Study Shows People Who Don’t Watch Online Videos Are… Boring April 23, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Nalts, Online Video, YouTube , 24comments
A recent study shows that the shrinking percent of US citizens that don’t watch online-video regularly are more likely (by 45%) to be boring than their video-watching counterparts. This study, mind you, is based not on a significant N or any official methodology. It’s just based on my own experience.
For example, here’s a result of last evening with Zipster08 and ChristopherMast. It’s a video called “Loco Mama and the Boys from the Hood.” Call them crazy, but don’t call them boring.
Incidentally, Mast (an Indie singer and nurse) is “couch surfing” with the Nalts family this week, and documenting every waking moment. Again- call it what you will, but it’s not boring.
And, all things being equal, life is more interesting when it’s not boring.
Doritos Video Contest April 21, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Contest, Online Video, YouTube, advertising, popular videos , 11comments
So there’s a galary of amateur videos (consumer-generated advertising) posted on Doritos’ UK website, including this classic Davideo hit. He’s the UK creator of the exploding Diet Pepsi Mentos girl, and one of my favorites in the use of abstract video animation (so be sure to rate it if “five sizzling chips” if you like it too).
It’s another agency produced flash site, so no direct links to the videos are provided, but it’s called “Just Can’t Wait.” So you have to go to the site, skip the intro, click “Just Can’t Wait” and vote. At least you don’t have to friggin’ register to vote.
Dear agencies: when are we going to learn that it’s cost prohibitive and unnecessary to create a custom site with subpar video players? To its credit, Doritos also set up a YouTube channel that features “Just Can’t Wait,” but I’m not sure votes count there.
Here’s another brave entrant featuring a guy whose tongue burns off. Kinda gross (as reflected by the votes) but has the most views.
Converting and Uploading Those Old VHS Videos April 20, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Making Videos, Online Video , 9commentsI’ve got two or three plastic bins in my basement, packed with hundreds VHS tapes. Among a lot of junk (Simpsons episodes, SNL reruns) lies some of the first video shorts I’ve made… um… two decades ago. So I spent hours this morning researching ways to convert them, and it comes down to a few complex choices with big tradeoffs:
- Ship your tape to a service provider (I found AMB Media Services via a Google text ad). For the price of $5 to $9, you can transfer VHS, VHS-C, Mini-DV, or Hi-8/8mm tapes. If you only have a few tapes, and want a low-maintenance solution (because your VHS still blinks 12:00), this is your best option. But when you add the shipping (about $9), converting a few tapes will cost more than buying a device. Some pharmacy and photo shops offer this service, and maybe shipping is less expensive.
- Use a camcorder with an analog input. Then you can connect your ol’ VHS to your camcorder and record it digitally. Next, you simply convert your digital tape to your computer as you would any new footage. Unfortunately my high-end Canon HV20 doesn’t have analog in. But I used an earlier camcorder to convert and upload “Woodblock Doll,” “Mint and Treats,” and “Attack of the Killer Slinky.”
- Buy a “Black Box” Device. Pinnacle’s Dazzle was the first device I bought to convert my Mini-DVs to digital footage more than 8 years ago. I researched the space, and paid maybe $200 for the device and editing software. Now there’s an AV-to-digital converter that’s selling for less than $50. There are other “black box” solutions like the Canopus ADVC-1110, but it’s pricey at $200 plus. Here’s one of the highest-rated VHS/DVD devices on Amazon (the Sony VRDMC5 DVDirect DVD Recorder). This Sony device got a favorable review from PC Magazine as well as CrunchGear, but a few customers have complained about audio problems.
- DVD/VHS Combination Units. Wired’s “Gadget Review” compares a number of other solutions, that include simple consumer decks that have both DVD and VHS. Some of these allow you to dub a VHS to a DVD… but this appears oddly complicated. Further, you’ll need software to “rip” that DVD signal to something you can edit, compress and upload. This ‘DVD/VHS combo option leaves you with a full DVD copy of your tape without all the editing and manual work.
- Additional Options and Sources. In researching this post, I did find a nice review of options by “AskBobFranklin.” And two reviews worth mentioning: Video converter software compared and Video editing software compared. I also like this post by SignVideo that describes the method and gives you tips on preserving the quality.
