Saturday, November 29, 2008

Square vs. Non-Square Pixels – Producing Video Podcasts

Richard Harrington | 11/29- 05:43 PM

Reshaping Video for the Web

Author and video podcaster Richard Harrington explains the difference between square and non-square pixels and how to make sure your web videos are properly sized.

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Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Liberating segregated HDTV sets

Allan Tépper | 11/26- 10:28 AM

Unfortunately, many of the latest-generation HDTV sets sold in the USA are segregated, but we can liberate them partially…

Unfortunately, many of the latest-generation HDTV sets sold in the USA are segregated, meaning that they cruelly block 50Hz signals on their video input. In some cases, they simply show no picture, while in others, they put up an unfriendly message stating: “Unsupported format”. However, as I explained in my recent comparative article on HD players, both AppleTV and WDTV fortunately liberate these segregated HDTV sets so that they can play 50Hz material (25p, 50p, or 50i) with no problem, along with ±60Hz material. My comment here regarding segregated HDTV sets refers to distribution, since for professional production and post-production, I highly recommend the use of professional HD monitors. So far, all of the professional HD monitors I have used personally or have researched are all free of segregation nonsense and play all desired signals.

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Thursday, November 20, 2008

AppleTV, WDTV, or Blu-ray: Which one is best to distribute your HD project?

Allan Tépper | 11/20- 09:28 AM

Even if your HD project isn’t destined to be shown over the air, you’ll still want your client be able to play it on an HDTV set

Even if your HD project isn’t destined to be broadcast over the air, you’ll still want to have your client be able to play it on an HDTV set, not just on a computer. The good news is that you have several options to make that happen, including Blu-ray, AppleTV, and the brand-new WDTV device from Western Digital. During this transitional period, it is often the producer who influences the client as to which HD player to acquire. Many producers even incorporate the cost of one of these HD players in the project price and then give the device to the client “as a gift” with the first HD project, if the client doesn’t already own any HD player. It’s great to have options, but you must understand them fully (both their strengths and weaknesses) in order to pick one, two of them, or all of them, depending upon the exact format of HD you have produced, the hardware you own (or are willing to buy), the type of client, and the type of delivery. This article will help you learn the details that will help you make the appropriate decision.

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Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Mobile Phone Distribution and HDTV with mDialog

Richard Harrington | 11/19- 06:36 PM

Turnkey solution for web deployment

Richard Harrington discusses the mDialog online video platform with Greg Philpott at the 2008 New Media Expo.

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Sunday, November 16, 2008

Podcasting is NOT Dead

Richard Harrington | 11/16- 05:42 PM

Podcast, Webisode, or Netcast… doesn’t matter…

I just need to rant for a second… I am sick and tired of people claiming that podcasting is dead. The truth is that it is far from it. While the names and flavors may change, podcasting is alive and well. Here’s what I have spent the past week doing.

I spoke in New York City for 3 days at the NY Post Conference. I was joined by great podcasters like Paul Vogelzang of MommyCast, Dusty Wright and Richard Burns from Culture Catch, and Alexandra Gebhardt from Inside Mac. We had healthy crowds with great questions. There were also big companies there, like TiVo and HP, as well as representation from several universities. I also had some great meetings with Apple and mDialog… two great companies with cool things coming.

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Saturday, September 27, 2008

Encoding web video in the age of the iPhone

Allan Tépper | 09/27- 12:45 PM

We can’t afford to prevent over six million Internauts from seeing our content by making the wrong decision.

The last time I looked, Apple had already sold over six million iPhones after just 13 months since its initial launch. I don’t think that there have been six million extra standard computers sold (desktops and laptops) in the past year, compared to prior years’ sales. As a result, I conclude that mobile handheld communication devices [like the iPhone (plus the iPod Touch, Blackberry, Treo, and some others)] represent the fastest-growing segment of Internauts (Internet users).

Increasingly, I find myself having to warn my friends and clients against using Flash for their website and web video, since Flash is simply not playable on the most popular mobile handheld devices. (There are some handheld devices that play Flash as Adobe quickly points out, but I said “most popular”!) The formats that the popular handheld mobile devices play well are HTML, animated GIF, and H.264. Many graphic designers are so into the Flash rage, they attempt to minimize this vital and practical issue, in the hope that someday Flash might play on the most popular mobile handheld devices. I don’t know about you, but my clients and I need to communicate, sell, and eat today, not someday. We can’t afford to prevent over six million Internauts from seeing our content by making the wrong decision.

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Friday, September 26, 2008

Welcome to Web Video & Beyond

Chris Meyer | 09/26- 11:01 AM

Opening discussions on alternate forms of distribution.

As we mentioned earlier, we are in the process of launching a series of “themed” channels on PVC. One of the new channels we’re most excited about is Web Video & Beyond.

The advent of cable and satellite television had a big impact on the industry, as they created a demand for more content - content that had to look as good as any “national” feed, but produced at a lower cost. This was fuel to the fire for the desktop video industry, highlighting the economic advantage desktop production brought.

Today, we are still in the early stages of another large explosion in content distribution: web video, and other alternate outlets such as cell phones, PDAs, intelligent multimedia gaming devices, and beyond. Even while the business models are still being built up, the demand for cost-effective content is as strong as ever. (I’ve talked about this before.)

But there are new challenges as well: the technology (Flash has a huge installed base - but it’s not in iPhones), new program formats (an attention span closer to a 5-minute podcast than a 30 or 60 minute network program), the impact of increasing bandwidth (the movement from SWF to FLV means traditional editors and motion graphics artists can use their current skill sets, rather than learn how to animate sprites), and the question of just how much production value is needed in this Web 2.0, user-generated-content, YouTube world. It’s confusing; it’s evolving; it’s exciting. We hope to learn together with you up here.

Speaking of learning together: We are always on the lookout for good writers for PVC, and this new channel is a new opportunity to share what you know. If you already have a blog and want to repost some of your “classic” articles here (as well as new content, of course), or previously wrote for magazines or other web outlets and now want to be part of PVC, let’s talk! I can be reached at cmeyer @ PVC’s web domain above. Writers share in PVC’s ad revenue based on their traffic.

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