Installing the hwdVideoShare Component into Joomla 1.5.*
From HwdMediaShare Documentation
This article explains how to install the core hwdVideoShare component into Joomla 1.5.*. If you use Joomla 1.0.* please see the installation guide for that version of the Joomla CMS. Please read Getting Started with hwdVideoShare before installing hwdVideoShare.
Installing the Component into Joomla 1.5
Download the latest hwdMediaShare package
Please make sure you are installing the latest version of hwdVideoShare. To access the most recent version please download the hwdMediaShare package from our download section. For an explanation of the contents of the hwdMediaShare package please see this separate documentation.
The Joomla 1.5 Installation Tool
The core component should install automatically in Joomla 1.5 under the Extension Manager tool. To install a new component you need to log into your administration panel and click on the Install/Uninstall option under the Extensions menu option.
From this screen you can browse your local computer for the hwdVideoShare installation file then click Upload File & Install. During the installation the progress of the installation tasks will be outputted to the screen. This can be useful if you need to debug this process. There might be errors during the installation which will mean you need to manually perform various tasks on your server. If you have unexpected errors whilst installation hwdVideoShare please see this documentation on common hwdVideoShare installation problems. If you often have problems installing large packages into your Joomla installation we recommend you install hwdVideoShare using the install from directory tool. We also advise you to disbale the FTP settings in your Joomla Global Configuration.
Completing the hwdVideoShare Setup
The first time you visit the hwdVideoShare administrator you will need to complete the setup of hwdVideoShare. This process allows you to install sample categories and important optional plugins.
- Sample Categories: If you do not wish to use the sample categories please uncheck this box.
- YouTube Plugin: If you do not wish to install (or upgrade) the YouTube plugin please uncheck this box.
- GoogleVideo Plugin: If you do not wish to install (or upgrade) the GoogleVideo plugin please uncheck this box.
- JW FLV Media Player License Agreement: The JW FLV Media Player is very popular but comes with a license.
Checking the Component Settings
After you have successfully installed the component you should check the Server Settings page, which is located under the hwdVideoShare component menu. Check that the server paths to FFMPEG, FLVTOOL2 and MENCODER are correct. If you are using a Windows server please read our Windows guide.
If these are incorrect, or are not installed on your server the component will not fully work. You need to replace the default values with the correct paths. Read our documentation on finding the correct paths for these packages.
Create a Menu Link to the Component
To create a main menu link to the hwdVideoShare component you should select the Main Menu from the drop down Menu list in the administrator panel. (Note: You can create a menu link from whichever menu you want). Click on the New button to create a new menu link and on the next page click on the hwdVideoShare component.
You should now be able to give the menu link a new name. When you have finished click on the Save button to save your new menu link.
Adding videos
Users upload videos through the frontend of the website, even the website administrator must add videos through the frontend of the website. The import tools in the administrator section only exist for batch video importing or to allow administrators to import special videos.
Why can I not add videos through the administrator?
hwdVideoShare has been specifically designed to function as a community video gallery. It has been structured to allow normal users to upload and share videos. It is not the purpose of hwdVideoShare to manage the administrator's personal video gallery only.
Add a video from YouTube
hwdVideoShare has build in support for YouTube videos. Support for third party video wesbites such as YouTube and GoogleVideo require a plugin for each website however, the plugins for YouTube and GoogleVideo are built into the hwdVideoShare component.
If you do not wish your website users to add any third party videos please visit the Plugin page in the hwdVideoShare administrator and unpublish all third party plugins.
For help adding YouTube videos please see this documentation.
Upload a video from your local computer
Users upload videos through the frontend of the website. There are three different upload methods available in hwdVideoShare. These are an Advanced Perl Upload Method, and Advanced Flash Upload Method and a Basic PHP Upload Method. You can select which method is used in the General Settings of hwdVideoShare. We have separate documentation dedicated for debugging the upload process.
If you do not wish your website users to upload local videos please visit the General Settings page in the hwdVideoShare administrator and click on the upload tab. You can then disable Local Uploads.
For help uploading local videos please see this documentation.
Video Conversion
If a video file is uploaded to your website by one of your users it needs to be converted to a special video format (FLV) by software on your server. Therefore, after videos are uploaded they will appear in the administrator section of hwdVideoShare marked as Queued For Video Conversion. They will not appear on the frontend of your website until they have been successfully converted. The administrator of hwdVideoShare now has a built in video converter which can be used to convert videos.
It can take a few attempts to get the converter setup and running successfully. We highly recommend you test a number of different formats to ensure that MENCODER and FFMPEG have been setup correctly and hwdVideoShare is converting videos as expected. To help you setup the converter you will need to switch on the debugger and browse the output of conversion attempts.
We have dedicated documentation for debugging this conversion process. Many people have a few problems when getting this set up so don't get disheartened straight away! If you can't find solutions in this documentation then search and post in our forums.
Other Third Party Videos
You can use hwdVideoShare to add videos from YouTube, GoogleVideo and many other popular video sharing websites. Our standard hwdVideoShare component comes with the YouTube and GoogleVideo plugin already installed. If you want to accept videos from more third party websites you need to install the Third Party support pack which increases the number of supported websites. You can see a list of available plugins on our website. The plugin files are all included in the hwdMediaShare package.
We have documentation that explains our third party plugin system in more detail. If somebody adds a video from a third party website, the video does not need to get converted using MENCODER. It is streamed directly from the external website.
What's next?
After you have successfully uploaded & converted videos, and added third party videos you can start to explore the other features of hwdVideoShare. You can use the template plugins to change the appearance of the component. We also have language plugins available to translate the component into the native language of your website.
If you can not find documentation on a particular subject please contact us and we will be more than happy to prepare an article in response to your query.