Video Playback Issues Summary

[Trevor Newell]

A. Enhanced Video

The enhanced video option can be accessed from the 'Preferences' menu within the main MediaLab window. Here's what the help manual notes about this option:

"If you check the Use Enhanced Video option under Preferences, MediaLab will use an alternate custom engine that may provide playback for some formats that can not be handled by WMP (e.g., some QuickTime and Real video formats). In general, it is recommended to NOT use this option unless you have to. If you do choose to try this option, it is best to have the latest versions of QuickTime and/or Real Player also installed on your system."

Quoted From: http://www.empirisoft.com/medialab/help/queitemtype.htm#movie

It should first be noted that this option isn't necessarily an 'enhanced' option, rather it is 'another option' for video playback. The reason behind why we don't condone or rather advocate the use of this option is because it too has its own set of problems. Below is a list of known issues that will arise when utilizing this system over the base system:

• Some video files simply won't play. Although this can be said for the regular video playback system as well, the files that both engines seem to have trouble playing differs from one another.
• Occasionally the plugin has a problem which causes it to not play a video file correctly during its first attempt; however each attempt after plays the video without problem.

  "I ask because some users have trouble with the Enhanced Video option--e.g., hearing but not seeing the first video played in any given session."

  Quoted From: http://www.empirisoft.com/support/showthread.php?t=413

If you're able to play the video file and hear sound with the enhanced video option enabled, you may want to see if allowing the software to play through a file once allows for the file to properly display on the second run-through. A user notes the following:

"I have found that the best thing is to run the clip once, I run mine as a questionnaire, in MediaLab, it won't show the visual but you will hear the sounds. Then without closing out of MediaLab when the clip is done immediately go to run your experiment. My clip plays every time visual and sound when I do this. I will usually just go back in and delete the file created from running the clip prior to the experiment when my subjects are done."

Quoted From: http://www.empirisoft.com/support/showthread.php?t=2833

In a few cases running video files with this option enabled causes no problems at all, and can act as an immediate solution to the problem at hand. I would recommend trying the feature out; however if you do so, it would be wise to thoroughly test your experiment before beginning the data collection process.

As a note: No damage can be done by simply enabling this plugin - to disable it, simply uncheck the menu item.