3.4 Play Content

Owned by John Pendergast
Last updated: Jul 17, 2024 by Blake Irving
7 min read

Vivi’s Play Content feature allows teachers to share videos, images, PDFs, PowerPoints and Google Slides to the classroom display, all while freeing up the teacher’s device.

This feature requires updates to the Vivi app and the Vivi hardware (Version 3.6.0 or newer for Play Content, and Version 3.7.0 or newer for the integration with Google Drive).

If it is not available, ensure your Vivi app is up-to-date (you can check your app version by clicking on the Settings cog in the upper-right corner of the app. The Vivi Version will be displayed in the bottom-left of the pop-up). If still not available, speak to your IT Administrator.

Playing a single online video

To play a single video, click on Play Content on the main Vivi page.

Paste in a link to the video in the ‘Paste video or audio links here’ section then select Play Link(s).

Vivi is able to play videos from a wide range of unprotected online sources such as YouTube and Vimeo. You will be unable, however, to play videos from certain protected sources, especially those that require you to log in (such as Netflix or Disney+) as Vivi is unable to log into these for you.

Controlling video playback

When a video is playing, controls will appear at the bottom of the Vivi app.

Above the control bar, hover over the green bar to access a slider. Select and drag to move forwards or backwards in the video.

The functions in the control bar from left-to-right are:

  • The name of the video is shown.

  • Stop - stops playback of the video.

  • Back / Forward - skips forward or back when playing multiple items in a queue (see below).

  • Pause - pauses the video. When selected, this changes to a play button which can be selected to resume playback.

  • Privacy Mode - stops students from having the ability to screenshot the classroom display (refer to section 3.8 for further information).

  • Displays time elapsed once playing and total length of the media selection.

  • CC - Closed Captions - turns on closed captions (subtitles) if the video contains them.

  • Volume - adjusts the volume of the video.

  • Show Queue - changes the view mode to see what items are in the queue (see below).

  • Mini Player - minimizes the Vivi app to show a floating version of the player (see below).

Playing a single local file

To play a single file that is saved on the device, click on Play Content on the main Vivi page.

Drag and drop the file in. Currently, Vivi supports locally stored videos, audio files, images, PDFs and PowerPoints.

Once the file is dragged in, it will be automatically processed. This should just take a few seconds. Once processed, each page of the file will be displayed as a separate item in a queue. If a PowerPoint is uploaded that contains embedded videos, these items will be extracted and placed as separate pages in the queue.

To begin playing, select Play From Start.

Playing a single file from a Google Drive

To play a single file that is saved on a Google Drive, click on Play Content on the main Vivi page.

If using for the first time, you will need to log into your Google Drive. To do this, select Google Drive in the lower right of the app.

Follow the on-screen prompts to log into your Google Drive. Note that you will be prompted to give Vivi permission to access information on your Google Drive and Google Account. Scroll down and select Allow to connect.

Once connected, you will be shown the folders and files in your Google Drive. Navigate to the required file, select it, and then select Add to Queue. Currently, Vivi supports Google Drive files that are videos, audio files, images, PDFs, Google Slides and PowerPoints.

Once the file is added, it will be automatically processed. This should just take a few seconds. Once processed, each page of the file will be displayed as a separate item in a queue. If a PowerPoint is uploaded that contains embedded videos or audio files, these items will be extracted and placed as separate pages in the queue.

To begin playing, select Play From Start.

Controlling File Playback

When a file is playing, a preview of the file will be shown and controls will appear at the bottom of the Vivi app.

The functions in the control bar from left-to-right are:

  • The name of the file is shown.

  • Stop - stops playback of the file.

  • Back / Forward - skips forward or back between pages when playing multiple items in a queue (see below).

  • Pause - if playing a video or audio file, pauses the file playback. When selected, this changes to a play button which can be selected to resume playback.

  • Privacy Mode - stops students from having the ability to screenshot the classroom display (refer to section 3.8 for further information).

  • If playing a video or audio file, the time elapsed and total time in the file is displayed.

  • CC - Closed Captions - if playing a video file, turns on closed captions (subtitles) if the video contains them.

  • Volume - if playing a video or audio file, adjusts the volume of the video.

  • Show Queue - changes the view mode to see what items are in the queue (see below).

  • Mini Player - minimizes the Vivi app to show a floating version of the player (see below).

The page previews on the right-hand side can be used to move between different pages in the file.

Queues

To play multiple content items in a row, drag and drop in multiple files, add one or more files from a Google Drive, or paste in either individual links or multiple links to online videos and select the Add to Queue button (to the right of Play Link(s).

Once a queue has been started, use the Add Content button to insert more content items.

To rearrange the order, click and drag items. When ready to begin playback, select Play From Start.

Playlists

Queues can be saved as Playlists to access at another time.

To save a playlist, once all files have been entered into a queue, click on Save as Playlist.

When using Play Content in the web app, Google Slides don't remain when a Playlist is saved

In the pop-up, insert a name then select Save Playlist.

To load a Playlist, click on its name in the left-hand side of the Vivi app. Then click Play from Start to begin playback. Alternatively, click on the ꞏꞏꞏ button next to its name and select Play Playlist to begin immediate playback. The ꞏꞏꞏ button can also be used to add to an existing queue, to rename the Playlist, or to delete the Playlist.

Mini Player

The Mini Player is a miniature version of the Play Content playback screen that floats over your device’s display to allow for easier multi-tasking.

To access the Mini Player, once a file or queue is playing, select the Mini Player icon in the bottom right.

Once in the Mini Player, control will be available along the bottom of the app. From left to right these controls are:

  • Stop - stops playback of the file.

  • Back / Forward - skips forward or back between pages when playing multiple items in a queue.

  • Pause - if playing a video or audio file, pauses the file playback. When selected, this changes to a play button which can be selected to resume playback.

  • Volume - if playing a video or audio file, adjusts the volume of the video.

Hover over the preview of the display to access further features.
In the top left, you can return to the regular view of the Vivi app.
In the bottom right you can activate Privacy Mode to stop students having the ability to screenshot the classroom display.
You can also click and drag on the preview to move the Mini Player around your display.