Vivo®Avtive Player Help
Vivo®Active Player Help

	The VivoActive Player    General Concepts    Using the VivoActive Player    If you have problems


The VivoActive Player

The VivoActive Player lets you view VivoActive videos directly in World Wide Web pages. Depending on how a page is constructed, the VivoActive video will either play automatically when the page opens, or when you click the Play button on the Control Panel (located in the lower right corner of the video window).

Related Topics:

   Using the VivoActive Player


	Using the VivoActive Player
	Registering the VivoActive MIME types
	Viewing VivoActive videos
	Using the VivoActive Player’s controls
	Using the VivoActive Player’s context menu


To register the VivoActive MIME types

Videos created with VivoActive  have the file extension .viv  or .vivo and a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (MIME) format. MIME is a standard for sending multimedia and binary data over the Internet and simplifies transmission of “.viv” or “.vivo” files. Following is a sample letter you can use for requesting your Webmaster to register the VivoActive MIME types “.viv” and “.vivo”.

Dear Webmaster,

I would like to download and view Vivo Software’s VivoActive  video files from your web server. In order that I may do this, please add the following Internet Assigned Numbers Association (IANA) registered MIME type: “video/vnd.vivo”.

This MIME type should be associated with files containing the following extensions: “.viv” and “.vivo”. Please add the following line to your MIME type configuration file:

“video/vnd.vivo	viv vivo”

If you have questions, please contact Vivo’s Technical Support Center by sending email to support@vivo.com

Thank-you

(your name here)


To view VivoActive videos

If a VivoActive video doesn’t start automatically when you visit a Web site containing one, click the Play button once. To pause a video, click the Pause button.

Note:

If the Play and Pause buttons are not visible, move the cursor inside the video window and click the right mouse button once. Select Show Video Controls.

Be sure that you’ve previously installed the VivoActive Player and instructed the Webmaster at your site to create the MIME type “video/vnd.vivo” and associate it with the file extensions “.viv” and “.vivo”.

Related Topics;

   To register the VivoActive MIME types


To use the VivoActive Player's controls

_____________	_______________________________
	A revolving Vivo icon indicates that Vivo is downloading the initial segments of video into your computer’s memory
_____________	_______________________________
	The Play Button is green when the video plays.
_____________	_______________________________
	The Play Button points down and flashes red and yellow when Vivo is downloading additional video into your computer’s memory.
_____________	_______________________________
	The Pause Button is red when the video pauses.
_____________	_______________________________


To use the VivoActive Player's context menu

You can see this menu by clicking the right mouse button when the VivoActive Player is visible.

To see what a menu item does, click it in the illustration below.


Play

Plays the video if it is paused.


Show video controls

Toggles the video controls on and off.


Video Info

Displays this box of video information:


Help

Displays this help file.


About VivoActive

Provides information about VivoActive.


	General Concepts
	About the VivoActive product family
	How VivoActive works
	VivoActive highlights and benefits
	Things to know about VivoActive


About the VivoActive product family

The VivoActive Product Family lets you develop and view on-demand video for World Wide Web pages. Videos created with VivoActive play much more quickly than ordinary videos because they play as the Web page is displayed.

VivoActive software consists of:

The VivoActive Player, a plug-in for:

•	Netscape Navigator 2.0 or later

•	Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 Beta 2 or later

After you install the plug-in, VivoActive videos play directly in Web pages without the need for additional software. If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer, the plug-in installs itself automatically when you visit a Web page containing a Vivo video.  The plug-in runs on the following systems:

•	PCs running Windows 3.1, 3.11, Windows 95,  and Windows NT (3.5.1 and 4.0)

•	Macintosh computers running System 7.0 and later.

The VivoActive Producer, for creating VivoActive videos from Video for Windows (AVI files). Use the VivoActive Producer to compress an ordinary .avi file and convert it to a .viv (or .vivo) file. Then place the  .viv file in Web pages.

Note

Microsoft Internet Explorer is not available on Windows NT systems running  version 3.5.1. However, you can still use the plug-in if you use Netscape Navigator as your Web browser on a 3.5.1 system.

