Online Video Publishing [dot] com

Webcasting vs. Web Conferencing

larrykless — 2013-05-09T04:23:39Z

This video from ACT Conferencing, a global provider of integrated conferencing solutions, describes the distinct differences between webcasting and web conferencing. It's presented by Clair Pearson, Global Product Manager of Events & Multimedia, who discusses the variety of virtual solutions and common terms used to describe web conferencing, online meetings, webinars, virtual events, streaming and webcasts.

What is a Webcast? Video Transcript (Published courtesy of ACT Conferencing)

"Hi, I'm Clair. Let's talk about some words you probably hear on a daily basis. Words like web conferencing, online meeting, webinar, virtual event, streaming or webcast. These are sometimes used interchangeably, but is it really clear what the terms mean? Understanding what every virtual solution has to offer will allow you to see real benefits for your business. Let's focus on webcasting. So what is a webcast? A webcast by definition is a broadcast of sound or video on the web. Similar to TV or radio, it's a one-to-many solution, and it allows you to reach hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of viewers all at the same time. A webcast is also sometimes referred to as a virtual event. Webcasts are highly scalable and reliable, and they are designed to address a widely dispersed audience all over the world."

Webcasting vs. Web Conferencing

"There is a common confusion between webcasting and web conferencing. So let's try to clear that up a bit today. Web conferencing is a solution designed for smaller meetings. It's normally used in conjunction with an audio conference, and it's highly collaborative. Web conferencing is perfect for less formal day-to-day meetings, and normally has fewer attendees. A webcast, on the other hand, uses audio streaming or video streaming and allows participants to listen or see the presenter over the internet. Without the need to download or install, or even telephone, the attendee just clicks on the link and joins the virtual event. As a presenter, a webcast with streamed audio can be run using just a plain old telephone. The beauty of this is that multiple speakers in geographically dispersed regions can all be presenting at the same time in real time. Perfect."

"Webcasts can also include a video element by using a variety of different sources: webcams, on-site camera crews, a professional studio, or even a plain old video conferencing unit in your company's boardroom. All of these enable you to add video to your webcast. A webcast is so much more than just the ability to listen or view the speaker over the internet. Webcasts can be fully customized to reflect a company's brand or a theme. They can include a registration page and can allow for literally thousands of simultaneous viewers. Most corporate webcasts include some form of interactivity. Like the ability for participants to submit a question or take part in live polls or post-event surveys. The use of slides in corporate webcasts is also really common. Powerful reporting provides analytics ranging from a high level overview of participation, right down to detailed tracking of each participant. If you're handling sensitive content, you can restrict access from specified IP addresses, email domains or even add a password for your peace of mind. Webcasts are also routinely archived online, so a presentation lives on beyond the actual event date. Allowing the hosting company to maximize their events and make the most out of the content. Webcasts are extremely useful for training, investor relations, internal town halls, medical marketing events, or continuing education."

"How do you envision using one?"

About ACT Conferencing

For more than 20 years, ACT Conferencing has been a global provider of enterprise level audio, web and video collaboration services. The company is focused on delivering customization and specialization for channel partners, providing consultation and service delivery to help customers increase revenues, improve productivity, reach new markets, and outperform their competition. ACT’s integrated platforms provide managed, international and local-language services. ACT is headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, with operations in Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the UK. www.actconferencing.com.

Content marketing: Let’s identify the best (and discourage the rest)

larrykless — 2013-05-05T04:56:32Z

By David Murray

You know who claims to know content marketing these days? Everybody who likes money, that’s who.

What if there was a way to separate the veteran communicator from the Johnny Come Lately?

So that in the midst of this content marketing gold rush, clients and hiring managers can begin identify the pros who know how to think about marketing, conceive strategic content, create the right media, craft compelling messages that actually resonate with key audiences.

You know, the pros who have been doing content marketing all along—as opposed to the person for whom “content” is just a lucrative new vocabulary word.

Behold the all-new Content Marketing Awards, presented by the Content Marketing Institute and sponsored by McMurry/TMG. It’s judged by the very leading lights of content marketing, who are as eager as anyone to identify the best in every aspect of this burgeoning business (and discourage the rest).

“Honestly, the industry needs this,” writes Content Marketing Institute founder Joe Pulizzi. “This is all in the natural progression of a growing industry. “Showcasing the best that the industry can offer, both projects and agencies, will help us get to where we need to go.”

So enter your best work in the Content Marketing Awards—by the May 17 deadline— and prove you belong.

Or get off the bandwagon.

David Murray is program chairman for the Content Marketing Awards, and editor of ContentWise. For two decades David has written and spoken widely on corporate, political and personal communication issues. He’s editor of Vital Speeches of the Day and his writing has appeared in Advertising Age, The New York Times and The Atlantic

Monthly. He blogs about the communication life at Writing Boots.

5 Considerations for Successful Online Video Engagement

larrykless — 2012-12-09T00:27:28Z

This article originally appeared on The SmartVideo Blog as 5 Considerations for Successful Online Video Engagement posted by James Dicso on June 11, 2012, and is republished here through a content partnership with SundaySky

Today, when consumers shop online, they expect the personalized attention of an in-store experience. They want brands to provide engaging experiences during purchases, and at every stage of the customer journey. As a result, innovative marketers are turning to online video as an engagement tool.

Below are five considerations for ensuring your brand's success with online video.

Search engines favor video,

long-tail keywords

Pre-roll ads bring your prospects back.

On-site video increases conversion rates.

product videos

Online video can be an effective customer service tool.

deliver complex bills, statements and invoices with an easily digestible explanation of usage and fees

Online video makes for more impactful nurturing campaigns.

At right is an example of an email nurturing campaign from Shopbop.com to a customer who recently purchased a pair of denim jeans.

These five applications of online video bridge the gap between live and virtual experiences for the consumer and offers the most streamlined way to present information in all of their touch points with your brand.

Do you have other considerations for successful engagement with online video? Please share your experiences below - I’d love to hear from you.

