Play YouTube On Windows Mobile
Nov 22nd, 2007 by Tariq Bamadhaj
Playing YouTube (or any flash video for that matter) has long been a disadvantage for Pocket PC users. Even with Windows Mobile 6, Flash support is not built into the operating system, which is a shame considering how more and more sites nowadays have flash video embedded in them. There were some solutions with regards to Pocket PC but it was troublesome with the user having to use a program to download the file before using another to play the video. But now there is an easy solution that requires a one-time setup and you are set.
The Files
Here are the files that you will need
If you are using another version of TCPMP, I would strongly suggest you use the v0.72RC1. As for FlashVideoBundle, it was created by zbob of TreoCentral.com and there is a page on the discussion forum which is useful for keeping track of this plug-in’s development.
Steps
- Install TCPMP v0.72RC1 (either in Main Memory or SD Card).
- Install FlashVideoBundle in the same location as TCPMP (if you installed the above in SD Card, then choose SD Card for this installation as well).
- Do a soft-reset.
That’s all there is to it. After installation, you should see the link below in Start > Programs. It is actually a web page listing the various video sites that you can view. Before you go clicking and viewing, you might want to change some settings in your TCPMP player first, to optimize performance.
TCPMP Tweaks
Go to Options > Settings.. as this is where you will make all the necessary changes. Tap Select Page and choose Player. Here, put a tick at Play at open so that videos play once they are loaded. You could also place a tick at Play at open in fullscreen if you choose but this os optional. This way, the video would play when it has buffered sufficiently and would thus make the experience better.
Next, tap Select Page and choose File Associations. Scroll all the way to the end and make sure that there are ticks for Flash Video and HTTP protocol. You can place ticks against other files that you want TCPMP to play as well but this is the minimum for your video experience.
The last tweak you want to make is at Select Page > Buffering. Change Normal buffer size to 1184KB, Preload at underrun to 5% and Preload for audio at 64KB.
Viewing Videos
You are now all set to view videos. Tap on Video Sites, which is the link that you should see after the first soft-reset. It will bring up a web page listing all the video sites available. Choose the site you want to view videos and it will take you there. Full means that you are taken to the original site, mobileleap is the site customized for mobile phones and skweezer is customized mirror of that site.
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| Tap the link to play | And play in TCPMP |
Alternatively, you can also use Pocket IE to go straight to your chosen site. Scroll (or search) to the video that you want to and tap on it. You will get 3 options from there, Play Video, Save Video or Linked Page. By tapping Play Video, the video will open in TCPMP player and start playing after it has buffered (which is relatively fast but also dependent on your data connection).
If you choose to Save Video, the typical Save Dialog box will open asking where you want to save the file. After saving, you can view the video anytime (even offline) in TCPMP Player.
In Linked Page, you are taken to the specific video page, pretty much the same page if you wee to click that link on your PC. Here you can see details about the video as well as comments.
Video Not Smooth
If your video is not smooth, it could be due to a lack of resources on your Pocket PC. Ensure that you have sufficient RAM and ROM space as this affects playback quality.
If you are facing audio and video distortion, go to Options > Settings.. and under Select Page, choose Advanced. For Manual A/V offset +/- change the value to -400msec. This should remove the lip-sync effect. Adjust this value accordingly to one that suits your preference.
That’s all the files and tweaks that you need to make to watch YouTube and other flash video on your Pocket PC. It might look a bit daunting at first but the step by step guide should make it much easier for you. And the good news is you only to make the tweaks once and you are set.
Leave your comments on this tip below.
Update on 2/26/08: FlashVideoBundle.cab was updated to support new YouTube codecs.
(10 votes, average: 3.8 out of 5)
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[…] Original post by Tariq Bamadhaj […]
If you are using TCPMP 0.81:
You can use this FlashVideoPlugin to work with TCPMP 0.81 also.
Install the plugin.
Just copy (or move) the files from ..\Program Files\TCPMP\
(this is the new folder this plugin makes when installed)
to ..\Program Files\TCPMP Media Player 0.81\Player\
,and it’s working.
Hi hamkeng
Thanks for pointing this out. I guess it’s due to the different directory structure that caused this error. Glad to know it works for you.
Hi Tariq,
I’m pretty sure I did follow all your installation instuctions and settings and I found everything clear and straightforward. Nevertheless I didn’t succeed to play a video. I used IE as my browser and went to http://m.youtube.com/. I got a list of video’s and I selected “CNN You Tubes Debates”. Then I tapped the image of “Introduction”. I got a new screen with the text “Running a system command on this item might be unsafe. Do you wish to continue?” I tabbed “yes”.
To my disappointment the following window appeared.
rtsp://rtsp.youtube.com/you…
The file ‘rtsp://rtsp.youtube.com/youtube/videos/|8emaP|2zG4/video.3gp?warned=1′ cannot be opened. Either it is not signed with a trusted certificate, or one of its components cannot be found. If the problem perssists, try reinstalling or restoring this file.
What did I do wrong?
Hi Ronald
I did not try on the mobile site because I could now access the main site. Have you tried the main site and see if it plays videos?
Hi Tariq,
It looks that my question ‘disappeared’ after pressing the “Add comment” button. Here it comes once more. (I only mention this in case it pops up again.)
I installed and set everything for YouTube according to your clear and straightforward instructions but video won’t work on my X800.
I went to m.youtube.com in IE and got a list with video’s.
After I tapped “Watch Video” I came on the next screen with the text
“Running a system command on this item might be unsafe. Do you wish to continue?”
After I tabbed “yes” I got a screen which told me that the file can not be opened because it is not signed with a trusted certificate or one of its components can not be found.
What did I do wrong?
Hi Ronald
Your initial comment was marked for spam but has since been approved. In future, if you do not see your comments appearing immediately, it usually means it needs to be moderated.
Hi Tariq,
I paged back to check something and now I noticed that my original question and your answer are there.
I will do what you advice and comment on it afterwards.
Hi Tariq,
Thank you for your advice. The main site works fine.
Hi Ronald
That’s great to hear.
I have a tmobile mda wm5 and I did everything stated in this tutorial but when I click on any link in youtube from IE nothing happens. tcpmp thing will not load or nothing..it just pauses after I click the link and nothing happens. and I also did the disablefl inablefl from the tcpmp folder and tried it..still nothing will load..help?
Hi dfinney
It looks more like a problem of file associations that anything. Just to be sure, try to download a YouTube video (or any flash video for that matter), transfer it to your device and see if TCPMP can play it. If it can, then the problem looks like file association. If you can’t then it looks like there are problems with the setup.
[…] Video and TCPMP will stream automatically, and beautifully, I should add. read more about it here: Play YouTube On Windows Mobile | Eten Blog dot Com […]
[…] themselves. Here’s a tutorial on how to enable Flash video viewing (and a non-video one here) right now on Windows […]