A fat binary multimedia plug-in for Netscape. Version 0.2.0 (2/5/95)
This is a multimedia Plug-in for Netscape 2.06a. Web surfers can use this to watch movies and listen to music right from Netscape. This plug-in offers HTML authors the ability to play background music, stretch movies, present slide shows, and use continuously looping animations. The plug-in should be placed in Netscape╒s ╥Plug-ins╙ folder.
Supported media:
Supported media - MIME - common extension:
QuickTime - video/quicktime - mov
MPEG - video/mpeg - mpg (Requires a special software or hardware MPEG codec. Not tested.)
Ñ The default settings will not change the aspect ratio of shrink-to-fit images.
Ñ Movies will continue where left off when web pages are left and revisited, memory permitting.
Ñ Printing works.
Ñ Plain controllers on soundtracks are centered.
Ñ Zero-area destination boxes are safe.
LITTLE BUGS:
Ñ You may notice window updating bugs that I have not been able to work around.
Ñ Movies played with a very high frame rate may jump around the window.
Ñ Printing does not show the controller.
If you know how to fix these bugs PLEASE E-mail me!!! The provided source code requires that you have Netscape╒s ╥Mac Plug-in SDK╙ version 2.0 and CodeWarrior. Don╒t steal my code without giving me credit!!!!
Notes:
Ñ Importing some files can take a long time. To avoid redundant conversions, this plug-in may set the file type and add a movie resource to any opened files. Usually this only modifies Netscape╒s cache files but it may also modify files used in disk based viewing.
Ñ Corrupt movies will generate empty space.
Ñ This uses QuickTime to convert files. Make sure you have the latest version of QuickTime, which is currently 2.1, for importing to function.
Ñ The image of imported PICT files may be lower than the original PICT. Save the PICT to disk and use a helper application for best image quality.
Ñ Movies will not play as smoothly from within Netscape as they will if saved and played externally.
Troubleshooting:
Ñ No plug-in response: The source file may be corrupted or have the wrong file type extension. I have noticed that some files will not import into QuickTime but may still play fairly well with a sound utility. Try saving the file and testing it.
Ñ The file is not delivered to the plug-in: The web server may not know the MIME type for the file extension used. You must save the file and convert it manually with a utility or helper application.
The future:
I may release updates as bugs in my code and Netscape╒s code are fixed. Removing bug workarounds could improve performance.
I am willing to work with other QuickTime plug-in authors to standardize the HTML options format and default settings. A Netscape document mentioned a palette command but the link to that document is currently invalid.
It would be really cool if a Java script could control this. All I need is Netscape Java support!
Someone needs to translate this into Windows code for me.
Make this document look cooler. An HTML version would be nice.
How much does it cost:
Nothing, but the source code belongs to me, some interfaces are Netscape╒s, and parts of the binary code may belong to Metrowerks.
My source code may not be used in anything but a freeware product and credit must be given to me (duh). The program and source code may not be sold for more than the cost of the media it is transferred on.
Thanks to Netscape for the Plug-in specifications and demos, Metrowerks for a PPC Pascal compiler, and Apple for the electronic Inside Macintosh series.
For web authors:
Use in HTML:
<EMBED SRC="Moviename.mov" WIDTH=160 HEIGHT=120> A 160x120 movie
<EMBED SRC="Moviename.mov" WIDTH=160 HEIGHT=136> A 160x120 movie with controller
<EMBED SRC="Moviename.mov" WIDTH=320 HEIGHT=240> A 160x120 movie at 2x
<EMBED SRC="Moviename.mov" WIDTH=320 HEIGHT=256> A 160x120 movie at 2x with controller
<EMBED SRC="Moviename.mov" WIDTH=80 HEIGHT=120> A 160x120 movie scaled to 80x60 and a controller
<EMBED SRC="Moviename.mov" WIDTH=320 HEIGHT=239> A 160x120 movie with controller and a lot of extra room around it because it wouldn╒t fit as 2x
<EMBED SRC="Midiname.mid" WIDTH=160 HEIGHT=20 VOL=600> A 160x20 midi with controller and the volume blasting at 600%
<EMBED SRC="Slidename.mov" WIDTH=360 HEIGHT=316 PLACE=F HINTS=SQ PLAY=15 CONTROL=V> A 360x300 slideshow at high quality, playing at 15% of full speed, and with a controller (16 pixels high).
Ñ These movies must be flattened, single fork movies. These can be made using special exporting features of common QuickTime viewers.
Special options:
These are the default settings for viewing.
Size: Exactly 1x, 2x, or smaller than 1x, depending on the destination size.
Placement: Centered
Controller: The controller is added if there are at least 16 pixels of height left over after sizing the movie (except for still images).
Volume: 100 (percent)
Dimensionless movies: These are displayed as a full length controller.
Automatic play: off.
Hints: Custom palette off, Slideshow off, Quality is video (except for still images).
Currently PICT is the only supported still image. Other file types will be treated as sound or video.
You can override default display options to allow for hidden sound tracks, special effects, or trade motion quality for image quality. Note that some options may degrade performance when selected improperly.
Setting position of the movie in the boundary.
PLACE=
This command is followed by one or more of these options:
T Shift to top boundary.
B Shift to bottom boundary.
L Shift to left boundary.
R Shift to right boundary.
F Force the movie to fit the box, even if it may not play properly.
Setting the use of the movie controller.
CONTROL=
This command is followed by one of these options:
H Hidden: The user can only activate the movie by clicking on it.
V Visible: Full user control. There must be room for the controller.
0 Zero: Not visible and no user control of movie.
B Badge: The controller is there but not shown until a badge in the video display is clicked.
Setting movie looping.
LOOP=
This command is followed by one of these options:
L Linear looping (start to end, start to end, ╔)
P Palindrome looping (start to end, end to start, ╔) This doesn╒t seem to work with MIDI tracks.
Starting movie automatically.
PLAY=
This command is followed by an integer percentage to be used as the playback rate. ╥PLAY=100╙ will start the movie at normal speed.
Setting the volume.
VOL=
This command is followed by an integer percentage to be used as the volume. ╥VOL=20╙ will set the volume to 20 percent.
Special performance hints.
HINTS=
This command is followed by one or more of these options:
S Slide show: Do not skip frames and do not play sound.
Q High Quality: Use a high quality display rather than a video speed display. This can be incredibly slow and should include the S option.
P The movie╒s palette, if there, will be used for the WHOLE Netscape window. There should only be one of these per page.
