support for video?

[kraemder]

As far as I know the app doesn't support it? I'm looking at the option to include clips of anime in the subs2srs program. I kind of would like that.

[kraemder]

I'll admit part of my motivation to add video is to show it off to random people at work or school ^_^

[Ernie]

I don't have any plans to support video. Sorry.
(I barely support animated GIFs; I might try to add better support for that at some point.)

[kraemder]

Darn. I can understand it's not an essential feature I was sort of hoping since you use Safari to display the card that Safari already supported it or something along those lines. No worries. I can live without video.

[Ernie]

Oh yeah, maybe I can just support html embeded videos. That might be pretty easy to implement. I've added this to my list. Ask me again in say 3 months to if you want to see where I am with this. I probably won't get to this before then though.

[blarneystone]

Hey Ernie,

I was wondering if you'd had any time to make progress on html video?

Something like this?

Code: Select all

<video>
  <source src="hxxp://dropbox.com/user/movie.mp4" type="video/mp4"
</video>


Then like other html pics, it would download the first time and store locally. Right now I have to make animated GIFs + associated mp3 as a substitute but being able to use mp4 videos would save a lot of time/space.

Thanks!

[Ernie]

Hi blarneystone,

Let me get back to you within a few days after I've had a chance to look into this.

[Ernie]

blarneystone,

I added basic support for videos. You can add something like the following:

Text 1
<video src="video.mp4"></video>
<video src="http://orangeorapple.com/video.mp4"></video>
<video width="200" src="video.mp4"></video>

The first line, without a URL, will work if importing from Dropbox/Drive with a Media directory. Otherwise you can specify a complete URL.
The app will fit the video to the screen width. If you want a different width, you can explicitly define as in the third example.
Videos will be imported when downloading the deck.

One downside is that videos cannot be started without first long-pressing the flashcard, which then jumps to a webpage you can manipulate and press again to start the video. Maybe I'll try to improve this in the future.
The new version will be out shortly. (<1 week for Android, 2 weeks for iOS). If you give it a try, please give me feedback.

Ernie

[blarneystone]

@Ernie

That's awesome! I can't wait to test it out, I'm on an ipod touch so looking forward to the release. Most of my vids are MP4 files on dropbox so I guess once they've downloaded one time I'll be able to use the flashcard offline?

[Ernie]

blarneystone,

The update is out. Only .mp4 videos are supported. If you have other formats you are interested in, let me know. Yes, the videos will work offline after downloading.

[Divo Maddie]

Cool! I have tested out the video feature and it works! This feature came just in time because I needed a video to explain dutch roll airplane physics and now I can see it in motion on the card! This really is a great app that competes with anything else out there.

.M4V file extension worked fine too. Text between video tags doesn't show up on card but that's probably by design. The play button starts centered but re-centers to video content as card displays; that ended up moving the button down and left for the video I tried because it was larger than the portrait width. Same button position adjustment when opened with long touch.

[Ernie]

Divo Maddie,

Thanks. (And thanks for the review if that was you!)

I just added better support for .m4v files for next update. The only change is that I will set the width of the video to the screen width so the layout is nicer before you play. This is already done for .mp4 files. Lowercase extensions are required if you want this feature. Of course we can add your own width to solve this.

You mention some positioning issues. I've seen the play button jump around slightly. You might try to rename a video to .mp4 as see if the jumping lessons.

Text between tags should show. You should create a new line though. Use either <br> or | for new line:
<video src="video.mp4"></video>|A|<video src="video.m4v"></video>

[Xiaoxiaoyu]

can i use ".xlsx"( Import Format) adding videos wiht Dropbox or Device,and how?
and if no,how can i use' .txt'
can you give me a detailed example,or send me email with file.
my email address is 1037541071@qq.com

[Ernie]

Yes, you can add video. Try following text out in your Excel file:

Text 1
<video src="video.mp4"></video>

Name your Excel file"Video.xlsx"
Then create a subfolder "Video Media" and put your "video.mp4" (or .m4v) in there.

If it doesn't work or you need more guidance, let me know.
Ernie

[Xiaoxiaoyu]

Cool! I have tested out the video feature and it works! But,as you said "One downside is that videos cannot be started without first long-pressing the flashcard, which then jumps to a webpage you can manipulate and press again to start the video." can you improve it.Thanks again,your app is very very helpful！

[Ernie]

Xiaoxiaoyu,

If you are using iOS and want to beta test a new version with better support for video, let me know.
For iOS, I've added the ability to enter video names in the "Picture" columns and the video will be shown on the bottom half of the flashcard and can be single-tapped to play.
I normally keep iOS and Android features in sync, but this is a lower priority item for me and not sure when it will get to Android.

Ernie

[Xiaoxiaoyu]

That's great!I am the ios users. when will the new version coming? and,what is the new format(.xlsx) in detail.
Thank you for your help!

[bahsome]

I am looking forward to the new version, and hope it will support Android too. I use both IOS and Android...

[Ernie]

I don't know when new version will come out, but I expect between 3-4 weeks.

In the "Picture 1" or "Picture 2", etc, column, you can enter .mp4, m4v, mov or YouTube links. Non-YouTube videos will be downloaded to device.

Example:

Picture 1
Video.mp4
http://orangeorapple.com/Video.mp4
https://www.youtube.com/embed/50pwBd-lgcw


I added Android support. I probably will not advertise the new feature for the next version. If anyone has feedback on how it works, please let me know.

I'm not 100% satisfied with results.
iOS will play all videos in full-screen, which I like. iPad is exception and will not play full screen.
Android will not play videos full screen. Android also has an issue where the video can continue to play even after flipping to move to next card, so you generally need to manually stop video first.


Ernie

[Katja from Hamburg]

Hi Ernie,
can I use the picture field also to add any url. Currently browser opens only after two taps using extra note or html.
Would be nice to have a one-click-feature to open the inbuild-browser.

[Guest]

Hi,

I tested the video and it works great. I've been studying idioms and this allows me to add short movie clips for extra context and listening apprehension. The kind of clips that I like to add are taken from a tumblr blog, like on slangcards . tumblr . com

The only problem I still have is that I can't add the clip directly from within the app. I create all my flashcards inside the app on my iPhone. I never go in the spreadsheet. I export to Dropbox only for backup. Given the size of my decks (around 5,000 cards with lots of media files) I don't like to use my backup to update what I consider my master deck on my iPhone.

Would it be possible to add the option to specify a video clip in one of the picture fields from within the app itself?

Regards,
Chris

[Ernie]

Chris,

Adding support for adding videos from your device's video library is something I eventually want to do, but I don't think it will happen soon. Sorry.