Streaming Movies on TV
Samsung announces Internet connectivity on a variety of TV sets as well as several Blu-ray players. The Samsung TVs use Yahoo’s widget to access movie services like Amazon Video On Demand or Blockbuster On Demand as well as videos from Flickr, eBay and YouTube. Other manufacturers will surely follow Samsung’s lead soon.
Streaming movies on your TV set is coming of age. Blu-ray disc players and other devices can tap into online-movie services from companies like Netflix and Blockbuster. This may make obsolete video-on-demand from cable companies.
Lately I’ve been watching “instant download” movies from Netflix on my older laptop. While it’s not as nice as seeing the film on my TV, for $9 a month, I can watch as many films as a I want. And I can purchase a box that put Netflix movies on my TV. It’s a great service from what I’ve seen so far. Laptop audio sucks so I take a dual stereo mini plug to two rca cables into the TV set and turn to video input 3. The rich feature film sound is so much better this way. Now I’ll have to get one of the Netflix TV boxes.
A couple criticisms: 1. The “extras” you get with a DVD are missing. Interviews with director, screenwriter, actors and Director of Photography and the “making of” documentaries are interesting and fun. I often enjoy the extras as much as I do the film itself. For filmmakers these extras are like going to film school.. 2. One other thing that is lacking on these instant downloads is the DVD sleeve. I often refer to the DVD sleeve which includes a summary of the film including cast, date and a few other details. There’s no sleeve of course since there’s no DVD.
Despite these complaints, the Netflix offer of unlimited films instantly downloaded for $9 a month is hard to beat. 62% of Netflix subscribers have streamed movies and this number will grow. Netflix says they expect to keep DVDs for 5 to 10 years.
For more information on TVs and streaming movies, see the NY Times article
“Some TVs Go Directly Online for Streaming Movies”
Video in Print – Paper-Thin Video Screen
Video in Print is a new technology from Americhip that enables a paper- thin video player to be embedded in a magazine, book or other product. The video can be up to two hours in length. The device is a small LCD screen with a flash memory. When a page is opened, the video is triggered to start automatically. The lithium battery lasts for about an hour before you have to recharge it through the USB port. The USB port can also be used to put your own videos on the device.
These devices will be everywhere in the next few months. The player will make its debut in September, appearing in a CBS Network and PepsiCo joint ad in select editions of the US showbiz magazine Entertainment Weekly. The selected editions will go only to subscribers in Los Angeles and New York City areas.
For the wedding videographer, this device will be a perfect add-on. John Goolsby, a leading event videographer is already using the device. See http://videouniversity.com/forums/gforum.cgi?post=492612;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread
What do these TV shows have in common?
The Simpsons
America’s Got Talent
Moonlighting
and scores of current and old shows too.
The answer is Hulu. According to Neilsen Online, Hulu is growing faster than Youtube. Granted this is based on only one month’s comparison, but clearly Hulu is doing something right. Oh, by the way Moonlighting was an American television series that first aired on ABC from 1985 to 1989 with a total of 67 episodes. The show starred Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd as private detectives and was a mixture of drama, comedy and romance that is considered a classic spoof of television detective shows. Most filmmakers I know loved the show.
Even the music was special. The show’s theme song was performed by jazz singer Al Jarreau and became a hit. The show is also credited with making Willis a major star while providing Shepherd with a much needed critical success.
You can see 13 of the shows on Hulu
The show was innovative in a number of ways
Breaking the fourth wall
Moonlighting frequently broke the fourth wall, with many episodes including dialogue which made direct references to the scriptwriters, the audience, the network, or the series itself. (For example, when a woman is trying to commit suicide by jumping into a bathtub with a radio, Addison says, “Are you nuts? The network’ll never let you do that, lady!”) This technique had been used previously in shows like such as Burns and Allen and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, but Moonlighting was the first scripted TV series to weave self-referential dialogue directly into the show’s plot.
Fantasy
The series also embraced fantasy. In the second season the show aired “The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice”, an episode that featured two lengthy and elaborately produced black and white dream sequences. This was highly unusual in the days of color TV. Why produce a show in black and white while, we have this wonderful color TV? That episode was about a murder that had occurred in the 1940s. David and Maddie are told about by the inheritor of a famous nightclub where the murder had taken place. That’s where the story starts.
It’s a great series you can watch on Hulu. But what’s this got to do with making money as a video producer? Plenty. If you’ve been reading our newsletter, you know how important I think it is to be aiming your video business toward the web. Start a YouTube Channel, duplicate it on Vimeo, work on promoting your web site, etc, etc.
Producers have gone from YouTube to TV. Just see
Fred on YouTube
You could too.
Aerial Crop Cams in Canada
The folks at Crop Cam take aerial photography down on the farm. Some cool photos show 320 acres of farmland from 2100 feet. I’m not sure why they do this. I guess they can watch the crops grow, but it is cool. I want one. Maybe they’ll give us one to review.
Kodak zi8 Beats the Flip Camera
The new Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera can capture up to 1080p HD resolution. It has an SD card slot and a removable, rechargeable battery. You get composite and HDMI cables, but you don’t need the cables, just swing out the USB arm. It even has stabilization which is very helpful in these pocket cameras. The picture looks very good in low light and it takes 5 megapixel stills.
