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Amazon S3 Video Loading SLOOOOWLY....Help!??

by skorpion
23 replies
Hey guys/gals,

I just uploaded a video to my new amazon s3 account a few mins ago.

I embedded it onto my OptimizePress squeeze page (using the built in player) and the video displays a black screen with the "little wheel" spinning which means the video is loading.

The video is only 26mb yet takes 2 mins to load before it starts playing.

I'd post my squeeze page here but dont want the thread to get deleted for "promoting" my stuff.

Any ideas?

I can PM you a link!!

Thanks,
-Peter
#amazon #loading #slowlyhelp #video
  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    I would try it with a different video player. I use EZS3.com for all my Amazon S3 video players. Also, what type of file is the video? There can be some problems with mp4 files if they are not coded correctly - they end up having to load a fair bit before they will start playing.

    I have a 10MB .mp4 video hosted on Amazon S3 using a video player from EZS3.com and I am also running this video on an Optimize Press landing page. The video starts playing almost immediately after I press play.
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    • Profile picture of the author skorpion
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      I would try it with a different video player. I use EZS3.com for all my Amazon S3 video players. Also, what type of file is the video? There can be some problems with mp4 files if they are not coded correctly - they end up having to load a fair bit before they will start playing.

      I have a 10MB .mp4 video hosted on Amazon S3 using a video player from EZS3.com and I am also running this video on an Optimize Press landing page. The video starts playing almost immediately after I press play.
      Hey WillR,

      Thanks. The video file is an mp4...you think the EZS3 player will make a big difference from the JWPlayer that optimizepress comes with? Is the JWPlayer not a good option?

      -Peter
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    I can't say that for sure. I have a feeling you are experiencing the problem a lot of others have with their mp4 videos. Each mp4 video has meta data attached to it. The problem is some programs attach this meta data to the end of the video file. This means the whole video needs to load before it will start playing.

    The correct way is to have the meta data at the beginning of the video file - this way it should start playing right away.

    Before we get into that, which program did you use to create/render this video as a mp4? Also, post a link to the video if you can so I can test it out as well and make sure it's not a problem on your computer.
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    • Profile picture of the author skorpion
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      I can't say that for sure. I have a feeling you are experiencing the problem a lot of others have with their mp4 videos. Each mp4 video has meta data attached to it. The problem is some programs attach this meta data to the end of the video file. This means the whole video needs to load before it will start playing.

      The correct way is to have the meta data at the beginning of the video file - this way it should start playing right away.

      Before we get into that, which program did you use to create/render this video as a mp4? Also, post a link to the video if you can so I can test it out as well and make sure it's not a problem on your computer.
      OK, I am using Sony Vegas 10 and am rendering as MainConcept AVC/AAC .mp4

      I've PMd you a link to the site since it is a squeeze page selling a product.

      Thanks for looking at this for me, I appreciate it!

      -Peter
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  • Profile picture of the author skorpion
    I was also doing some research on amazon's cloudfront service...you think that would make a difference? Or is that for serving the media to other parts of the world at quicker speeds?
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    Peter,

    Just watched the video and yes, you have the problem I thought you had. The player is waiting for the whole video to load before it will start playing.

    Hang on a second and I'll dig out the link to go to where you can fix your file so it starts streaming right away.
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    • Profile picture of the author skorpion
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      Peter,

      Just watched the video and yes, you have the problem I thought you had. The player is waiting for the whole video to load before it will start playing.

      Hang on a second and I'll dig out the link to go to where you can fix your file so it starts streaming right away.
      Will...you are the man! Thanks, I owe you a beer lol

      -Peter
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    Ok, here you go.

    Here's the problem. This is taken directly from the website of this software that is going to fix your problem for you.

    "The problem is that many of the editors and converters out there, like Sony Vegas and Adobe Premier, produce MP4 files that don't work well on the Web.They won't progressively stream. The entire video has to download before it will start to play.

    MP4 FastStart fixes the files so they can be streamed. It adjusts the MP4's metadata to allow for Flash players to play them right away (Fast Start), while it progressively downloads."

    So go and download the free software here:
    Data Go Round Lab

    One other very important thing to note. You said you are using Cloudfront S3. I'm not sure if you're aware, but if you upload a new version of a file on to the Cloudfront network, it takes maybe a day or so for the new file to replace the old one completely.

    So make sure when you re-upload the fixed video, name the file something completely different to the original video so you are not just replacing the old file. And then update the link to your video in Optimize Press.

    Let me know how that goes for you.
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    • Profile picture of the author skorpion
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      Ok, here you go.

      Here's the problem. This is taken directly from the website of this software that is going to fix your problem for you.

      "The problem is that many of the editors and converters out there, like Sony Vegas and Adobe Premier, produce MP4 files that don't work well on the Web.They won't progressively stream. The entire video has to download before it will start to play.

