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1. westseattledood
   Member Profile

   

   Asked TR (our busy busy editor) and she doesn't know. Maybe somebody out *there* has the expertise as to why some wsb videos go black and are not viewable and others do not and are viewable from my iphone. Rebooting/refreshing has no effect. TR says all wsb/wcn youtube vids have same coding/format. I sure don't get it.

   I am watching wsb/wcn videos on my iphone
   directly through youtube with no problem and that's ok by me though it is weird. But perhaps if it is happening to others, folks will let TR know the problem is wider than just my limping, aging 3GS.

   Thanks peeps.

   Posted 4 months ago #         

2. roundthesound
   Member Profile

   I have the same problem with my android.

   Posted 4 months ago #         

3. richwseattle
   Member Profile

   One reason is that iPhone doesn't support Flash. I don't know if all the videos here require Flash, but there's one on the front page as I type this that does.

   Posted 4 months ago #         

4. cjboffoli
   Member Profile

   

   wsdood: I just went back and loaded the last few YouTube-hosted videos I could find and they're loading just fine on my iPhone 4S. Recently posted Seattle Channel videos, and the KING5 video of orcas also loaded perfectly too.

   Most video hosting sites have been iPhone/iPod/iPad friendly (meaning not Flash-based) for years now. The only thing I can recommend is that you make sure you're running the most updated version of the iOS5 operating system for your iPhone 3GS.

   To update, just plug your iPhone into your computer, launch iTunes (for either Mac or Windows). Once it's open, select the iPhone in the devices list on the left sidebar. You'll then see a button that says "Check for Update." Just follow the on-screen instructions from there.

   Posted 4 months ago #         

5. Rod Clark
   Member Profile

   

   Youtube recently started making video clips available as .webm files, as well as the older types. Some devices might not yet be able to play .webm files.

   Each file format - .webm, .mp4 and .flv - needs a different decoder installed on your phone.

   It's probably a .flv incompatibility problem if you're looking at the embedded videos.

   But if you look at WSB's Youtube channel, there's also the question of .webm compatibility. If your device can't play .flv files and can't play .webm files, then something on the phone is sitting there behind the scenes selecting the .mp4 files for you. If some updated bit of software were to think that it should now consider .webm files usable, and some other non-updated bit of software were to think otherwise, then you might see a problem like that.

   Find a video clip somewhere, not necessarily on Youtube, that you know for sure is a .webm file, and try to play it. See what happens.

   If you're using Firefox, you can try the Download Helper add-on, which will display all the available files in the various formats and pixel sizes, and let you pick whichever one you want.

   Posted 4 months ago #         

6. westseattledood
   Member Profile

   

   Thank you so much for the great help you guys! So, yeah, cjb hit part of a basic problem i completely forgot about. I got distracted and forgot to update the phone software, plus I procrastinated and never backed up the phone. Duh. I am such a royal space case sometimes.

   If after I do all that it still doesn't load, then I'll look at the file types.

   Thanks again guys! Appreciate your help.

   Posted 4 months ago #         

7. cjboffoli
   Member Profile

   

   wsdood: Could you please post a couple of direct links of videos that aren't working for you. It might make it easier to parse out how they're encoded.

   Posted 4 months ago #         

8. westseattledood
   Member Profile

   

   Sure cjb. This one is from whitecenternow.com, so not strictly wsb site. As of a week or two ago, WCN has a new mobile site, fwiw: http://whitecenternow.com/2012/01/10/boundary-review-board-annexation-hearing-night-2-there-will-be-a-night-3/

   These videos were loaded, TR tells me, with same
   code/format as first two vids published night before on WCN
   which was first night of that mtg which Patrick also recorded.
   I can view those first two videos of the "boundary review"
   first night (part1) just fine off WCN. And all are viewable on
   WSB youtube channel.

   On the WSB site, the otter video is not viewable. The first time it tried to load, i saw a "get flash player" icon briefly
   before the screen went to black. That isn't a WSB vid
   obviously. Actually, I am more curious why WCN "boundary"
   video isn't working, but please don't take too much of your
   time to troubleshoot this. I might be one of just a handful of
   wcn readers, if even that many, who would want the videos to
   execute on the mobile site. As I said, I can view directly on
   youtube.

   Posted 4 months ago #         

9. westseattledood
   Member Profile

   

   Sorry for the formatting on that post!

   Posted 4 months ago #         

10. cjboffoli
    Member Profile

    

    OK. This link is playing just fine on an iPhone 4S and iPad 2. A quick Google check does seem to bring back some hits from other iPhone 3G users who were seeking fixes for You Tube videos. But they're all a few years old so, again, I hope and expect that the newer iPhone operating system iOS5 has addressed this issue.

    Posted 4 months ago #         

11. westseattledood
    Member Profile

    

    Thanks a bunch Dr. Gadget for the positive long-term prognosis!

    Posted 4 months ago #         

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