Video Keeps Stopping On My Site

[Frustrated1]

I uploaded a small video (20mb) to my website which is on a WordPress.org platform. When the you hit play, the video will play until it needs to load. Then the only way to get it to start playing again is by hitting play rather than it starting again on it's own. So, you have to hit play over and over again. I don't understand why this keeps happening and it's really pissing me off!

File is a .mov and I've tried .MP4 I used IMove09 to edit and I exported it as streaming-medium. The video was recorded with a Canon Vixia HF200 HD.

I really don't understand how to fix this. It took me two weeks to even be able to upload video to my site. GoDaddy told me I needed a php5.ini file because the php.ini file was outdated. So, I had to pay someone to create the php5.ini file just to be able to even upload video. Now, the darn thing won't play without stopping every couple of minutes forcing the viewer to keep hitting play.

Needing Help,
Frustrated1

[lordsmurf]

Godaddy hosting sucks -- that's part of your problem. You'll find many complaints, especially at places like webhostingtalk.com. You're probably in a shared environment, where everything is throttled down.

Next, you're not really using a "streaming" service, you're providing a file that browsers with Flash can play as it downloads. Big difference.

Lastly, you're probably not compressing the file for optimal web streaming format.

[Frustrated1]

Actually, GoDaddy has been nothing but helpful anytime I have any issues.

I did compress the file from 100mb down to 20mb.

do you know how to fix my problem?

[terryj]

can you provide the website URL so that we may take a look at the video in question,
so that we may try and help with your issue?

[lordsmurf]

Actually, GoDaddy has been nothing but helpful anytime I have any issues.

Being "helpful" doesn't discount the fact that their boxes tend to run like crap.

[Frustrated1]

Ugh! I didn't want to put the url out there cause the site still isn't finished, but if it will help me resolve the issue then I guess I have to. http://BrandonDavisOnline.com

[lordsmurf]

Your banner PNG is a 350kb file, that's insane. Compress.

Stop using Quicktime. There's your whole problem. Quicktime is 1990s. Use H.264 MP4 and stream with Flash (may have to rename to FLV).

Problem solved, that was easy.

[Frustrated1]

What do you mean my banner PNG is 350kb? I don't understand what that means.

Also, I tried .MP4 first with Flash and had the same problem.

[Frustrated1]

I want my video to look like this: http://JonathanBudd.com

[lordsmurf]

The big photo at the top of your site is a 350kb PNG file, and 350kb is a third of a meg (too big -- stupid big). A proper file size is more like 35kb, a 10th that size. http://www.smushit.com/ysmush.it/

The Budd site is using Flash, not Quicktime.

Not to sound rude, but there's no way in hell I'm taking advice from somebody that looks like they're still in high school or college. That Budd guy's site is an obnoxious read, and most of it appears to be used-car-salesman styled bullshit. Only an idiot buys things like this. I suggest you not model yourself after one of those infomercial goobers.

[Case]

File is a .mov and I've tried .MP4 I used IMove09 to edit and I exported it as streaming-medium.

Using (H.264/AAC) .MP4 and using Flash browser playback will help your audience, as that is more mainstream than QuickTime. It shouldn't make a difference for viewers that already have QuickTime installed, though, as the same MP4 file can be used.

What do you mean my banner PNG is 350kb?

By using JPEG instead of PNG, I could get the file size down to just 44 KB at original size (1000x252 px) and comparable quality, meaning the top image would load 8 times faster.
This doesn't influence the video playback, though.

I want my video to look like this: http://JonathanBudd.com

Let's compare these two.
Brandon's current video is has an average bitrate of 326 kbps. Jonathan's video has an average bitrate of 524 kbps, meaning Jonathan's audience actually needs a faster internet connection. But Brandon's video is already scaled down to a smaller screen size and a lower framerate.
Brandon's video is hosted at his own site. Jonathan's video is hosted at a third party video hosting service (EdgeCast). This has an effect on the maximum download speed for the viewer: I could download Jonathan's video at 4.2 times the download speed compared to Brandon's video (590 KB/s vs. 140 KB/s), meaning playback is less likely to catch up with the progressive download.

[Frustrated1]

I want to thank everyone for taking the time to help, it means a lot to me because I have been struggling with video issues for over 3 weeks now and I'm just exhausted. I never thought that setting a site up on a WordPress would cause this many problems. It makes me wonder if everyone in the world who uses WP has had to go through the same crap just to get pics/vids uploaded to their site?

I searched the WP forums and the supposed "fix" listed did not fix my issue.

My area of expertise is in SEO, PPC, Social Media, Traffic etc. etc....I don't have a clue about the technical stuff.

Is there any possible way that someone could outline the steps I need to take to resolve my issue? I know it may be asking a lot, but I really do not know how all this stuff works.

When I created the video, I edited it through IMovie'09 and then exported it as streaming - medium through Quicktime. So, are you saying that I should export through Flash rather than Quicktime? When I posted the video through my WordPress.org backoffice it asked me what type of file I wanted it to be and I chose Flash. Not sure if that means anything or not.

Again, thanks to everyone for helping me out.
Frustrated1

[Frustrated1]

Lordsmurf,

Your comment didn't offend me as I can see what you're saying about JB coming off a little car-salsy but the kid makes $3million+ per year. You gotta give him a little credit if he can rake in that much with his BS. : P

[lordsmurf]

People like him often claim to makes milllions, but their IRS and bank account statements show that to be more BS, another marketing ploy to make you think they know what they're doing. This kind of stuff has long been debunked.

The WordPress platform works fine, but it does take quite a bit of knowledge about CSS and PHP to make it work well.

Have you considered paying somebody for help? I know I could make a great site that doesn't have any of these issues. Since this is a new small business, surely you have a budget and can put aside a few hundred bucks for the site work?

[Frustrated1]

Yeah, I've got a programmer. He has fixed every issue I have, but this whole video thing has been a mess. After GoDaddy told me that my php.ini file was outdated because they had a newer version (php5.ini) he created it and then increased my max_post_size and Max_upload_file_size in order to get pics/vids on my site. It worked, but when I uploaded the video it kept stopping while downloading.

Also, I tried increasing the size of the video a little above 600x400 so it is bigger in the post section, but there appears to be a white box around the video that expands and overlaps some of the other parts of the site.

I'm just so frustrated with all these technical issues because they are stopping me from being able to market my site/products. That's why I haven't filled in the other pages or put my opt-in box on the site. I've been struggling with all of these technical issues.

Then I do marketing for local businesses as well and I have my site up with a template on it, but I haven't been able to finish it because I've been working on these video issues. The kicker is that I need to know how to fix these issues in case I set someone up on WP I know what to do in order to get video on their site.

I gotta take my hat off to programmers. This stuff can give you a headache.

I still need two more sites. One for my primary opportunity and another site that is going to be a community site where only select users can log in with a user and password to access private trainings, webinars, videos, posts etc. We can't start working on those until I get these video issues resolved.

[Frustrated1]

Lordsmurf,

What are your rates and do you make custom capture pages?

Also, after I get this issue resolved with the video on this site, I have another site that I'll need to upload a Screenflow presentation to that will probably need to be updated so it accepts videos, too. What would you charge just to fix the video/pic upload issue so I can upload whatever whenever?

Thanks,
Frustrated1

[lordsmurf]

I'll send you a private message (PM), and we can discuss further in email.