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Corporate video is OVER. Thank God.

larrykless — 2012-09-24T01:34:20Z

Guest post by David Murray, program chairman, Strategic Video Awards

A brief history of the last 50 years in corporate video: Corporate training films begat weird corporate promo videos begat dreadful corporate streaming videos begat public embarrassment through paltry page views.

Funny Office Safety Training Retro Video! Hilarious!!

'You and Office Safety' - Safetycare free prev

1984 Apple's Macintosh Commercial

Kevin's New Employee Orientation Cheesy Corporate EOE Video

Corporate communication types and marketers have now been forced to realize—finally!—that people apply the same standards for watching your video that they do for watching TV shows or the dozen or more YouTube videos they watch every day.

If it isn't grabbing their heart or their mind and shaking it violently, they switch it off. In a second.

Because they know that with one click they can find Jon Stewart joking, Jeb Corliss crashing or Volvo—Volvo!—doing something completely insane.

Jeb Corliss Table Mountain Crash

Volvo Trucks - The Ballerina Stunt

Yep, corporate video makers have realized they can't get away with making corporate videos anymore.

What will they make? The judges at the Strategic Video Awards can't wait to find out.

And we hope you'll enter your non-corporate corporate video before our Oct. 26 deadline.

The Strategic Video Awards were created for everyone who uses video to communicate for corporations, associations, non-profits, public institutions, colleges and universities, PR firms and ad agencies, and custom publishers. The Strategic Video Awards differ from other programs in that we judge the effectiveness of the message versus the technical aspects of the video. For more information, go to: http://www.strategicvideoawards.com/

Debunking Video Advertising Myths

larrykless — 2012-09-23T19:09:17Z

This article originally appeared on The SmartVideo Blog as Why Generate Personalized Video in Real Time posted by Yaniv Axen on June 1, 2012, and is republished here through a content partnership with SundaySky

A recent article on digiday.com reviewed some of the myths in the ad-tech space and discussed why they are indeed myths. While reading this, I thought about the applicability of this to the online video advertising space. Let’s analyze each myth separately.

Myth 1: There’s not enough quality inventory for advertisers.

When we talk about online video advertising, I look only at in-stream video ads. And while there is certainly less inventory in video compared to display, video inventory is growing at an amazing pace. Comscore reports that last month Americans viewed 9.5 billion video ads. So basically, in one year, we more than doubled the number of video ad views - incredibly 2.5X compared to April 2011.

Number of Video Ad Views per Month – Based on ComScore’s Monthly Video Rankings Report

In terms of quality of the inventory, I believe it is extremely powerful to get the attention of a viewer for 15 or 30 seconds in a pre-roll ahead of the content the viewer is looking to watch. We've seen high engagement rates - without comparison to display ads, which sometimes even appear below the fold. So, at the end of the day, a video ad view is much more powerful than a banner ad impression.

Myth 2: Publishers should worry about programmatic buying.

In my humble opinion, publishers should worry if buying is done in the traditional way. Programmatic buying is the only way to maximize the full potential of your inventory. It's true that today because of the scarcity of good premium content, high-end inventory is easily sold, but with time, advertisers will want to make smarter buys and be willing to pay higher prices for the "right" opportunities.

Myth 3. Ad Tech is too complicated.

I believe that the video ad environment is still less complicated than its elder display counterpart. I also believe there will be some consolidation in the next few years. Advertisers would like to manage their advertising budget in a transparent way and be able to transfer funds between channels to areas where they see higher returns per every dollar spent. Today, the market is very fragmented (search, display, social, video, email), but with time, technology platforms will be built to provide a true holistic view on ad spending and returns. Companies, like Google, Adobe/Omniture and others, are already heading in that direction, and video is going to be an integral part of that.

Myth 4. Programmatic buying introduces a new set of undifferentiated middlemen.

In general, I would like to see fewer players along the value chain and each taking a piece of the action. Fewer hands involved in the process will increase market efficiencies. As they say, "cut out the middlemen." While many ad-tech companies bring value to the chain, especially in the formative stages of the online video advertising space, it can be hard to distinguish one video exchange from another. Again, ideally, with time as the space matures, there will be fewer middlemen.

The online video advertising world is a few steps behind the display banner space. Whether it is 2 years or 5 years behind, it is clear that video is catching up quickly and we here at SundaySky are certainly excited to help shape the future of it.

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Measuring True Financial Impact of Online Video Advertising

larrykless — 2012-08-19T04:17:58Z

This article originally appeared on The SmartVideo Blog as Measuring True Financial Impact of Online Video Advertising posted by James Dicso on April 27, 2012, and is republished here through a content partnership with SundaySky

Online video is the fastest growing advertising medium with over 8.3B video ads in March, according to comScore’s latest online video rankings. As inventory grows and online video advertising strategies mature, this trend should not only continue, but accelerate.

As noted in eMarketer, Video Ad Performance measurement remains a challenge. Some advertisers use traditional TV metrics, such as Gross Rating Point, while others focus on click through rates or completion rates to measure performance. The challenge with each of these metrics is that it misses the larger goal of delivering (Return on Ad Spend (RoAS). Most other online advertising categories are performance based with a focus on delivering measurable incremental visits, conversions and revenue.

We believe a smart video advertising strategy should incorporate RoAS as the primary metric to measure true financial impact, while ensuring that the video ads also deliver positive brand experience and engagement. This requires the ability to both report on these metrics and use a control-group approach to measure how much of this performance is incremental.

Assuming an advertiser buys into the idea of using RoAS as the performance metric of choice, the whole video advertising program should be designed around the idea of visitor targeting and performance optimization to maximize RoAS. This includes optimizing the media buy, as well as optimizing the video ad. (Video ad targeting and performance optimization will be the subject of several future blog posts.)

There are many ways to measure performance of video advertising programs. Our belief is that RoAS measured via control group is the smart way to go.

Is your video advertising program delivering measurable financial impact?

