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Mobile Video for iPhone & Android


Hi!

I'm in the process of creating a mobile website where people can access our video podcasts. Our main site uses JW Player and the .m4v format. I have the player set to default to HTML5 for modern browsers and it works well.

As I started creating a mobile page, I embedded the same exact JW Player as I had on other pages and tested on my iPhone. My iPhone loves the page, opens the video easily and plays back fine.

Next, I grabbed a friend's phone running Android and it said it didn't support the .m4v format. So I did a quick web search and saw the solution appeared to be to switch the .m4v to .mp4. Easy enough. I tried it with one video. iPhone still had no problems, but Android shows the player with the teaser image and when you press play still says the video isn't supported.

Am I missing something? What video type should I try to use for Android? I'd prefer one type and not two as it makes life a bit simpler.

Thanks!

52 Community Answers

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

Android should play mp4 files fine.

This demo uses an mp4 file, and it works in both operating systems – http://www.longtailvideo.com/players/jw-flv-player/

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

Check that the resolution and profile isn't too high.
The Android may need a file with lower resolution (max 640480) and Baseline profile. If you want to support even more mobiles (some cheap Androids and possibly others) then you may go for a resolution of 480320.

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

Thanks for letting us know.

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

Hi there

I'm using HTC Legend with 2.2 Android, and I tried this page:
http://www.longtailvideo.com/players/jw-flv-player/

All I get is a black square, where the video should be.

Is the jw-player, fully compatible with Android?

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

I have a Samsung Galaxy S, and that link works fine for me. I am also using 2.2, and yes, the player is compatible.

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

Greetings!

I tried this link http://www.longtailvideo.com/players/jw-flv-player/ on an Android device using Android version 4.0.3. However, if I remove the WebM video file from the page, then the mp4 file does not work. Is JW Player compatible with Android using a Flash player to stream an H.264 encoded file (mp4)?

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

It should be. How did you remove the webM video? Does your Android have Flash installed?

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

Thank you for such quick response! Yes, I have Flash installed. I simply edited the HTML code and then resubmitted the page. I tried with the native browser and also with Firefox.

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

Ethan, I apologize for some of the wrong information I gave you. The mp4 video actually does work in the Android device (I accidentally messed up the file name). What encoder settings are you using on the mp4 files to make them work across all browsers?

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

Ah okay, glad it works. You just need to use MP4, H.264, that should work.

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

hello ,

how to make jwplayer play rtmp on iphone ??
samsung galaxy (android) work fine , but htc chacha not working , also iphone and blackberry not work .. what should i do ?

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

RTMP does not work on the iPhone. It is Flash only. Read about it.

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

I have several tutorials posted on my website and got an email from a visitor stating that they can't access the videos, there is just an emblem with an "F".

My videos are HD and chosen size is 250X400.

Please advise.

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

Link please ?

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

Here's one example

http://www.easyguitarguylessons.com/blues-chord-progressions.html


Also...could you please tell the code for an image source file that will replace the black screen with an image file?

Thanks for your help.

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

The issue here is that you have:

<embedtype

But it needs to be:

<embedtype

To add an image, change:

&screencolor=000000

To:

&screencolor=000000&image=some_image.jpg

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

<embedtype

But it needs to be:

<embedtype

Is something left out?

I used the easy embedder...is that not the best code for all viewers?


Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

Sorry, make it:

<embed type

For html5 mode, you not only need to use jwplayer.js to embed, but you need to not use flv.

More information:

http://www.longtailvideo.com/support/blog/15827/using-the-jw-embedder-to-embed-your-player
http://www.longtailvideo.com/support/blog/15095/jw-player-53-html5-and-you

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

I have been using the wizard on this page

http://www.longtailvideo.com/support/jw-player-setup-wizard


should I not use it any longer?

Also...I inserted the image code the 1st video on this page (I left the original one in place just in case) and there is still a black screen in place.

Please advise.

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

No you should, and you need to make sure that the image actually exists on your server. You have to put a space between the words embed and type on your page, simple as that. But, if you want to support all devices, you need to use the JW Embedder and can’t use FLVs. Please read the two articles I posted above.

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

I read the articles but sadly... most was beyond my comprehension.

But what I'm getting is that I should "not" convert my videos using a flash converter as I once did.

Is that correct?

