Using Director > Sound, Video, and Synchronization > Setting digital video cast member properties |  |

Setting digital video cast member properties

Use cast member properties to control the media in a digital video, specify how it is framed and whether it plays direct-to-Stage, and set other important options.

To set digital video cast member properties:

1 | Select a digital video cast member in the cast.
2 | Click the Member tab of the Property Inspector.
| There are several noneditable options in the Member tab of the Property Inspector:
| The cast member size in kilobytes
| The cast member creation and edit dates
| The name of the last person who modified the cast member
3 | Use the Name field to view or edit the cast member name.
4 | To change the external file to which the cast member is linked, enter a new path and file in the Filename field. You can also use the Browse button to select a new file.
5 | To specify how Director removes the cast member from memory if memory is low, choose an option from the Unload pop-up menu. See Controlling cast member unloading.
6 | Click the QuickTime or AVI tab to set the remaining properties.
7 | To determine how a movie image appears within the sprite bounding rectangle when the movie is rotated, scaled, or offset, set Framing options:
| Crop displays the movie image at its default size. Any portions that extend beyond the sprite's rectangle are not visible. For more information, see Cropping digital video.
| Center is available only if Crop is selected. It determines whether transformations occur with the cast member centered within the sprite or with the cast member's upper left corner aligned with the sprite's upper left corner.
| Scale fits the movie inside the bounding rectangle.
8 | To determine how the video plays back, set options in the bottom portion of the window:
| Show Video displays the video portion of the digital video. If this option is turned off, the video portion does not play. Deselect this option and select Sound if you want to play only the audio portion of a movie.
| Play Sound plays the sound portion of the digital video.
| Direct to Stage allows QuickTime or AVI drivers installed on the computer to completely control the video playback. For more information, see Playing digital video direct-to-Stage.
| (QuickTime only) Show Controller displays a controller bar at the bottom of the video if Direct to Stage is selected.
| Paused stops the digital video when it first appears on the Stage (while playing the Director movie).
| Loop replays the digital video continuously from the beginning to the end and back to the beginning.
| Preload loads the cast member into memory when the movie starts. For more information, see Preloading digital video.
| (QuickTime only) Streaming begins playing the video while the rest of the video continues to load from its source.
9 | If Direct to Stage is selected, choose a Playback option in the top portion of the window to specify how to synchronize the video to its soundtrack.
| Sync to Sound makes the digital video skip frames (if necessary) to keep up with its soundtrack. The digital video may also take less time to play.
| Play Every Frame (No Sound) makes every frame of the digital video appear but does not play the soundtrack, since the video cannot play the soundtrack asynchronously while the video portion plays frame by frame. Depending on the data rate of the digital video, the sprite may play more smoothly with this option selected, but this is not a certainty. In addition, playing every frame may cause the digital video to take more time to play.
10 | If Play Every Frame (No Sound) is selected, choose options from the Rate pop-up menu to set the rate at which a digital video plays:
| Normal plays each frame at its normal rate, and no frames are skipped.
| Maximum plays the movie as fast as possible while still displaying each frame.
| Fixed plays the movie using a specific frame rate. Enter the number of frames per second in the field at the right. Use this option only for digital videos that use the same frame rate for each frame of the movie.