Looking for video player that can transition between clips

[taylor85345]

I am working on a video projection in which several short clips will play randomly. Ideally, I would like each clip to dissolve into the next. I would just render out a complete video, but I want the order of the clips to be completely random. Is there a video player/plugin out there that fits the bill?

[johnheath]

Hi, I'm looking for a video player that is capable of smooth transitions between videos. Did you ever find a solution for this issue?

Thanks, John

[smrpix]

If you are doing projections like OP, you may want to look into VJ (video jockey) software.

You also may have more luck finding a player that fades in and out rather than dissolves since it won't require calculating a preroll and running two possibly incompatible streams simultaneously.

[johnheath]

Thanks smrpix. I should have been a bit more specific about the kind of player I'm looking for. I need a player to put on a web site. Currently we are using JW Player but pre-loading is not an option with that and the developers tell me it's not even in their roadmap.

We show videos hosted by YouTube via a playlist but as each video finishes, there is a pregnant pause, then the thumbnail of the next video is displayed for a moment, then black and then finally the next video starts.

What we need is a a player that starts loading the next video in the playlist maybe ten seconds before the current one finishes so that the transition can be seamless, In fact, if the next one is partly loaded already the that would also open the door to transition effects like wipes and dissolves.

Has anybody created a web based player like this yet?

Any ideas?

Thanks, John

[smrpix]

Never seen anything like what you're asking for -- maybe someone else has an idea.

[johnheath]

I truly think that the first person or company to create a web based video player like this is really going to clean up. If you look at video player related forums around the web, they are full of people asking for this.

After all, when we watch TV we are used to professional transitions without glitches and without having to wait for 10 seconds between items. Why can't we have the same level of professionalism on the web?

Mark my words - whoever does this first is going to make a serious amount of money.

Thanks, John

[johnheath]

Well it's been more than three years since my previous post here (above) and as I prophesied back in March 2014, there is now a player which has the ability to pre-load videos and offer a fairly seamless transitions.

Take a look at https://www.theoplayer.com/blog/seamless-transition-between-videos-with-preloading. However, the 'transition' is not really what I would consider a transition to be. If you watch the demo you'll see that although the videos play, one after another, there is still a little gap and a little glitch between each one. They are straight cuts too, not wipes or dissolves or anything fancy that springs to mind when the word 'transition' is mentioned.

They also charge $50 a month for their basic package, $200 per month for their Pro option and a whopping $800 a month for their Enterprise package. So, perhaps they are making a serious amount of money but it's all too expensive for a mere mortal like me.

Things have obviously moved on in 3+ years. Does anyone know of any other players which offer the ability to pre-load videos and provide a seamless transition or better still, transition effects like wipes, dissolves and more?

Many thanks,

John