Trying to embed video in PDF and only Soundwaves are showing

[samw24933130]

I'm trying to Embed a video in a PDF using Acrobat Pro DC, and once placed on the page, it never shows the video, all it is showing is soundwaves and only the sound plays, not the actual video. The video is .mp4.

[Ken3409575912lb]

Appreciate the work around but my experience like others = crashing of Acrobat. 

[Amal.]

Hi there

What is the version of the Acrobat DC you are using? To check the version go to Help > About Acrobat and make sure you have the recent version 23.06.20380 installed. Go to Help > Check for updates and reboot the computer once.

Also try to repair the installation from the help menu (Win Only) and see if that works.

Please try to reset the Acrobat preferences as described here https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/how-to-reset-acrobat-preference-settings-to-defau...

~Amal

[miklb40990895]

Just updated to the mentioned version 

truied again - same result. Preferences also reset, and again it should not be necessary to be fylly updateed and factory reset to view a video, as we cannot expect al customers to be 100 percent the same. 

[Amal.]

Hi there,

Please try to turn off the protected mode for testing. Go to Preferences (Ctrl,Cmd+K) > Security Enhanced > Turn off 'Enable Protected mode at startup' and uncheck 'Enhanced Security' > click OK and reboot the computer once.

Note: Please turn on the security after testing to avoid any security risk

~Amal

[JR Boulay · Accepted solution]

Until Adobe finds a way to play a video reliably and with the playback control bar in a PDF file, the best thing to do is to place it as an attachment and use a button (for example) to trigger the opening of the attachment in the default video player.

[Kristen228476354deu]

Unfortunately, I can't do that. I'll get disqualified for having a file outside of the PDF. That's why I'm going through all this trouble to embed it. This video could win us a $$$M job.

[vislaw50]

Respectfully, this should NOT be marked a "correct answer" as the workaround using an attachment that must be played with a default video player is a non-solution for us (as it is with others apparently). The primary problem (lack of an embedded video solution) remains a glaring deficiency that Adobe has apparently elected to simply not address. We deserve better.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

PDF's can't handle embedded well because the international ISO standard for PDF doesn't yet address them fully.

That's not an Adobe thing.

The ISO is an independent nonprofit organization in Geneva Switzerland that houses and manages standards for everything, not just PDFs. See ISO.org

And note that the poster mentioned that the attachment is embedded in the PDF.

[JR Boulay]

An attachment is inside the PDF file, not outside.

[erinaw]

I have tried everything and am still only getting on the soundwave for embedded videos and no controls for audio. My software is up-to-date. 😞 

[heather28282315kj8q]

Same here

[Emma26682959u1zx]

This is still an open issue. My software is up-to-date but all I see is the soundwave. Can we have a bug fix, please?

[Frederikkeuh]

I also have the same issue. Tried the fix and now the entire reader crashes again and again. Not very happy abt it 

[LuckyLindy]

• Does it crash when launching...
• ...or when trying to open the iPDF?
• What about opening a plain old PDF?

Last option--and no biggie, I think -- is to fully uninstall Reader, then shut down (not just reboot) for about a minute and reinstall Reader. 

[heather28282315kj8q]

Same is happening with me, VERY FRUSTRATING. Nothing is working

[Joel29056161s01i]

Has this ever been resolved?  I too get the green soundwaves....

[Miguel29885230ocij]

Can we get a response from Adobe on this please? Well over 2 years and this issue is still broken. Soundwave only when trying to play video. When I tried the answer in this thread it just crashes when you try to play the video. This needs a fix!

[erinaw]

I just tried to embed a video in the new 2023 interface and it doesn't work there, either. 😞

[Iuri32473054bqse]

2023-09-23 - And it still doesn´t work. Where is the Adobe support??

[Amal.]

Hi there,

We are sorry to hear that. Would you mind sharing a small video recording of the workflow and the version of the Acrobat and the OS you are using?

Also please collect the Adobe CC logs https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/cc-log-collector.html and the  Procmon logs (Win Only) https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/Labs/acromonitor.html  and  share them via any cloud storage. Just upload the log file to the cloud and generate the link and share that link with us for further investigation.

Regards
Amal

[miklb40990895 · Accepted solution]

@Amal. the same answer has been given several times. This should be easy to replicate.  - insert mp4 video file - save - play media file -  see soundwaves -  try disabling security workaround -  this seems to yield two possible outcomes. Either it works or player crashes when we attempt playback. Even if this workaround is effective (and it seems it only works part of the time) it is no good, as we cannot expect to send our merticously created PDF to a customer with instructions to disable security before opening it. It is time to fix this, or admit, that adobe wont support rich media in pdf. 

regards 

Mikkel 

[vislaw50]

Extraordinary and so disappointing to find this thread with absolutely NO indication that Adobe is doing anything about it. The abillity to share a document with embedded video is such a fundamental issue one would think Adobe would care about offering it. We want to provide short video excerpts from depositions embedded in court pleadings and are prohitibed from using any links or providing anything that requires court personnel to be on-line to view the video. Even if the cumbersome "turn off security settings and re-open" worked (which it DOES NOT in our current tests) it would be an unacceptable approach for the court. 

It is 2024 and apparently it is impossible to provide embedded videos to the court in any workable form. So ironic that we WERE able to do this when Adobe still supported Flash video. Please do better Adobe.

[RLChris121]

Also  February 2024 entry...

Just tried same thing, attempting to place various .MP4 video clips into an InDesign file. In every case, the exported PDF shows only audio waves -- no video.  This feature is not working as advertised.  With no response from Adobe after more than three years -- will have to opt for a working solution using other software products or develop my own. 

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

Most of othe problem lies with the PDF file format and its standard (ISO 32000). It doesn't define embedded video well enough to make it viable. Until that shortcoming is corrected, embedded videos in PDFs will be dicey.

Much of the result depends upon:

• The type of video file.
• The specdific video player that is attempting to play the video. PDF itself doesn't have an embedded video player.

Best solution at this time: JR Boulay's comment at Feb 03 , 2022.

[JR Boulay]

I think Acrobat has made some progress; at home this document works, even if there's still no option to play the video in a loop.
Give it a try.