Frequently Asked Questions

Please read this page before contacting us with your problems.

Getting started

• What is AutoView ?
  AutoView is a system which enables non-technical users to produce on-line video lectures with synchronised slides and subtitles. AutoView is currently only available as an activity module for the Moodle VLE. However, the system is designed with other implementations in mind should there be a market for them.
• How is the AutoView licensed ?
  The core AutoView Moodle module is freely available under the GNU GPL v2 licence. Other parts of the AutoView system, such as the Lecture Capture Live plugin are sold under commercial licences.
• Will I need any extras ?
  The module contains everything that you will need to put a pre-prepared video and set of slides on line with synchronisation. You will need additional software to prepare the video and the slides.
• What is the XML config file ?
  This file is created automatically by AutoView using the file name you supply when creating an instance of the module. The file chooser button is provided as a convenience so that you can also select a pre-existing file that may have been uploaded from elsewhere.

Slides

• How do I convert my slides from PowerPoint format? There are a number of options :
  1. Install OpenOffice, load the PowerPoint file into OpenOffice and the use the export function to create a Flash movie of your presentation. Use the slides with the Flash (Open Office) slide format.
  2. Buy a copy of iSpring Pro, publish the presentation as Standalone Flash Files and then upload the all the slides into a separate folder within Moodle. Use the folder with the Flash (Separate files) slide format. AutoView cannot trigger animations within the slides, so you must either turn off all animation, or ensure that all animated elements play back automatically after the slide has loaded.
  3. We have a commercial document conversion service which can be integrated with AutoView, which is available to our customers. Please contact us for more details.
• I'm using PDF slides, but they never appear in the main slide display.
  PDF slides are only currently supported for printing purposes, they won't work in the main slide display. We would like to have been able to use PDF slides directly in the main presentation window, but this hasn't proven to be technically feasible.
• Why can't I see any slide thumbnails for my presentation ?
  You need to have an image based slide source for the thumbnails to work.
• Why would I want multiple slide sources ?
  Different types of slide source have different uses. Flash based slides are ideal for the main slide display, but are unsuitable for the thumbnails and printing. Image based slides are better for printing and thumbnails and can also be used in place of the Flash slides in the main slide display if the flash plugin is missing. PDF slides provide an additional option for printable slides. Multiple slide sources also allow you to have translated versions of slides for other languages on the same presentation page.
• I can only view the first slide of my presentation/add times for the first slide
  You need to set the number of slides manually in the slide sources section.
• I can't get the slides to synchronise
  There are a number of reasons for this :-
  • If you have an old version of flash and a much more recent web browser version (or vice-versa), it is not uncommon for the interaction between flash and javascript to fail. Upgrade flash and your browser to the latest versions and try again.
  • The javascript interactions don't work in some of the more unusual OS/Browser combinations. This is a browser/plugin vendor issue and there is not a lot we can do about it. See the browser compatibility page for more information on what we expect to work/fail.
  • You may have security settings or software which is blocking interactions between the plugins and javascript. This is quite rare and would only be expected if you have increased security above the normal defaults.
• My slides move forward two at a time.
  You have probably used the Adobe Flash (OpenOffice Converter) slide type for slides which weren't created using OpenOffice. Try changing the type to Adobe Flash (AutoView Converter).
• My slides only move forward on alternate time indexes/clicks.
  This is the opposite of the problem described above, try changing the slide type to Adobe Flash (OpenOffice Converter).