Related Topics:

For more information about the VivoActive product family, see

http://www.vivo.com/vivoactive/talk01.htm

http://www.vivo.com/vivoactive/faq.htm

http://www.vivo.com/vivoactive/techfaq.htm


How VivoActive works

Videos start with frames:

A video clip consists of a series of individual pictures, or “frames” displayed rapidly to simulate motion.  The higher the frame rate, the smoother the motion. A  rate of 30 frames per second (fps) is required to make the motion appear natural. This works out to 1800 frames for a minute of video, which partly explains why video files are so large.  Adding audio to a video clip further increases its size.

Which are then compressed:

Manipulating such large amounts of data can be awkward. Videos require large amounts of disk space for storage and can bog down a computer or a network when attempts are made to copy them, mail them or transmit them over the Internet (which occurs when you play one from a Web page). This is the reason that videos targeted for use on computers are usually compressed at the time they are digitized. This makes it easier to store and transmit them. When they arrive at your computer, the compressed video files are decompressed for viewing.

VivoActive compresses them further for rapid transmission from a web site:

A popular  application for digitizing and compressing videos on PCs is Video for Windows. Files generated with Video for Windows have the file extension .avi. The VivoActive Producer lets you further compress an .avi file by a factor of hundreds of its original size while maintaining high video and audio quality. Videos created with VivoActive have the file extension .viv (or .vivo) and a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (MIME) format. MIME is a standard for sending multimedia and binary data over the Internet and simplifies transmission of .viv  and .vivo files.


VivoActive highlights and benefits

Simplicity:

The VivoActive product family  from Vivo Software, Inc., is the simplest, easiest way for you to include live video presentations in your World Wide Web site. It is also the simplest way for anyone ( even if they are connected to the Internet via a modem) to view video on the Web.

Availability:

VivoActive data is delivered using the HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP), the same protocol used to deliver ordinary Web text and image files. This means that anyone who can view your Web page can view your video regardless of whether they're behind a firewall, connected via a SLIP emulator, or directly connected to the Internet backbone.

Real-time playback:

Vivo's software compression technology allows your video program to be delivered in real time. No longer do you have to wait for an enormous file to download just to see a few seconds of video, even over a modem.

Resource Conservation:

If you deliver Web pages only within your enterprise, you'll also like VivoActive because it does well at conserving your network's LAN and WAN bandwidth.

Consistency:

Because Vivo's technology allows your video program to be highly compressed, it also means your viewers see and hear what you want them to see and hear. Other live-media Web technologies use techniques which cause the video and audio to deteriorate when the Internet is busy.


Things to know about VivoActive

VivoActive image resolution is Quarter Common Intermediate Format (QCIF), which refers to the size and amount of information available in each video image (frame). QCIF images are 176 x 144 pixels.  You cannot change this resolution, but you can control the video’s placement on a Web page to some extent.

If the .avi file from which the .viv file was created is smaller than 176 x 144 pixels, you may see a border around the .viv video when it plays. If the .avi file is larger than 176 x 144 pixels, VivoActive automatically resizes  it to QCIF  when converting it to a .viv file.

The VivoActive audio codec (coder/decoder) is optimized for speech as opposed to music. If you produce a video that includes music, the music will sound distorted.


If you have problems
	If you have problems . . .
   Why do I get what looks like a broken page symbol when I try to view a VivoActive video on a Web page?

   Why do I get a message that Netscape is unable to load a plug-in for MIME type video/vnd.vivo?

   Why do the colors in the VivoActive video look grainy?

   Why do VivoActive videos take a long time to start, and why do they pause when they are playing?


Why do I get what looks like a broken page symbol when I try to view a VivoActive video on a Web page?

The link to the .viv file is probably incorrect in the HTML code. Try sending email to the owner of the page containing the file. Ask the owner to check that the pathname to the .viv file is correct and that the file name is entered in the correct case.


Why do I get a message that Netscape is unable to load a plug-in for MIME type video/vnd.vivo?

