General developer forum

Andrew has posted a very helpful comment over in the tracker: https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-47049 on the matter of video uploading etc.  And also Justin.  https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-38158  I have posted copies below.  What frustrates me is that this is like Physics: complex and impenetrable, until you understand it, then it is trivial.  I'd like to see a simple video solution for uploading video content to Moodle.  Just like everyone else has.  We have ATTO, uploading images why not video?

Aim: get simple drag and drop functionality for videos into ATTO - and Moodle sections

At present, 

• we cannot drag and drop a video into ATTO
• There is an add media button, but no setting in it for the size of a video, poster image, how it displays etc.
• There is no thumbnail option
• Flowplayer opens up in a way that is not attractive.

A suggested new specification

Is this possible, maybe with new version PHP power or something like a simple gizmo we already have:

1. Drag and drop video onto ATTO/section - ie the use case when you are uploading a video TO MOODLE SERVER and not doing any linking, embedding etc to another site, repository etc.
2. Up pops some options like
   1. Choose size to play at
   2. Choose video 'actual size'
   3. Play embedded
   4. Play in popup
   5. Display as thumbnail
   6. Choose poster image . . .
3. Save and done.
4. If change is needed, highlight video, click video insert button to edit.  Just like pictures.

 ie ONLY locally stored video.  If it's remote video, get all this stuff from the embed code.  I'm responding to Andrew's comment about remote video.  And just using Flowplayer, which may or may not help Justin's comments.

Avoiding telling staff to use the HTML view editor to fix things.  !@#$%^&*(

Someone who knows can easily fix these half done specs. 

There is obviously a lot more I could say - but does anyone have any comment/feedback/crap detection?  Or are we still remaining with using plugins, handcoding or worse?

-Derek

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From Andrew https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-47049

Background

1. The media filter turns anchors matching a specific pattern into the appropriate media type (embed, object, quicktime, etc.)
2. It is possible for a user to specify the dimensions of the video in the URL when adding it
3. If dimensions are not specified, then a default size is used

Additional info

1. The media filter needs to be super fast - it acts on large bodies of text during the presentation of information
2. The video may not be hosted locally on the moodle site
3. We can't expect people to have programs installed to find the information out (e.g. they should be optional)
4. Some videos may be behind authentication (e.g. cookie-based auth) which the Moodle site does not have available to it.

Potential solutions

1. libav (ffmpeg/avconv) has an avprobe tool which can work with both local and remote video and can quickly provide the information, but it would need to be parsed
2. getID3 (https://github.com/JamesHeinrich/getID3) can return information about videos (and audio), but cannot operate on remote sources - only local
3. Others I've found are out-of-date and unmaintained

So our choice seems to be between a CLI tool which we wrap (no problem there, just parsing); and a php tool which requires us to download content (eep - potentially dangerous as would be trusting user content not to be malicious).

We also need to be able to quickly deal with the videos, filter out the dross, and have a default to the current sizes when we're unable to guess.

So in summary, it's not easy, but it's not terribly hard.

From Justin. https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-38158

Specific configuration can be handled by adding variables to player
templates. This already works in
https://github.com/justinhunt/moodle-filter_videoeasy
The next step is to auto generate a user friendly settings form for each
template based on the variables defined there. We already do this with the
Gernerico filter and Generico Atto plugin.

Admittedly though, yes, there will quickly be a point at which "one filter
per player" simply can generate a better settings interface. But thats all
we are talking about really. Perhaps thats a big "thats all?"

Actually I am sometimes asked to implement the logging of user interactions
with the audio or video player. "How many times do they press play?" etc .
That would also be difficult to do generically.

So I do see the limitations of the template approach, and Wordpress and
other platforms also "annoint" chosen media players.

Well then, perhaps we could also put Video Easy or something like it in core, as an
alternative from the chosen player, for people to choose. Much as people can
choose TinyMCE or Atto without going to a 3rd party plugin.

It would provide flexibility to those who need it without
resorting to developing entire new filters, or getting your Moodle hosting
provider to install something.