      MP4 FastStart fixes the files so they can be streamed. It adjusts the MP4's metadata to allow for Flash players to play them right away (Fast Start), while it progressively downloads."

      So go and download the free software here:
      Data Go Round Lab

      One other very important thing to note. You said you are using Cloudfront S3. I'm not sure if you're aware, but if you upload a new version of a file on to the Cloudfront network, it takes maybe a day or so for the new file to replace the old one completely.

      So make sure when you re-upload the fixed video, name the file something completely different to the original video so you are not just replacing the old file. And then update the link to your video in Optimize Press.

      Let me know how that goes for you.
      Thanks Will...checking out now.

      Also, note taken on the coudfront issue. Thanks for pointing that out...I didnt know that.

      -Peter
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  • Profile picture of the author suef
    I am having the same problem as skorpion, although I'm using Easy Video Player 2.0. I'm having trouble loading my video files from Amazon S3. I tried encoding with HandBrake (recommended by EVP tech support) - didn't work; then tried the MP4 FastStart application- didn't work - got an error message from EasyVideoPlayer. Doesn't play at all.

    Any ideas as to what I'm doing wrong?
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    • Profile picture of the author WillR
      Originally Posted by suef View Post

      I am having the same problem as skorpion, although I'm using Easy Video Player 2.0. I'm having trouble loading my video files from Amazon S3. I tried encoding with HandBrake (recommended by EVP tech support) - didn't work; then tried the MP4 FastStart application- didn't work - got an error message from EasyVideoPlayer. Doesn't play at all.

      Any ideas as to what I'm doing wrong?
      I would say if the video file is not playing at all, you probably haven't set the correct permissions on the file to allow it to be read by anyone. Have you changed the ACL permissions of the file for 'everyone' to be able to read it? This can be done in your S3 account or Cloudberry Explorer if you are using that.
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      • Profile picture of the author suef
        Yes, I changed the permissions. That's why I don't understand what's going on.

        Also, Will, do you have any ideas as to why the player would just spin and spin and not load the video? One video file works at 6MB, another works at 300MB, but others in between (30MB, 100MB) just spin around.

        Finally, I noticed from other posts you've made that you use EZS3 (and so does Frank Kern). I'm looking into that option now. Have you compared EZS3 with EVP at all? I need a solution that will work well with large HD files in Kajabi and WP membership sites and load quickly and consistently. Any suggestions?
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        • Profile picture of the author WillR
          Originally Posted by suef View Post

          Yes, I changed the permissions. That's why I don't understand what's going on.

          Also, Will, do you have any ideas as to why the player would just spin and spin and not load the video? One video file works at 6MB, another works at 300MB, but others in between (30MB, 100MB) just spin around.

          Finally, I noticed from other posts you've made that you use EZS3 (and so does Frank Kern). I'm looking into that option now. Have you compared EZS3 with EVP at all? I need a solution that will work well with large HD files in Kajabi and WP membership sites and load quickly and consistently. Any suggestions?
          I have never used EVP so can't comment on it. Although the last two people who have had problems getting their Amazon S3 videos to run have both been using it. I have never experienced any problems with EZS3. Obviously it is a monthly charged service as opposed to EVP which is a one off payment I think?

          However I am more than willing to pay the 20 bucks per month because I need my video to be reliable and fast-loading for my visitors and I have never experienced a problem when using EZS3 so there is no need for me to change - if it ain't bust, don't fix it.

          In regards to your problems, without knowing much about EVP the only things I can think of are:

          - Your mp4 file is encoded incorrectly and needs to have the meta tags pushed to the end of the video otherwise it won't start playing until the whole file has downloaded. This is the solution I offered to the OP of this thread. However you said you have tried that already I think.

          - The file permissions on Amazon S3. I must admit I have been experiencing problems of late when changing the file permissions. Sometimes I will change them however the change doesn't actually occur. To make sure this is definitely not the problem I would just copy the direct link to the video file on Amazon S3 and paste it into your browser window and press enter. If it comes up saying access is denied then you will know the file permissions are still not set correctly. If it asks you to download the file then you will know this is not the problem.

          Other than those two suggestions I would need to see the page with the video you are trying to get working before I could offer you any further advice.

          Let me know how you go!
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          • Profile picture of the author suef
            Thanks for the suggestions, Will! I did try the two things you suggested (Metadata on MP4 moved to the front of the file; setting permissions properly on S3).

            Then, today, TechSupport from EVP came up with a solution: it was that I violated the Folder and File Naming Protocol at Amazon S3!

            Apparently, Amazon has strict rules about folder/bucket naming: You cannot use an underscore (_) or any fancy characters in naming your bucket - which I did. You can only use hypens (-) and lower case letters and numbers.

            Also, with respect to file naming, you cannot use fancy characters, like ampersands (&) in your file naming (which I did), and you must not have any spaces in your file name. Fill the space with a hyphen or an underscore (underscore is ok for file naming but not folder/bucket naming).

