Is Andromo optimized for HTML5 video embedding?

shaney_g

I've tried .mp4 .ogg and .webm. None of them will work when I add the zip file into an Andromo app. Is there some other format that I have to use with Andromo? I know my HTML code is correct, it works just fine in a browser but not in an app.

Is Andromo not yet optimized for HTML5 video embedding?

meoldTest

Local video files (same for audio) currently cannot be played from within the HTML Archive activity. However I believe streaming will work.

pixelpower

I tried also but all that happened it shows the controls to the video player but nothing plays.

shaney_g

@darryl Thanks for the heads up. I figured that was the case.

@pixelpower That is exactly what it did for me as well.

meoldTest

@shaney_g
It's been a while since I looked into it, so the details are a little fuzzy, but it's basically an issue where the audio/video files need to be exposed so that the media player can access them from the app's assets. It's a little tricky though given the abstract nature of the HTML Archive activity. We'll see what we can do with it in the future.

shaney_g

@darryl Thanks for the reply. What other limitations HTML and HTML5 wise does the archive activity have that you are aware of?

meoldTest

@shaney_g
Those are the only ones off the top of my head that I'm aware of, or have experienced. Of course there may be others that fall into that realm though, and that being external apps (beyond the web widget) that need access to files you're trying to use.

There may also be features/functionality you see in the Android Browser application that don't work in Andromo's web widget. We use Android's WebView widget in our implementation. While the WebView widget is the core of the Android browser, it's feature set is limited by default, so additional functionality needs to be added to it. So there will likely be differences there.

colinadams

@shaney: Since Google Play limits your apps to 50 MB, I'm wondering what sort of video (format and time/length) you were wanting to embed into your app?

We're looking into ways to allow video embedding, but it seems you can only fit about 45 seconds into 12 MB at normal phone-recorded resolutions with medium settings. So, you'd only be able to embed one rather short video... Which is why Android really tries to push you towards streaming.

But, let us know. If there is enough demand, we'll keep looking.

pixelpower

I cant even stream from the html activity. What html code do you use to stream , I use iframe but it doesnt work for me.

licemeat

I guess it depends on the codec and compression but I can get a lot more than 45 seconds in 12 megs.  Using MPA / MP4 wrapper and h264 with 80 % quality I can get 3 minutes plus depending on scene motion changes between frames

But I have a lot of tools, so this is using Apple's Compressor 

shaney_g

@darryl Very useful info. Thanks for the heads up. Glad to hear that most other HTML5 functions should work.

@coilnadams Mainly i was just toying around with some HTML5 coding and one of the first thinks I decided to try was video embedding. I don't necessarily need to use it since, as you pointed out, streaming will save space. My main issue here was that if video embedding was not available through the archive activity, then what other HTML/HTML5 functions were not available as well. from darryl's post it seems that most everything else should work just fine. Could you confirm this?

toontitan

Im able to embbed video just fine using regular html video tags.

My only problem is that when videos start to play you cant quite make them stop. If the user hits the back button to exit out of fullscreen mode the video will exit but the sound will continue to play in the background. If the app is closed the video uis still playing in the background. Only way to shut it down is to force close the app or go back to the video list and access a new video.

Other than that it works great for me, i have hours and hours of video that my app accesses using the RSS widget.

here's my app... https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andromo.dev245078.app228620

shaney_g

@toontitan By embedding video I meant having the video in the html archive zip file and playing it from there using HTML5 video tags. That cannot be done with Andromo.
Based upon the size of your app (2.5M) it appears to me that what your are doing is placing in a video tag to stream a video from an already online source. That is not what I was trying to achieve. I appreciate the feedback though and keep it up with the apps!

toontitan

I see. Have you tried setting up your video as a zip archive? You might be able to embed the video in the page and zip it as a single file with the video. And use the zip archive action to have it go into your app.

I was recently experimenting with the zip archive feature and was able to embed a flash movie (sort of).

I exported the flash animation using the flash to createjs feature and it created a series of files for me. I then packaged them up as a single zip file and the result is that it looks like a flash animation. But really just a series of embedded files.