All posts by Dougie Nisbet

Embedding Video in WordPress

tech, , ,

I can’t keep up with video embedding in WordPress. It changes, it breaks, I try and keep things simple.

A few tests to embed video from flickr and zenfolio. These are mp4 files created by motion for a Vivotek IP webcam.

Zenfolio: Using the Share Embed Code

This is using the embed code from the Share option in Zenfolio. Need to be logged into zenfolio. The code is added to the page (Gutenberg editor) using the Custom HTML option in the Formatting section. The embed code that Zenfolio supplies is:

<p><iframe src="//www.zenfolio.com/zf/core/embedvideo.aspx?p=c9dd8a90.11" width="800" height="500" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>

This seems to work ok on desktop, Firefox. But no ability to play full-screen or link through to original on zenfolio. Also not so sure about the responsiveness on a smartphone. In fact looks a bit broken overall on iPhone.

Zenfolio: Direct link to video

This is using the Share option available to the owner when logged into Zenfolio. There’s a range of sizes/qualities linking to the original mp4. Quality differences not that relevant for a webcam but I’ve used the best one anyway. In the following example I’ve used the Video option under Common Blocks and selected Insert from URL.

This seems to work as good as the embedded code but with perhaps a bit more buffering. You can click through to full-size, but not to the original zenfolio page. And still pretty broken on an iPhone.

Flickr: Using the Share Embed Code

Like the zenfolio example above, this uses the Share option available only when logged in. The Embed code, added using the Custom HTML option is:

<a data-flickr-embed="true" data-header="true" data-footer="true"  href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/djnisbet/32746907647/" title="phoenix - gardenpath - event5177 - Tue 23 Apr 2019 - 0748 - 32s930ms(no sound)"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/31337/32746907647_b91a271a6b_o.jpg" width="1280" height="800" alt="phoenix - gardenpath - event5177 - Tue 23 Apr 2019 - 0748 - 32s930ms(no sound)"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
phoenix - gardenpath - event5177 - Tue 23 Apr 2019 - 0748 - 32s930ms(no sound)

On Firefox (66.0.3 (64-bit)) running on Debian (Private Window and Cookies Cleared) this gives:

No video with supported format and MIME type found.

This also happens under Firefox (Windows 10), whereas Edge has a bold overlay that states: This type of video file isn’t supported. This is the same video file that I uploaded to both Flickr and Zenfolio, so presumably they are handled, stored or delivered in some subtly different way.

Flickr: Using the built-in Gutendberg Embeds

phoenix - gardenpath - event5177 - Tue 23 Apr 2019 - 0748 - 32s930ms(no sound)
Using the Flickr option under Embeds

Well this is interesting. Is there a difference between pre and post Smugmug Flickr? A lot of migration has been going on after SmugMug bought Flickr, and I wonder if it’s videos either side of that migration that are causing the fun.

Here’s some iPhone footage taken on the River Wear in Feb 2018. It seems fine using the Flickr Embed option.

Flickr: iPhone video uploaded in Feb 2018

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Now here’s some iPhone footage, (same iPhone), taken recently and uploaded to Flickr. Using the same Flickr Embed option.

Stepping Stones - 2019-02-23 09.04.56

Same Camera, same embeding technique. One works, the other doesn’t. The only difference is the time they were uploaded. Let’s try that test again.

Here’s another clip from the garden path webcam from Jan 2019. And it works fine.

phoenix - gardenpath - event1488 - Sun 06 Jan 2019 - 091438 - no_audio - 27M

Finally a couple of examples using the photonic plugin. Same story. It works for video uploaded before the migration, but not after.

Before …

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and after …

Stepping Stones - 2019-02-23 09.04.56

Stepping Stones - 2019-02-23 09.04.56

Time and Patience are not waiting for me and my experience of Flickr has always been exasperating. I had a legacy Pro account but with the acquisition by SmugMug the cost of that has jumped and I don’t think it’s worth the money. I’ll probably not renew my Flickr Pro subscription in May and stick with Zenfolio. Vimeo Plus was great for its video sharing but a bit of an overkill for people like me who just want to potter about with smartphones and webcams. But then, the money saved by not paying for Flickr. Hmmm ….

Findster Duo – First Impressions

Felis

Cats are a worry. On the one hand we want to let them come and go as they please so they can go out, play, chase mice, climb trees, and be cats. The trouble is, they go out, play, chase mice, climb trees, and get into all sorts of scrapes. Being cats.

