This is a reply to a message I posted to the Refresh-Austin listserv. The original question wa: “Does anybody have a recommendation for good video resource websites or forums or mailing lists, etc?” And then I got a bit verbose on the topic of streaming media, etc.
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Creativecow.com, dv.com, videomaker.com and streamingmedia.com are two pretty good resources for video . The former has some active forums and information on production while streamingmedia.com has information, on well, streaming.
Two things to keep in mind about video in general and video on the web. First, its relative high cost to create a compelling experience. Just like anyone can build a web page, anyone can create a video. Youtube is evidence of that. Being creative and compelling so people want to watch (either willingly or not) is either kismet (you just KNOW how to do it) or expensive (you have to hire someone who knows how to do it.)
Consider that watching video (or listening to audio) is an optional experience while visiting a website. You could argue that’s becoming less so today. “Compellng” is the operative word. Why would someone want to view something from a (your) library of 30 clips (I assume instructional in some way?). Did the site visitor audience ask for the clips? Demand them from the site owner? Are the clips offered as “value add” by the site owner to attract or retain visitors? Are they necessary to “get” whatever information the site is trying to convey? Are they just eye candy or cool factor? So, that’s one factor: why are you presenting audio or video? The other factor is if you do present audio or video how can you hold the audience’s attention for 30 minutes? That has to be really good video: creative-can’t-take-my-eyes-off-it-must-stop-watching video. Or it has to be some kind of requirement for a job or certification. So the audience WANTS to watch or is TOLD to watch. No matter, to get decent video or audio programming produced takes a level of expertise that you generally don’t find on Youtube or other user generated content (UGC) sites. If the video is egotistical like UGC and your audience is left out of the picture so to speak then you’ve spent good money to produce and stream media that no ones wants to watch or listen to.
Once all that work is done (”We will deliver media because it is valuable to our audience. We will pay for creation of that media because our audience demands/deserves the highest quality we can deliver.”) then the delivery options are almost too abundant. I would forget the streaming server for now and go with a service provider, especially for media files that long. They will store the media for you, stream it from high speed, high volume points of prescence and can then provide reports (logging) as to who watched, how much was wtached for how long, etc. All for the cost of storage and throughput. Google “streaming media providers” or check streamingmedia.com (Dan Rayburn’s Business of Online Video blog should have good info). I would checkout Vitalstream.com. I recently webcast 30 hours of a 5 day conference (don’t ask) and Vitalstream provided great upfront service and a simple interface to track my audience usage and throughput (we didn’t store anything.) I have a contact number if you need it.
Streaming audio is almost not worth it since the files are relatively small and, depending on your audience, a podcast might be more appropriate. Audio is great for timeshifting; video needs to be sat down and watched. Don’t get wrapped around tge Digital Rights Management (DRM) axle. If the media is proprietary then offer behind a log in and only stream it, do not allow download of any kind. At the other extreme, consider offering it through a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial
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