Can't you just modify what default program opens when "this file type" is loaded?

Can I?
YES!!
Could they, NO!!

And they said if I couldn't "fix it" they'd really have a problem because the covers are already printed and they'd need to reprint them with a disclaimer!!!

I tried axplaining to them that almost any computer that has a DVD drive will also have something like WinDVD or PowerDVD installed and that's what the great unwashed public would use to play a DVD on a PC but that was to no avail. Of course the only way that WMP will do what it's doing is if at some time there was a DVD player app installed.

I'm just trying to conjure up what sort of disclaimer they'd put on the sleeve, maybe they should include words like "Harmful if swallowed" and "Insert correct side up".

The other really scary thought is what'll happen if they try to play a DVD with complex motion menus, now that'll really confuse them.

Bob.

Thank goodness for "people like that" it makes our jobs seem oh so more difficult. People are willing to pay for stuff they feel they could never do on their own. Granted, video editing is not "easy"...but it is far less difficult than it used to be. I remember my senior year in high school I suggested (and was commissioned) to do a senior video. I had never done ANY editing before in my life. I got acces to a vocational school with some editing equipment that took up an entire room. Now, I can be more creative and do a better job with a laptop computer and external hard drive. I think people still see the big "room-sized" equipment.

The longer people continue to be intimidated by the technology that is out there..the longer I have an expensive hobby that puts a dime in the pocket.

"I tried axplaining to them that almost any computer that has a DVD drive will also have something like WinDVD or PowerDVD installed and that's what the great unwashed public would use to play a DVD on a PC but that was to no avail.

Not entirely true, but why don't you just rearrange the order of the media and chapters in the Project Overview to match what the customer wants? WMP will play them in the order in the overview, top down.

Steve Mann

That's what I've done, third time lucky, I hope.
Of course anybody watching it that way misses out on my lovely menus :(

Bob, a most salient point you make.

Do we need to go with the lowest common denominator? The next time a client asks me, what preferred format for the video I'm doing for them, I'm gonna say VHS tape - thank you very much! Oh, and BTW, you do have/own a VCR? . . . Don't you?

It's when I visit a "new" client and see those 00:00:00 flashing on/off I realise just whom I'm dealing with.

Maybe we do need a check list of what - media/medium - is going to be supplied and in what formats and just how this will be read.

Taking something for granted has been a nightmare for me too. Least of which was a HUGE meeting space in London where the A/V manager was tearing his hair out 'cos some idiot had played with his syncing. No problem with my product, but he had to work out a "bodge" to get my people speaking their words in sync. The other was a "sound-person" turning up the house volume 'cos a prat had played with his booth monitor volume. Easy? Yeah! Spectacularly stupid? Eh .. yes.

It's this "Cradle to Grave" approach needed for a project. When a bunch of people are only responsible for a section of a project there is no one person overseeing and understanding the process. As a/v people it is often very enticing to mix-in. The hardest part is to stand aloof and away. Well, it is my living and reputation on the line! Yeah?

Having worked in and on the outside of Local Government, I get "sign-off" agreement dates and HAVE them sign-off where we are at. Sometimes it is real simple, "Here you are seeing the DVD working on my simple DVD-TV and here on my PC and here on my mobile DVD player. Yes? Good, oh BTW here is my invoice." In it I write "Part 6)Bloggs signed-off and accepted . . . . " DONE!

Yeah, definitely a checklist is the way to go. 20 boxes, maybe? Have them fill it out and sign it. Done. This is gonna be even more important as HD and other formats start dribbling through the system. "But I want it looking like .. . " . "I hear you but you haven't invested in the monitors/pc/decks to support it - yes?"

Interesting . . .

Grazie

At least you don't have someone saying "think of the color blue and play it again." Or, one of my all time favorite descriptions (chick singer of course) "I want you to make me feel like I'm standing by the ocean, but with an Indian influence." Good news is I paused, dialed up a couple of sounds and played and she said that's it! That's it! :o) Derek

Derek?

""I want you to make me feel like I'm standing by the ocean, but with an Indian influence." " . .. Place samosa in gob. Throw a Bucket of water over head! Done!

And yes .. love it . . . love it . . . you did very very well . very creative.

Grazie

Ha! That's much better Grazie! I'll bring a bucket with me for now on...just in case. I do vaguely remember thinking....I wish I was at the beach with an Indian instead of this stinking studio with you. :o) Derek

What's confusing me is that i've used WinDVD, PowerDVD, and Windows Media Player 10 to watch DVDs and the behavior of the three is just about identical. WMP always shows me the same menu structure that i see when playing the DVD in any other player, including set-top players.

Maybe they're still using version 9? I don't have ready access to that version anywhere so i can't test it.

I think you're right, it'd be V9 or earlier.

V10 is XP only. It won't install on a 2000 machine.

Bob,
I bought a new laptop and the AC power cord was in a separate
plastic bag. Marked on it was a disclaimer:
"DO NOT PLACE ANY PART OF THIS CORD IN YOUR MOUTH"
they should have at least included if the other end is plugged into
an outlet but can't get everything worded for the general public.

You might put an autorun to direct it to a program that plays correctly.

Now THAT reminds me of a producer I worked with who was trying to coach some voice talent for a computer game we were building.

"No, no no! You have to be bigger than the color red!"


Well. There. You. Go.

"they should have at least included if the other end is plugged into
an outlet but can't get everything worded for the general public."

Actually, the flexible sheath on most electrical cords contains some amount of lead. This is why you shouldn't put the cord in your mouth (you should also wash your hands after handling electrical cords).

You're not alone. I've had the exact saqme trouble with PDFs. They want them to be accessible by the lowest common denominator out there. That the upgrade to the current Acrobat viewer is free and hardly takes any time or effort doesn't merit consideration. So they lose on the nifty capabilities of the later versions of Acrobat, I no longer let such things bother me. Or try to...

It's when I visit a "new" client and see those 00:00:00 flashing on/off

The last generation of VCRs set themselves from time code in PBS station signals.

Still works very well.

:O)

Yes, but first you had to tell them which channel the PBS station was on....

To some that's as difficult as setting the clock.

Yo Farss -

BANG

v