Your Video Expert Blog

Which Video Hosting Web Site to Use?

I replied to a post on one of the List Serv's I belong to and thought the topic was certainly worthy of sharing here.

A video producer colleague had a client (a college) who had started using an internet hosting website to share their videos on-line. He was helping them to use VIMEO, hearing that many other video producers were using that service. Here is my reply in the topic:

I do use VIMEO but primarily just so I am aware of it's functions and operation. VIMEO  free and VIMEO Plus are not for those who wish to use the service for a business or commercial enterprise - however they are allowing video producers to use the service to promote their business (not the business of their clients).

Any service - even VIMEO PRO - has a cap, and increased associated fees if you exceed their Storage (amount of data stored - size of video files, usually in GB) and their bandwidth (amount of data/video transferred to your viewers, usually in GB).

To get deeper into the question in your post -- which video hosting service your client uses depends, I believe, on what their primary goal/s are for hosting the video:

Do they wish to use the video/s to increase their marketing reach - improve their SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?

Do they wish to share the video/s to allow students to access academic content - as part of paid coursework ?

Do they want to make the video/s accessible for any community member / internet viewer?

Do they want/need the ability to utilize analytics to determine the viewer patterns relative to the video/s?

Do they need/want social sharing, commenting, etc. for the video/s?

And what is their budget for video hosting?

The answers to these questions will guide them to the best host (or as I usually recommend) a mix of host sites to best suit their needs.

On-line video is THE arena for many companies at this time, with great efforts geared to engaging their prospects and customers as well as increasing market awareness and market share. 

I use a variety of sites (and have used some just to get familiar with their operation) from YouTube, VIMEO, iPlayerHD, SproutVideo, SmugMug, Facebook, Exposure Room). 

For those who are member-subscribers of my website (www.YourVideoExpert.net) you will find the 79-minute streaming video (webinar recording) along with a print-able 15-page PDF booklet in the Members archives.

Editing Video from Canon HDSLR on iPad 2

For the past few decades we've seen an increase in the availability of tools to help folks capture amazing video and stunning digital images.  And these cameras are increasingly more affordable.

This fact is running along with the gigantic availability of new mobile technologies that enable us to  edit these videos (and photographs) in the field and then share them around the world.

I attended MacWorld Expo in San Francisco, California last week and enjoyed attending several presentations dealing with photography and videography using the latest tech tools, but also the exhibit hall was chock full of accessories and apps (software applications) that are helping push the envelope of artistic expression.

A buddy sent me to a website today where one of these trail blazers details the process where you can take high definition video from a high-end Canon HDSLR (the Canon 5D, MkII), import, edit, and then upload your finished video in the field - from an Apple iPad2.

You can learn the steps to benefit from remote editing from the tutorial from Jim Edds at ExtremeStorms.com , who is an 'extreme weather cameraman' (he videotapes hurricanes, and other extreme events): Editing Canon 5D2 video on an Ipad 2 and XM Satellite Radar on your Ipad2 

Convert Minutes into Hours

I am nearing completion of this monolithic tutorial video...the longest I have ever produced and checking my time-line/storyboard I wanted to get a gauge on how many DVDs I am going to need to produce to capture the full length of this valuable teaching.

So the technology nerd that I am, I figured there must be a web site that will help here... and sure enough there is!

I found a site called minutes to hours.com. It's a very simple web site where you plug in the number of minutes and click the 'convert' button and in a matter of seconds you have your answer.

(This was near the end of my production... it ended up being 627 minutes long, if you're curious)

I thought since it was useful to me, perhaps it may come in handy for you as well!

Any other helpful, simple utilities you have found on-line? Please share in the comments below: