Bravo! Player Frequently Asked Questions

After you download Bravo! Player, there should be a BravoPlayer2.0.exe file on your hard drive. If you can't locate it, try using Windows Explorer to search for the file. If you can't find it with Windows Explorer or if you think you may have accidentally erased the download file, just download Bravo! Player again. Be sure to note the name of the destination folder used for downloading. Double-click this file to install the software.

Q-1.2 How do I install Bravo! Player?

Download Bravo! Player from the download page. Locate the setup file on your hard drive and double click the file to launch the install wizard. Follow the instructions presented by the install wizard.

2. BAM Files

Q-2.1 What's a BAM file?

BAM stands for Bravo! Archived Media. BAM files contain copies of all the image and audio files in a slide show created with Bravo! Show Creator. BAM files can be viewed using our free Bravo! Player. BAM files let you enjoy Bravo! slide shows created by others.

Q-2.2 Someone just sent me a BAM file. How do I play the slide show it contains with Bravo! Player?

Launch the Bravo! Player application. (If you haven't installed it yet, you can download it from here.) There are several ways to open a BAM file for playing in Bravo! Player. One of the easiest is to simply drag your BAM file into Bravo! Player's preview area. This will load you BAM file. Select the Play button and enjoy the show. You can also load your BAM file by browsing to it by selecting the File->Open menu item.

Q-2.3 I have several BAM files in a folder on my hard-drive. Can Bravo! Player find the BAM files and load them for me?

Yes. Bravo! Player can scan your hard drive for BAM files. When it finds a BAM file, it will load it so that you can select it and play it. You must tell Bravo! Player what folder or folders you want it to scan. To do this, select Library->Settings. Press the Add button. Browse for the folder that contains your BAM files and then press the OK button. You should see that your folder has been added to the list of folders Bravo! Player will scan for BAM files. If you want Bravo! Player to scan all of the sub-folders under a folder, select Yes in the 'Include subfolders' column. Press the OK button. Bravo! Player will scan all the folders in your folder list and add any BAM files it finds to your BAM file library. Select the BAM file you want to play, select the play button, and enjoy the show!

Q-2.4 Can I copy my BAM files to a CD?

Yes. A BAM file is an ordinary file and can be burned to a CD using your CD burning software. However, BAM files won't play in a standard DVD player. For creating such DVDs, have the creator of the show export the show as a video from Bravo! Show Creator.

3. Playing BAM Files

Q-3.1 Why do I get the message “Preview unavailable for current Display Settings” in the preview window?

This indicates the resolution and color settings that you are currently using with your Windows desktop are not compatible with DirectX, which Bravo! Player relies on for rendering the show. Note that full-screen shows will still work provided DirectX is properly installed and your graphics hardware is capable of at least 800x600 support for DirectX.

If you want to change your display settings to a compatible mode, you can find the compatible modes for your hardware by viewing the DirectX Properties. The DirectX Properties should be in Control Panel. (For XP users, you may need to select “Other Control Panel Options” to find the DirextX icon if you are using the new category view). Once you have the DirectX Properties open, select the DirectDraw tab. This shows the list of video modes that DirectX can be used with for your hardware. Change your display settings to any mode shown that is 800x600 or above, and Bravo! Player should be able to support the Preview feature.

Q-3.2 Why does my show run extremely slow, or slow to an unacceptable rate in mid show?

This indicates that your graphics system is in a state known as “texture thrashing.” It means within the slow frames, Bravo! Player is trying to put more on the screen than your graphics subsystem can hold in its available memory. The best way to improve performance and possibly eliminate texture thrashing is to change the video mode of the show (not your desktop Display Settings). To do this, select the View->Video Setting and try using a lower video mode. You can try lowering the resolution (ex: 1280x1024 down to 1024x768), lowering the number of colors (ex: 32-bit down to 16-bit), or both. Very often, lowering to a 16-bit color mode is enough to make the difference, and the show quality will seem very close to that of 32-bit mode (to most people).

Q-3.3 I want my show to play only once and then stop after the last image has disappeared. How do I do this?

Select Show->Repeat to toggle the Repeat selection from checked to unchecked. When Repeat is unchecked, your show will terminate after the last image is displayed.

Q-3.4 Why is there a long pause (with screen going black) before a show starts playing when I start a full-screen slide show?

If the video resolution of the show is different from that of your current desktop settings, Bravo!Player will change the video resolution of your monitor to that of the show when a full-screen show starts. To eliminate this delay, assuming your current desktop mode is supported by Bravo! Player, you can change the show's resolution to that of your desktop. To do this, select the View->Video Resolution menu item. The dialog displays your current desktop settings for reference, and has a pulldown menu of choices for the show's resolution. The menu contains all of the modes that Bravo! Player supports given your computer's graphics capability.

4. DirectX and Graphics

Q-4.1 What is DirectX?

DirectX is Windows software technology developed by Microsoft that enables software applications to take full advantage of a computer's underlying graphics and sound hardware. Bravo! Player uses DirectX to exploit the power of the advanced graphics and audio hardware found in modern PCs. DirectX is most often referred to in the context of game software. DirectX is available for free from Microsoft and may be downloaded from the Microsoft website. For more details, go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx.

Q-4.2 I already have an older version of DirectX, and I’m afraid of not being able to run my games if I upgrade. Do I really need to upgrade to DirectX 9 or higher?

Bravo! Player requires certain interfaces that are only available in DirectX 9 and higher. DirectX is designed to be backwards compatible, so games that are written for previous versions will find their required interfaces in DirectX 9 without any problem.

Q-4.3 Why do I get a message that "Direct3D hardware acceleration is currently unavailable", followed by Bravo! Player shutting down when I try to start the application?

Bravo! Player requires the DirectX component known as Direct3D to be available and to have hardware acceleration support from your computer's graphics subsystem. If you are getting this message, either Direct3D acceleration has been turned off on your computer, or your graphics hardware is unable to provide the necessary support. To see if Direct3D is simply turned of, do the following:

On the Windows Start menu, select the Run command.
In the Run window, type DxDiag and select OK.
If DirectX is properly installed the DirectX Diagnostics Tool will open.
Select the Display tab.
In a section labeled DirectX Features, you will see the text Direct 3D Acceleration, followed by text that says either Enabled or Disabled.
If the text says Disabled, select the Enable button to the right, then Exit DirectX Diagnostics. Bravo! should now run.
If the Enable button is grayed out, your computer graphics card does not support Direct3D, and Bravo! Player will not run on this system.

5. Miscellaneous

Q-5.1 What version of Bravo! Player am I running?

Launch Bravo! Player. Select '"Help > About Bravo! Player" to display the About window. The version information is shown here.

Q-5.2 I’ve read the FAQ, but I still have questions or problems. How do I contact technical support?

Click here to fill out our online trouble report.

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