Thanks again to those of you who registered for the latest WebEx, “How to Choose an Online Platform for Your Videos.” We hope we provided you valuable insight on some of the more popular online video platforms available to businesses, and how to choose one suitable to your video strategy and needs. Once you identify how and why you want to use online video, you can determine which platform, or combination of platforms, will work best.
We have some additional resources available on this topic – if interested, email learn@viddler.com.

Now that HTML5 is here, there are two ways to enable the player to default to HTML5 and fallback to Flash if the current browser or device does not support it.

Viddler’s Video Management Tool

A large majority of our customers manage all their videos and settings from our application. This includes getting embed codes for your video. To default to HTML5 first choose the video you want to embed and click the ‘Embed’ link next to it. Once the video lightbox opens:

1. Choose ‘iframe’ as the ‘Embed code type’.
2. Select ‘Default to HTML5′ from the ‘Advanced Options’ and click the ‘Add’ button
3. Once displayed below, check the box next to ‘Default to HTML5′
4. The embed code will refresh with the new HTML5 param and you can click the ‘Copy’ button to copy the embed code.

Using our API to Generate Embed Code

If you have access to our API you can generate the same embed code using the method ‘viddler.videos.getEmbedCode‘. An example of how you would go about doing this is below. If you do not have API access and would like to talk to someone about gaining API access, please call us at 1-888-444-1119.

Moodle is a free, open source Learning Management System that allows educators to quickly create effective online learning websites. A number of our customers use Moodle and would like an easy way to embed videos for their students.

Embedding Viddler videos in Moodle is now a little bit easier. We’ve created a Viddler Moodle Filter, which we’ve open sourced, that can be used to change our WordPress.com (or ShortCode) embed code into Viddler’s standard iframe embed code. This filter saves Moodle administrators numerous steps to enable this type of embedding on their websites.

Pasting a simple WordPress.com embed code like this into your Moodle post will transform into a Viddler video when you click save. It is that simple. To get a WordPress.com (or ShortCode) embed code for any of your videos – simply click on Embed next to your video in the Videos section of your Viddler account and choose WordPress from the embed code type drop down list.

For information on how to install and use the Viddler Moodle Filter please see the readme on GitHub.

If you’re an educator and you’d like to use Viddler on your platform please get in touch!

A common hurdle prospective customers encounter is, “How will I create professional video content?” Most believe they lack the necessary resources; they don’t possess the high-quality, pricey equipment; or they don’t have the funds to hire talent and a production staff. We hear these common reasons too often, but we’re here to tell you that creating good video content for your business is easier than you think! You have all the resources at your fingertips – literally. Pick up your (or your coworker’s) smartphone – point – and shoot. If you want to increase sales on your website by incorporating video, then there’s no good reason you shouldn’t get started today.

While our site and iframe embed codes have had Open Graph tags for some time that doesn’t help you if your content stays on your site and doesn’t appear on Viddler.

That being said, below is a pretty simple example of how you can use the Viddler API to generate Open Graph tags directly on your site. So if you are looking to easily embed your Viddler videos on Facebook and other sites that accept the Open Graph protocol, follow the example below to get started.

NOTE: HTTPS will not work on Professional/Personal accounts, you will need to omit those lines from the output from the script.

Need access to our API or HTTPS support? Give us a call at 1-888-444-1119.

Which platform should you choose to upload your business videos to your website?

Get answers to some of your most basic online video questions on Thursday, May 24 with Viddler’s WebEx on “How to Choose an Online Platform for Your Videos.”

We want to help get you a few steps closer to locking in on the answers that are most suitable to your business objectives with a review of priorities and overall strategies; the three most common videos and how they’re used; how your video will play on platforms like YouTube, Vimeo and Viddler; and best practices in accomplishing your goals.

Note: We will have a Q&A session, so if you have specific questions, please email them ahead of time to webex@viddler.com with the subject line “How to Choose an OVP.”

WebEx Date: Thursday, May 24, 2012 @ 2 p.m. EST / 11 a.m. PST
Registration Closes: E.O.D. Monday, May 21, 2012

A video recording of the WebEx will be provided to those who registered in advance, so register today to secure your spot - only a few seats left!

Have you ever looked back on high school, or even college, and thought that if there was some kind of magic pill to prepare you for the real world ahead that you would’ve swallowed it? If you take a few seconds to reflect back on your mindset at those times, like I did, it’s a bit of an eye-opener. Sure we learned the fundamentals of algebra, dissected a frog in biology and wrote a killer term paper or two , but did it really prep us for life after graduation?

What we choose as a college major, or if we opt not to go to college at all, will ultimately determine our career path – and we’ll walk on that path for 104,000 hours, give or take (I’ll save you the math … its working 40 hours per week for 50 years). Recent Ohio State grad and Hayo founder, Nils Root, frames the Hayo platform from the perspective of the high school grad, since he was in their college-bound shoes not that long ago. Hayo, which stands for “Here are your options,” is a resource-based website that gives colleges and workplaces an outlet to share day-in-the-life experiences with the young, inexperienced, soon-to-be professionals so they have something real to identify with before deciding which of the big leagues they’ll be joining.

They’re currently ironing out the details of their online video enterprise, but Hayo invites you to check out their space and stay tuned while they unfold a new social network.

In order to provide the most optimal video playback, Viddler is excited to announce that our customers now have the option of using the HTML5 player for all of their videos.

So, why go with the HTML5 player over the standard Flash player? The compatibility and support features are a good start.

HTML5 is compatible with a majority of current browsers (Internet Explorer 9+, Safari 5+, Chrome 6+, Firefox 4+, Opera 10.6+), but if the viewer is using a browser that’s not supported, no need to worry, the video player will default back to the standard Flash player.

Viddler’s custom logo branding is supported by HTML5 as well as player style similar to our simple skin. We’re working on a near-future solution that will support each of Viddler’s player skins in addition to our advertising features.

The full gamut of analytics is available with the HTML5 player since it integrates exceptionally well with Viddler’s API. We’ll also point out that videos can play in full-screen mode on select browsers (Safari, Chrome and Firefox), which means a video will play on the entire screen rather than just in the browser window – it makes the online video experience all-the-more compelling for these users.

So it’s your call – the HTML5 player is available to you now. You can opt to use it for all of your videos with Flash as the fallback, or you can stick to using the Flash player if you’re more comfortable with it.

Online video is the latest and greatest way to showcase your products and services. It’s a powerful method to demonstrate your business and what makes you different from your competitors.

With this type of tool comes many unanswered questions, for starters:  Which platform should I choose to upload my business videos to my website?

On Thursday, May 24, the Viddler Team will host another WebEx series on “How to Choose an Online Platform for Your Videos.”

Our very own Darryl Rentz, Solutions Specialist, will get you a few steps closer to locking in on an answer most suitable to your business objectives.

We will review:

• Priorities and overall strategies
• The three most common videos and how they’re used
• How your video will play on platforms like YouTube, Vimeo and Viddler
• And, best practices in accomplishing your goals

Darryl will wrap up with a Q&A, so please email your questions ahead of time to webex@viddler.com with the subject line “How to Choose an OVP” by Monday, May 21.

WebEx Date: Thursday, May 24, 2012 @ 2 p.m. EST / 11 a.m. PST
Registration Opens: Monday, May 14
Registration Closes: Monday, May 21

A video recording of the WebEx will be provided to those who registered in advance, so register today to secure your spot - space is limited!