288">
<a href="greenockhighschool.wmv" rel="video" title="Gordon attended the High School in Dunlop Street, Greenock, Scotland from 1957 to 1959.">
<img src="greenockhighschoolvideoframe.jpg" alt="picture" />
</a>
<p>Gordon attended the High School in Dunlop Street, Greenock, Scotland from 1957 to 1959. Click the image to watch a video</p>
</div>

Gordon attended the High School in Dunlop Street, Greenock, Scotland from 1957 to 1959. Click the image to watch a video

For 'img src' I created a jpeg from a video frame and then superimposed a white 'play' triangle on it so that people knew what to expect from clicking the image. Clicking the image resulted in a Windows Media Player window (my browsers choice) opening and the video being played.

I also tried using the html you had suggested within the list of events and attributes but it it didn't display a media window. This is how that html looks, I hope I got it right -

attended school (4)
Dunlop Street, Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland

Code: Select all

<tr><td>attended school (4)</td>
<td>Dunlop Street, Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland</td>
<td>
<OBJECT ID="MediaPlayer" WIDTH="600" HEIGHT="400" CLASSID="CLSID:22D6F312-B0F6-11D0-94AB-0080C74C7E95"
STANDBY="Loading Windows Media Player components..."
TYPE="application/x-mplayer2">
<PARAM NAME="FileName" VALUE="greenockhighschool.wmv">
<PARAM name="ShowControls" VALUE="true">
<param name="ShowStatusBar" value="true">
<PARAM name="ShowDisplay" VALUE="true">
<PARAM name="autostart" VALUE="true">
<EMBED TYPE="application/x-mplayer2" SRC="video.wmv" NAME="MediaPlayer" WIDTH="600" HEIGHT="400"
ShowControls="1" ShowStatusBar="1" ShowDisplay="1" autostart="1"> </EMBED>
</OBJECT>
</td>
</tr>

The first two table data items were displayed but the coding for the media player window was entirely ignored (nothing was displayed at all) for some reason that I don't understand.

However, I think I'll stick with the first method, it was what I had hoped Family Historian was going to do by default. It also leaves it up to the browser to select what application to play the video, and with a bit of luck that method might even work on Macs?

Many thanks for your help and guidance on this, I didn't know where to start and its much appreciated.

I think I should make a request for this feature to be automated for a future version of Family Historian. Doing this for a few videos is ok but with lots of videos (as will happen) it will become a real chore, and one that needs repeated any time an updated DVD is created for family members.

Post by **tatewise** » 08 Jun 2012 16:33

The reason that last bit of code does not work is that towards the end where it says SRC='video.wmv' it should say SRC='greenockhighschool.wmv'

I have been advised that a more XHTML compliant version all in lowercase would be like:

Code: Select all

<td>
<object type='application/x-mplayer2' style='width:600px; height:400px;' data='video.wmv'>
<param name='movie' value='video.wmv'>
<param name='filename' value='video.wmv'>
<param name='showcontrols' value='true'>
<param name='showstatusbar' value='true'>
<param name='showdisplay' value='true'>
<param name='autostart' value='false'>
</object>
</td>

Note video.wmv in three places, but by experimenting I found not all three are needed.

You solution using the Options > Applications adjusted.

It could equally be inserted within the and tags.

GordonH · Post by **GordonH** » 16 Jun 2012 18:13

Thanks for spotting my omission in html code, it works fine now that I've corrected it and I've successfully used the alternative code you also set out.

The <a href='video.wmv' anchor solution was not my invention. I wondered how Family Historian dealt with video when using the 'Gedcom or other download' to add a video file to the table of contents. I copied the technique FH uses in that case and I only adapted it to fit in with the HTML needs of the Individual Summary report.

All that remains to be checked out now is how these various methods will work (or not) on a Mac. I plan to check this out on a friends machine in the near future and will post back here the outcome.

Daimyo · Post by **Daimyo** » 24 Jan 2013 03:26

you got a mac or windows pc?
i had to help a friend out with her mac days ago for some ish like this..
i know for sure Appgeeker video converter worked for mac between WMV and MPG file, but im not too sure if it works in windows (it has windows version) for the file type you want. For the blank screen issue, you can use its editing function to cut or trim the edge of the videos.
source here: http://www.ilikemall.com/how-to/convert-mpeg-to-wmv-mac.html

Try it and tell me how it goes.
Regards

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