How to capture Elluminate live and player VCR files (VCR player included)

How to capture Elluminate live and player VCR files (VCR player included)

 

Hello there, so basically i want to download elluminate live videos, elluminate is bit like adobe connect which is used for providing lectures and classes online. The thing is no media capturing software will let me download the streams like they normally do with say youtube videos, where it is cached and then audit detects and downloads. i was told its like a java stream or something.

I basically dont want to spend 3 hours watching the whole lecture again, and putting camtasia on for 3 hours, which end up having MASSIVE files, and take ages to render. Is there any program thats bit like normal media rippers, that will download and cache the lectures and download without me having to spend hours sitting there watching camtasia record it?

thanks

Re: How to capture Elluminate live videos

 

sorry for the bump, but does anyone know if its possible to record elluminate videos other than using screen video capture software software like camtasia, and spending 3 hours watching the screen? Somoe must know:(.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live videos

 

i dont know what elluminate is and i am not willing to google it. this is your problem and your task. if you want help from us, you have to provide all the details and info. so.

can you provide testpage url (video link!)?
if it requires a login (usr:pass), then provide it too. otherwise how shall we look into this?

you can trust us :D

Re: How to capture Elluminate live videos

 

Hi there, so this is the link to Elluminate _http://www.elluminate.com/

It is basically like adobe connect, its sued for teaching large groups and lectures, its java based product, so it doesn't stream like youtube.

you can login here _https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/launch/meeting.jnlp?sid=&password=M.E5894B9B6CC10F0F3D66E D802CE00B

Just enter any user you want, you should log in, there wont be any video there, but basically when u login the whole right hand side white board is where slides can be used.

You could probably try the free trial, and just do a test read of a lecture for example. Basically it is like, when a lecture starts we click on the link for the lecture, and it will take load Elluminate, and take us to the class, where the actual moderator of the room can begin recording. Thing is my lectures are 3 hours long, so I don't want to spend 3 hours trying to record it, as i tryed it using Camtasia and another product and only 30 mins came about to over 50 gigs. I was hoping there was something like downloading it and having it buffered and cached like other media software does. I'm not to sure because if this is java programme its hard to do.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

thanks martie. those sessions are not videos in the common sense. also because they involve mostly "windows" or "windows screens" and no real video material (like Rocky VI, Rambo III, or game trailers). when we want to save typical screens (screenshots of a ordinary Windows application) the most appropriate FORMAT is *.gif, and not *.jpeg. VLC media player's default screenshot format is *.png (which is a lossless format) and other image processing software (Photoshop, PaintShop Pro) use their own image format. But typically, when you have a Java application (e.g. a textual email written in OpenOffice with primitive graphical objects, no photos), the image format which results in the smallest file size is GIF.

With Elluminate i dont see any real photographical video material, so if Camastasia produces 50GB for a 3h-session, then it is the wrong software.

There are highly-specialized screen capturing programs for your type of screens ("GIF-screens") which produce high-quality small-sized video files, see for example the Kelby Training videos.

Apparently Kelby doesnt use stream recorders to author their videos. They use primitive screen capturing software. If you want to produce videos similar to Kelby, then ask Kelby support team (and not me ;) ).

And to answer your question: No, Elluminate has nothing to do with video streams and therefore cant be recorded in original quality from the streaming server (because there isnt such a thing!). The only way to producing good satisfactory "videos" of your session is thru the Kelby method.

Good luck.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

Ok right I see, that rtmp.exe stuff looks very complicated, it also says mask my ip as well, which i have no clue how to do:). Oh well I guess its back to sititng in front of the screen for 3 hours and letting replay video capture record it from 3 hours, oh god:(.

Thanks for all the help anyway.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

Kelby Training uses streaming videos. Other web-sites may use presentation. You can record them with any screen recorder software. Just play with video codecs and their settings. When you record slides, you can reduce framerate significantly.

p.s. placebo mentioned that Kelby Training creates their tutorials with screen recorders, and that their tutorials are not that big, so they know how to do it.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

i use the English term "screen recorders" to designate the whole family of intelligent video authoring software which record the stuff displayed on the screen. Many youtube tutorial videos are the product of intelligent screen recorders, some of which deploy presentations or slides (techniques) when the screen contents dont change much over time.

For example if you record a displayed static GIF-image (50kB in size) for 1 hour as a video clip (with no background sound), the resulting *.AVI (or whatever optimal video format should be used in this recording task) should not be much bigger than the 50kB .. if you have chosen the perfect video format, video settings, recording settings, video recording software, etc.

