Newbie question re: starting, preloading, then playing a video clip

[mchentrp]

I've got flash 8 pro and I'm also trying out two or three other software packages. All I really want to do is create a video clip for a website that sits there and waits for someone to hit the play button, goes into a preloader the first time, play the video when it's sufficiently loaded then stops and returns the scrubber to the starting point.

I've followed several tutorials to create a preloader and a couple work nicely with a loader bar, percentages, and pop in a large jpeg with it's time. However, whenever I try putting in the video clip it doesn't work.

I've used the pro 8 video import wizard to create the files to include the nice controllers. I've followed the tutorials, to include finding the glitches and making changes to the preloader works.

So what's the trick to getting a composite movie with preloader, video clip with controller, to the website in parked mode waiting for a viewer to hit "play" and starting the movie with "loading" and then the video.

On2 has a nice preloader set up, but I don't want to pay that much just to get a preloader and the movie start. Swish Video is easy to use, but no preloader. Can't get Swish Video and SwichMax to merge at all. Wimpy does a great job with audio, but kind of klunky with video--no really workable pre-loading.
MCH

[oldnewbie]

Are you talking about a FLV?

Maybe you should post a link to your .fla.

[mchentrp]

Would doing that maintain the flash video controler intact?

[oldnewbie]

What video controler?

Attach your .fla.

[danimal]

http://gotoandlearn.com has some tutorials, including several that build up a nice video player interface. It might have what you want.

[mchentrp]

The video controller I'm referring to is the .swf overlay that flash creates via the import wizard.

First, I'll try using a link via HTML to see how that works, but I also want to do some more analysis based on the tutorials found at www.gotoandlearn.com that danimal mentioned.

In addition to getting the movie to park then load on click, I'm still trying to figure out how to integrate the video clip with a preloader that works, then worry about publishing that combined movie.

[mchentrp]

I went to the site and I think it's one of the better ones I've been on over the past week or so.

I'll work through the video tutorials to see if I can find my mistake. The loading bar tutorial is very similar to the one I'm using, it's just getting the hand-off between the preloader and the video that's got me stumped.

Thanks.

[mchentrp]

Here's my .fla called preloader 4. This has a preloader that I built using a couple of different tutorials. The content is a jpeg and when I preview the movie it works fine.

Also attached is preloder 5. This has the same preloader, but the content is a skinned FLV created by importing a video to the stage and using the skinning wizard.

The first one works, the second doesn't.

What I want to do seems fairly simple. I want to put the movie in a cell so that when the page loads the movie is sitting there. Upon click the movie starts to preload then plays either when 100% loaded or at something like 75%

The minute I put the FLV on the stage or even in the library, the movie stops working.

Any direction is appreciated. I'm not afraid to pound on it, but I'm stumped.