Lt uses the H.264 format to display videos – this is a very popular format used across the web. Making (or encoding) videos in this format is relatively easy, but there are a few important factors that dictate whether a video will stream well and play well for your students. This section will cover what encoding parameters you need to be aware of so you can correctly prepare your videos for use within Lt.
We're assuming here that you will be exporting your videos from an editor like Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro, or Sony Vegas. If these sound unfamiliar, or words like "encoding parameters" scare you, skip straight to the converting using Handbrake page!
You can quickly check if your videos are suitable by looking at the files' extensions. H.264-formatted videos have a .mp4 or .m4v extension.
Additionally, your H.264 videos must be configured for "streaming". This allows your viewers to begin watching a video immediately, even though it may not have completely downloaded to their computer. When rendering your videos, make sure that you enable any "web optimization", "progressive download", or "fast start" features in your video production software so that the output file can be streamed correctly.
If a video is not optimized for streaming, the viewer has to wait until the entire video has been downloaded before playback can commence. For this reason, Lt does not let you add incorrectly configured H.264 files. If your H.264 video is not configured for streaming, Lt will alert you when you attempt to drag it into a video panel. Such files can be "fixed", however, using the free Handbrake utility, which converts your video into a Lt-friendly H.264 video.