A few issues have been reported recently regarding RightBooth not playing MP4 videos correctly. Issues include:

• video not starting immediately but the audio is heard
• video playing with pixilation, shearing or breakup
• video showing as a black screen
• video not playing at all

Problems can appear especially on extended Windows monitors.
If you are experiencing MP4 video playback issues,  try the following suggestions:
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1 - Change the RightBooth rendering settings
In RightBooth Settings --> Start / Stop --> Performance,  you will find the following two settings:

• Hardware rendering when using extended desktop
• Additional displays use main screen renderer

Try altering these settings in various combinations and then check to see if it fixes the problem.  This suggestion is more relevant to videos that RightBooth is playing on an extended desktop monitor, but it could also have an affect on the primary monitor.


2 - Use the RightBooth Video Player
RightBooth version 7.12.0 (or later) includes two video players to choose from.   These are available in RightBooth Settings --> Miscellaneous --> Video Player.

By default, RightBooth uses the Windows Media Player tech for all its video playing features, but if you are experiencing problems you can now switch to using the RightBooth player to see if that makes a difference:

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3 - Install LAVfilters
LAVfilters is an Open Source video decoder pack for Windows that provides added support for playing many video formats, including mp4.  The new RightBooth player (see above) will especially benefit from installing LAVfilters on your computer, but it can also improve the Windows media player option.

You can download and run the latest LAVFilters-x.x.x-Installer.exe from here:
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https://github.com/Nevcairiel/LAVFilters/releases

RightBooth version 7.11.0 contains the following new features and fixes:

Add the 'Video frame' option in Video enhancements
This allows you to place one frame from the source video at the start of the enhanced video for the number of seconds you specify.  This feature is useful to give all videos a different thumbnail if hosted on your own websites.

Add the option to 'Watch subfolders' in a Sharing Station event
This option will cause a RightBooth sharing station event to show all sub folders that contain videos and images.  Users can then navigate into and out of the sub folders while interacting with the Media Browser.
 
Add the option to process the 'Oldest file first' in a 'Watch folder' event
In a 'Watch folder' event you can tick the 'Oldest file first' option to force RightBooth to process incoming files in the order that they arrive in the folder.

Add the 'Files to Android' event action
Adding this action to a button on the 'Show video' or 'Show photo' event screen will allow your users to select the button.  RightBooth will then prompt the user to connect an Android device (phone) to a USB cable connected to the PC.  RightBooth will then auto detect the connection and transfer the chosen file to the DCIM folder on the Android device.  This action can be used in a Recording event or Sharing station event as another option to allow users to transfer event files to their phones.

Allow the keyboard arrow keys to alter the grid selection when the user input mode is 'Multiple keys' or 'Multiple USB buttons'
Users can now use the 'Left' 'Right' 'Up' and 'Down' arrow keys on the keyboard to allow them to select an item in any RightBooth grid item, e.g.  Media browser, karaoke file selector, greenscreen image selector, etc.

Include the 'RestartRB' utility
The new RestartRB utility app is installed in Program Files (x86)\RightBooth and it allows you to quickly stop all running instances of RightBooth and restart the first instance.  This is useful if RightBooth crashes and remains in memory.

GoPro Configuration Options
RightBooth now provides 4 different configuration options for controlling a GoPro camera:

• Option 1 - USB only
• Option 2 - Bluetooth / Wifi
• Option 3 - Bluetooth + SD card
• Option 4 - Camera Controller

For details on each of these options can be found here

Include the RBCameraController mini app
This new app can be used to allow RightBooth to remotely control a GoPro that is  connected to another computer on the network. 
Full details on the RBCameraController app and how it is used can be found in the Option 4 documentation here

Add the 'GOPROWIFI' text variable
Use this new text variable on an event screen to allow you to see the current GoPro WiFi status as either  'OK' or '??'

Show all FTP files (uploaded during the event) in Tasks
All files that are FTP uploaded (or attempted upload) during the event are now added to the FTP file list in RightBooth Tasks.  This allows you to upload the files again at a later time and this can be useful if one or more files had failed to upload during the event.

Fixes:

• Prevent copying and uploading (FTP) print layout files until the layout is completely populated with photos
• The color selector panel now shows in the Screen Editor after a screen transition
• The 'Hand' mouse cursor now shows over the whole area of any item that has a click action
• Prevent spurious WhatsApp screens appearing if a 'pre WhatsApp feature' event file is started from another event via the 'Play event' action
• Prevent crash when using DSLR greenscreen settings

This video explains the main new features added in RightBooth v7.10.0.

RightBooth version 7.9.7 has been released.  New features and fixes:

• Add option to use SendGrid for emailing files
• Remove redundant setting: 'Process videos in background'
• If an overlay video is included, it is now repeated for the duration of the enhanced video
• Improvements to image load speed and image memory usage
• Improve the clarity of buttons in the Screen Editor
• Fix: Prevent random crash when including photo printing and animated gif creation
• Fix: Camera items no longer block the user input to a screen click action
• Fix: Video emails would fail to be sent if video resizing was selected in 'Media size' settings
• Fix: Allow the 'After creating' photo copy action to work in Watch folder events

Note: This feature requires RightBooth v7.9.3 (or later).