So what’s the bottom line? I’d go with a service (online or at a local store) if you just have a few tapes. But if you have six or more then it’s much more affordable to get a device. While writing this post, I bought the Pinnacle Dazzle DVD Recorder ($44 at Amazon.com). Then I realized that it had a few bad reviews on Amazon, and… oh… it’s not Mac compatible. D’oh. So now maybe I’ll spring for the Sony VRDMC5. Or maybe I’ll tell wifeofnalts it’s on my birthday-wish list. The black box is convenient but it’s another darned device that has limited functionality beyond this purpose.
Here’s my description of “the perfect device,” but I doubt it exists:
- It costs less than $200, and has a VHS deck and a DVD burner.
- The DVD is playable on a regular DVD player, but it also automatically chunks the video into segments that can be viewed via thumbnails. Or you can set it to chunk in 5/10-minute increments.
- You’d store the entire DVD as a safeguard against the deteriorating VHS tapes (although obviously burned DVD are far from permanent archives). Still, I suppose we’d actually watch our wedding tape more than once a decade if it was on DVD.
- But the DVD would also allow for easy exporting in the form of Quicktime, .mov or .mp4 files… so that you don’t need to use software to “rip” the entire DVD, convert, edit and upload. Too many steps!
Would appreciate any feedback if this device does exist. I’d love to dust off some of the videos in the basement, like these vintage Nalts clips (see “more” for details).
Can Amateur Online Video Power Health Community? April 20, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Online Video , 2commentsI’ve been saying for years that I’d trust 100 patients’ diagnosis and recommendations over one doctor’s. It’s the power of the masses: a large set of less educated opinions are more likely to be informative than one educated professional. As an example, I posted a video last night called “5Ks are brutal,” and described some symptoms I’ve had with my back and leg (fast forward to 1:50 to hear how I describe my pain and tingling in one leg).
Within 10 minutes of my hitting “upload,” someone suggested it might be Sciatica (see Wikipedia entry, which itself is a collective explanation and not necessarily informed by medical professionals). As of now, there are several hundred comments, and a few others agree it could be sciatica.
I found this comment fascinating because I think bohogirl1, a total stranger, helped save me weeks of misdiagnoses- and her response arrived almost instantly. I do find my doctor to be largely informed (she’s seen here in this parody, where she was good enough to pretend to diagnose me with “video virus.” But I’ve been experiencing these symptoms for more than a month, and haven’t felt compelled to visit her… it’s time off work, a co-payment and I’m likely to get the “HMO runaround.”
Clearly this wouldn’t work if nobody was watching my videos, and it’s not very sustainable. I doubt many would subscribe to a YouTube channel of random patients complaining about inexplicable medical symptoms — much less offer free diagnosis. But I do think that online-video will power health care communities. Already we’ve seen communities form around medical conditions — especially severe ones like breast cancer, Alzheimer’s, or mental illnesses (see crazymeds.us for some collective experiences related to pharmaceutical treatments related to depression, anxiety and other neurological ailments).
Steve Case, co-founder of AOL and now Revolution Health, has indicated that as co-pays rise and consumer-directed healthplans push costs to consumers, patients are likely to become more informed and seek out other patients for efficient coping with illnesses. When I had a family member diagnosed with cancer, the second thing I did (after surfing the credible sites about cancer) was look for people that had experienced his rare type of cancer… to find out what to expect in treatment and recovery.
I struggle with exactly how video and health community will collide. I would imagine that if community forms around medical illnesses, people will want to exchange stories and advice in a more personalized way… and video is the most visceral means for this. That said, most online-video consumption is related to news, humor and sex. So this will be long-tail stuff. Yet certainly more profound.
eBaums Features My Worst Video Ever… L33t Dwarf Horses April 19, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Nalts, Online Video, popular videos , 8commentseBaums featured my worst video ever a few hours ago. It’s called “l33t dwarf horses,” and it’s a parody of “Internet gaming speak.” It was inspired by DigitalPh33r (see recent post on him). For more about l33t, see this Wikipedia entry. Or the Urban Dictionary version of it.
eBaums must have ripped the video from some website, and posted it. So I just set up my own Nalts account, posted the same video, and asked them to provide correct attribution.