Photo credit: Zoom U » Online Video Advertising | Calgary Video Production Blog

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YouTube is Powerful Than TV

larrykless — 2012-08-08T22:28:41Z

Guest post by Roman at Frozzo

A couple of decades ago we couldn’t even imagine our lives without TV .It had its indisputable reasons. The majority of population got the vast amount of information from TVs. We were learning about new products only by watching the ads concerning the company, we were watching movies, cartoons, TV shows and even when we liked them we had the opportunity to record them in order to watch them later hundreds of times, show them to the others and enjoy them every time we saw them .We thought that this is the top and nothing could be better.

But later the internet appeared and we betrayed our best friend –TV, leaving it alone with elderly and found a new one – Internet, which enabled us to use websites that showed us everything online. We could watch anything we wanted at any time. Gradually the social media developed and the most popular online platform YouTube was launched in 2005. Since then arguments are held- which one is better TV or YouTube. Of course the majority of users are young and they will assuredly say that YouTube is better and will give their reasons.

The time factor plays a predominating role in this argument. YouTube is available at any time you want to watch. If you are away it is available everywhere you want to watch, just find the wireless connection and finally it is available on your cell phone. NO restrictions are put there and anyone cat enter here and watch videos according to their interest. Everything is sorted out here. Any member of your family can watch a video and get the information he requires from YouTube.

You want to entertain your children and don’t know how- here it comes to help-find all the cartoons of the world and let them watch it successively. Want to listen to your favorite singer’s latest song and watch the music video, here again Youtube comes to help. Have just got an interesting video and want to share it with your friends-post it on Youtube, the more views you get the more famous you are. Want to know anything about your favorite product- here the ads will be found.

And what do you think you lose doing it? Nothing, you don’t even need to pay money, just sign up here and add and watch as many videos as you can. So with these simple explanations I assure you that YouTube is better, faster and more qualified than TV.

Guest author bio: Roman runs London based social media marketing company Frozzo. His mission is to help and lead people to get real Twitter followers, YouTube views and Facebook fans.

Videos Show You How To Install Performance Parts

larrykless — 2012-08-05T06:31:47Z

Guest post by Alex @ Redline360.com

The do-it-yourself automotive trend is growing every day, and especially in a down economy, people want to save money by installing performance parts themselves so they can save hundreds of dollars on labor. There is no better way for a manufacture of performance parts to connect with their potential customers than to create videos such as the one below that give you a background and step by step installation guide so you feel comfortable doing the job yourself. For example, in the video below, Mishimoto, a brand popular for radiators and cooling parts, demonstrates how to install their parts into a Subaru Impreza WRX.

It also helps that the video has a professional race car driver, Matt Waldin, to give credibility to the brand and entice customers to continue watching the video. The video goes step-by-step in explaining not only the benefits of the part, but what tools you need to do the job so you can be sure you have everything necessary to get the job done.

Some customers like to make their own product videos, and they gain a following and recognition on automotive forums of their knowledge and experimentation of the products. Lots of times, especially with newer cars, people like to hold off on buying parts until someone in the community buys it first and then reviews it for quality, ease of installation and performance gains.

Some how-to's can get very technical, and some customers even do mechanical comparisons on a dynamometer to determine effectiveness of parts, such as a comparison of the difference between a short ram intake and a cold air intake. Information such as this isn't so straight forward, so there needs to be testing done that can only be given credibility with a video posted online, or dyno sheets that show power gains. As customers get more savvy, online videos are going to be playing a bigger part in the automotive performance market.

How You Should Be Measuring Business Video Impact

larrykless — 2012-07-21T21:29:12Z

This article originally appeared on The SmartVideo Blog as How You Should Be Measuring Business Video Impact posted by James Dicso on April 18, 2012, and is republished here through a content partnership with SundaySky

Companies want to prove that business video delivers a measurable financial impact to justify the investment.

In the current online business environment, all companies need to invest in solutions that have a clear and measurable ROI and payback period. Sure, vendors of business video solutions tout the impact of video on targeted business metrics, such as conversion rate, churn rate, engagement rate, call rate, and customer satisfaction as drivers of ROI. But, do they prove that business video is actually delivering these results? If vendors only compare the metrics of video viewers to non-viewers, without controlling for volume of video views and the effects of self-selection bias, the actual ROI results will be inaccurate.

True SmartVideo solutions are designed to address these concerns. Every program starts with defined goals that are measurable. The initial phase of the program includes a persistent control group that separates visitors into a test group (has access to video) and control group (no access to video). Performance of the video group vs. the control group is measured for each metric. This addresses the volume of video views on the total performance and also controls for self-selection bias. The aim is to measure transactional impact (short term) and lifetime impact (longer term) on key metrics.

I’ll use an example to illustrate these points.

A common statement is that “video-viewers convert at 3x the rate of non-viewers”. If non-viewers convert at 2%, this means that video viewers convert at 6%. Without using a control group to address video view rate and self-selection bias, the ROI projections would not be accurate or realistic. Consider the below visual.

This illustration demonstrates the impact of self-selection bias on the test visitors who don’t view video (slightly lower conversion rate) and also reflects the impact of scale of visitors who choose to view the video. Although video viewers convert at 3X non-viewers, the actual lift in conversion is 5% when comparing total video group vs. control group (2.1% conversion rate for the video group vs. 2.0% for the control group).

To effectively measure impact of business video, it is critical to define the success criteria and metrics before kicking off the program. Then, establish a control group to measure the overall effect of video on the target metrics, instead of measuring only actions of video viewers vs. non-viewers.

Is your business video program delivering measurable financial impact? If not, consider adopting a SmartVideo approach.

Visit The SmartVideo Blog for current articles or subscribe the RSS Feed

SmartVideo delivers a compelling, personalized, real-time video experience designed to reach people with what they need to know in the most engaging, entertaining and informative way possible. SundaySky’s innovative convergence of technology and creativity has advanced the use of SmartVideo to more effectively engage people at every step of the customer lifecycle. Our platform generates hundreds of thousands of SmartVideos daily that attract traffic, retarget prospects, convert prospects to customers, support customers and enhance customer relationships. SundaySky SmartVideo users include leading consumer-facing organizations like AT&T, Office Depot and Tiger Direct. Follow SundaySky on Twitter and Facebook.

