Flash Movie with XML RSS Issue

I have a homepage Flash slideshow fed by an XML RSS feed. The feed is generated using Ditto. Not quite sure how best to articulate the issue I’m trying to resolve, but in a nutshell, under normal circumstances the loader graphic in the Flash object animates in the middle of the object area while its content loads. However, the homepage is rendering well before the feed is parsed. The Flash experiences an error and as a result, the loader either doesn’t appear or is jammed into the corner of the object area. Eventually, after a few seconds, the movie kicks in as expected. This all equates to a troublesome user experience since any time the page loads uncached (i.e. anytime a new unique visitor hits the site) a big blank spot that offers no indication of content is presented. In addition, the first image in the feed doesn’t appear; instead, the second image in the list appears first. This again is occurring because the Flash object is throwing an error (I believe).

Is there a way by which I can either get the rss to preload, or alternatively, have the rss output to a server xml file rather than a live feed? Currently, the feed is nested as a child to the homepage.

Hope this makes since -- thanks for reading.

I use a Javascript wrapper for Flash called Flowplayer; you can give it a background image that it will display until the flash is ready to play, and will dissolve nicely into the movie, and back out to the background image again when the movie is finished.

Quote from: sottwell at Jul 08, 2010, 03:04 PM

I use a Javascript wrapper for Flash called Flowplayer; you can give it a background image that it will display until the flash is ready to play, and will dissolve nicely into the movie, and back out to the background image again when the movie is finished.

Got to be one of the best out there and great documentation

http://flowplayer.org/demos/index.html

Thanks Susan. I actually checked out Flowplayer after reading about in one of your other posts.

Can I ask you a couple questions? I’ve created a system that enables the end user to manage this content, and the content that appears in the feed without having to know any code whatsoever. Would the Flowplayer solution you suggest fit this paradigm?

Also, have you used a feed in the manner I described? If so, have you experienced the same issue? And, lastly, setting Flowplayer aside for a moment (which sounds like a great solution), any thoughts on the questions I posed about the RSS? Just want to explore all avenues.

Thank you!