Make sure you are you running Windows95 or Windows NT (v.3.5.1 or v.4.0). These are the only platforms Vivo currently supports.

Make sure you are using a 32-bit version of Netscape 2.0 or higher. Vivo currently does not support a 16-bit version.

If you have multiple copies of Netscape, you may have installed the VivoActive Player into a different directory than the copy of Netscape you use. Make sure that the VivoActive Player resides in the same directory as the copy of Netscape you use. To find the directory you use, follow the steps in the tables below.

Verify that you are running the copy of Netscape where the Plugin is installed.

Check to see if you can use other Plugins in Netscape. If not, you may need to reinstall Netscape or even Windows.

Make sure you have the file MSVFW32.DLL in your \windows\system directory dated 7-11-95 or later. If this file is not listed or has an older date, you need to reinstall a shipping version of Windows.

Windows 95 / Windows NT v.4.0	Windows NT v.3.5.1
1. Click once on your Netscape icon to highlight it.	1. Click once on your Netscape icon to highlight it.
2. Click the right mouse button once and select Properties.	2. From the File menu select Properties.
3. Select the Shortcut tab. 4. Make sure this directory is the same as the one where you installed the VivoActive Player.	3. Make sure that the directory shown in the Command Line field is same as the directory where you installed the VivoActive Player.

If you installed the VivoActive Player into the wrong directory, remove it and reinstall it as follows:

Windows 95 / Windows NT v.4.0	Windows NT  v.3.5.1
1. From the taskbar, select Settings, then Control Panels.	1. From the File Manager, go to C:\Netscape\Nav\Program\plugins
2. Double click Add/Remove Programs.	2. Delete the files Npviv32.dll and npulViv.32.dll. Also delete the folder NpViv32.
3. Select the Install/Uninstall tab.	3. When the VivoActive Player has been removed, move vivoplay.exe to the same directory as the copy of Netscape that you use.
4. Click on VivoActive Player v.1.0.	4. Double click vivoplay.exe to reinstall it.
5. Click Add/Remove.
6. When the VivoActive Player has been removed, move vivoplay.exe to the same directory as the copy of Netscape that you use.
7. Double click on vivoplay.exe to reinstall it.
Note:

By default, the VivoActive Player for Netscape users is installed in the Netscape directory. Usually this is:

Windows 95 /Windows NT v.4.0:	C:\Program Files\Netscape\Navigator\Program\Plugins\Npviv32.dll

Windows NT v.3.5.1:	C:\Netscape\Nav\Program\plugins\Npviv32.dll


Why do the colors in the VivoActive video look grainy?

You are probably running your system using 256 colors (8 bits). To get better results when viewing VivoActive videos, increase the number of colors used by your system to 16  bits. (The maximum number of colors you can set depends on your display adapter.)

Windows 95 / Windows NT v.4.0	Windows NT v.3.5.1
1. From the taskbar, select Settings, then Control Panels.	1. From the Main Program Group, double click Display.
2. Double click the Display Control Panel. 3. Select the Settings tab	2. If the Color Palette is set to 256 colors (8 bits), use the dropdown to set the display to 65,536  colors (16 bits).
4. From the Color Palette dropdown, choose High Color (16 bit).	3. Close the Display  Control Panel.
5. In the Desktop Area section, if the slider moves, adjust it to reset desired screen resolution.	4. Restart your computer to have the new settings take effect.
6. Click OK
7. Restart your computer to have the new settings take effect.


Why do VivoActive videos take a long time to start, and why do they pause when they are playing?

This occurs when you are connected to the Internet at a lower rate than the bitrate of the file you are viewing (for example, if you are connected with a 28.8 Kbps modem and the file was produced at 56 Kbps). The lower connection cannot handle the large amount of information being transferred, so some information must be stored in memory before the video can start playing. This accounts for the extended waiting time.

If you are viewing a long video, interruptions occur when more information is being transferred into memory. You may also experience problems with longer start times and interruptions if you have a bad connection to the Internet. If you notice that Web pages are coming up slowly in general, try reconnecting to the Internet to get a better connection.