Use File Share Library with Video Library

Use File Share Library with Video Library

File Share Library

Interacting with Media Files

When you upload a media file or add a media file link in Video Library that is connected to a File Share Library, you may notice that the upload page uses the standard SharePoint Document Library upload page, not the customized Video Library page. The functionality is the same; you can still upload files and add links just as you can with a standalone Video Library.

About the Status Column

HW69_2010_FSL-Status.jpgWhen the contents of Video Library are stored in File Share Library, a Status column is added to the Video Library Standard view. This column shows the status of the file in the File Share Library.

About the Status Icons

Icon Status Value Description
HW69_2010_FSL-AvailableIcon.png File exists in File Share Library The file or folder was verified to be in the File Share Library the last time Video Library synchronized with it. You should be able to access the item.
HW69_2010_NotAvailableIcon.gif File not available

The file or folder is not available in the File Share Library and cannot be accessed in Video Library. This could be for several reasons:

  • The item was deleted, and the File Share Library settings for deleting items say to leave the link in the library but mark the item as not available. Video Library inherits File Share Library settings.
  • If all items display this status, the File Share Library connection may not be working, or the network file share may be offline.
  • If the status changes to File not available when attempting to access an item, the item may have been deleted since the last synchronization (the status was not updated yet).

Interacting with multimedia files in a Video Library that is connected to a
File Share Library is no different than a standalone Video Library. You can still play files, edit properties, and upload or delete files directly from Video Library. As a user, it does not matter where Video Library stores its files.

Media File Metadata

Media file metadata is stored with the link to the file in Video Library, not with the source file in the File Share Library. Edit metadata properties for multimedia files in Video Library. Available metadata properties are still populated automatically when you upload a media file.

How To Upload an Audio or Video file to Video Library

How To Upload an Audio or Video file to Video Library

How to upload one audio or video file to Video Library

Step Action Result
1. To upload an audio or video file to a Bamboo Video Library, click the Upload Media File button in the Documents tab of the Tools ribbon, or click the Add new item link at the bottom of the items list. HW69_2010_UploadMenu.jpg
2. Select an audio or video file to upload and click OK. A preview of the media file and its properties is displayed. HW69_2010_UploadScreen.jpg
3. Video Library will attempt to extract basic metadata from the media file and populate the item property fields.
4. Review and update the item properties and click OK.

How to upload multiple audio or video files to Video Library

Note: A copy of the media files are stored temporarily on the server while the files are being processed. This will reduce the available hard drive space on the server. Before uploading multiple large files, it is a good idea to make sure you have sufficient hard drive space on the SharePoint Web server to accommodate this temporary file storage requirement.

Step Action Result
1. To upload multiple files, click the Upload Multiple Media Files link in the Upload Media File page. The files will be uploaded without displaying a preview of the media file and its properties. To update item properties after upload, edit individual items in the library. HW69_2010_UploadMultiple.jpg

HW69_2010_UploadScreenSupportedFormats.jpg
For video files, a thumbnail image is auto-generated using Microsoft Expression Encoder. For more information, read How to Install Microsoft Expression Encoder. To use a custom thumbnail instead, read How to Change the Thumbnail Associated with a Media File.

For a list of supported media file formats, click the Supported File Formats link below the file name box in the Upload page.

How to Install Microsoft Expression Encoder

How to Install Microsoft Expression Encoder

Microsoft Expression Encoder is required to generate thumbnail images for videos uploaded to Video Library, and must be installed separately. For your convenience, Bamboo includes a link in the Video Library Setup program to download the free version of Microsoft Expression Encoder 3. To install Expression Encoder, follow the installation instructions provided on the Microsoft download page.

If you are installing Video Library on Windows Server 2008, you must also install the Desktop Experience feature before using Expression Encoder.

NOTE: If you choose not to install Expression Encoder, thumbnails will not be generated automatically when you upload videos to Video Library. This does not affect video playback. You can assign a thumbnail image to the video manually following the instructions provided in How to Change the Thumbnail Associated with a Media File.

For a list of video formats that Expression Encoder 3 can generate thumbnails for, see the CODECS/IMPORT section of the Microsoft Expression Encoder 3 FAQ. In general, Expression Encoder supports most media file formats that can be played in Windows Media Player.

If you are unsure if a thumbnail can be generated for your video file, try importing the video into Expression Encoder. If Expression Encoder can display a thumbnail, so can Video Library.

Additional information about Expression Encoder can be found in the Microsoft Expression Encoder 3 FAQ.
Video Library also supports Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 for thumbnail generation. If you choose to install this version instead of the version provided with the Video Library Setup program, review the System Requirements section of the download page carefully. Expression Encoder 4 requires .NET 4.0 and Silverlight 4.0.

How to Change the Thumbnail Associated with a Media File

How to Change the Thumbnail Associated with a Media File

When a video file is uploaded, Video Library will attempt to automatically generate a thumbnail image to display with the item in a library. Automatic thumbnail generation is performed by Microsoft Expression Encoder, which must be installed separately. For more information, read Installing Microsoft Expression Encoder.

If you are uploading an audio file, if Microsoft Expression Encoder is unable to provide a thumbnail image, or if you just want to change the image to something different, you can manually assign a thumbnail image to the library item using the following steps:

Step Action Result
1. Edit the item properties. HW69_2010_EditItem.jpg
2. In the Custom Thumbnail column, enter the URL to the image you want to use as a thumbnail. Click the Click here to test link to verify that the image can be accessed. You do not need to enter a description.

HW69_2010_CustomThumbnail.jpg

NOTE: The path you enter can be absolute (http:/ /servername/site/picturelib/image.bmp) or relative (/site/picturelib/image.bmp).

If the image you select is stored in a SharePoint library in the farm, Bamboo recommends using a relative URL if the Web application has multiple access points using Alternative Access Mappings (AAM) or if the Library and associated thumbnail images will be saved as part of a site template.

3. Click OK to save the item properties. HW69_2010_CustomThumbnail2.jpg
The image will automatically be reduced to an appropriate thumbnail size and the new image will be displayed with the item.

How to Add & Play a Link to External Media Content

How to Add & Play a Link to External Media Content

Video Library can store links to hosted media files on other servers.

Step Action Result
1. To add a link to external content, click the New Media File Link button in the Documents tab of the Tools ribbon HW69_2010_NewMediaFileLink.jpg
2. Enter the URL to the hosted media file and click OK. HW69_YouTubeURL.jpg
NOTE: Video Library has been designed and tested to work with YouTube. Links to files on other Internet media services may work, but are not officially supported and may not be able to provide metadata to Video Library. For YouTube video links, use the full URL listed in the browser toolbar instead of the shortened URL provided for social media sharing.
3. To play a media file hosted in Video Library, simply click the thumbnail image. HW69_2010_PlayVideo.jpg<
HW69_PlayVideoPlayer.jpg<

Best Practices for Using Video Library with a File Share Library

Best Practices for Using Video Library with a File Share Library

Return to Storing Media in a Bamboo File Share Library Overview

Following is a list of best practices for using Video Library with a File Share Library.

End Users:

  • Add, delete, and update media files from the Video Library.
  • Do not update files in the File Share Library.
  • Avoid updating files directly in the network file share. If you do, be aware that changes will not be visible in the Video Library until the next scheduled File Share Library synchronization.

Site Admin:

  • Configure the File Share Library to copy files to the network file share when new items are added. If you add files only to the File Share Library, you lose the advantage of using an external file system to store your media files.

System Admins:

  • Enable support for large files in your Web application so you can upload files larger than the SharePoint default of 50 MB without affecting your other SharePoint libraries.