VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

tackerman · Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 4:25 am Post subject: Flash, video streaming, etc.

Anyone have any ideas/tips/tricks for speeding up the download time of video uploaded to your FTP site?
I've read a little about progressive downloading... seems a bit complicated for my tech-challenged self.

~Just found an interesting article on HTTP Streaming Anyone tried this?

Brett Mason · Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 6:44 am Post subject:

Tom....just chiming in with sympathetic vibes.....don't have any useful information for you at this point but will definitely be interested in what others have to say. I developed a website earlier this year (not mine) and was beginning to explore how to add video to the site. I, too, got lost in the weeds, and it seemed to me that you needed Flash software and all of that stuff. Too expensive and to complicated at the time. This option looks intriguing and I may try it (will let you know how I make out), the downside I see is that restriction on the number of viewers that can be downloading at one time. In the meantime, voice on! Film at 11.........
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Brett

"Dare to be Yourself" - André Gide
Merry Merchants of Voice Over!
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BenWils · Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:23 am Post subject:

Smaller file sizes. Encode with H.264 if you can. It is a great video codec which produces ultra low file size and extremely clean images. Other than that...flash video? What type of file do you have is it FLV?
_________________
Ben

"To be really good at voiceover, you need to improve your footwork and hip snap."

Brett Mason · Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 8:22 am Post subject:

SUCCESS! Just tried a small test and it worked! Yippee! Took an existing video I had and brought it up in Adobe Premiere, cut it down to just under a minute. Saved it for Web by Exporting it via plug-in Windows Media 8 for Broadband (PAL 700 Kps). Put the file in my website folder. Copied the player embed code into my website code (again, not my VO website, but another test site). And, voilà, it PLAYS! Now, the question is, if someone were to visit the site and not have WMP, can they just download a player, like we all do from time to time, or does it automatically find the player and play the video. And, now, back to the la-bo-ra-tory (Boris Karloff accent)...
_________________
Brett

"Dare to be Yourself" - André Gide
Merry Merchants of Voice Over!
Mendicant

JBarrett · Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 10:50 am Post subject:

The problem with Windows media formats is that they're not easy to view on a Mac. There are players out there for Mac that support WMV and such, but to my knowledge they're not the kind of thing that will automatically pop up as an option when a default player can't be found.

I'll echo Ben's recommendation to encode as a QuickTime movie using the H.264 codec. One of the MOV export options allows the video to start playing before it has fully downloaded, so make sure that is selected.
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Justin S. Barrett
http://www.justinsbarrett.com/

BenWils · Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 11:44 am Post subject:

Yes. Justin is right on. Another addition to the H.264 thought is that anyone wanting to view the video encoded with H.264 will need Quicktime 7 (a more recent version of Quicktime) before they can view it.

Just for reference...most/if not all the trailer videos on Apple's Quicktime site (most in HD) were encoded with H.264. It is the best that I know of. However, Flash video would probably be the most compatible with the most computers though. But it doesn't look as good:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/

If you really want to get into this video encoding/compression thing....Check out the site for Sorenson Squeeze.
_________________
Ben

"To be really good at voiceover, you need to improve your footwork and hip snap."

Brett Mason · Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 11:50 am Post subject:

BenWils · Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 11:58 am Post subject:

158 posts....probably 150 are jokes and pictures.
_________________
Ben

"To be really good at voiceover, you need to improve your footwork and hip snap."

Deirdre · Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 1:12 pm Post subject:

Flip 4 Mac plays WMVs in Quicktime.
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DBCooperVO.com
IMDB

JBarrett · Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:40 pm Post subject:

True, but it's an extra step to download the clip then open it in Flip 4 Mac, and that's assuming that the user has Flip 4 Mac already installed. The fewer steps needed for a visitor to view something, the more likely they will be to view it, so my first thought is to do whatever is necessary to make it easy for the visitor. I would imagine that most folks have the latest QuickTime browser plugin already installed, so to me that seems like the most appropriate choice.
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Justin S. Barrett
http://www.justinsbarrett.com/

tackerman · Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 4:11 am Post subject:

Thanks for the serious input folks. I really appreciate it!

Bruce · Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 1:13 pm Post subject:

tackerman · Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 1:31 pm Post subject:

TV is changing just like the VO biz and I'm experimenting with new methods of sending my stuff. The tried and true way of getting your work out there is dubbing it down to a VHS tape and sending it out.
I'm thinking of trying flash or H.264 next.

Travis · Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 3:35 pm Post subject:

I've found that the most effective way to ensure that those with Macs and PCs can play media is to encode with both Windows Media and Quicktime...

Here are some examples:
Low Res: www.FilmVO.com
Medium Res: www.hd-vo.com/filmoc
High Res: (For Download) www.hd-vo.com

Comparisons between Flash, h.264 (mp4) and Windows Media: www.hd-vo.com/stream
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Travis
www.VOTalent.com

JBarrett · Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 4:09 pm Post subject: