Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with internet and video

Golf! On the internet! Now!

ignignokt — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:25:41 -0800

Help My Parents With Their Inexplicable Obsession Filter: Is there a way to watch the Golf Channel online for free or cheap? My parents pay for cable TV just so they can have the Golf Channel. (Yeah, I don't get why they love golf so much, either.) My dad wants to use this Internet thing to get around that. Is there a way? So far, I see that certain golf events are streamed on ESPN, but what they're looking for is to be able to just turn something on at any time and see more or less original golf content.

An alternate source of streaming golf video content will probably work, too - it doesn't have to be the Golf Channel.

home page introductory videos

Bacillus — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:35:16 -0800

Do you know of any sites with home page videos introducing new concepts such as the P2 for Wordpress theme? I'm introducing a new concept to the Internet through my website which would be too difficult for people to understand with a plain text and image home page, I believe they would leave very quickly without a video presentation. I'm looking for some good examples which are informative and capture attention.

Can simply be introductory video with examples, even ones with a standing person giving an oral presentation although this is not what I will be using. I will be using something more along the lines of the P2 theme introductory video.

Live sports on PC

paulyballs — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:50:10 -0800

What's the best way to watch live tv (sports mainly) on a PC? My gf's parents have a vacation cabin with only internet access and they want to be able to watch live sports while they are there. What's the best option. Her mother asked me about "Digital TV for PC" but I think it's a scam. They do have full cable at their main home so I was thinking of advising Slingbox. Anything else out there that won't require me installing hardware at their main home? Thanks!

Why are browser-based videos so slow on my computer?

dephlogisticated — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:22:11 -0800

Why are browser-based videos so slow on my computer? I can play high-quality video files off of my hard drive without any difficulty. But watching a video a fraction of the size and resolution in my browser (such as a Youtube video) results in constant skipping and stuttering, even after the video has loaded completely. Why is this? Is there anything I can do to fix it, short of a hardware upgrade?

Sending dirty videos securely

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 11:26:39 -0800

How can I send a dirty video securely? Trying to send my partner an explicit video of myself. Too big for gmail, even zipped (73 unzipped, 57 zipped). I am wary of potentially unsecure, 3rd party services (e.g., yousendit). Any ideas?

My brain hurts. So what's new?

miss lynnster — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:28:58 -0800

The title sequences and credits are looking blurry on the videos I'm posting to WordPress. I need to find out the tricks to posting the best quality video possible to my blog, but I'm new to this. Help! To show you what I'm talking about, look at the video that's currently on the front page of my site. See how the titles and credits look like crap? It's KILLING me. (Don't judge the video please. Yes, I've ordered a tripod. Don't have one yet.) I've searched the web for advice on this but haven't found any tips yet.

I'd never done this stuff before so I've been learning everything the hard way. I'm using the Modularity theme from Graph Paper Press, and it has a function to "post HD video." They say to take a MOV and save it as a FLV. I created the movie in imovie and then saved it for web (should I save it as something else? I liked the sound quality better on the "CD" format, but it was a larger file). I downloaded Sorenson Squeeze to try various formats of FLV. The file got SO much larger after it was turned into an FLV that I couldn't upload it to wordpress... I can only upload things that are less than 8MB. So that was frustrating. I tried 1MB, 2mb, 768, 512... this particular video was saved as "medium."

Since I'm a graphic designer at heart, this blurry type is physically paining me. I want to get better at this stuff so down the road it can look really good, clean, crisp, and sound nice too. Thanks in advance for your expertise. :)

Help me find the Internet Poets

low_horrible_immoral — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 08:20:19 -0800

Help me find the Internet Poets! So I can think of lots of examples of prose literature making use of internet culture and structure - ARGs, fake blogs, novels like Geoff Ryan's 731, etc.

But I can't think of anyone doing a similar kind of thing with poetry. Surely there are lots of fun things a poet can do - such as including random links/gif/videos in a poem to deepen its meaning.

So is there anyone out there doing this?

