Some people have been experiencing video playback issues within Proclaim on Windows. Help us out test a version of Proclaim with improved video playback performance!
We thought we'd also take some time to give a bit of background about video playback within Proclaim.
How do I help?
Testing out this new version is really simple, you need to have the latest version of Proclaim installed (Windows only no Macintosh) and then run a custom Proclaim installer (links further below). To revert back to the latest Proclaim you will need to uninstall and re-install.
Instructions
- Determine if you have 64-bit or 32-bit Proclaim installed
- If you are not sure then launch Proclaim and follow the instructions under the “How to Tell if a Program is 64-bit or 32-bit using the Task Manager” section of this article http://www.7tutorials.com/3-ways-learn-whether-windows-program-64-bit-or-32-bit .
- Close Proclaim if it is running
- Download and run the Proclaim installer for your system
- 32-bit: http://downloads.logos.com/Proclaim/InstallerBetaVideoPlayer/Proclaim-x86.msi
- 64-bit: http://downloads.logos.com/Proclaim/InstallerBetaVideoPlayer/Proclaim-x64.msi
- Follow the install steps in the wizard
- Holding the Control key down Launch Proclaim
- Holding the Control key down when you launch Proclaim brings up the Login screen (see picture below)
- Be sure “Disable hardware acceleration” is unchecked
- Be sure “Use experimental video player” is checked
- Log in, open a presentation, and work as you would normally (go on air, preview slides, etc…)
If you see any issues let us know (post in the forum).
- One thing that is helpful is to differentiate between videos not loading and videos loading but running with degraded performance. When the video doesn’t load the play control never appears, or if you click Play, the video doesn’t play. If they are playing with degraded performance you will notice dropped frames, jumps in the videos, or the audio not in sync.
- There is a known issue where loaded videos don't display their first frame. If you cannot tell if the video is loaded press play on the video - if there is no play control or if it doesn't play then the video is not loaded.
Close Proclaim and restart it holding the Control key down again
This time uncheck “Use experimental video player”
Repeat step 6
What are the video playback issues?
There are two main types of video playback issues.
Videos play but are noticeably degraded
Videos will play but frames will be missing, there will be noticeable stutter, and / or the audio is out of sync.
Videos do not load
Videos often load fine for a while then stop loading. This can be associated with a rapid increase in memory consumption.
What causes the video playback issues?
It is our responsibility to make videos play on all supported platforms within Proclaim. In our experience video playback issues are attributed to one of the following things
Video drivers not up to date
Running old drivers can cause video playback and hardware acceleration issues.
Insufficient video cards
Video cards with little or no graphics memory, slower GPU, etc… can greatly affect performance.
Insufficient CPU and memory
If the computer running Proclaim isn’t powerful enough performance will suffer.
Third party applications
Third party applications and Proclaim can compete for computer resources, most often CPU and memory. Shutting down other memory or CPU intensive applications (i.e. video / image editing software) while running Proclaim will improve performance
Virus checking or monitoring applications can intercept or monitor Proclaim disk and network access and significantly affect our performance.
Remote desktop applications
ultraVNC, LogMeIn, and other applications that provide a way to view / use a computer remotely often disable hardware acceleration, have memory leaks, etc… Although they will sometimes work these configurations are not supported.
Bugs within the embedded media player within Windows
Like any video player the embedded media player in Windows has bugs. These bugs can lead to videos playback issues.
What is different in this version?
We have been working on improvements in several areas (i.e. rewriting operations within Proclaim to consume less memory improves performance on less powerful machines). The work in in this version is around the last point… the reliability of the built in video player in Windows. We have found that certain video usage patterns exacerbate some bugs within the video player. We have made changes to Proclaim to avoid these patterns as much as possible.
Are there any known issues?
Yes.
When “Use experimental video player” is checked on certain machines some video files, when loaded, do not show the 1st frame of the video. If you press play or if the video is set to auto-play and you are on-air or previewing the video then it plays normally.
Should I use this version in my service?
No. We have not done thorough testing of the non-video related features.
Who should I contact if I need help?
Post in the forums or Email ProclaimDev@faithlife.com.