Videos

• Can I record a video using this Module ?
  The GPL version of the Module is not able to record videos, you will need to create a suitable video with other software. If you want to record or broadcast video, you will need the AutoView Lecture Capture Live plugin.
• I don't need video, just audio
  All of the supported video plugins should be able to play audio only files if the file is converted into a suitable audio format for the plugin.
• Why do my videos sometimes fail to auto-start ?
  The video start should be triggered when the slides have finished downloading, however if the video plugin isn't ready when this happens it is likely that the video will fail to play. Unfortunately it is difficult to account for all possible circumstances when writing the auto-start feature. Normal auto-start mechanisms for video plugins can't be used in AutoView because they would in most cases cause the playback to start before the slides have finished downloading. Auto-start is not currently enabled for presentations with no slides and is disabled completely when in editing mode.
• What is the point of having multiple video sources ?
  This enables you to add additional copies of your video in different formats, bandwidths or languages from which the end user can choose if they have a problem with the first choice video. AutoView can detect the plugins installed on the end-users computer and will attempt to pick the video which is most likely to work with the available plugins from the list of configured sources. We have found this feature to be invaluable when dealing with company intranets which have restrictive policies regulating staff internet access.
• Which video formats do you recommend ?
  Unlike many other video presentation systems which restrict you to a choice of one or two video formats, AutoView is 'format agnostic'. We aim to support as wide a range of video formats and video plugins as possible so that the content creator can choose the format that is best for their purpose. When creating a presentation, you should take into account the likely capabilities of the computers and internet connections owned by your target audience. For a 'generic' audience, we recommend providing the videos in two different formats, this gives your users a fall back option if the first choice video format fails to work properly. MPEG 4 (.mp4, compatible with Quicktime and VLC) is a good first choice format, this format is widely supported and has been approved as an ISO standard which should give you some insurance against future changes in the computer industry. FlashVideo is similarly widely supported and will work well for most users, but does not benefit from ISO approval.
• Why does load position sometimes fail to change the video position ?
  Unless you are using video streaming (see below), it may take several minutes (depending on the length/size of your video and available bandwidth) for enough of the video to have downloaded to enable you to move forward to a previously saved position. If you find that your users have this problem regularly, you should either reduce the bandwidth of your videos to speed up downloading, or consider using a streaming server for your videos.
• Should I use streaming video servers ?
  Video streaming allows you to move backwards and forwards in a video much more easily and quickly than is possible with a progressively downloaded video file. Video streaming is also much more efficient with bandwidth. If you have a lot of long videos, or you expect your users to make heavy use of the load/save position feature of AutoView, you should seriously consider streaming to improve video performance and reduce the server load.
• The video playback keeps pausing.
  This can sometimes be caused by local network problems and other software on the computer downloading updates in the background. If you persistently experience poor playback performance, you may need to re-encode your videos to operate at a lower bit rate/quality. 512kb should be sufficient for a presentation with slides. Higher rates may exceed the capability of broadband connections in rural areas.
• The video will not play.
  We have come across cases where 3rd party windows security software will silently block the download of video files. Try temporarily disabling your security software and trying again. If the video now plays, you will may need to add an exception for the website hosting the AutoView presentation to your security software.

Troubleshooting

• Moodle is giving me the following error when I try to install AutoView :

  Tried to modify database, but "/my/install/path/mod/autoview/db/mysql.sql" doesn't exist! autoview tables could NOT be set up successfully!

  Why is this file missing from the download ?
  The mysql.sql file is no longer needed for Moodle 1.7+, however, Moodle still throws this error message if it can't find or access the files needed to setup the AutoView database entries. Check the file permissions for the autoview/db subdirectory.
• I've installed the module, but some/all of the pages come up blank ?
  Check the file permissions of the module, they all need to be readable by the webserver process. There is a test script which will check the access permissions of all the files for you, just point your browser at /moodle/mod/autoview/test.php (or equivalent) on your Moodle server.
• I'm getting a message saying that I don't have XSL support on my webserver. What do I do ?
  XSL is essential to the operation of AutoView. There are 3 different XSL methods available in PHP, depending on which version of PHP you have. You can check which version of the XSL PHP methods you have on your server by accessing the /moodle/mod/autoview/test.php (or equivalent) script with your browser. Consult the readme.txt file in the AutoView download for more information on enabling XSL support on your webserver.
• The 'Set time' and 'Move and Set' buttons in the editing mode always record a time index of 0:0.0 when using the Java Audio plugin
  The Java audio plugin does not support the automatic reading of time indices, you will need to enter the slide/subtitle trigger times manually.