The bundled software is not Mac compatible. The MSRP price of $179 does not include a optional memory card which holds 32 GB for 10 hours of videos. For more information see
http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=15340&pq-locale=en_US
The Best Advertising Deal on The Internet for Buying or Selling Used Video Equipment
If you’re buying or selling video, film or photo equipment, the Video University Trading Post is one of the best deals on the Internet and the price is right only $25/year!
VideoUniversity is a page rank 6 site with all organic traffic. Google indexes all of our posts. Commercial posters are limited to two posts per week, but your post can include numerous items. You can also link to your eBay auction.
Visit the VideoUniversity Trading Post forum
http://www.videouniversity.com/forums/gforum.cgi?forum=7;
To register, go to
http://www.videouniversity.com/forums/gforum.cgi?do=user_signup;guest=
Questions? Call me at 401 253 2800
Compare Editing Software
See The new article
Compare Video Editing Software
at
http://www.videouniversity.com/articles/compare-video-editing-software
Camcorder Accessories
Stu Sweetlow reviews camera accessories including:
Micro LED Camcorder Light
Innovative Camera Support
ModoSteady: Combination Stabilizer, Tripod and Shoulder Bracket
Ikan Camera Cradle
Levelcam and Levelpod
Sony Remote Control Tripod
Grizzly Pro for Complete Control
Software to Reduce the Shake
Pinnacle Analog-to-USB Transfer
Canon Standalone DVD Burner
Filters which “remove unsightly blemishes and wrinkles”
Logo Windscreens
Inflatable Camera Bag for Air Travel
Solid-State Recording on CF Cards
Read the entire article at
http://www.videouniversity.com/articles/camcorder-accessories
Start a WordPress Blog
Don’t wait for the economy to recover to build your business.
Start a WordPress Blog
VideoUniversity has a completely new look and functionality which was created with WordPress. This blogging software is also used at CNN, eBay and Yahoo. Now you can add your comments to any article or blog on our site. Try it.
WordPress can do a lot for your business. When you log into your WordPress site, you only need to do two things to write an article or post 1. Write the post. 2. Click the button to publish it. Easy enough? When it’s this easy to use, you will write more posts and that bring more traffic.
You never have to learn any code or do anything more complicated than those two steps. A blog can be ideal for a wedding videographer or other video business. Create a web site with WordPress or expand an existing site. This software makes it fast and easy to add new content or posts. And new content such as blog posts, articles, comments, and videos brings traffic and that translates to income.
WordPress is much more than a blog, it’s a entire Content Management System. Look at our new site and you’ll find tons of articles, a fun and interesting store (which I hope you’ll visit), advertising, forums, directories and lots more. And it’s all done in WordPress. Why WordPress? There are certainly other blog platforms and content management systems, but none are as popular and flexible as WordPress. There’s a vast community of skilled WordPress people to help you through community forums and web sites and there are hundreds of free “plug-ins” that customize and expand what WordPress can do. Search engines love WordPress sites with lots of content. Search engines bring traffic.
Produce videos and upload them to YouTube, Vimeo or other video hosts, then show the videos on your new WordPress blog. More traffic.
Here are the three steps to make your own self-hosted WordPress blog that you own:
1. Find a Web Host. Here’s a list http://wordpress.org/hosting/ Some cost as little as $4.95 a month
2. Download & Install WordPress. It’s free and takes 5-minutes to install on your host. My ISP didn’t believe it, but that’s how long it took him to install it. http://wordpress.org/download/
3. Read some of the WordPress Documentation so you have a better idea what it can do and how you can use it. http://codex.wordpress.org/Main_Page
If you want it even simpler than that, just go to http://wordpress.com/ This is called the hosted version and allows you to create a blog without even paying a hosting fee. This is fine for a family or hobby blog, but if you are planning to make money through your site, please follow the three steps above for the self-hosted version of WordPress. It’s extremely flexible and search-engine-friendly which is just what you need for any kind of business.
If you make a new blog, mention VideoUniversity.com in one of your posts and I’ll make a link on the VU home page back to your blog. How’s that for free publicity? Just email me the address of your new blog.
If you’re feeling the effects of this economy like all the rest of us, hang in there! Use this time to build your business like starting a WordPress blog. This economy WILL turn around and I want you to be ready when it does.
Give me a call if you have questions. Hal Landen 401 253 2800
5 Ways to Increase Video Sales Right Now
1. Whether you’re selling videos services to corporations, brides or consumers, improving your marketing message to these customers can increase your sales at least 21% and up to 500%. Focus on benefits to the customer.
2. Grow the list of prospects in your own database. Add names of likely prospects from outside lists you buy and/or collect your own names from local directories. Marketing to more prospects means more sales.
3. Automate your lead generation process. To collect more names and contact info, offer something that’s helpful and free like a newsletter or article.
4. Follow up. It’s amazing how many sales are lost because the producer did not follow up. Take the time to learn what their objections are and address those objections. If they want a cheaper version, give it to them.
5. Upsell. Create additional services or products you can offer your existing customers. Video duplication is an easy one. Can you think of others?
Here are some smart video businesses that will help you succeed:
|
Professional Video Producer Home study course shows how to start a successful home-based business producing corporate videos. |
Produce Special Non-fiction videos are a great way to multiply your income. |
Legal Video Low Overhead & Recession-proof. Earn $60-100/hr See how! |
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