High quality video with small file sizes.

phaedon — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:21:17 -0800

Compressing quicktime movies for the internets. I'm in a new position where I have to prep a lot of video content for the web. I'm looking to maximize quality and resolution while keeping file size as practical as possible (my target audience does not include high-end users with blazing connections). Looking at the trailers that Apple throws up makes me feel my work has something left to be desired... are there any tutorials available on how to prep content for the web using Quicktime, Final Cut, or Compressor? I feel like I have a rudimentary knowledge of how this works but I am left wondering if there are any cool tricks or advanced tips.

Flipping Out in Italy

GIRLesq — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:08:27 -0800

Internet Access & Video Upload Abroad (Rome, Capri, Taormina, Palermo) I'm going on vacation (YAY!). And I want to bring my Flip video camera and upload stuff to YouTube etc. as I go.

How difficult will it be for me to find internet cafes in Rome, Capri, Taormina, and Palermo?

Also, will my USB connectors be compatible with Italian USB ports?

Are there any other potential barriers to my upload plans?

Thanks!

Diavlogs for the masses!

ecmendenhall — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:17:45 -0800

What's the best way to record split-screen video dialogues to post on my blog? I have recently grown enamored of the budget punditry of bloggingheads.tv, which features hour long conversations between wonky writers, bloggers, and thinkers that make for a refreshing alternative to TV talking heads. Each "diavlog" is essentially a glorified split-screen video chat session that appears to be recorded over Skype, iChat or similar, and later edited together.

But why should the upper echelons of the Web commentariat get to have all the fun? I'd like to create and circulate similar conversations on my own personal Internet, but I'm not entirely sure how to do so.

Unfortunately, Google only serves to confuse, thanks to the constantly changing terminology for video on blogs (am I looking for video blogging? Vlogging? Vodcasting? Video podcasts? Vlogcasting? Diavlogging? Streaming vlogocastalogs!?). All the results that do turn up don't seem to indicate a simple way to do split-screen interviews.

It seems easy enough to record an iChat session, edit it into a splitscreen video, and post it to a site like YouTube or Vimeo. But there are also loads of services offering simple video recording and hosting, many of which can even broadcast live. It's hard to believe none of them can do a split-screen chat between two users, or that a utility for something like this doesn't exist out there in the depths of the Tubes.

So what's the best way to bring bloggingheads-style punditry to the people? I use mostly macs, and I'm not opposed to doing this with iChat + iMovie or final cut or something, but I hope the hive mind can come up with some other ideas. Thanks!

Where are the music videos?

god particle — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:51:17 -0800

Where on the internet can I watch/download high quality music videos?

Need program to track progress in multiple TV series

lrodman — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:02:08 -0800

Is there a good program to monitor progress in various TV shows? I.e. what episode I'm on in shows if watching multiple shows in different seasons irregularly. Optimally this would integrate somehow with hulu/abc/WMP, but I wouldn't expect that. Anyone have a good app like this? It gets confusing with series starting and ending different times, and picking up or taking breaks from different shows.

Best/Worst Viral Ad Campaigns

Prevailing Southwest — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:49:36 -0800

I'm researching viral marketing campaigns, and I'm looking for some of the best and worst examples out there. I'm not having any trouble finding examples, and yes, I agree that the term and the medium are both getting a little played out. (There are spoofs of ads and even spoofs of spoofs at this point elbowing each other for some room in the "viral" landscape.)

To clarify, I'm NOT looking for a list of YouTube videos that "went viral" (Diet Coke & Mentos, water skiing squirrel, monkey smelling finger), and I'm NOT looking for funny TV commercials that happened to get passed around the web (Bud Light ads).

