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  6. Video support FAQ

Video support FAQ

Q. What are the limitations in
BlackBerry Access
 capability to trap all video elements and in the website and stream securely through
BlackBerry Dynamics
?
Because
BlackBerry Access
 uses
Apple
's webkit to render the HTML data, it isn't possible to catch all video elements and redirect them through the
BlackBerry Dynamics
 network. Instead,
BlackBerry Access
 will run some additional
Java
 scripts after the page is loaded to replace the video elements with custom URL which will make the native player call back to
BlackBerry Access
 application logic when it needs to fetch data so that the video data can be streamed through
BlackBerry Dynamics
. There are few limitations due to the fact that
BlackBerry Access
 translates video elements after the page is loaded:
  • While a page is being loaded (not fully loaded), if the user taps on any of video elements, the player may request data directly and not go through
    BlackBerry Dynamics
    . The video playback may not work if the HTTP server that hosts video can't be reached directly. Users must wait for the page to load completely, and the video icons must be replaced by
    BlackBerry Access
     playback icons.
  • Some of the pages have logic to dynamically create video elements based on user action after the page is loaded. These dynamically inserted video elements may not be playable through
    BlackBerry Access
     secured streaming.
  • Custom javascript players and HTML elements are not supported.
Q. What are the requirements for video to be streamed and played in
BlackBerry Access
 through
BlackBerry Dynamics
?
BlackBerry Access
 supports secure streaming of video files hosted within corporate intranet through HTTP based video streaming over
BlackBerry Dynamics
 based secured connection. The current solution requires the following setup to work seamlessly:
  • The HTTP server hosting video has to support range requests. Otherwise, the video can't be played back.
  • The network over which the device is connected to should be able to support the minimum bitrate needed by video files. The bitrate differs based on resolution of video, not meeting this rate will either not play back the video or will have a lot of pauses while the player is trying to buffer the data.
  • It is recommended to have
    BlackBerry Access
     connected to the
    BlackBerry Proxy
     server using
    BlackBerry Dynamics Direct Connect
     instead of through the
    BlackBerry Dynamics NOC
     for less latency and better video playback.
Q. What video files are supported by
BlackBerry Access
?
BlackBerry Access
 uses
iOS
 native video player and should support most of audio/video codecs and containers supported by the native player.
BlackBerry Access
 has been tested for video and audio encoded with AAC, MP3, MPEG 4, H.264, and MP4 contained in video containers.
BlackBerry Access
 doesn't support 3GP.
Q. What is maximum size of video file supported?
BlackBerry Access
 uses 32 bit values to keep track of video offset, so it can support up to 2 GB of data. Only video files up to 700 MB have been tested.
Q. Where are video files buffered and what are limitations with buffering?
BlackBerry Access
 has a limited amount of buffering in RAM (volatile program memory). The memory is capped at 20 MB currently, and no video data is stored in the file. Because caching doesn't persist in the file, the video player may have to fetch the same data repeatedly depending on how the user plays the video.
Q. Why does it take lot of time to start video playback when I go forward or back in a video?
Because seeking requires
BlackBerry Access
 to fetch data from the network by issuing new connections and requesting a new data range, it takes time for the connection request and fetch depending on the current bandwidth and latency. Also, because of limited non-persistent buffering,
BlackBerry Access
 may not have previously played data when user seeks back while watching video and must request the data from server again.
Q. How do I download video file and watch it later?
The download option is available only for the video files.Whole locations are referred in the link tag (href) or when the video URL is entered in the address bar.
BlackBerry Access
 doesn't support download to file for videos that are embedded in HTML files using <video> tags.
Q. Why does my
BlackBerry Access
 application lock while watching video?
This because of a security restriction in
BlackBerry Dynamics
 and the IT policy. The video player doesn't reset the idle timeout, so the device can lock while user is watching video. You may have to tap the screen now and then to reset the idle timeout.
Q. Is Apple's HTTP live streaming supported?
Yes.