5 Rookie Mistakes When Investing In Business Video Initiatives

larrykless — 2012-07-16T04:04:16Z

This article originally appeared on The SmartVideo Blog as 5 Rookie Mistakes When Investing In Business Video Initiatives posted by Shmulik Weller on April 17, 2012.

Online Video Publishing [dot] com welcomes SundaySky as a new blog content partner.

There's lots of enthusiasm in the market among marketers, advertisers and customer care executives for use of business video (see recent Forrester-ANA study). Video has become a necessity, particularly for online brands, in order to create or maintain an "innovator" perception. However, many settle for just "checking the box" when adopting video for certain business initiatives without paying enough attention to the question – how can video truly have a meaningful impact on my business?

Here are some common rookie mistakes made by online brands that just check the video box, and hence miss the true potential and impact of business video:

Video production and distribution without attaching measurable business value. Creating and posting videos is not enough. Make sure they are measured and optimized to your business needs. For example, if you wish for your videos to increase your site stickiness and the number of repeat visits, make sure your videos refresh frequently to make it enticing for viewers to return and find out what's new. Measure performance with each refresh. Or perhaps you would like for videos to drive higher conversion rates, in which case you need to establish a control group to measure the overall effect of video on your target metrics.  
Selective placement of videos. What's the point in investing in such a rich asset if it is not going to be prominently featured in your online presence? For example, if your play buttons and your video calls-to-action are big and clear, you will see greater click-to-play rates and hence more significant impact. In many cases only small percentage (single digit) of visitors actually watch the videos. Aim for at least 25% of unique users to play your videos.

Static videos. The Web is a dynamic medium where content is ever-changing. Your video content and creative should be ever-changing and be continually updated, too. Videos should feature the latest products, news, deals and offerings. Low video count and static videos that do not update over time quickly become a ghost town on your site. This is not the innovator message you want to send to your customers. See example below.
Use of generic video content. One-size-fits-all content is less effective, than personalization, particularly when it comes to engaging with your prospects and customers. Personalized video takes your engagement strategies to another level.  
DIY. Online video, and especially online video for business, requires unique expertise (vs. traditional video production). Tap into online video experts who can help you not only strategize, but also navigate the nuances around what works and doesn't work, how to make it dynamic and continually optimize it to deliver desired business outcomes, how to ensure usage. Clearly someone with domain experience can share best practices and help you achieve your goals, and execute on your video strategy. These questions are key to a successful business video deployment.

Video can be a very impactful medium. However, these common mistakes can prevent online brands from realizing its true potential. Don’t just check the video box – master it and make the best out of it.

AT&T is an example innovator who is mastering use of video to further strategic customer care initiatives. View this video to learn about their video strategy.

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Wedding Videography or Photography – Which is the best?

larrykless — 2012-07-15T17:12:19Z

This article originally appeared on Zlobber as Wedding Videography- How it has revolutionized today’s marriage celebrations? posted by Jason Phillips on July 4, 2012

Comparing wedding videography to wedding photography is realistically unrealistic. Both mediums are trying to tell a story and usually succeed, but one uses motion and sound while the other depends on the skill of the photographer. There are arguments for both as well as those who believe they have to have both at their wedding in order to have their special day fully documented.

However, as the old saying goes too many cooks can ruin the stew. So, in the same way too many photographers and videographers can ruin the wedding. When planning your nuptials having photographic memories will be an important step. Deciding whether you want a photographer or videographer or both will require some serious consideration. Photographs can be placed in an album to present a timeline of the event while creating lasting visual memories while a video of the day can also capture all the sounds of the day.

Many people take the refuge of corporate production companies; especially the elite customers.

Pictures of the speeches given during the reception may spark memories of what was said but a video will provide the words as well as the tone in which they were said. Individual table photos are a nice reminder of what guests were there and with whom they were seated, but a video can provide individual messages from each

of the attendees.

The wedding ceremony is a sacred event and photographers sometimes, determined to get the best shot possible, will interfere with the minister and other members of the wedding party. Videographers are seldom any better as they try to muscle their way into the best possible position. You will need to set the ground rules for either one before the ceremony, and talk to the person officiating, to ensure the ceremony goes off without any problems.

For most couples a wedding is a once in a lifetime event and having the day recorded for prosperity will preserve the countless memories. Most couples go through the day like a whirlwind and memories can be sketchy at best. You also need to consider that the uncle or cousin with a video camera may not capture the best videos or have the aggression needed to get the best possible video of the day.

Today, there are many companies engaged in video marketing and production of niche videos. These companies will make your wedding an everlasting memory.

If you choose to have both a photographer and a videographer, you need to caution them both ahead of time that they need to work together. You are going to pay the bills, usually not inexpensive, and you want the best for your money. Professionals will work together to stay out of each other’s shots so you don’t have them appear in all of your wedding pictures.

The bottom line is when choosing between still photography and video look into the future. Determine if you will want to peruse an album of the day’s memories or pop a disk into the player and be able to relive the entire day. Many couples make the mistake of overkill for their wedding with two or three of each, as though they are putting together a professional production. Sure, they are certain to get every image they want, but usually at the expense of them tripping over each other while they block your guests from seeing what is going on.

Photo Credit: WeddingVideographyHouston.com

About the author: Guest author Jason Phillips is a passionate photographer who can tell tips, tricks and techniques. An in depth look on his photographs tell he is an adept photographer not an amateur one. Visit his site to know more about corporate video production and video marketing.

How to start your own Videography Business

larrykless — 2012-06-17T01:32:15Z

One of the first things you have to consider when thinking about starting your own videography business is whether or not you are suited to owning your own business. As difficult as it may be to hear the truth is not everyone is capable of being in business for themselves. It takes discipline and dedication and owning a decent video camera does not automatically qualify you to be in business.

