animated gif thumbnails for videos

[pyrorain]

sooooooooo after a couple of days of fingering here and there, i was able to creathe thumblings form the already generate thumbs (either 1, 2 or 3, your pick)
it took me 2 hours to edit the view_video.tpl and get it almost right. before you try this, Let ti be known that I by changing this, I lost the auto select all java capability, even though the code is there. so if anyone figures out how to get it back to work, I'd appreciate it.
What this does, to be specific, it creates two extra links for the users to copy: 1 code to hotlink a thumbnail to forums, and another code to hotlink the thumbnail
to websites/blogs.
pros: You can now stop using the embedded video option, in whcich you risk not getting a visit to your site, since most users just click play and watch the video from wherever is embedded.
2. Save bandwidth. Again, by not having to sse the embed option. Instead, you use samller file of about 8k.
3. Multiply your traffic to your site by letting users hotlink u from thousands of blogs/forums

cons:
it's a jpg, not an animated gif. The original idea is being able to place an aniamted gif, so that it gives the surfer the feeling of a video preview and not a static image, many uses dont stop to read what they browse, they just want the media goodies,,, so by looking at a jpg, they will just assume it's a thumbnail to an image.

Again, if someone figures out how to add a mplayer command (i know the exact command to use)to the code to add a gif image to the /thumb/ direcotry, please post it!


to do this,

1. backup the view_video.tpl file so if you messs up, ou can just reupload it to your site.
2. go to <form id=linkForm name=linkForm> section of the code, just below you will find the following code for the perm link:

<span style="padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-top: 2px; background-color: #ffffaa">Video URL (Permalink):</span><font style="color: #000000"></font>

<input name="video_link" value="{$baseurl}/view/{$video_info.VID}/{$video_info.seo_name}/" size="70" onclick=javascript:document.linkForm.video_link.focus();document.linkForm.video_link.select(); readOnly>

3.just below , place the following code

<span style="padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-top: 2px; background-color: #ffffaa">Thumbnail Link
for forums: (Click code three times to select all)</span>
<input name="video_link" value="[IMG]{$tmburl}/1_{$video_info.VID}.jpg[/IMG]" size="70" onclick=javascript:document.linkForm.video_link.focus();document.linkForm.video_link.select(); readOnly>



<span style="padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-top: 2px; background-color: #ffffaa">Thumbnail Link
for websites/blogs:(Click code three times to select all)</span>
<input name="video_link" value="&lt;a href=&quot;{$baseurl}/view/{$video_info.VID}/{$video_info.seo_name}/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;{$tmburl}/1_{$video_info.VID}.jpg &quot; border=&quot;0&quot; alt=&quot;{$video_info.VID}&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;"  size="70" onclick=javascript:document.linkForm.video_link.focus();document.linkForm.video_link.select(); readOnly>

save, re-upload to your site.
next, you are honna have to allow the thumb directory (http://www.yourvsharevideosite.com/thumb/) to be hotlinked, to do this

1. open notepad and type the following:

RewriteEngine off

2. save the file as htaccess.txt
3. go tor website control panel, and upload the file in the /thumb/ directory, it is super important that you do not upload it anywhere else, since it will tell that directory to allow hotlinking from anywhere.
3. once uploaded, rename it from htaccess.txt to .htaccess

Disclaimer:
THis worked for me very well . IF it doesn't work for you, please reupload your .tpl back up file, and delete the .htacess file you uploaded to your /thumbs/ directory.

IF u try it, give some feed back!

[grynmoors]

OK NOW I get it! This is a brilliant idea. Rather than have ppl embed videos, whereby not driving any traffic to your site but rather, allowing them to suck up your bandwidth...give them the option to hotlink thumbs instead.

So, instead of seeing the instructions for embedding the video, they get a "copy and paste" code for the thumb image with the URL. Brilliant. I'll have to try this on my test site.

What do you mean "I lost the auto select all java capability, even though the code is there."? I guess I'll find out when I go to do this.

[grynmoors]

OK, I get the link to the thumb (and you can have it say "right click and choose "select all") and I also am getting the link to the embed video option.

So, what we would probably want to do is delete the code for it?

[pyrorain]

by default, when you click on the embeddded video code or permalink, the whole text autoselects , by some hava code , but when you create another inspace of the span, the javascirpt code stops working

[pyrorain]

no need to delete that code, all you ahve to do is disable embedded videos from yoru admin section.

[grynmoors]

OH DUH yeah, I forgot.

Yes, this works brilliantly. I'll be applying it to all my video sites. You're a genius!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[grynmoors]

I figured out the javascript issue

It has to do with 'forms'....each form should have it's own unique name and ID

Here's the code I used and it works nicely.

Look for

  <div style="font-size: 11px"> (Put this video on your website. Works on Friendster, eBay, Blogger, MySpace!)




</div>
{/if}

{/if}


</form>

INSERT AFTER:

<form id=linkForma name=linkForma>
        
<span style="padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-top: 2px;">Video Link for forums:</span>
       
<input name="video_link" value="[IMG]{$tmburl}/1_{$video_info.VID}.jpg[/IMG]" size="60" onclick=javascript:document.linkForma.video_link.focus();document.linkForma.video_link.select(); readOnly>
  

 
</form>
	
<form id=linkFormb name=linkFormb>
    
<span style="padding-right: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-top: 2px;">Video Link for websites/blogs:</span>
    
<input name="video_link" value="&lt;a href=&quot;{$baseurl}/view/{$video_info.VID}/{$video_info.seo_name}/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;{$tmburl}/1_{$video_info.VID}.jpg &quot; border=&quot;0&quot; alt=&quot;{$video_info.VID}&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;"  size="60" onclick=javascript:document.linkFormb.video_link.focus();document.linkFormb.video_link.select(); readOnly>




    
  </form>

[pyrorain]

Awesome dude! works perfectly. thanks :)

[grynmoors]

hehe that's...Dudette ;) LOL

[pyrorain]

ooops! my bad, hard to tell gender online