Then again, with 224 scathing comments (in just four hours) and a 1/5 star rating, maybe I don’t want credit…
RIP for Paid Content (bring on the ads) April 17, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Future of Online Video, advertising , 15commentsIt’s pretty clear that consumers are hesitant to buy professional video content much less amateur content. Given that I’ve sold exactly 13 copies of my “best of Nalts DVD” it’s no surprise to me to see that Brightcove is abandoning its “pay for content” model:
On July 31, 2008, we plan to discontinue the Pay Media (Beta) functionality within Brightcove. The Pay Media functionality allows publishers to rent or sell their content directly to consumers. Since its beta release in January 2007, less than 1% of our customers have tried the feature and an even smaller percentage of our customers use it routinely. Given the minimal adoption of Pay Media and the feedback we have received from the market, we are going to discontinue this beta functionality.
Too bad. I was thinking about selling “White Bucks” for $250.
Madonna: Not a YouTube Virgin April 17, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : YouTube , 10comments
Madonna aint acting like a virgin on YouTube. While other stars have fumbled in their attempts at the largest online-video site, Madonna gets 5 stars for her homepage video. Why?
- We imagine this video was featured by the advertising department (likely a paid promotion for her new album “Hard Candy”). And although YouTube editors may not have selected it … it was funny, short and self depricating. Madonna is seen vacuuming the set of her music video.
- The style was relaxed and had an amateur feel. Stark contrast from Oprah’s apperance in front of television monitors.
- She looks pretty good for her age, and that makes me feel young. After all, I was in highschool when I won her album by being the 10th caller at the New Orleans radio station. I actually won ten records (the old-fashioned black CDs that were bigger than a laptop). Of course I had made friends with the disc jockey and he rigged it so I’d win. But now I’m sounding like a blogger drifting off into meaningless blah.
So go get ‘em Madonna. I may not recall any of your songs since I last saw you in a limo, but you’re like a fine wine. You age well. Anytime you wanna do a collaboration on YouTube, you just let Uncle Nalts know. But I’m married, okay?
How Many of the 10 Billion Videos Viewed in February Did YOU Watch? April 17, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Future of Online Video, Online Video, Video Business, Video Sites, Viral Video, YouTube , 6comments
We watched 10 billion videos in February, according to ComScore yesterday. That’s a 66 percent gain from February 2007, and apparently about 73 percent of people online are watching videos. Which means the other 15 percent are losers that are too busy brushing up on their math skills.
35 percent of this activity is on Google/YouTube, followed by about 6 percent by Fox and 3 percent by Yahoo. So if you want the “long tail,” go diggin’ into some of the big-media entities that top the list with one percent share.
I’ll be on YouTube.
It’s Your Fault if You’re Bored Online April 17, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Blogs on Video, Future of Online Video, Online Video, Video Business, popular videos , 6comments
Now it’s your fault if you’re bored online and can’t find anything good to watch (besides Nalts crap).
Tilzy.tv aggregates and lists a lot of the top episodic programming, and may especially helpful as a transition drug to online-video. Especially for you noobs who still think television is more interesting.
The name, branding and tagline “guide to television on the web” a oddly retro, but that’s the point we suppose.
Good content as well as stories, like this recent news about Rabbit Bites getting sponsored by Purina. You go, Bunns and Chou Chou!
Nalts Live on Rhett & Link Tonight April 17, 2008
Posted by Nalts in : Nalts, Online Video , 8comments
Sorry. This is the kinda post that industry people don’t care about, but some of my viewers might. I’m going live with Rhett & Link tonight (Thursday, April 17 at 9 EST). That’s 2 am for you folks in England, but you never sleep anyway. [Added April 21: here’s the archive of the show].
Rhett & Link are Musical Comedians, Web Comics, Content Creators, Magicians, Grocery Clerks, Bed Wetters and Indie Filmmakers.
Here’s the website with details. I think I’ll shave my goatee tonight live.
