Category Archives: Video Software

Full-Screen Online Video Without Software Download

Vividas is enabling full-screen online videos. The company sells software, but you can view a demo without downloading anything. Here’s a beautiful Ford ad that works very well in full screen. Click the link and you’ll need to authorize a pop-up. It took my Mac a minute for the video to cache but it was worth it. (Via Patrick). Here’s another site that never loaded for me, but may for you: FlashBeer.
Vividas makes software that publishers use to distribute the video, but viewers don’t need to do anything except authorize a pop-up. That’s probably the company’s biggest challenge. Initially that requirement would freak me out if I received a video from a non reliable source.

That said, the world of television and web are moving closer by the minute.

The Audio in My Videos Stinks!

better-audio.jpgWhen I posted “Lay Me Off,” I got a lot of comments about the lousy audio. Part of my problem was the music was too loud (a mistake I make far too often). But I also use the camcorder’s built-in mike. So if I’m far from my subject then audio becomes a problem. I was reasearching alternatives and found a great site for tips.

Here’s CNET’s “Inside Secrets,” and quick tips for better home-video sound. Best of all, it’s explained in a short article and a brief instructional video. I also liked this story about how to capture flash video on your hard drive. 

Creating The Frankenstein of Online Video Sites

frankenstein.jpgDid you ever play the game in college where you tried to imagine the perfect woman, and you’d combine parts from various people you knew? Kinda like building the Frankenstein of women? Jennifer’s nose, Cathy’s eyes, Christy’s… um… personality, etc.?

That’s what we’re going to play now. I’ll start. I’m going to create the perfect online video site, and you tell me what I’ve missed or called wrong.

  1. The popularity, speed and community of YouTube
  2. The commerce functionality of Google Video
  3. The ability to search multiple sites of Yahoo Video
  4. The ad-sharing model of Revver
  5. The simplicity of Metacafe
  6. The advanced sharing functionality of Blip.tv
  7. The search power of Blinkx
  8. The hysterical content from eBaums and Break

What am I missing?

What Happens with Linear (Scheduled) Television Programming

In this 4-minute video from CNet, Jeremy Allaire (Brightcove founder and president) discusses the future of videos on the Internet. CNET's Neha Tiwari interviewed Allaire at Supernova 2006. Scheduled television content isn't dead, according to Brightcove who is working on services for smaller firms to syndicate content.

P.S. Getting that video to serve will require you to work your way through ads like you're trying to get past airport security.

The “Consumer’s Report” of Online Video Sites

testinnn.jpgCourtesy of Deirdre Straughan, here's a site that tests a lot of video players in one spot. Some of them load automatically, so you'll have to scroll down and pause. You'll be greeted by some cool music. Thanks, Deirdre, for bringing this to our attention and doing the testing that the rest of us are too lazy to do!

For more comments on various video sites, check out Loaded Pun. Great resource on the pro's and con's of each site.

Video Resolution to Get Worse Before Better

old-cam.jpgWe're all getting used to crappy video online. It may stream quickly, but it's a pixelated as Atari's original Space Invaders.

Will this improve soon? Not for the most part. Sure some of us will upgrade to higher end pro-sumer video cameras ($3000-$10,000). And broadband will allow for higher file-size uplpoads than the typical 100 meg cap. But the vast majority of us will start using our video-enabled cell phones to capture a lot of spontanious, viral videos. So in aggregate, the videos of 2007 will be even uglier than 2006.

Bandwidth isn't yet an issue online, but keep in mind that Japan's wireless broadband is signficantly faster than what you're using now to connect at home. There won't be an incentive for cell providers in the U.S. to bring us high definition video cameras because nobody will want to spend 5-10 minutes sending their video clips to their buddy. So until cell phone pipes expand in the U.S., we're going to be stuck with grainy footage for a while.

The high-end sites will boast broadcast-like quality video, but the vast majority of consumer-generated video will look worst next year. Let's hope that I'm wrong or that someone's creating a software to enhance videos.

… Like in the movies when they turn a 10-pixel image of some guy at his desk into a "Kodak clear" image, in which you can read the legal print on the memo on his desk. Does that bother anyone else, or am I just a geek (don't feel obliged to answer that)?

Putting Media on Your Website

wimpy.jpgA Google ad caught my attention for WimpyMedia. Interesting site that displays various media through a collection of relatively low-cost tools. It's interesting to demo the variety of ways they can stream media. I'm guessing your hosting provider would have server requirements that enable these, but it's interesting to see how modular audio/video content can be served if you feel like doing it yourself. 

Simple Way to Create Video Site

Bloggers are supposed to be experts, but in this case I'm making an appeal to people who know more than me. I currently manage a site called CubeBreak.com which includes select Revver.com videos that are hosted on Yahoo Site Builder. Low cost and it's really easy to use, but it's slower than mud. When I open it, it holds my computer hostage for 5-10 minutes as it slowly loads. There's got to be an easier way for a layperson to create a simple website without knowing HTML. Anyone? Bueller? Anyone? Ideally it would let me import the Yahoo Site Builder without starting from scratch.

FireFox “Add On” for Video Downloading


Thanks to one of Revver's most popular video posters, MarquisdeJolie, for discovering this FireFox Add On. It allows for simple downloading from the following sites: Youtube, Google Video, iFilm, Metacafe, Dailymotion, Myspace, Angry Alien, AnimeEpisodes.Net, Badjojo, Blastro, Blennus, Blip.tv, Bofunk, Bolt, Break.com, Castpost, CollegeHumor, Current TV, Dachix, Danerd, DailySixer.com, DevilDucky, Double Agent, eVideoShare, EVTV1, FindVideos, Free Video Blog, Grinvi, Grouper, Hiphopdeal, Kontraband, Lulu TV, Midis.biz, Music.com, MusicVideoCodes.info, MySpace Video Code, Newgrounds, NothingToxic, PcPlanets, Pixparty, PlsThx, Putfile, Revver, Sharkle, SmitHappens, StreetFire, That Video Site, TotallyCrap, VideoCodes4U, VideoCodesWorld, VideoCodeZone, vidiLife, Vimeo, vSocial, Yikers, ZippyVideos… and any other webpage with embedded objects.

But does it support CubeBreak? That's what really matters.

P.S. Half of my motive for this post was to get this new blog on the search-engine grid by using the names of all the cool video sites.