This article explains how to use RightBooth to create videos and photos by taking the camera feeds from two webcams and combining them into one file, as shown in the following demonstration video:

Your webcams are now set up to be used for Picture in Picture recordings.

Step 2 - Design your event

• Create a video recording and photo capture event.
• In Event Designer --> Event structure --> Miscellaneous, tick 'Picture in picture', then use the arrows to select the webcam layout option shown in this shot:

Choosing this option will cause RightBooth to overlay the camera feed from webcam 2 directly on one half of the camera feed from webcam 1.  The two feeds will then be treated as one combined feed for the purposes of recording videos and taking photos in RightBooth.

• Go into the Screen Designer and arrange your screens and webcam item as required, making sure that your webcams are both pointing at your intended subject (or subjects):

• Save the event.

​You are now ready to Play the event and record videos and photos from two combined webcams.

Note:

• When recording videos, if you are recording audio, the audio feed will be taken from the audio device specified in Settings --> Cameras --> Webcam audio.
• There a lots of other Picture in Picture layouts to experiment with, involving up to three additional webcams.

Demonstration video showing augmented reality photo capture in RightBooth:

How to create your own greenscreen videos for use in RightBooth:

How to take augmented reality photos in RightBooth using greenscreen videos:

RightBooth now includes support for wireless Canon cameras, including wireless live view.  Details here

See the Release notes page to read the complete list of new features and fixes in this release.

Here are some suggestions to help reduce your GoPro video transfer time and also reduce the video processing and enhancement time in RightBooth.

1 - Reduce the GoPro Video File Transfer Time

1.1 - Record GoPro videos in HEVC format
Newer GoPro models provide the following choice of video recording formats:

• H.264+HEVC
• HEVC

You will find these options on the GoPro menu: Preferences > General > Video Compression.
Choose HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding).  This is the H.265 format and it produces smaller file sizes than the older H.264 format.  By choosing HEVC you will benefit from faster file transfer times between the GoPro and the PC.  Note: RightBooth can process HEVC files.
Here is a comparison of the file sizes and transfer times of a 10 second video that was recorded at 1920x1080x120fps using each of the formats:

1.2 - Record videos at 60fps or less
Most GoPro models let you record videos at 120fps and some allow recording at 240fps.  Recording at a higher frame rate will produce larger files which will take longer to transfer and longer for RightBooth to process. 
Try dropping the recording rate on the GoPro to 60fps (or even 30fps).  Transfer times and processing times will be quicker and most people will be unable to see much difference in the finished results.

1.3 - Use the GoPro 5Ghz WiFi Band
If your GoPro offers both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi band options, try using its 5GHz WiFi band.  In our tests we have seen that this can significantly reduce the file transfer times.  Typical saving:  11 second transfer time on the 2.4GHz band equates to an 8 second transfer time on the 5Ghz band.
Note: If you find that the GoPro 5GHz band is not working with your PC WiFi adapter you will have to use the GoPro 2.4GHz WiFi band.

2 - Reduce the Video Processing and Video Enhancement Times

2.1 - Reduce the frame size of the video file
The GoPro will usually be set to record videos at a frame size of 1920x1080.  After each video file has been transferred to RightBooth, you can set RightBooth to reduce the frame size of the videos, which effectively reduces the amount of data in the video file.  This can have a significant effect on reducing the video enhancement times and most people will not be able to see any difference in the final video quality.  We recommend you reduce the videos to 1280 x 720 or (better still) 960 x 540 (quarter HD).
​You can do this in RightBooth Settings --> Miscellaneous --> Conversion settings:

2.2 - Reduce the video quality and increase the conversion speed
In the Video Conversion Settings, experiment with reducing the Quality slider setting and increasing the Speed slider setting:

2.3 Reduce the number of video enhancement segments
If you are using RightBooth Video Enhancements and you are including a list of video segments, try reducing the number of segments used.  Each segment you define will add extra time to the overall enhancement process.  Also, try to use 'Fast mode' if possible:

See Release Notes for more details.

This video demonstrates 2 new features in RightBooth version 7.7.33:

RightBooth Version 7.7.31 was released on July 5th 2022. It contains the following new features,  modifications and fixes:

• Add 'Mouse hook' to User Input settings to allow the mouse to be returned to the primary monitor when secondary monitor touch input 'steals' the mouse
• Provide a set of 'Filename include' naming options in Settings --> Folders/Files
• Add {PCBATTERY} text variable to allow showing the laptop battery percentage on event screens
• Allow 'Show' actions to be added to all non stock screen items
• Allow screen items to be designed so that they are initially hidden when the screen is shown in the playing event
• Allow screen items to be named with the Name property
• Allow the display time to be altered on video enhancement outro images
• Add new actions:  Show item, Hide item, Next sequence item
• Add the 'Lip sync adjustment' option in Webcam audio settings
• Modifications to the video item and video sequence item to improve playback
• Add support for more USB HID relay boards
• Fix: Sequence items now work correctly on extended monitor event screens
• Fix: Prevent crash when video enhancement is attempted on a failed video recording
• Fix: Prevent crash if 'start up' messages appear while a DSLR camera is attached
• Fix: Prevent occasional video file transfer failures with Canon cameras
• Fix: Items can sometimes be shown in the wrong position on the 'Show photo' screen