I'm looking for the best and worst examples of non-traditional, internet based marketing campaigns - advertising beyond the 30 second spot. Some of the best/biggest examples I have are:

Dove Evolution
Subservient Chicken
BMW's "The Hire" short film series

I'd also really appreciate help identifying some of the worst viral campaigns ever to crash and burn their way across your screens, as the failures tend to fade away pretty fast.

looking for internet video

madmamasmith — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 00:58:50 -0800

i AM Looking for an internet video of a guy reading a letter he found, he says something in it like "you always wanna hold hands" my friend said it was hilarious but i havent been able to find it

Sync Our Flix!

evariste — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 16:25:15 -0800

Is there a syncing media player? I like to watch movies with a friend who lives across the country. We're both watching them on our computers. But syncing them is a hassle: we try counting down together before hitting play, but always seem to end up with our audio slightly out of sync. If I'm not a quarter-second behind, she's a quarter-second behind. Is there a video player that will sync up with its counterpart, and start the movie simultaneously on two computers over the internet? For bonus points: I'm on a Mac, she's on a PC. But I'm willing to do Boot Camp for a Windows-only solution that works.

Downloading Videos Off Google: High Quality Off Limits?

StrikeTheViol — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 19:16:33 -0800

I can't download high quality .avi files from Google Video with Keepvid. Any other way to grab them? I found a documentary on Google Video that looked interesting, after I hadn't been on for a while. I can't view Flash on this computer, so I find them and transfer to a USB stick for later with Keepvid. Last time I did so, I could get a high quality .avi just by clicking on the link. Now Keepvid just connects to vp.video.google.com, and I have to settle for the low quality version. Any other options for high quality downloads off Google Video?

A great online video course for $10,000?

prophetsearcher — Tue, 22 May 2007 13:31:16 -0800

We have: 10 Hours of raw video footage (mini-DV). 1 Website. $10,000 Budget. We want: A sub-site on our website that features a video course, with room to add more courses, as well as shorter videos and podcasts in the future. We need: to know how. Our web developers are willing to do the technical web stuff for $4000, which leaves us $6000 to edit the videos, add some sort of b-roll/graphs/whatever, do some marketing once it up, and whatever.

1. Do you have any examples of great sites that have video courses? Ideally, they are not 'fluff' subjects, and are fully-integrated designs (i.e., not just a mpg download). We would like to have the online-viewer pop up, and maybe slides/ads/sign-ups in an adjacent window. We'd love to just see a ton of sites that do something similar, but haven't had success on Google. MIT's courses were the best we found so far, but still not it exactly.

2. How do I find someone to cut up the video and add the educational charts and graphics? It's 10 hours on medical ethics (from a Jewish perspective) so the editor would need to be able to follow the material and also have a pedagogical bent, which is why I'm thinking Craigslist won't work. How much should I pay?

3. (Bonus) Do you recommend 10 1-hour courses, or do you think people would do better with more shorter clips? Each hour is somewhat self-contained, but there is a progression overall. We are a non-profit and we're looking for the most exposure/greatest viewership to launch - and we haven't settled on a format. Suggestions?

My email is in the 'file. Examples are the most important thing for us right now.Thanks muchly.

All online training videos are not created equally. Right?

mrhaydel — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 22:05:19 -0800

What makes a good online training video? Besides decent software and production value. I'm going to be doing both the voicework and screen capturing elements of a training video my company is doing for an insurance rating application we develop and maintain, which would then be supplied to our agents via the web.

And actually, the only part I really have to be concerned about is what I'm going to say, as I won't be in front of the camera, and we've hired a third party to handle all the actual production work (recording equipment, screen capturing software, conversion into some sort of downloadable Flash file and such, etc.).

But I found myself wondering, as I haven't had to watch many, or any, training videos, even less so online - what would you say separates the good from the bad?

While I certainly don't consider myself to have any sort of radio voice, I would imagine *not* speaking in monotone the entire time would be one thing.

The video will be broken up into meaningful chunks, so it won't have to be viewed as one big/long affair. It will most likely be an hour or so in total length.

If anyone has any experience in this area, do you find that it's best to work off a word-for-word script? Maybe just bullet points of things to cover? I suppose it's a YMMV type thing depending on how good you are at ad-libbing (me, not so much), but I'm simply wondering what the standard operating procedure for these things is, if there is one.

Also, any examples of what the hive mind out there considers to be exceptionally good, or bad, online training videos would be helpful as well.