The real worry is not seeing them for days on end though. Brothers Willow and Mr Mittens like the summer. In the summertime, when the weather is fine, they go and talk to the students, pretending to be unloved and unfed. It’s only by putting webcams on their feeding bowls and bed that we realised they still lived with us.

On a recent holiday we left the cats at home with a homesitter as normal. But on four separate days we had phone calls from Chapel Heights, from alarmed students who’d found Willow mooching around their flats. As the crow flies Chapel Heights is only a few hundred metres from our house, but it’s near a busy dual carriageway and Willow doesn’t have any road sense.

I’ve tried a tech approach. Tile works ok. But its range is short and its use is limited. So now I’m trying another tech approach.

You’d think there’d be tons of tech for monitoring your pets. And there is, but it’s still a maturing market and there’s a long way to go. Trackers for dogs seem a lot more common than those for cats, which makes a lot of sense. The devices are still quite bulky and cats a quite small.

Half an hour ago I attached a Findster Duo to Willow’s collar. It’s light, but bulky, but he seems ok with it. I took it off its supplied strap and threaded Willows collar onto it directly. Let’s see how it goes.

 

 

Dogfights over Marsden Rock

Rissa tridactyla (Kittiwake)

Watching the Kittiwakes at Marsden Rock. Still lots of nest-building going on. Or is it maintenance? Lots of birds sitting on nests. It was very entertaining watching the mid-air acrobatics as the birds ‘negotiate’ over nesting material ownership. They reminded me of aircraft dogfights.

Most of the Kittiwakes I’ve seen have been from the Level 4 viewing terrace at BALTIC so it was interesting to see so many different viewing angles. The distinctive black legs of the Kittiwake are clearly visible.

[djngal type=”flickr” view=’photos’ photoset_id=’72157696938875674′ tag_mode=’any’ sort=’date-posted-desc’ layout=’random’ caption=’title’ thumb_size=’s’ main_size=’z’]

Bring out your dead

Cyanistes caerulues (Blue Tit)

For a few days I had a motion-sensitive webcam on the blue tit nestbox. It was a neat set-up but the usual problems of false-postives were too much of a headache to solve. Apart from dappled sunlight shadows being sensed as motion the tree itself would sway gently in the wind, as can be seen in the video clip below.

While fast-forwarding through chunks of nothing-happeningness I stumbled across this rather grim segment. I’m assuming that it’s a parent bird clearing out a dead chick. One of its own. It did occur to me it might be predation by another adult blue-tit but I’m not sure if Blue Tits do that.

Here’s a still taken at the time the adult takes out the dead chick. That was Saturday (three days ago). I’ve not noticed much, if any activity since then so perhaps it’s a failed nest.

Otter at Baths Bridge

Durham, Lutra lutra (Common Otter)

The best wildlife sightings are the ones that are least expected. We’ve lived in Durham for over 10 years and knew that Otter and Kingfisher are sometimes seen on the river. But despite spending a lot of time running and wandering around the riverbanks I’ve not managed to catch a glimpse.

However about a month ago, on a cool sunny February evening around dusk, I was running along the river path near to Baths Bridge. Out of the corner of my eye (as they say on Most Haunted), I thought I saw something. It was the briefest of glimpses but I was pretty certain I’d seen an otter. I fished my iPhone out of my bum bag, walked slowly to a good vantage point, and waited. Sure enough:

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All these years of vigilance, and when I least expect it, an otter. Unfazed by the people around. And apparently fishing.

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My excitement and slightly odd behaviour was becoming noticeable and while some walkers gave me a suspicious look and wide berth, many others realised what I was watching, and before long little clusters of people were staring and pointing their smartphones at the river.

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Any thoughts at a structured training run had long been abandoned and I continued to parallel walk alongside the otter which seemed completely unconcerned at the audience it had attracted.

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I was beginning to recognise its behaviour by now and found that often there was a tiny tell-tale trail of air bubbles that would give a clue to where it might surface again. It seemed to be steadily meandering its way upriver to Baths Bridge.

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My final sighting was on the racecourse side of Baths Bridge. I’d seen the otter head onto the riverbank and so I stood and waited. I could see it heading straight towards me and I resisted any temptation to move or try and get into a better position. At the last moment it saw me, and headed down the bank and into the river, as much startled by me as the cyclists and walkers who chatted by about the same time.

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A magical few minutes. Totally unexpected, and all the more special because of it.