Feedback thread for GameSpot Video Player Beta

GameSpot Mods, Total Access, and Plus members should see a new button above their video players today. Click that button to see the new video player we currently have in development. There is also a form on the page to submit feedback and bug reports, though if you have thoughts and opinions you can share them here as well. A number of items I want to call your attention to:

1.) New streaming options, choose between progressive download, dynamic streaming, or static streaming.
2.) New bitrates, we now offer two new HD bitrates, 1200k and 2000k
3.) HD viewing experience, flip back and forth between the SD and HD versions of the videos
4.) Bitrate indicator, tells you what quality you are watching the video at.

Some notes about the beta test itself:

1.) Easy access to the new player is only visible to Total Access and Plus subscribers, but anyone can access the new player just by adding ?newplayer=1 to the end of the URL. For example:

http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/adventure/ratchetandclankacrackintime/video/6238204/ratchet--clank-future-a-crack-in-time-video-review?newplayer=1

2.) Embedding video options are currently not available, we'll be adding that in shortly.
3.) If you have feedback to submit, use the form on the page. If you want to provide feedback in this thread, please provide a link to the URL you viewed the video on, as well as your OS, browser, and exact version of Flash. You can check your version of Flash by visiting http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/ and looking in the box titled "Version Information".
4.) If you have general questions about the new player, be sure to post them here. We're compiling a FAQ that will help explain all the new features.

I can't get the video to appear at all, all i get is the "LOADING" circle and nothing more.

The videos i've tried include the one on my blog and a GS Video Review.

I'm running it on Mac OSX Snow Leopard 10.6.1, Firefox 3.5.3 and Flash Version 10,0,32,18

Dan_Lero: Can you estimate what % of the loading circle it gets stuck on?

CyberMew: We'll have a detailed FAQ to answer those soon, but the short of it is for now, bitrates represent the quality of the video yo uare watching. The higher the bitrate, the better the video. 1200k and 2000k are our HD streams. When watching in HD, you can choose either one.

Progressive download is when you see the video load ahead of the timeline bar. You'll be able to jump around within the portion of the video loaded. This is probably what most people are used to. Static streaming is when the video gets streamed to your player. The advantage of this is if you are watching a long video, like an episode of Today On the Spot, you can skip to the near end without waiting for it to load. The downside is you may run into buffering issues if your bandwidth isn't high enough. Dynamic streaming is similar to that, but the quality of the video will change based on your bandwidth and processing power. It will give you the stream that it calculates to be the most appropriate for you. The best way to learn about it is to just play with the settings yourself. And as I said before, we'll have a more detailed FAQ soon.

Dan_Lero: Can you estimate what % of the loading circle it gets stuck on?StanleyL

[QUOTE="StanleyL"]Dan_Lero: Can you estimate what % of the loading circle it gets stuck on?Dan_Lero

Works very well, and I like the design. The only thing that happened to me was the FAQ link for the bitrate indicator occasionally took me to event:http//:cnet.com and the rest of the time to the GameSpot homepage.

The FAQ isn't ready yet, so we're just defaulting to the home page for now.

Works perfectly, though the video quality is a bit fuzzier than the old player.

Running it on Opera 10.01.

hesel: You have that option, just change to static streaming or dynamic streaming.

Cybermew: The new video player is still just a beta test. We won't be rolling out a permanent viewing option until the video player is fully released.

gmax: I'll look in to that for you.

IbnLaAhad: Please check to see if you are comparing the same bitrates in the old player and new player. Also, if you have a specific video that shows markedly different qualities between players, let me know.

I really like the new video player, the look and feel of it seems to be a lot better than the old one. It seems faster and snappier than the old one and didn't seem to take as much of a toll on the performance of my computer. I did think that the HD video wasn't as good as the old one though. Overall the new player is great and I am looking forward to see it make a permanent appearance here in all the Gamespot videos!

Don't know why but when i try to watch that video firefox hangs and i get this error :?

I didn't even realize the options and features you listed were there. Playing videos at the default setup, I can't say I notice a huge difference, but the interface is clean, clear, and non-intrusive, so I like it!

-DaNuTz- : What is your OS, browser version, and flash version?StanleyL

Windows XP SP2, Firefox 3.5.4, Flash 10,0,32,18

I installed Opera 10.01 last night and the video works fine; Firefox just hangs or gets me that error. I guess i'll use Opera from now on. :)

I really like the new player. The screen size is great in both SD and HD (It's so big! :D), and the video is really clean and smooth for the sizes. When it's ready, will it become an option for the default player for everyone on GameSpot? Because I would quite like that! ^_^

Nice looks a lot better than the other one, just a few points: I would prefer the ability to jump to certain sections of the video without having it to load up till that point. When the video has finished, if you want to replay it with the play button, it has to reload the video again.hesel

GameTrailers changed their video player last week...and they said they will be adding user HD videos soon...