Why does streaming video always fail for me?

linus587 — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 22:31:54 -0800

I constantly have this problem: I try to play a streaming video (youtube, g.video, dailymotion, doesn't matter) and the clip will start playing fine. Then it will stop playing somewhere into the clip, but continue to load, but won't let me keep playing! What's going wrong? If I clear my cache the clip may play in it's entirety, or freeze at another point. It seems to only be with flash video that it occurs, embedded quicktime seems fine. Problem occurs in IE and firefox alike.

I'm not technically incompetent. Do you think it's a software issue, or is my wireless card faulty? This problem only came up in the last 6 months or so, but not immediately following any software changes (upgrading firefox, etc). It's got me stumped.

TIA Metafites.

Memory leaks, like the corners of my Flash

dw — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 11:06:01 -0800

I'm struggling with Flash video. It's eating memory and crashing client browsers.... I'm trying to get videos like this one to work. Unfortunately, they're all huge (30-40 minutes long), came as Quicktime, and the powers-that-be really want 640X480 absolute best quality (for this video, that's 200MB).

My lack of knowledge of Flash, though, is showing. I've converted the Quicktime to FLV, used Flash 8 to embed it in a page (as a progressive download), and published it as a proof-of-concept. About 10-15 minutes in, though, the video crashes and takes the browser with it. It's eating memory -- Firefox goes from 100MB of memory consumption on my computer to 450MB right before the crash.

What am I doing wrong? Is it that I'm using progressive download where I should be streaming (keeping in mind that we don't have the money to buy Flash Media Server)? Should I be cutting the video up into pieces and using a playlist? Both? And? Should I switch to WMV or Real instead (or attempt to just keep it in Quicktime and find a way to stream it?)

Who became the first Internet Video Star?

randomthoughts — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 10:42:48 -0800

What video clip out on the net is considered to be the first "internet video star", rising to making international news or headlines? Would it be the Star Wars Kid?

What's cool to do in a house wired with RG-6 and Cat6?

Dave 9 — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 10:49:09 -0800

Home networking wizards: What cool stuff can be done when a house is wired with RG-6 and Cat6? Not just vanilla internet and file sharing. What wired activities and equipment do you love or covet? Living room and two bedrooms are already connected to ordinary cable TV, but the study is not. The living room CATV cable has a splitter > internet cable modem > wireless-capable router.

In addition, the bedrooms and the study each have one RG-6 and two Cat6 cables running from the living room. These are not yet connected to anything. (Should there have been a second RG-6 for each room?)

What cool things can be done with this? It's not my money. It’s my brother’s house. What equipment should I persuade him to buy?

What's the best way to deliver streaming videos of lectures to students?

pantufla — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 19:03:34 -0800

What's the most reliable, simplest, and cheapest way for my company to deliver streaming videos of lectures to students? We're looking to convert videos into digital video files, convert them to .flv, add some simple titles, and then post them somewhere to be streamed. What's the quickest workflow? Do we need to use a hosting company like VitalStream, or can we host the videos on our own server? Which solution would be cheaper? How does the red 5 open source media server compare with the Flash Media Server? Can .flv handle 30-45 minute videos without a problem? How much time & effort would it take to convert that digital video file into a streamable flv with some titles? Thanks!!

How to Find a High Bandwidth & Secure Webhost?

jbelkin — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 21:48:34 -0800

How to Find a High Bandwidth & Secure Webhost? Recommendations? Directory? I work for a company that wants to launch this promotion along with weekly web video updates - the promotion has a pretty big prize so I imagine there will e much interest - how do we find a professional business web host that can handle add'l bandwidth and scale up as it goes?

We do have a website now but it's pretty minimal and the company is pretty smalltime. We have posted video before and playback can be slow.

For companies like Akami (sp?), do people negotiate separately with them or are they a webhost also?

Or hire a consultant? How much would that be?

Thanks.

Direct Link?

swlabr — Sun, 07 May 2006 11:26:16 -0800

How do I direct link to an AVI on Google Video? In a thread on the main page about the "Why We Fight" documentary on Google Video, someone posted a direct link that, when clicked, began to download or open the video file.
How does one determine the web address of one of those videos? Right clicking on an image, a photo, will often yeild that advice, but not in that instance.