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[edited from support email]
Hi, we're curious if the VideoLan media player (VLC) can be used with our study.
www.videolan.org/vlc/
Can MediaLab be configured to use the VLC media player? Does the software require that Windows Media Player is used? Is VLC configurable for the application instead?
This should definitely be possible. One of the benefits of using VLC over another video player is that it can do relatively anything (and more) from the command-line itself, whereas the GUI provided only taps into a few of it's extra features.
Take a look at the following command:
C:\Program Files\VideoLan\VLC\vlc.exe -vvv "C:\Videos\ExampleVideo.mp4" --fullscreen --play-and-exitUsing this syntax we can launch the VLC player, begin playback of our video file, tell VLC to initialize itself in fullscreen-mode, and exit once the playback has finished.
For a full list of commands, see the following documentation:
http://wiki.videolan.org/VLC_command-line_help
http://www.videolan.org/doc/vlc-user-guide/en/ch04.html
To integrate this functionality into MediaLab, select the 'Executable' item type from within a row on your questionnaire file.
More information on the 'Executable' item type can be found here:
www.empirisoft.com/medialab/help/index.html?queitemtype.htm (under the 'Executable' section).
If you wanted to prevent the user from being able to control the mouse and keyboard while the video is playing, you could assign a command to a different executable before and after the video that restricts the mouse and keyboard device from being used. With this added on, you would have a fully functional method of playing a video file, in fullscreen, that exits upon completion, and denies the user from altering the state of the application during its run-time.
[edited from support email]
We were able to get the VLC player working, but have been unable to get the video to initiate on its own. I see that there are command line operations I can use, but have been unable to get them to work. What specific line should I put the commands on (the ones to initiate the specific video)? I used the file line to access the VLC player, but the commands won't work on either the file line or the parameter line.
While editing the item in your questionnaire, what are you putting in the 'File Name' field?
Here's what I'm inputting:
C:\Program Files\VideoLan\VLC\vlc.exe -vvv "C:\Videos\ExampleVideo.mp4" --fullscreen --play-and-exit
It would seem that if you enter in the command line arguments within the same field, you'll be able to achieve the desired result.
I've attached a screenshot to further assist - hopefully it helps.
[edited from support email]
I was able to get it working! Thanks for your help and sending the screenshot - it looks like i had an extra space in the syntax.
The following thread can provide insight for more ways to integrate video files into your study:
www.empirisoft.com/support/showthread.php?t=3442
