Forum user: Mapg

Hi dcluser,

You said:

"I'm a little disheartened to see Mapg brought it up nearly 2 years ago and it still isn't fixed..."

The bug is fixed if you add an "id" in your emabed code, but certainly it should be need fixed inside Flowplayer as well in case you don't add that "id".

Flowplayer should pay attention in this kind of bugs.

I already tried to help them with "my own time" in the past. I cannot do much more.

Best,

Mapg

That's OK, but for the http protocol, even Vimeo is starting from the beginning again when you toggle to HD or SD.

Why Flowplayer developers are so worry about to imitate Youtube features?

I cannot understand the megalomaniac things.

I see some lack of marketing and management skills in this project, very usual in the too much techie point of view, unfortunately. "You get lost in the small tech details losing the general and conceptual perspective".

I have been in the computer biz for 17 years and 14 in the online biz. I do not tell stupidities about this kind of issues usually.

This is a personal message for owners: Flowplayer is good but is not God. Keep up the good job but keep the common sense as well.

Anyway I understand that this is difficult when you are all the day looking at the programming code. I was like that for 2 years. It's a pity.

You need holidays man!

Best,

Mapg

I do not know the full code but I see in this code ..

if (ie && !e.id) ... namely if the browser is Explorer and the ID is false then generate a ramdon ID (done in the following lines) ...

e.id = "_" + ("" + Math.random()).substring(9); ... namely a numeric string of 9 numbers with the prefix "_"

The "" inside no make much sense since is empty, anyway maybe it is there to allow any programmer to add some custom string.

Technically is correct if variable ie and e.id is defined before above lines, otherwise above conditional won't work.

Is this fixed Tero?, it is a good idea to generate a ramdom ID if the ID is not added in the embed code for the video.

Hi Steven,

All that you did is good, but I think that kind of implementations should be made inside Flowplayer with a plugin or several parameters

To expect to be like Youtube and if you do not provide the same feature then do not do anything (what FLV Player is doing for months and months) is a megalomaniac approach to solve the issue.

If the video has to start again, is pretty OK. Otherwise Flayer needs to have a close dialog with the server. This is not a simple solution for masses since this is a popular player, not a fancy thing for engineers.

FLV Player developers ... Give up the obsession symptoms about Youtube please!!!

Start with the easier solutions first and spend your time with the fancy experiments later.

Hi again,

I have tested the issue in the latest Opera release, v10.10 and the problem continues, namely, the overlay closes but flowplayer fullscreen does not go back to normal size when you close the window.

The problem is even in your own page here ...

http://flowplayer.org/demos/tools/fake-fullscreen.html

On the other hand, the Macintosh issue is a big trouble for me since my sponsors, a company headquartered in Hollywood, uses a lot of Mac boxes.

Yesterday asking them about a banner change in their advertising campaign, I had to notify to the Marketing Director that if he goes to our site, he should use a Windows box because there is a problem with the player which does not display the overlay.

What a shame for me!! I told him that I was in contact with the script developers trying to find a solution for this issue.

Look at me, here as a poor man asking you to correct YOUR BUG being something OUT of my responsability, and without knowing if the Flowplayer team is doing something or not.

You should be ashamed of yourself man.

I spent my ticket (once I purchased your player) in your support desk to inform you about OWN BUG!!, and what do you expect from me??, that I spend more money to inform you about your OWN BUG man!

I did the idiot once, so I won't do it twice, do you know what I mean man?

I have been warned by an user about that the flowplayer with overlay doesn´t work on Mac (Firefox and Safari)

Neither works in the latest Opera for Windows (namely 10.01 Build 1844), I suppose that previous version got the same problem too.

I think that for the Opera case the lines ...
onClose: function() {
$('#player :first').css({
top: null,
left: null,
width: null,
height: null
});
}
doesn't work because the problem is that overlay doesn't close and window does not go to the previous status.

In the Mac cases as far I was warned, the overlay doesn't even appears.

Have a look i.e: here ...
http://3dup.com/news/view.vfx?nid=280

Is jQuery enough well-tested on Mac?

My visitors use Mac at 12%, that means some 1000's

Some idea?

Mapg

Hey Flowplayer Developers, this is a serious bug, you know.

Mac users are growing up to 11% of total traffic around the world.

Opera is 3.5-4% all browsers.

Do not be desperately hurried but avoid the laziness. And above all, do not hide the head like ostriches!

The first thing you should do in this thread is to say: OK, we take note.

Mapg

Why Flowplayer did add a feature as embed feature or plugin like JW FLV Media Player from Long Tail Video ...

http://www.longtailvideo.com/addons/plugins/65/HD

I do not understand this feaure is not done yet, even if when you switch to HD, the video has to start from the beginning. No problem man!

Regards,

Mapg

I have been warned by an user about that the flowplayer with overlay doesn´t work on Mac (Firefox and Safari)

Neither works in the latest Opera for Windows (namely 10.01 Build 1844), I suppose that previous version got the same problem too.

I think that for the Opera case the lines ...
onClose: function() {
$('#player :first').css({
top: null,
left: null,
width: null,
height: null
});
}
doesn't work because the problem is that overlay doesn't close and window does not go to the previous status.

In the Mac cases as far I was warned, the overlay doesn't even appears.