I am not an expert at screen recording (and screen recording software products) but obviously Kelby really knows how to produce vivid videos (you see live people, human beings, and screenshot-type video sections where Adobe products are featured).

In the end your problem comes down to "authoring a video file" and "creating video contents", and that has nothing to do with "saving an original internet video stream" (produced by the website's owner).

The latter is much easier (and fun). That's all i can do. :D

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

Thanks for the help guys, much appreciated. i guess i will just use Replay Video Capture, and play around with audio and video settings to make the file smaller. I actually found a jave recorder that records, and the files coem out really small, but only problem is no sound gets recorded.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

i got the solution for offline playing of their recorded files.

Downloading:

1. download play.jnlp file of specified recording from site.
2. open it with notepad and near the end of file there will be a url to actual vcr file eg:
   
   Code:

   ---

   https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/download/recording?uid=FD653ED7160FC6182671CC2C3EBFB406

   ---

3. save the vcr file.

Playing these vcr files offline was little tricky. these are not even actually video files. open it with hex editor and you will find PNG or JFIF headers scattered throughout the vcr file. however i have put together a little php script and a batch file alongwith their player which will help you to play these files. you can even create file association for .vcr file so that you can play them by just double clicking instead of dragging dropping on batch file.

Playing:

1. download and install php from the following link. it is required to run the php script.
   
   Code:

   ---

   http://windows.php.net/downloads/releases/php-5.3.6-Win32-VC9-x86.msi

   ---

2. download my player package from here:
   The latest version
   
   Code:

   ---

   http://www.mediafire.com/file/2w5d7cz1a1d2j45/KSV%20-%20Elluminate%20Player.zip

   ---

   Code:

   ---

   http://www.mediafire.com/file/as0v0ed8wrb0awn/KSV%20-%20Elluminate%20Player.zip

   ---

   Older version
   
   Code:

   ---

   http://www.mediafire.com/file/78m25xg61ko4t8f/KSV%20-%20Elluminate%20Player.zip

   ---

3. drag drop vcr file on "KSV - Elluminate Player.bat" to play
   OR
4. create file association for .vcr file and select my batch file as program to open with.
5. package also contains Demo.vcr file to test the player. if there is any problem in playing try clearing your java cache. you can use the following command to clear it or use CCleaner.
   
   Code:

   ---

   javaws -uninstall

   ---

Bonus:
these files also contain content distributed in lecture including handouts, chat logs, application sharing screens etc.

Enjoy :D

PS: Audio quality of their recordings is pretty low.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

Hi KSV thanks for the reply.

Ok managed to use my brain, see below:).

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

Hey KSV ok I managed to get everything to work, downloaded eevrything, saved the vcr file onto my desktop, saved the php, and elluminate recorded. You demo vcr file is working perfect in the player. OK so when i go to run my vcr file in the elluminate player, it loads up but this is the error i get from elluminate;

Invalid header in recording file. The file is either not a recording, is in an obsolete format, or was corrupted during download.

java.lang.RuntimeException: Invalid magic number in VCR header.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

post the url of your vcr or upload it at mediafire and give link.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

HI KSV check you pm, I sent it to you there.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

it's working as expected. probably you are doing something wrong at your end.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

Excellent work KSV!!
I will try to test your program later too, it's weekend..

:rolleyes: sometimes i feel like talking shi*.
wouldnt harm anybody.
bygones. :D

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

filesize of your vcr : 34.1 MB

Hashes:

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

Yeha I must be doing something wrong, its just not working for me lol. kepe getting errors.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

KSV, the url has expired. i dont know where you get the url (or how). Iluminate looks like a Java program and.. :confused:


that's why i cant test the whole thing.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

@placebo

use following link to get list of recorded webinars. choose any one to play and fill anything as name and email.
@martie

screenshot has been deleted by mod as requested. if you can play the Demo.vcr file but not the other file then most probably the other file you are trying to play is not properly downloaded. compare your file hashes with the hashes i posted above.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

Thank you all for the immnse help. This thread has been really helpful to me:). Thanks to Placebo and KSV for all the help.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

i didnt help in this thread, i was just bashing around :D

KSV, your program works perfectly, congrats!!
Important to note that everything should be located in the same folder, i.e. in the PHP-installation folder: php.exe, KSV's decompressed package, and the *.VCR- files. then drag the VCR file onto the batch file and some miracle will take place :cool:

,

totally cool.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

Your php install folder or your vcr file can be anywhere on the system. if you have installed php with their windows installer you can run it from any directory.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