RightBooth version 7.7.27 is released today.
The full list of new features and bug fixes is available here.
Watch this video for an explanation of the main new features:

​spacedesk is an amazing app.  It lets you use a tablet as an extended desktop to your main computer.  Then you can show and interact with RightBooth on the tablet.

Here's how:

• On your computer, visit the spacedesk download site:  https://www.spacedesk.net/#products and install the spacedesk driver software for Windows.
• On your tablet, visit the associated app store and install the spacedesk Viewer app.
• Make sure your PC and your tablet are both connected to the same local network, such as your home WiFi network or your own private router network.

Then:

• On the PC run the spacedesk Driver console app.
• On the tablet, run the spacedesk app.  You should then see your computer listed for selection. Select it.
• spacedesk will then connect your PC to your tablet and you will see your computer display duplicated on your tablet screen.
• On the PC you can then use the Windows Display settings to extend the Windows desktop onto your tablet screen.
• You can now run RightBooth and show/interact with it on the tablet.

Watch this video that demonstrates this setup:

RightBooth version 7.7.25 is now released, containing the following new features and bug fixes:

• Can now save preferred colors in the Screen Editor Color Palette by right clicking the mouse on any color box to allow storing the currently selected palette color within it
• Updated the DLLs used for creating video and image thumbnails
• Can now add multiple questions at the same time into the Event Designer Question grid
• Can now add all stamp items into webcam video recordings when they are used on any of the Record video/karaoke/answer screens. E.g text, image, button stamp items. Prior to this, only video stamp items could be added to webcam recordings.  See the video below.
• Stamp items will now be applied if they are placed lower in the Z order than the camera item
• Option to show a 'Wait' screen when switching between playing events that take a significant amount of time to open
• Option to define the 'behind event screen' color. This color might be shown during screen animations
• Allow multiple question rows to be selected in the event question grid, for moving or deleting the rows
• Fix: Prevent mouse clicks or touches from being accepted until an event is fully open and playing
• Fix: Ensure all event questions have a unique ID
• Fix: Event packages now correctly include all question and answer event screens
• Fix: Prevent a video enhancement segment from having the same start and stop value
• Fix: Prevent crash when building the media view item in sharing station events where thumbnails do not exist for video files
• Fix: Unable to register the RightBooth product code on some systems
• Fix: Crash when installing packages that include Question events
• Fix: Crash when the last question Branch is set to Next in a Question event
• Fix: Crash when printing to UNC defined networked printers on some computers

I was recently asked if it is possible to reduce the amount of time it takes for a recording event to process video files, which in turn allows you to have a greater throughput of users at the recording station.
This question seems particularly important when recording videos and then applying video enhancements, prior to showing them on a sharing station.

Let's consider recording videos using a wireless GoPro.  This is a typical workflow:

• Allow 2 instances of RightBooth to run on the same computer. Each instance has its own independent configuration and settings, allowing multiple event files to run simultaneously, ideally on an extended desktop with multiple touchscreens. Example:  
  • 2 recording events each with a different camera  or
  • 1 recording event + 1 sharing station event

Details - see Option 4 here

• New User input setting: 'Mouse as secondary input'. When playing events, this allows the mouse to be used as a User input method in addition to the chosen User input method
• Video conversion settings. Frame rate: Can now select any value up to 60 fps. Or leave the frame rate set at the original recorded value
• QR codes for videos and photos now link to a html wrapper file that includes a Download button for easier downloading of files on phones and tablets
• QR code and clock items can now be added to print layout designs
• Confetti overlay videos added to the Media Library

• Fix: Allow the main camera to return to showing the live preview after cancelling a playing event while a video recording is underway
• Fix: The multiple monitor feature now correctly positions event screens when the Windows Display scale is larger than 100%. e.g. as found on Surface tablets
• Fix: Video thumbnails are now displayed at the correct aspect ratio in the Sharing Station Media Browser item
• Fix: Unicode characters causing problems with QR code scanning and video enhancement when RightBooth is run with the French or Spanish language option
• New colour selector in the Screen editor
• Fix: Recording events containing video enhancements were not processing videos after recording countdown completed if the event was played after performing recording tests in settings
• Fix: GoPro recording events were incorrectly warning about the need for a webcam on computers that did not have any webcam connected
• Fix: Video enhancements not working consistently on non English Windows OS's (e.g. Spanish) or when the current Windows user name contains space characters
• Fix: Entering a new product code could incorrectly warn that the code was already in use