Have a look i.e: here ...
http://3dup.com/news/view.vfx?nid=280

Is jQuery enough well-tested on Mac?

My visitors use Mac at 12%, that means some 1000's

Some idea?

Mapg

What is more ...

In my case, I would love to count with an overlay with JQuery for the HD version when somebody clicks on the HD button, because in my opinion and case, I consider a better solution a "Semi-Fullscreen" with the real size of the HD file, than a really big fullscreen losing quality with 720p videos on 1080p monitors or 540p videos on 720p monitors.

When somebody is a video-encoding lover and perfectionist person I think he hates these fullscreens that never show the real definition and sharpness of a video. The scaling is my number one enemy. That is my case.

Best,

Mapg

Sincerely, what I cannot understand is how the feature SD/HD switching is not already done months and months ago, above all being a so common feature in any serious video site today.

It is a better thing (and not so bad as you could think) to play the video from the beginning once you switch to its HD version or viceversa, that do not counting with a feature like the SD/HD option.

Actually when I click on the HD version I want to see the video in HD from the beginning, not from the point the video was in SD.

In Youtube I see myself how I have to move inadvertently the bar to the beginning when I switch to HD, because I find stupid to start to view something really better from the middle.

In any case, taking or not in account the server factor, is better a solution for this "so normal feature today", as "an option" for who wants to implement it, that count with nothing of nothing about this.

It a pragmatic thing, what is a pretty enough reason.

Let me comment you something,

I am the lead developer of a company (not from the above mentioned website), with 8 developers under my responsibility, and if some of them assume that a document.getElementById must to be filled out with an ID by default without any preventive measure, his code is corrected immediately.

Basically what you commented is an excuse to cover your a** mate (own censure :-)

It is true that other factor could be affecting the right functioning of your player in that page, but this is not an excuse to make a solid code, absolutelly isolated from any external factor if you code properly and thinking "ALL TIME in the worst scenario".

Once you do that, you will able to consider yourself a professional.

So seems that problem is to use a complex table structure in the html for the Explorer 7-8 versions?? mmm ...

Let me comment you that this is what I call: "do not accept a responsibility".

I mean that, OK, could be a browser bug, but from a browser used by millions, so who wins then, a software used by 1000's or something used by millions?? I suppose you understand the idea. The exact numbers do not matter.

I am not a Flash developer, but a program in Javascript everyday, and I learned some years ago that I should not assume by default that a "id" must be present in the source and in all cases.

I see that Flash scripting (ActionScripts I suppose) is something almost 98% near to Javascript.

If you know that Explorer 7-8 is like that, and being so important browser nowadays, then the only solution is to be preventive in the way of programming if you want a cross-browser product and sucessful player.

... and this implies to work even taking in account the bugs of this browser.

Thanks

A clarification for this user.

Despite you can call the player by a pure object way, there are developed a set of functions in Flowplayer which, despite are not placed in any external javascript file, are outspread by this player for its own use and Internet Explorer 8 debugger shows them publically ...

function __flash__arrayToXML(obj) {
	var s = "<array>";
	for (var i=0; i<obj.length; i++) {
		s += "<property id="" + i + "">" + __flash__toXML(obj[i]) + "</property>";
	}
	return s+"</array>";
}
function __flash__argumentsToXML(obj,index) {
	var s = "<arguments>";
	for (var i=index; i<obj.length; i++) {
		s += __flash__toXML(obj[i]);
	}
	return s+"</arguments>";
}
function __flash__objectToXML(obj) {
	var s = "<object>";
	for (var prop in obj) {
		s += "<property id="" + prop + "">" + __flash__toXML(obj[prop]) + "</property>";
	}
	return s+"</object>";
}
function __flash__escapeXML(s) {
	return s.replace(/&/g, "&").replace(/</g, "<").replace(/>/g, ">").replace(/"/g, """).replace(/'/g, "'");
}
function __flash__toXML(value) {
   var type = typeof(value);
	if (type == "string") {
		return "<string>" + __flash__escapeXML(value) + "</string>";
	} else if (type == "undefined") {
        return "<undefined></undefined>";
	} else if (type == "number") {
        return "<number>" + value + "</number>";
	} else if (value == null) {
        return "<null></null>";
	} else if (type == "boolean") {
        return value ? "<true></true>" : "<false></false>";
	} else if (value instanceof Date) {
        return "<date>" + value.getTime() + "</date>";
   } else if (value instanceof Array) {
       return __flash__arrayToXML(value);
   } else if (type == "object") {
       return __flash__objectToXML(value);
   } else {
	    return "<null></null>"; //???
	}
}
function __flash__addCallback(instance, name) {
  instance[name] = function () { 
    return eval(instance.CallFunction("<invoke name=""+name+"" returntype="javascript">" + __flash__argumentsToXML(arguments,0) + "</invoke>"));
  }
}
function __flash__removeCallback(instance, name) {
  instance[name] = null;
}

Somewhere inside the code there is a call to __flash__toXML function using Javascript, as Internet 8 shows and with a document.getElementById("") that is empty, namely the ID is not parsed to.

Are you the developer?

Install Explorer 8, enable its debugger (Explorer got one finally) and go to the page I mentioned, it is the only way to see it in live.