Embedable player for MP3 clips in WTS sections?

[ssreverb]

This discussion was split out of this thread: http://forums.finalgear.com/the-site-itself/finalgear-com-v4-0-brainstorm-20872/


Hi Viper,

One suggestion semt-x and I have been talking about....

how about having an embedded flash player for sound clips in the "What's that Song?" section so that users can simply hit play, rather than downloading the clips and then playing. Of course, if your browser is configured correctly they will automatically play in quicktime, but not everyone is set up properly. An embedded flash player would make sure everyone could listen to them easily and quickly.

[Viper007Bond]

Originally Posted by ssreverb

Hi Viper,

One suggestion semt-x and I have been talking about....

how about having an embedded flash player for sound clips in the "What's that Song?" section so that users can simply hit play, rather than downloading the clips and then playing. Of course, if your browser is configured correctly they will automatically play in quicktime, but not everyone is set up properly. An embedded flash player would make sure everyone could listen to them easily and quickly.

Can't. It'd have the RIAA on my ass in a heartbeat.

[ssreverb]

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

Can't. It'd have the RIAA on my ass in a heartbeat.

Huh? We already have sound clips from the shows posted in the music forum. We are simply looking for an easier way to play them.

And just to be clear, i'm not talking about embedding music, full length tracks, or anything that the RIAA controls.

Here's an example:
Embedded Flash Mp3 Player

[Viper007Bond]

Isn't quite a bit of the stuff you guys link (the clips) RIAA controlled? And there is a large difference between embedding something on your site and linking to something offsite. That's the whole reason we don't host torrent files and instead link to Mininova.

We'd probably be able to get away with embedding them right into the forums, but I don't wanna risk it.

So how's a compromise? I'd be more than happy to write you a PHP script that'd work something like this:

http://www.dcopperfield.info/player.php?file=/topgear/10/0/6.mp3

You place those links in the WTS posts and when clicked, it takes you to a page (such as the one you linked) that plays the requested MP3 file.

[ssreverb]

I may not have been clear when I used the word 'embedded'. Yes, I didn't mean that any of the mp3 files would be hosted by Final Gear.. they will still will be hosted on my own space.. using a link to my server. Similar to when people embed youtube videos here. I'm pretty sure if we use the player here (Flash MP3 Player), that we can add the remote links to my server .... but we'll have to test it to be sure. If not, I'll try out your php script.

[Viper007Bond]

Originally Posted by ssreverb

I may not have been clear when I used the word 'embedded'.

No, you were, and I knew exactly what you meant. But my answer still has to be no. As it is, I'm not entirely comfortable even with what we're doing now directly linking to MP3 files.

Of course I'd love to go along with your suggestion (I personally think it's a great idea in itself), but making sure this site stays here for years to come without any serious legal issues is my #1 goal.

Unless I'm mistaken, the RIAA frowns upon work under their control being hosted / served / displayed on websites. Yes, the actual content file is being hosted offsite, but by displaying the content on this site, I think that crosses the line. Then again, I'm no lawyer, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

[ssreverb]

The debate must go on....lol... 8)

I work in a music related field, with record labels and the RIAA on a daily basis. This is one of the reasons, when people post asking for mp3 files of full length tracks I do not respond. This site should not be for distributing music..

With that said, I do not see what the issue is? No .mp3 files are being hosted on FinalGear. And the RIAA does not control sound clips of barely audible music recorded from television shows w/ show dialogue, sound effects on top of it. If we were posting MP3 files of actual songs ripped from CD we would have reason to worry.

Similarly, will we ever be in trouble from the RIAA for linking to .avi files on mininova of the entire shows that happen to contain the music as well. Answer: No

[ssreverb]

Unless I'm mistaken, the RIAA frowns upon work under their control being hosted / served / displayed on websites.

The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) has nothing to with UK programs and the music they choose. Even if they did, once the BBC licenses the songs, the versions of the songs w/ dialogue and sound effects would be under the BBC's control.

The RIAA worries about there original source recordings (from cd) being traded and shared. Nothing more.

I worry about the mininova links of the entire shows being posted more than anything else. If we can do that with no problems, having a simple embeddable player for 'mods' in the WTS section should not be a problem.

I had no idea this would turn in to such a long winded debate ..lol

[Viper007Bond]

Originally Posted by ssreverb

Similarly, will we ever be in trouble from the RIAA for linking to .avi files on mininova of the entire shows that happen to contain the music as well. Answer: No

We aren't. We're linking to a page that just happens to have a download link to a torrent. Big difference, to me at least, from linking directly to a torrent file.

Regardless, this discussion is mute:

[Wed 19:53:35] <~Viper007Bond> Quiky: weigh in with your own thoughts please and correct me if i'm wrong -> http://forums.finalgear.com/the-forums/embedable-player-for-mp3-clips-in-wts-sections-21125/
[Wed 19:53:46] <~Viper007Bond> Quiky: your server, so it's ultimately up to you
[Wed 19:54:07] <&Quiky> I don't care.
[Wed 19:54:15] <&Quiky> we arent hosting it, we are not liable.

I'll get to work in a little bit on it.

[ssreverb]

okay, Thank you, sir.
All I need is html enabled and we'll be good to go.
If you would like to see the code or have any questions, PM me.

[Viper007Bond]

Originally Posted by ssreverb

All I need is html enabled and we'll be good to go.

I'll actually just be doing something along these lines if that's okay with you:

[wtsplayer]/topgear/10/0/6.mp3[/wtsplayer]

Your domain would be hard coded in so it couldn't be used for non WTS stuff (i.e. full songs), hence the path rather than URL.

[ssreverb]

Don't really care... but I guess it depends on what the player will look like? I don't want you to have to do a lot of work on this when I've already got the code ready, and all the swf files on my server. We could test both options out though. And see which we think is better.

I kinda like this one.. and there are a lot of options, for me to change the width, height, etc to make it fit well into the lists.
http://www.dcopperfield.info/topgear/mp3player4.html

[Viper007Bond]

Originally Posted by ssreverb

but I guess it depends on what the player will look like? I don't want you to have to do a lot of work on this when I've already got the code ready, and all the swf files on my server. We could test both options out though. And see which we think is better.

Yeah, nah I was just gonna use JW's. His FLV player is what I use on the front page.

I'll be using his MP3 player script though rather than the generic media player one you're using as it's easier to implement and simpler for the job.

[ssreverb]

That sounds good to me.

[Viper007Bond]

Here 'ya go. Let me know if you want anything changed (size, colors, etc).

Blah blah blah

[wtsplayer]/topgear/10/0/6.mp3[/wtsplayer]

[Viper007Bond]

Colors changed to match site. Look better?

[ssreverb]

Well done. Color looks good & the code is much better incorporated into the forum.

I've added it to the list here:
http://forums.finalgear.com/showthre...567#post492567
You may want to play with the width and height based on how it looks in the list (doesn't need to be very big), but other than that it looks/works great.

[Viper007Bond]

I can't make it shorter (I tried, it just starts cutting off part of the player), but I did center it vertically within the text line, so it looks a lot better now.

[ssreverb]

No problem. The height look fine now that it is aligned.