            You would think that this would have been one of the first things TechSupport at EVP would have noticed, since I'm sure they get these types of mistakes all day long, but it took a week of back and forth to figure this out. Go figure.

            Anyway, I am happy to report that the video is now working well with EVP2! It loads quickly and looks pretty good. Now just need to pay the "fine" to get rid of the watermark!

            Thanks again, Will!
            Sue
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            • Profile picture of the author WillR
              Originally Posted by suef View Post

              Thanks for the suggestions, Will! I did try the two things you suggested (Metadata on MP4 moved to the front of the file; setting permissions properly on S3).

              Then, today, TechSupport from EVP came up with a solution: it was that I violated the Folder and File Naming Protocol at Amazon S3!

              Apparently, Amazon has strict rules about folder/bucket naming: You cannot use an underscore (_) or any fancy characters in naming your bucket - which I did. You can only use hypens (-) and lower case letters and numbers.

              Also, with respect to file naming, you cannot use fancy characters, like ampersands (&) in your file naming (which I did), and you must not have any spaces in your file name. Fill the space with a hyphen or an underscore (underscore is ok for file naming but not folder/bucket naming).

              You would think that this would have been one of the first things TechSupport at EVP would have noticed, since I'm sure they get these types of mistakes all day long, but it took a week of back and forth to figure this out. Go figure.

              Anyway, I am happy to report that the video is now working well with EVP2! It loads quickly and looks pretty good. Now just need to pay the "fine" to get rid of the watermark!

              Thanks again, Will!
              Sue
              Sue,

              No problems at all - glad you finally got it fixed. For future reference though if you are ever having problems with any files on Amazon S3, the first thing you should be doing is what I said above - get the direct url to the file on S3 and just test it in your browser by itself. If you had done this then you would have found out your file was not working which would have narrowed down your problem to Amazon S3. Or if you do this step and it says Access Denied then you know you have forgotten to change the file permissions. You need to make sure your file is working correctly before you go looking for problems with external things such as video players, etc. It will make problem solving much faster.

              All the best!
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  • Profile picture of the author suef
    I was wondering about Cloudfront. Is it an add-on to S3? Is it as inexpensive to use as S3? Also, can you secure your videos and content, so they can only be viewed by authorized viewers?
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  • Profile picture of the author Jesus Perez
    Cloudfront Pricing
    Amazon CloudFront Pricing

    S3 Pricing
    Amazon S3 Pricing

    Cloudfront is similar to S3, except it will stream files based on geographic location. It will know where the request is coming from and send it from the closest geographic server.

    "Amazon CloudFront delivers your static and streaming content using a global network of edge locations. Requests for your objects are automatically routed to the nearest edge location, so content is delivered with the best possible performance."

    It's superior to S3 for fast content delivery.
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  • Profile picture of the author techvic
    I've had the same problem with our mp4 files. I've had good luck taking an mp4 file and running it through Camtasia. Spits out a file that'll load right up and play from Amazon s3.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Cole
    Hi there,

    I had also experience this from the end users perspective. The S3 videos were simply running then freezing and then "loading" then it would run again for several seconds then same again. Very frustrating.

    I know it is not my PC, this is new with super speed processors. I was however blaming my boradband connection.. Glad i found this thread.

    Chris.
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  • Profile picture of the author luiscaraballo
    Hi guys,

    Sometime ago I had the exact amazon S3 streaming software.

    Here´s the solution I found:

    There´s a little free software I found called QT Index Swaper. You can find a free copy here: QTIndexSwapper - Renaun Erickson | Renaun Erickson

    From what I understand, lots of produced videos have a QT Index metadata put at the end of the video. So online streaming software waits until the end of the video to play it.

    What you need to do:

    Run each video file on the QT Index Swaper software before uploading them to Amazon.

    What is does is "Swap" the QT Index from the end of the video to the start.

    It solved the problem for me and every video I upload runs without having to wait for a complete 100% buffer. Just point, click play and start watching.

    Hope it helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author colzinfobiz
    Unless I am missing something? Is it also about how reliable your hosting company is to how your video is going to show up.

    I know for my own personal use, I tend to go with YouTube, as load you upload the video properly in the first place. This can easily be done with the use of freeware such as Handbrake. You will generally get a faster loading video as Google spends millions of dollars on this tech.

    I have also found that you can customize your Ebeds and change the player settings quite easily with a quick search for code on YouTube.

    Also, If your worried about people ripping off your video's or other people owning the rights to these video's....then i can tell you from experience that some of these other video hosting companies have some major issues with playback and you will want to read their terms and conditions to make sure your not getting led up the garden path so to speak.

    Cheers and best of luck
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  • Profile picture of the author RayAcevedo
    Will Riley, your answered helped me big time man, had almost the same problem with my video, thanks
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