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

Yes, you need to convert your videos to MP4 files, encoded in H.264, and you need to use the JW Embedder to embed the player (which is also the default code the wizard provides now), as that is the only embed method that supports HTML5.

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

The image that I want to use does exist on my server but is still not displaying.

Here's the code that I'm using (please note that I now have the space placed as you recommended but would still appreciate simple instructions on using the embedder to support all devices.

<object classid='clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000' width='400' height='250' id='single1' name='single1'><param name='movie' value='http://www.easyguitarguylessons.com/support-files/player.swf'><param name='allowfullscreen' value='true'><param name='allowscriptaccess' value='always'><param name='wmode' value='transparent'><param name='flashvars' value='file=http://easyguitarguychordprogressions.s3.amazonaws.com/ade12barblueschordprogression.flv&backcolor=000000&screencolor=000000'><embed type='application/x-shockwave-flash'id='single2'name='single2'src='http://www.easyguitarguylessons.com/support-files/player.swf'width='400'height='250'bgcolor='undefined'allowscriptaccess='always'allowfullscreen='true'wmode='transparent'flashvars='file=http://easyguitarguychordprogressions.s3.amazonaws.com/ade12barblueschordprogression.flv&backcolor=000000&screencolor=000000&image=http://www.easyguitarguylessons.com/images/easyguitarguyvideopic.jpg'/></object>

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

Use this code:

<object classid='clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000' width='400' height='250' id='single1' name='single1'><param name='movie' value='http://www.easyguitarguylessons.com/support-files/player.swf'><param name='allowfullscreen' value='true'><param name='allowscriptaccess' value='always'><param name='wmode' value='transparent'><param name='flashvars' value='file=http://easyguitarguychordprogressions.s3.amazonaws.com/ade12barblueschordprogression.flv&backcolor=000000&screencolor=000000&image=http://www.easyguitarguylessons.com/images/easyguitarguyvideopic.jpg'><embed type='application/x-shockwave-flash'id='single2'name='single2'src='http://www.easyguitarguylessons.com/support-files/player.swf'width='400'height='250'bgcolor='undefined'allowscriptaccess='always'allowfullscreen='true'wmode='transparent'flashvars='file=http://easyguitarguychordprogressions.s3.amazonaws.com/ade12barblueschordprogression.flv&backcolor=000000&screencolor=000000&image=http://www.easyguitarguylessons.com/images/easyguitarguyvideopic.jpg'/></object>

Again – http://www.longtailvideo.com/support/blog/15827/using-the-jw-embedder-to-embed-your-player

Sample:

<script type="text/javascript" src="jwplayer.js"></script><div id="thePlayer"></div> <script type="text/javascript"> jwplayer("thePlayer").setup({ flashplayer: "player.swf", file: "file.mp4", height: "270", width: "380" }); </script>

Again, you need to use mp4, not flv…

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

I pasted the code exactly and still no pic. Please advise.


Also can you recommend a free video to mp4 converter?

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

http://handbrake.fr/

I pasted this code on my localhost, it worked fine.

Here is the full code, it worked for me:

<html>
<head>
<title>Test Page</title>
</head>
<body>
<object classid='clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000' width='400' height='250' id='single1' name='single1'><param name='movie' value='http://www.easyguitarguylessons.com/support-files/player.swf'><param name='allowfullscreen' value='true'><param name='allowscriptaccess' value='always'><param name='wmode' value='transparent'><param name='flashvars' value='file=http://easyguitarguychordprogressions.s3.amazonaws.com/ade12barblueschordprogression.flv&backcolor=000000&screencolor=000000&image=http://www.easyguitarguylessons.com/images/easyguitarguyvideopic.jpg'><embed type='application/x-shockwave-flash'id='single2'name='single2'src='http://www.easyguitarguylessons.com/support-files/player.swf'width='400'height='250'bgcolor='undefined'allowscriptaccess='always'allowfullscreen='true'wmode='transparent'flashvars='file=http://easyguitarguychordprogressions.s3.amazonaws.com/ade12barblueschordprogression.flv&backcolor=000000&screencolor=000000&image=http://www.easyguitarguylessons.com/images/easyguitarguyvideopic.jpg'/></object>
</body>
</html>

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

Odd...it's working in Mozilla but not IE. Have you ever had that happen before?

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

It works in IE for me…? I tested this code prior to giving it to you.