If you are working you might consider taking on a project or two in your spare time to determine if you have the skills needed. Even the best videographers may be able to produce a great product but without the knowledge of running a business, you can find yourself in over your head in a hurry. You will be giving up your time and trading it hopefully for at least some money. The thing to remember is that if you don’t make money at it, it’s a hobby.

Although, markets are decked with corporate video production companies, yet if you have a rage and passion, you will surely achieve what you desire.

However, if you pass introspection and believe you have the passion for the occupation begin by identifying the type of projects your skills are best suited to produce. You will need to have top quality equipment if you expect top quality production. On top of that since you will be charging for your work, your customers will expect top quality results.

Develop a business plan that includes the money you will need for quality equipment. Having a great camera will mean nothing without post-production equipment of the same caliber. You’re going to need to go all in on your equipment if you expect to receive rave reviews of your product.

Knowing your competition should have been part of your business plan in order to determine if there is enough business in your area to go around. Compare your skills to others and be honest with yourself in deciding who can offer the best product. Every day will be a learning experience and when the time comes that you decide you know everything about the business, it may be time to find a new line of work. One skill that has raged like an epidemic is video marketing; it’s all about marketing your efforts. So, don’t lag behind in this aspect.

Promoting yourself will be the means by which you are measured by potential clients. Put together a website that can showcase your work and don’t be stingy on its design. This is something that shouldn’t be left to a niece or nephew as a school project. You are trying to show yourself as a professional and your website needs to project that same image.

You will need a professional brochure as well as potential clients will want something they can use to compare your services and your prices with your competition. Some new business owners tend to offer reduced prices to undercut the competition. This is a really bad way to gain business. Most believe you get what you pay for and when they see exceptionally low prices might think they will get substandard results.

Above all, be honest with clients you do get. Especially when shooting weddings as some clients will have expectations that are simply unrealistic. Regardless of your agreement, their expectations can drive you crazy. That is something that goes with the proverbial territory and will simply be a part of doing business with the public. Something they don’t teach in business school.

About the author:

The article is written by Peter Smith. Peter’s expertise lies in vintage and digital photography, apart from that he is regular contributor to various technology blogs. To know more about his creative powers visit his website: Corporate Video Productions Company | London Tracc Films

Apple's Thunderbolt Display Port Dismays the AV Industry

larrykless — 2012-06-09T04:45:23Z

"AV Industry Challenges Brave Mac Techs Who Are Confined to Speaking In Terms of Re-Branding, With Little Success Given the Fact that They Are Unaware of Specs, Really want to Help, but Are Rendered Helpless by the Apple Core Design Team."

Guest author Lorin Nelson

This is an issue that's hitting the A/V nerd community. Serious problems result when newer Mac's are tied in with "display port". We're in the process of creating a reliable cure, but nobody else has done this yet.

OK folks, here's the scoop on the encoded Mac Display Port outputs.

They're no longer simply Display Port outputs. As of late last year, all new models of MacBooks, Air's, etc. now employ the Thunderbolt output.

It does the video output from the same size mini DVI, along with much more.....much more than we want it to do for our purposes. Apple employees are instructed not call it a display port any more....which is a bit unnerving in itself.

Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbolt_(interface)

Key quote from the specs:

"The cable is actually a crossover cable, it swaps all receive and transmit lanes, e.g. HS1TX(P) of the source is connected to HS1RX(P) of the sink."

In other words, it tries to "talk" to every piece of equipment in the signal path.

While we believe we have a few ways to conquer this little challenge, nobody really has a 100% reliable fix for this yet. The EDID boxes that Bob suggested may very well to prove the most reliable way of fooling it by locking in the signal to a Thunderbolt compliant monitor first, then routing into our system.

Mac is getting too damn smart for it's own good.

Occupy Apple!!!

The deeper we get into this, the more interesting and painful it gets. I didn't do all the research myself, I've just been compiling widespread conversations on the issue for a few weeks now. We've had an all-star cast looking into this including, San Francisco-based AV professionals: Luke Sullivan, Harold Brown, Dwight Kiyono, Bob Hines, Andrew King, Jaime, an Apple employee named Louis, Johnny Good, who's shaking his head in despair and cursing Apple, Lou Abaurrea and more.

Dwight clued me in to a potential fix that Aja will release mid June: http://www.aja.com/en/articles/172/

Further clues for your reference:

http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=4714 and http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=8005

Out of those to a VGA splitter might fool it if it's done in the right order with a compliant monitor. I'll update as our misadventures in addressing this transpire, it'll be interesting but hopefully we can bail some other folks out with prior notice.

UPDATE: 6/16/2012

There is a line of products out there called HDFury:

http://www.hdfury.com/

It looks like the best solution for the emerging problem.

They're definitely on top of the situation.

Informative links:

Definition of HDCP/HDMI, etc.

http://www.hdfury.com/hdmi-hdcp/hdcphdmi-definition/

The Display Nightmare:

http://www.hdfury.com/hdmi-hdcp/hdcp-the-display-nightmare/

Legality:

http://www.hdfury.com/hdmi-hdcp/hdcp-strippers-legality/

Please distribute this info as you see fit!

Lorin

About the Author:
Lorin Nelson is a SF Bay Area-based Technical Panic Alleviation Technician. "I do the work you'd rather not do." He studied at BYU/Chico/Stamislaus/Santa Cruz, and regularly works on large scale AV events as a projectionist, composer, nerd and fire extinguisher.

Neil Young Rocks Online Music With New High Resolution Audio

larrykless — 2012-06-02T23:35:38Z

The “Godfather of Grunge” wants to clean up the sound of your music downloads. Neil Young, the legendary rock guitarist whose career has spanned over 45 years, is cranking out patents and inventions like a modern-day Ben Franklin. He recently converted his 1959 Lincoln Continental into an electrical hybrid car, and now he’s trying to revolutionize digital audio and video for the Internet. He is trademarking a revolutionary new high-definition (HD) audio format that he hopes will replace the popular MP3 music file format. He has also submitted patent requests for a corresponding HD audio and video player for his new music file format, plus a cloud-based online music store.