Design and Development

• How do I add a translation to AutoView ?
  Have a look at the translation guide.
• I need a new feature or translation for AutoView, but don't have the skills/time to write it, can you help ?
  YES ! We are a commercial company and we accept paid consultancy and development work. Just contact us with your requirements and we'll give you a quote.
• How do I make a code contribution to the GPL v2 licensed parts of AutoView ?
  The AutoView Moodle module and core code is licensed under the GPL v2 licence, so we are happy to accept contributions under these terms through the forum and bug tracker on this website. Please be aware that we are a commercial company and that files from the GPL version of AutoView are likely to be distributed with paid-for products which contain non-free components. eg We are currently developing a commercial application which can convert published MS Producer presentations into AutoView format, this application will be distributed with a copy of the vresource directory and XSL templates from the AutoView module.
• Why have you used XSL in the Moodle Module ? Wouldn't it have been simpler to write everything in PHP ?
  The module could have been written without XSL, but we wanted to make it as portable as possible so that we can easily produce alternative implementations for other systems. The use of XSL reduces the volume of code which will need to be ported and makes it considerably easier to maintain multiple implementations and produce add-on tools which are not part of the module.

Commercial Services

• When will the Commercial Document Conversion service become available ?
  This service is under development as an internal project and works well for our own use, however, we have not yet developed a package which can be easily installed on a 3rd party server. If you require this service, please contact us to discuss your requirements.

Lecture Capture Live

• I can't reliably record my video on to the server, there are always glitches and breaks in the video.
  There are a number of reasons for this :-
  • Your internet connection is too slow.
    You can try reducing the video speed/quality if you are unable to get a faster connection.
  • Your internet connection is unreliable
    If you are using Wifi you should ensure that you have good signal strength and that there are no devices nearby which can interfere with the connection. Some corporate Wifi networks will periodically force your computer to re-authenticate, this can cause gaps in the video stream. Where possible we recommend the use of a wired connection for maximum broadcast reliability.
  • Your computer is too slow.
    AutoView Lecture Capture Live should work on most recent computers, we have used it reliably on a Pentium 3 1.2GHz system with no problems. However, if you have a computer which is slower than this, we cannot guarantee good performance.
• I can't connect to the AutoView Lecture Capture Live system from my web browser.
  Lecture Capture Live uses Adobe Flash video streaming technology. In some corporate environments, video streaming technology may be blocked by the corporate firewall. Check with your system administrator to see if video streaming using RTMP has been blocked. This is unlikely to be the case for a home user with a normal domestic internet connection.
• I have Red5 0.9, but you only provide packages for Red5 0.7 and 0.8.
  The Red5 0.8 packages are suitable for use with Red5 0.9. However, Red5 0.9.x has a serious bug in it's flash video recording capability which interferes with the recording and broadcast modes of the Lecture Capture Live plugin, so you are not recommended to use Red 5 0.9.x.
• Can AutoView Lecture Capture Live be used with Adobe Flash Server products ?
  At present no. However, if there is sufficient customer demand for such a product it may be developed in the future.

Other

• What happened to AutoView versions 1 and 2 ?
  We have been developing and using our AutoView software since about 2000. AutoView versions 1 and 2 were developed entirely for our own use and consisted purely of a delivery platform with no on-line editing features. This software was not released or sold publicly, although it was used for some commercial work for 3rd parties. AutoView 3 is our first public version of the delivery platform.
• PHP 4.x
  PHP 4.x is no longer supported by php.net and has been listed as obsolete since August 2008. We recommend that anybody still using PHP 4.x upgrades to PHP 5.x as a matter of urgency. AutoView is no longer tested against PHP 4.x although we do not plan to change the code to break PHP 4.x support in the foreseeable future.