What's the magic number please? i'd like to use it next time i go to the lottery's ;)

KSV, you are right. with perfect PHP windows installation everything works well (because of windows registry entries). In case the windows registry entries were not written (e.g. USB flash drive, portable installation), then everything should be in the same folder. that is guaranteed to work :)

Updated Script

 

if you are having the following problem then probably you are trying to play an old file which the bundled player doesn't support or file is corrupted.

i have updated the script to make those old files playable. it requires the corresponding play.jnlp file from which you downloaded the vcr file. first and recommended method is to rename the play.jnlp and put both files in same folder. for example if your vcr filename is
then rename play.jnlp to
and script will automatically load it. if script can't find the file it will ask you to enter the path of play.jnlp file. you can drag drop the file on console window.

test url:
Updated package:
test it and provide feedback.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

wow thanks KSV, your help in this matter has been awesome. Much appreciated:). I am going to try it out now, and see if it works for me thanks.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live

 

Worked like a charm KSV, thanks for all the help.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live and player VCR files (VCR player included)

 

KSV quick question at the moment i am logging into elluminate every time, but if I just saved all vcr and jnlp files into the elluminate player folder, i dont need to be logged in right? So does that mean if save all the files of every class, and even if my login details dont work anymore that these vcr files will still open up in elluminate with the player you gave? So there is no point me recording them right?

Re: How to capture Elluminate live and player VCR files (VCR player included)

 

you only require vcr file (and corresponding jnlp file in case of old file format) to play it. you don't need any login details to play them. it's totally offline like other media files.

once you downloaded the original vcr file why would you need to record them? :confused:

Re: How to capture Elluminate live and player VCR files (VCR player included)

 

HAHAHA, thanks for the help KSV. I only asked because atm for my school, we login to elluminate through a given username nad passwrod, and once the school fnishes, then acess to the recorded lectures stops, so was just abit worried about it, so I started recording the video offline lol., but if its as you say it is thats Excellent I will stop recording ahah:).

Re: How to capture Elluminate live and player VCR files (VCR player included)

 

Hi

I get an error when trying to open the .vcr with the the .bat
"Failed to validate certificate The application will not be executed"

This error occurs only if I am offline. If online, everything works perfect.





More info about the error

PC info

Windows 7 64 bit
Java version 6 update 26 (build 1.6.0_26-b03)

Any ideas?
Thanks

Re: How to capture Elluminate live and player VCR files (VCR player included)

 

I have no problem in playing vcr files when disconnected from internet. try clearing your java cache. if problem persists post your vcr file.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live and player VCR files (VCR player included)

 

I cleared the java cache and I get the same error. Even with your demo file I get the "Failed to validate certificate". I tried with another PC (vista) and I get the same exact message. I even unchecked "Enable online certificate validation" and "Enable list of trusted publishers" from the java control panel but I still get "Failed..."

Re: How to capture Elluminate live and player VCR files (VCR player included)

 

i am using Win XP SP3 and was able to play your vcr file when disconnected from internet. uncheck "Enable blacklist revocation check" and try again.

my java security settings on Win XP SP3:

Re: How to capture Elluminate live and player VCR files (VCR player included)

 

Problem fixed!!!

The problem was with the "Check certificates for revocation using Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs)" option. I unchecked that option and .vcr files can play offline perfectly.

Thanks for all your help

Updated Script

 

Fixed a problem with some VCR files which have header version "VCR 1.4" but actually require older version of player to play properly. you may get some "Exception Trace Report" popups if you are using old script. renaming the corresponding play.jnlp file as described in along with this updated script will fix almost all of the problems.

Updated Script:

Re: How to capture Elluminate live and player VCR files (VCR player included)

 

Can you please re upload the script? It's been taken down.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live and player VCR files (VCR player included)

 

Previous link has been broken. so i have reuploaded the script.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live and player VCR files (VCR player included)

 

KSV - thanks for the great help on this thread. I am trying to run some .vcr files offline and I tried setting up php, your script and my vcr files in the same folder and tried to run it and I get some errors.

I then tried running your demo.vcr with the bat file and I get the same error.

The error is "Unable to launch application" and the details show "The field <jnlp> codebase has an invalid value Player" (attached is image of error)

Can you help me identify what I am missing? I am running Windows 7 if that helps.

Thanks again.

Re: How to capture Elluminate live and player VCR files (VCR player included)

 

uninstall all old JRE (java runtime) versions and install the latest one and then try again. i am using JRE 7 Update 1 on Win XP SP3 and it's working fine. it also works with older versions of JRE (6 series).