Rolling Stone reports that Neil Young’s new digital audio format will be called Studio Quality Sound (SQS), and will make your online music sound every bit as crisp and clear as it sounds in the recording studio. While this suite of online audio and video products is still in the trademark application phase, we know some of the products involved have names like “21st Century Record Player,” “Storage Shed,” and “Thanks for Listening.”

Digital Audio Quality Clearer Than MP3

The MP3 music file format has seen some cool innovations in recent years, like the ability to convert video to MP3 audio files. Still, an MP3 is a compressed file wherein CODECs are used to eliminate much of the sound file’s data. While this makes the file easier to download, some audio quality is lost in the trade-off.

On a statement on his website, Young says, “2012 will be the year that record companies release High Resolution Audio…Since the advent of the CD, listeners have been deprived of the full experience of listening. With the introduction of MP3s via online music services, listeners were further deprived.”

Neil Young Worked With Steve Jobs On A Music Player

The late Steve Jobs shared Young’s passion for high-resolution audio, and apparently the two had been working together to bring this technology to a future iPod model. Young has been quoted at D: Dive Into Media conference saying, “Steve Jobs was a pioneer of digital music, but when he went home, he listened to vinyl. And you've gotta believe that if he'd lived long enough, he would eventually have done what I'm trying to do.”

When former Apple CEO, Jobs, passed in October 2011, the collaboration between the two ended. Young may be after more than just improved audio quality since included in the trademark application is a mention of “online and retail store services” and “high-resolution music downloadable from the Internet.”

High Resolution Video Of Concerts

This trademark application also details features like “high-resolution discs featuring music and video” and “audio and video recording storage.” Clearly there will be a video component, and a corresponding online video player is specifically mentioned in the application. The “21st Century Record Player” might likely be equipped with a video screen, as iPods have conditioned today’s listeners to expect the ability to upload and play video files on a music device.

The filings indicate that Young’s proposed online music store would be primarily cloud- based. Live video recordings of concert performances might be one of the more novel features included in this suite of products. It’s been reported that album sales have dropped by half over the last ten years; concert ticket sales during this period have more than doubled. It is clear listeners have a growing interest in live music, and Neil Young’s online music project may deliver high-resolution concert footage tailored to satisfy this interest.

What Young’s audio and video plans are won’t be clear until the trademarks are registered and made public late this year. If his vision for high-resolution audio and video can be implemented and easily distributed, then digital music can “keep on rockin’ in the free world” with sound quality every bit as good as what the musicians and engineers hear in the recording studio.

This article was written by Joe Kukura, a writer for the RealPlayer video technology blog who writes about streaming video news.
Photography credit: Joel Ryan/AP

5 Ways Online Video Can Increase Your Business Revenue

larrykless — 2012-05-31T05:31:20Z

Businesses today rely on a number of things to help them to advertise their products or services. With real estate, it is all about location. With online businesses, it is all about visibility. In order to engage your website visitors and keep them coming back, you have to give them something that intrigues them. Online video is an excellent way to impress website visitors and keep them coming back for more.

Following is a list of 5 ways that online video can help you to increase your business.

1) Using online video can help you to make consumers more aware of your brand. The first step in increasing your business is to make yourself known. Video is all about making you visible. Creating a video that keeps your audience interested will help to move them through the sales process.

2) Video can also help you to build trust. People typically tend to not do business with people that they do not know. Video will help you to build a relationship with your website visitors and allow them to get to know you, making them much more likely to buy from you.

3) You can also use online video to help you with training. You can train your customers on how to properly use your services or products.

4) Major brands have been using video for some time to increase product sales. Having a video on your site will show your customers that you are serious about your brand and that you care enough about them to give them a better user experience.

5) Finally, you can use video to be in more than one place at the same time. You can send sales associates or executives to trade shows to promote your products without ever having to leave the office. You can save on travel expenses and give your staff more free time to work on other projects at the same time.

Video has been proven to be an effective tool in increasing conversion rates online. You should note however that a bad video is going to do just the opposite. When you decide that it is time to join the major brands in online video, ensure that you are providing your website visitors with a professionally produced video that explains your business message and presents you as an expert in your field.

This article was written by Vidify, specialists in the provision of online video production services at a national level. Visit them at vidify.co.uk today.

Tips for Webcasts and Online Video Calls: Lights, Camera, Etiquette!

larrykless — 2012-02-20T07:20:40Z

Making a positive first impression is critical in any situation. Whether it's a business meeting, live event or online video, your appearance and delivery is key to your success. Now, with vast improvements in video quality it's become the norm to watch webcasts or meet and greet each other on one of the many video platforms, including: WebEx, Skype, ooVoo, Google Hangouts, Ustream, Livestream, Qik, and many more. With all the technology, the simple rules of proper etiquette when using these tools become more important than ever. Making sure you sure you have good lighting and sound is not enough. According to Lisa Gaché, Co-Founder and CEO of etiquette education company Beverly Hills Manners, the lack of etiquette can derail the effectiveness of a video conference session.

“A lot of people think once they have a mic and a web cam they are all set to jump into video conferencing," says Gaché. "We encourage people to be prepared to use these new technologies effectively as they would any other business tool."

When it comes to video conferencing, there are some things you definitely shouldn't do. Be sure to behave on camera because people can always see you on group video calls, even when you're not speaking. Check out this video, What Not to Do During a Video Conference by NoStaticST, for good video conferencing etiquette.

This short video, What Not to Do In a Webcast by webcasting vendor MediaPlatform, presents the things to avoid when making a corporate webcast presentation. It's based on, "Image Secrets of the Corporate Webcast by Ken Molay", which he shares his techniques to make video presenters appear confident, poised and credible in a web event, considerations for proper lighting, seating, background, and dress, best practices for posture, eye movements, and body language, and how to make appearing on camera stress-free for your presenters to have the greatest impact on their audience.