If this change means the latter... :D :D :D

I can't view any videos on the new player, the player gets stuck on the loading screen. I'm running Google Chrome v3.0.195.32 with updated flash on Vista Home Premium 32 bit. If i open up IE 8 the player works just fine. So what's up? No love for Chrome users?

I can't view any videos on the new player, the player gets stuck on the loading screen. I'm running Google Chrome v3.0.195.32 with updated flash on Vista Home Premium 32 bit. If i open up IE 8 the player works just fine. So what's up? No love for Chrome users?

Cobalt1365

I am also a Google Chrome user and can't play videos. I have Google Chrome ver. 3.0.195.33, Adobe Flash Player 10 ver. 10.0.32.18, and Vista 64-bit Home Premium. The circle only gets to 1 o'clock and stays there. However the video that is embedded into the New Super Mario Bros Wii review works fine.

I like the new player because it allows seeking to points that are not loaded for videos less than 10 mins.700k stream is now available to everyone so I can watch old vids that don't have an HD version at higher quality, but the video does looks a little blocky

Google Chrome

Video player is recognized, loading circle appears, but the orange loading bar freezes immediately.

Your new video player looks good with bigger buttons.

The ONLY thing that I regret is that it's SLOWER to download a video compared to the former player.

Hope you guys can improve on that part.

Thanks for your attention and your efforts. 8)

THe new player loads longer than the old player.

sometimes when i play the video, it's kind of lagging

if the video you are trying to play is not starting and is at the buffering stage, try turning off the ad-blocker for this site if you use one.

Also, to a mod out there, why is there even an ad before each video? Is this a permanent fixture? is there somewhere I can deplore this shameless idea; as if there isn't enough advertising on this website already. I don't mind adverts here and there.. but seriously!?

Anyway I use to be able to watch all the videos and reviews, even in HD, I use gamespot reviews to help decide almost all my game purchases. But since they implemented a new video player I cant even watch them in SD.CustNam

on the old player i could watch everything no problem in HD,

now on the new player i cant watch anything, its incredibly slow to buffer even on the lowest settings i have 2 leave it buffering for 20minutes or so just to watch a 5 minute video

is there a way i can default back to the old player, or failing that anyone know how to fix this?

FAQ: http://gamespottv.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1311/session/

You can also see the link within the advanced options menu of the player.

I've noticed recently that a lot of trailers,gameplay vids etc, dont seem to be working. All I get is a never-ending buffering symbol, this seems to happen mainly when i try to watch vids for PS2 games, but I have noticed it with other vids tooSheena321

[QUOTE="Sheena321"]I've noticed recently that a lot of trailers,gameplay vids etc, dont seem to be working. All I get is a never-ending buffering symbol, this seems to happen mainly when i try to watch vids for PS2 games, but I have noticed it with other vids toodouble_decker

Heres a few examples, as I said,Im seeing this problem mainly with vids for PS2 games.

http://uk.gamespot.com/ps2/adventure/galeriansash/video/2895502/galerians-ash-movie-1

http://uk.gamespot.com/ps2/adventure/deadrush/video/6098312/dead-rush-official-trailer-1

http://uk.gamespot.com/ps2/action/ghostvibration/video/2862472/ghost-vibration-trailer-1

http://uk.gamespot.com/ps2/strategy/ghostmaster/video/6103388/ghost-master-gameplay-movie-4

http://uk.gamespot.com/ps2/action/bloodyroar3/video/2673869/bloody-roar-3-movie-1?tag=videos;title;1

http://uk.gamespot.com/ps2/action/onimushaburaiden/video/6091944/onimusha-blade-warriors-gameplay-movie-8

So far I hate this new player it never works on any video's for me. I have tried a bunch of random video's and got nothing but the infinite circle. I have tried on all 3 settings and gotten nothing. I never had a problem with the old player or with players on other sites, its just this one. I am using Internet Explorer 7Sepewrath

We're aware of an issue with old videos (from 2001-2002 approx) that we're looking in to.

Yes, I went through a lot of xbox orignal and a few ps2 reviews, gameplay and trailers atc and there were many that didn't work.

What made it even more annoying was the stupid hungry jacks ad. If the videos worked I wouldn't be as annoyed - If there is advertising to remain before the videos, can i suggest you at least remove the ads until you have fixed the videos?

I said something about the ads in an earlier post on this thread and, as far as I know, it was ignored. Can I please have a response from a mod please?

I am also getting the endless buffering icon, I have been unable to see videos on this site for sometime now:? Im currently using IE by the way.