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

Regardless, if you want to support HTML5, you can’t use that code anyways, you need to use jwplayer.js…sample code:

<html>
<head>
<title>Test Page</title>
</head>
<body>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://player.longtailvideo.com/jwplayer.js"></script>
<div id="player"></div>
<script type="text/javascript">
    jwplayer("player").setup({
            file: "http://www.longtailvideo.com/jw/upload/bunny.mp4",
image: "http://www.longtailvideo.com/jw/upload/bunny.jpg",
            flashplayer: "http://player.longtailvideo.com/player.swf",
            volume: 80,
            width: 465,
            stretching: 'fill'
    });
</script>
</body>
</html>

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

Very strange. I've refreshed the page numerous times and it's still showing two black screens while on Mozilla only one (correct) screen is visible.

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

Strange, it works in my IE. I would still use the JW Embedder code if you want to go the route of supporting devices other than desktops, though.

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

Hi there Ethan,

To give my visitors even more choices, I posted a video in FLV and provided a link to the video in MP4 format.

To check and see if all was working properly, I clicked the link using my Android and got the following message

The content is not supported on the phone. No app can be found to open this file. Do you still want to download it?

Am I getting the msg because I don't have the proper app on my phone or because there is a still problem with viewing the video on mobile devices?

Here is the url:

<a href="http://www.easyguitarguylessons.com/southern-rock-guitar-lessons.html">Southern Rock Guitar Lessons</a>.

Also...the photo is still not visible in my IE browser but is on Mozilla no matter how many times I've refreshed, etc.

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

Does your android have Flash installed?

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

We have a problem with displaying the video's on Iphone and Android. The video plays well, but the lining around the still / tumbnail on the mobile site is being cut off (no line on top and bottom). Check while using an iPhone www.eerstestap.nl and select maatwerk. How can we fix this?

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

Set the stretching variable to fill.

JW Player

User  
0 rated :



hi..
i am using jwplayer
when i play this code on mobile default browser on android phone then it is play on full screen.. but i want it is play only on that div.. how can we do this please help..

i use this sript
<script type="text/javascript">
jwplayer("dvvdoHelp").setup({
autostart: true,
controlbar: "none",
levels: [
{ file: source1.mp4 },
{ file: source2.webm }
],
//flashplayer: "jwplayer/player.swf",
volume: 80,
width: 520,
events: {
onComplete: function () { }
}
});
</script>

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

I replied to your other post about this, no need bumping another thread with the same question.

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

I am using samsung galaxy s3 phone, but i cannot play the livestreaming from the following site,(its working smoothly in Samsung s2)

http://www.turbotv.in/reporter-tv-live

please help me..

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

Is this your site?

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

@ Buddy, thanks for your replay, well..its not my web site, with this site i can see tv channels, its working in my samsung s2. my s2 have adobe flash player. but in my S3 i couldnt download and instal adobe flash plyer bcoz its not available in "play store".

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

Sorry, but any advice I would have would be for that website’s webmaster, as they are the ones would who need to fix any issues on their site.

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

Hi Ethan,

I have 2 issues to address:

For some reason the video player does not function correctly on my android phone and the videos play very fast on my android phone. I'm using a Galaxy Nexus (android version 4.1.1).

For an example try playing any video on android platform from this website: http://www.watchmetwerk.com/exclusive_twerkers_detail.php?exclusive=Nw==

Can you please help me figure out why this is happening?

Thanks a million,

Bill

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

Is this your site?

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

No. I just manage the technical issues for the owner.

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

The file on your link is a flv, of course that won’t work on mobile / html5, that’s the issue.

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

Wait...are you 100% sure? because he's telling me that these files are WMV files and not a FLV.

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
0 rated :

WMV is not even supported in our player at all.

Read here – http://www.longtailvideo.com/support/jw-player/jw-player-for-flash-v5/12539/supported-video-and-audio-formats

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

Thanks Ethan...you were right. It appears the developers had set the video player to accept WMV files and convert them to FLV. What setting would you recommend?

JW Player

User  
0 rated :

Hi Ethan,

Could we pay you to program our JW Video Player to accept and play files like youtube and dailymotion?

Thank you,

Bill

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
1 rated :

Bill – the files should be MP4, encoded in H.264. We don’t do paid work. Our player doesn’t support Daily Motion, but YouTube support works out of the box…

JW Player

User  
-1 rated :

Thanks Ethan

Ethan Feldman

JW Player Support Agent  
-1 rated :

Np

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