Video chat company ooVoo partnered with Beverly Hills Manners, to provide the tips users need to maximize not only the impression they impart on video, but also their productivity on a call. To view a complete list of ooVoo’s video conferencing tips visit: www.ooVoo.com/etiquette

Etiquette tips highlights:

Pick a facilitator to help manage any over-exuberant participants.
Ask permission if you wish to record a video chat. Privacy is expected until consent is given otherwise
Pay attention and listen – if you try to fake it, you’ll be caught.
Acknowledge the power of your body language – avoid personal gestures such as hair playing, scratching, picking, etc…
Remember you are meeting face to face on clear video, so remain aware of your facial expressions and monitor them so you send the right message.
Don’t eat or drink during a business video conference call.
Think about your environment and background

In summary, you have to be aware of what you look and sound like, and what your environment says about you.

See this related article for more great tips: Is There Proper Etiquette for Videoconferencing? | Entrepreneur.com

Free Online YouTube Downloader and Converter

larrykless — 2012-02-13T01:23:43Z

Have you ever needed play a YouTube video offline for a presentation or meeting? Or extract the audio from a YouTube video for similar use? While illegally downloading copyrighted material is not endorsed by Online Video Publishing [dot] com, here are two free online tools that can help you download non-copyrighted material.

ShareYouTubeVideo.com is a free online YouTube downloader website that allows users to download videos from YouTube site. You can simply copy and paste YouTube URL, you can download video to watch it offline on any device: iPod, iPhone, iPad. The website enables you to choose your desired video quality. No download or registration required. The website states, "videos downloaded shall be non-copyrighted, and we are not affiliated with YouTube.com."

ShareYouTubeMP3.com is a free online YouTube to MP3 Website that lets users download songs from YouTube to play offline. Just like the other website no software or registration necessary, and it gives you 1:1 quality music in three steps–Paste- Convert- Download. 2-3 minutes later, you can download and play the file on your iPod, iPhone, iPad or other device.

Website: www.shareyoutubemp3.com

Website: www.shareyoutubevideo.com

Free Video Converter (Windows or Mac): http://wontube.com/

How Can a Small Business Get ROI From Video?

larrykless — 2011-12-14T05:12:54Z

Guest Post by Neil Davidson, Mywebpresenters

Many small business owners and marketers will have heard the hype surrounding video marketing. This time the hype is also backed up by some compelling figures. According to recent research by Nielson, 26.9 million UK individuals consumed online video in April – that is about 40% of the population.

While that’s all very well, we know that the majority of video ad views will belong to well known brands with deep enough pockets to have a punt at large scale online video without having to batter an eyelid should they not receive a direct return on their investment. So how about the rest of us? Can a typical small business see verifiable (and direct) results from using video?

What are your aims?

Video is no different to any other marketing channel; it needs to be a working cog that plays its part in achieving the company’s broader goals. For example you may have too slow a process for closing leads due to your product being a high cost product or perhaps there are trust issues in your market so it may be helpful to add customer testimonial videos onto your product pages to help improve your performance in these areas.

Marketo is an example of a business doing customer testimonial videos well. Alternatively you may have issues with people understanding exactly what your product does and how it can help them.

A good example of a small business doing this well is Harvey Water Softeners they have a number of videos throughout the site that explain how water softeners work and the health benefits of using them.

There are also plenty of businesses who have used video to achieve their goals more effectively. Take the Khan academy for instance: they have revolutionized education meaning that children all around the world can learn at their own pace, support others who need help and get help from others who are already clear on certain subjects: Here is an overview video from TED’s YouTube channel.

Our specialty is using video Web Presenters and we find that these are possibly the type of video that carry the lowest costs in production and are the easiest to get up and running quickly. To give you an example with figures: The National IT Learning Centre increased the website bookings for their courses by 35% through the use of the web presenter video which you can see on their homepage above.

So, initially you must define where you are as a business and what your current short to mid term goals are, then once clear determine if video can or cannot play a part in helping you to achieve those goals. I am of course biased but I would be happy to take the challenge of finding a practical way for any business owner to use video effectively to achieve their business goals.

Video is simply a medium for communication and because it helps to visually rather than textually convey your message it is generally effective as many people respond well to visual explanations.

Set Targets

Once you are clear on your aims for video production and marketing you should set yourself some clear targets that will measure how close you come to achieving your aims. In the first example above where I talked about video testimonials there may be 2 measurements that you could use:

lead to sale conversion time lag shortening
increase in the number of leads

Whereas for the second example it is more likely to be a clear-cut matter of the number of additional leads gained versus costs of the video production. It is worth taking into account that the videos will probably be good for a few years use in both cases. An additional measurement in both cases could be site conversion rate.

Keep it Real

Whatever type of video that you are producing it is important that you speak from the heart, insincerity (bullshit) is easier to spot on a persons face or in the tone of their voice than it is in text. Your pride in your business needs to come across, of course not in an arrogant way but in a passionate way. If you are excited about the things that your business is doing and are obviously keen to share it with others then the response you will receive is likely to be positive.

If you are producing customer testimonial type videos then give your customers a short list of possible points to cover that will really get them talking, e.g.

What advise would you give to other potential users of this product in hindsight?

Use natural language that suits you, do not try to be the person you think your customers want to see, just be confident in yourself that you have something worthwhile to share and be yourself.

What results can be expected?

We have produced video for a wide range of different businesses and have seen many positive results and some not so great results. The difference between success and failure usually comes down to the strategy behind the video production and use. If there is a clear aim and this is being fulfilled by the videos well then they usually work.

Obviously not a small business but Virgin Holidays managed to increase the upsell of their upper class seats by 30% due to a single web presenter video. This resulted in an additional £4 million in revenue for Virgin.

As mentioned above The National IT Learning Centre increased the website bookings for their courses by 35% and many more small businesses have had similar results.

