Web Video Basics
Preparing Your Videos for Today’s On-line World
Carol Doggett
President/Owner
Web Video Basics
Web video is no longer an option
for businesses today. It’s
expected.
By 2013 it’s estimated 90% of
internet usage will be video
based.*
*Stat compiled by ClickStreamTV
Web Video Basics
 Content Creation
 Distribution
Web Video Basics
Two categories of video formats
 acquisition or source – what comes out
of your camera; raw video used to make
your project; higher resolution and larger
file size
 sharing formats – formats meant for
your finalized video that you distribute
Web Video Basics
Common Acquisition formats
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DV
DVCPRO
MPEG
AVCHD
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HDV
DVCPRO HD
HD
XDCAM HD
Web Video Basics
Common Sharing formats
 .wmv
 .mov
 .flv
 .mp4
Web Video Basics
Before you make your video
consider:
 Who is your audience
 What is your objective
 How will the video be viewed?
- tradeshow
- laptop/computer
- DVD (standard or HD)
- online/website
- mobile devices
- all of the above
Web Video Basics
Before you make your video
consider:
Who will produce/create the video?
 Professional video production
 In-house production
Web Video Basics
Tools for Content Creation
In-house Production
(minimum requirements):
 Camera with external mic input
 External microphone
 Tripod
 Editing software (compatible with camera format)
 Encoding and compression software
Web Video Basics
www.webvideouniversity.com/podcast
Web Video Basics
Once you’ve made your video,
now what?
Web Video Basics
To play a video on the web or your
computer, it has to be compressed, or
made smaller.
Compression is always a balance
between file size and image quality.
Web Video Basics
Preparing content for distribution
 Where will it be viewed?
- tradeshow
- laptop/computer
- DVD (standard or HD)
- online/website
- mobile devices
- all of the above
Web Video Basics
Preparing content for distribution
 Evaluate which format will work best
based on:
- Size of the file
- Resolution and overall appearance
- Compatibility of the file
Web Video Basics
Common video file formats:
 .avi – an early form of video file, usually
too big for a web sharing file
 .wmv – Windows Media Video, a Microsoft
format highly compressed, good for small
sharing files but image can look poor
Web Video Basics
Common video file formats:
 .mov – QuickTime Movie file by Apple can
be used as both source video and sharing
file, but can be a bit large for sharing
without major compression
 .flv – Flash video format is extremely
common as a sharing file due to its small
size and good look (but is slowly being
replaced by HTML5/MPEG4)
Web Video Basics
Common video file formats:
 MPEG 2 – Video file used in a DVD Video
that plays in a home DVD player .
Too big for web sharing file and
incompatible with video editing systems
(without conversion software like MPEG
Streamclip)
Web Video Basics
Common video file formats:
 MPEG 4 – .mp4 with H.264 codec is today’s
universal standard for video files on the web.
Recommended by YouTube, it is small in size
with acceptable quality.
Web Video Basics
Common video file formats for mobile
devices:
 3GPP – .3gp most common mobile format
 Flash Lite -- .FLV Flash for mobile devices
 MPEG-4 -- .mp4
Web Video Basics
What size should your web video be?
This is determined by aspect ratio:
the ratio of width to height in a video
Standard Definition - 4:3 aspect ratio
width divided by 4 = height divided by 3
High Definition - 16:9 aspect ratio
width divided by 16 = height divided by 9
Web Video Basics
Size is measured in pixels
Examples:
Standard Definition : 640x480 pixels
640 divided by 4 = 160
480 divided by 3 = 160
High Definition: 1280x720 pixels
1280 divided by 16 = 80
720 divided by 9 = 80
Web Video Basics
Common sizes (in pixels) for web videos
Standard Definition :
640x480
480x360
320x240
High Definition:
640x360
480x270
320x180
Web Video Basics
Images share same height
4:3 ratio
480x360 pixels
16:9 ratio
640x360 pixels
Web Video Basics
Images share same width
16:9 ratio
320x180 pixels
4:3 ratio
320x240 pixels
Web Video Basics
Encoding and conversion software:
 Free software
- Media Coder
- MPEG Streamclip
- Windows Media Encoder
- Any Video Converter
 Proprietary software
- Sorenson Squeeze
- Roxio
- Compressor
- QuickTime Pro
- Telestream Episode
Web Video Basics
Time to upload your video. But where
will it live and where will it play?
Web Video Basics
Video can “live” on:
 Your server or FTP
 Video Sharing Website (Hosting
Service)
 Media Management Service/Online
Video Platform
Web Video Basics
Video needs a player:
 Embedded on your site
 Link to a hosting service, i.e. YouTube
Channel
 Download file
www.vrabuffalo.com
www.wendtcorp.com/auto-shredders
Web Video Basics
Video Sharing Websites (Hosting Service)
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Blib.tv
Flickr
QIK (for mobile video) http://qik.com/
Viddler http://www.viddler.com/profile/vra
Video Rebel
Vimeo
Yahoo! Video
YouTube
Web Video Basics
Media Management Software/Online
Video Platforms
 Kaltura www.kaltura.com
 Brightcove
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/bn-studio
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thePlatform
Limelight
Ooyala
Kyte
Magnify
KickApps
Sorenson 360
RealGravity
Web Video Basics
Summary:
Web video is expected
Content Creation & Distribution
Encode and size video for best delivery
Video needs a place to live
Video needs a player to view
Tag videos for search-ability
Manage your video assets
Make use of analytics
Consider monetizing your efforts
Web Video Basics
Preparing Your Videos for Today’s On-line World
Thank you.
716.833.5150
www.vrabuffalo.com
Web Video Basics
Basic terms to know:
 Encode/Render– exporting a video in a
format that will become useable on the web
 Bit Rate – Indicates video & audio quality.
The higher the number, the better the
quality.
 Sample Rate – Indicates audio quality
Web Video Basics
Basic terms to know:
 Aspect Ratio – Ratio of width to height in
a video: SD 4:3, HD 16:9
 Codec – the “programming language”
used to encode or make a video
 Flash – multimedia platform used to make
videos and video players
Web Video Basics
Basic terms to know:
 HTML5 – language for building web pages
 iOS – portable Apple devices, i.e. iPhone,
iPad
 Embed Code – makes videos play in video
players, on a web page
 Flash Fallback – video players that allow
videos to play on iOS devices and devices
that support Flash
Web Video Basics
Basic terms to know:
 Progressive Download – video that is
simultaneously played as video is
downloaded to your computer/device
 Streaming – only the exact portion of the
video you are watching is delivered to your
computer device
Web Video Basics
Basic terms to know:
 Bandwidth – a rate of data transfer, bit
rate or throughput, measured in bits per
second (bps)