Bespoke (personalized or tailored) web presenter videos vary in price depending on the complexity but start at £597. Many companies offer cheaper, off the shelf options for less. Sitepal for example offer avatar style videos for less than £50. In fact we have also trialled generic web presenter type videos but found that the response rates to the generic rather than bespoke videos were disappointing so are now focusing solely on improving the efficiency of our bespoke video services.

About the author
This post was written by Neil Davidson, CEO of Mywebpresenters who are a video production company specializing in corporate video for the web. They are also the pioneers of video web presenters technology. If you would like to have a conversation about how to tell your corporate story then please email Neil at neil.davidson@mywebpresenters.com.

Video Editing on the Cheap

larrykless — 2011-12-12T03:52:41Z

You don't need expensive video editing software to tell your story, as Jonathan Wylie of PC World, points out in his recent article, How to Edit Video on the Cheap | PCWorld. Wylie says, "Buying the latest, greatest high-def camcorder or Digital SLR camera can be expensive, but the software you use to edit your footage doesn't have to be. A number of free or low-cost video editors do a very respectable job of prepping your home movies for sharing with friends, family, or the rest of the world."

Wylie shared these four options to edit your video on the cheap:

Windows Live Movie Maker - "Microsoft's Movie Maker has been available at no charge for years, but the latest Windows Live version is a very respectable video editor. In addition to the usual basic editing tools, Microsoft Movie Maker lets you add video themes, music, titles, and credits--and apply a few transitions, some pan and zoom effects, and various visual-effect filters. You can publish finished projects to Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube, or export them to your hard drive in 1080p HD or any of a range of other resolutions. If you've invested in a great HD camcorder and you're editing on a budget, Windows Live Movie Maker is a great tool to start with."
Video Spin - "Pinnacle’s Video Spin is another smart choice if you're on a tight budget. You can download it for free and take advantage of Video Spin's straightforward interface to edit video quickly and efficiently. You can split, trim, or combine movies, and add transitions, text, and even a soundtrack. Not all features are free forever, though. After 15 days, you'll have to buy different codec packs (for around $15 each) to continue editing certain video formats."
Serif MoviePlus Starter - "Serif launched MoviePlus Starter as a free version of one of its more advanced video editors. The Starter edition is far from the most full-featured video-editing software you can buy, but it'll do the job unless you're looking to edit a blockbuster movie. You can use MoviePlus Starter to insert fades, wipes, and transitions, as well as to fiddle with captions, titles, and credits. You can experiment with a "picture in picture" effect, add three (or fewer) video or audio tracks at once, and edit your video content quickly and easily. Beginners will love the built-in help system and the simple drag-and-drop interface."
YouTube - "Editing video online might not be an ideal scenario, but if you're already in the habit of uploading lots of clips to YouTube, you may find it easier to do your editing with YouTube's own online video editor. The new YouTube editor lets you trim the beginnings and ends of videos, and adjust the brightness, contrast, and color to your taste. The editor includes a video stabilization feature to help reduce the shakiness of handheld footage, and it has 14 style effects like black-and-white and sepia. Once you've finished editing, the YouTube editor's software makes posting your projects to your YouTube account and sharing them with others very easy."

Wylie left out iMovie, the obvious choice for Mac users video editing application that ships free with all Apple computers. iMovie '11 has all the same features as the rest of these applications and has an easy learning curve once you get comfortable with the interface.

Is there a cheap video editing software that you can suggest? Let us know in the comment section of this post.

5 Shooting Tips for Streaming

larrykless — 2011-12-12T02:40:09Z

According to Jan Ozer, streaming media expert, author and Publisher of the Streaming Learning Center, there are a number of things to consider when you are shooting video for streaming. Ozer says, "Anyone who’s ever picked up a camcorder and tried to tap into their inner- Spielberg knows that there’s a lot more to creating a high-quality, impactful movie than turning on the camcorder and pressing the red record button. The same is true with producing video for streaming." (From Shooting for Streaming - Five Key Tips)

Ozer says that high quality production value is important to keep your audience's attention focused on your message and not your mistakes.

"Sure, you can attach your $600 consumer camcorder to a tripod, connect it to your computer, and produce streaming video, but will the quality enhance or detract from your content? Will it look and sound as good as the streaming video produced by your competitors, or other videos your viewers watch online? Fortunately, you don’t need Spielberg-like skills to produce high-quality streaming video, but to optimize the quality of your training or classroom video, it’s important to follow certain best practices."

The following is a summary Ozer's five best practices for producing high-quality video. Read his full article for more details from his website Streaming Learning Center for other helpful streaming media tips and resources.

Choosing a background - "When a video has lots of detail in the background — like bookshelves, a finely patterned wallpaper, or blowing leaves — the codec can’t tell whether you care about the subject’s face or the extraneous stuff in the background. So it tries to preserve the quality of all the content in the frame, which inevitably degrades the quality of what you care most about."
Lighting the set - "In terms of lighting style, you can use three-point lighting, which produces slight shadows on the face, or flat lighting, with no appreciable shadows. Either way, the most important priority is to provide sufficient lighting for the camcorder to achieve good exposure without injecting gain into the video."
Camera usage and selection - "If you’re shooting in a controlled environment, like a classroom or conference room, it’s best to move that camera out of automatic mode, and control exposure manually, which fortunately is easier than it sounds. Basically, there are three controls that control how much light gets to the camcorder’s sensing device; shutter speed, gain, and aperture."
Framing the shot - "The Rule of Thirds is a principle of photographic image composition that can also be applied to shooting video. Imagine the video frame divided into thirds, both horizontally and vertically like tic-tac-toe board. If the subject is facing the camera, the top horizontal line should be at eye level and they should be in the center of the frame."
Don't forget about audio - "Don’t skimp on the audio side of the equation. Viewers accept some visual degradation in their streaming media, but not audio-related deficits, since they know that audio can be nearly perfect, even when delivered via streaming."

Visit Ozer's site for more Streaming production resources and buy his book, Video Compression for Flash, Apple Devices and HTML5, a professional reference for producers seeking to distribute video over the Internet and to mobile devices—particularly Apple iDevices.