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Professional Video Editing Software: Comparison Guide To The Best Video Editors

Daniele Bazzano — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:45:00 PST

Are you looking for professional video editing software tool? Do you want something more powerful than Windows Movie Maker? In this MasterNewMedia software comparison guide you will find the best professional video editors on the market.

Photo credit: Tv Pro Gear

Inside the category "professional video editing", belong those video editing tools like Adobe Premiere and Apple Final Cut which are the standard inside professional film and video production houses and among advanced video-makers who want full control over their video production.

These professional video editing software tools allow you to trim to the single frame, to slow down or speed up your video or audio tracks, to add filters and special effects just like it is done inside professional Hollywood film productions. If you need to capture, import or encode in just about any video format, whether in standard 4:3 aspect ratio or in full 16:9, the professional video editing software tools selected in this comparison guide have all you may have ever need on this front.

Most also include support for de-interlacing, chroma-key, and other video editing and post-production features not normally found in the less expensive, free or consumer solutions.

All this power comes for a price, obviously. Professional video editing tools are generally priced at over $300, though there are a few exceptions which are a bit more affordable.

Let's have a look then into some of the key traits that characterize these professional video editing software tools:

Drag and drop video editing: Manage your video in a drag and drop fashion. Just move your clips around the timeline, then re-order and trim to get the output you desire.

Special effects: Enhance and personalize your video with a wide spectrum of transitions types, 3D effects and filters.

Audio import and editing: Utilize and edit one or multiple audio tracks from your computer to create a soundtrack for your movie.

Title and credits: Add an overlay text and final credits to your video. Choose among different fonts, colors and styles.

HD support: Crete and edit videos produced using 1280x720 pixels (720p) or 1920x1080 pixels (1080i / 1080p) resolutions.

16:9 Support: Produce or upscale videos recorded in 4:3 aspect ratio to 16:9 format.

H.264 support: Take advantage of the H.264 compression codec to produce high-quality video clips.

DVD creation: Create compatible discs that can be read in any DVD or Blu-Ray disc player.

Here below is also a set of comparative tables and individual reviews to help you compare all of these professional video editing software tools. The additional criteria selected include:

Platform: Specific operating system supported to run the video editing software tool.

Input formats: Supported video file types that you can upload to the video editing software tool (AVC-Intra, DV, GFCAM, HDV, R3D, XDCAM, etc.)

Output formats: Video formats used to save your video projects once edited (FLV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MP4, WMA, etc.)

AVHCD support: High-quality video format used by tapeless consumer camcorders that can be used for authoring and distribution of high-definition video.

FLV support: Input support for the popular video file format developed by Adobe which is the standard technology to distribute video on the web.
Multicam editing: Real-time mixing and selection of multiple video camera angles just like it happens in a professional recording studio.

Online collaboration: Web streaming in real-time of the video you are encoding to allow members of your team to provide live feedback.

Free trial: Free evaluation period to test the video editing software tool.

Price: Cost of the retail copy or digital download video editing software tool (applies to what is less-priced).

Here all the details:

Professional Video Editing Software Comparative Table

Professional Video Editing Software

AVID Media Composer 4

AVID Media Composer 4 is a professional video editing software tool available for Windows XP, Vista and Mac OS X Leopard, priced at $2.295. You can freely test the software tool for 30 days before purchase. AVID Media Composer 4 supports all the major video input formats including: AVC-Intra, DNxHD, DPX, DV, GFCAM, HDV, R3D, XDCAM EX, XDCAM HD and the following video export formats: AVC-Intra, AVI, DVD, FLV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MP4, QuickTime compatible, WMA, and many others. You can also work with any combination of PAL, NTSC, SD, and HD formats in real time, without encoding first and with any resolution or frame rate. Other than standard features that you would expect from a product of this price range (large support of video formats and codecs, chroma-key, slow motion, real-time HD editing, tons of video effects, DVD authoring, etc.), Media Composer 4 allows you to manage multiple cameras and integrate your workflow inside the AVID Unity media networks to allow you and your team to access and play the same files and capture media simultaneously and in real time. No AVHCD, nor FLV support is available.
http://www.avid.com/products/Media-Composer-Software/index.asp
Final Cut Pro 7

Final Cut Pro 7 is a professional video editing software tool from Apple Inc. priced at $999. Available for Mac machines running Leopard only, Final Cut Pro 7 can read the following input formats from last-generation camcorders: AVHCD, AVC-Intra, AVCAM, DV, DVCAM, DVCPRO, DVCPRO HD, DVCPRO 50, HDV. To output and save your video projects, you can instead choose among these video format types: AVC-Intra, AVI, DVD, FLV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MP4 or QuickTime compatible formats. Other formats like R3D, XDCAM EX, XDCAM HD, XDCAM 422 or JVC native format are supported after downloading a free software from the vendor. All standard pro features like chroma-key, slow motion, real-time HD editing, video effects are all present. Final Cut Pro 7 also allows you to edit in real-time the video streamed by multiple cameras. If you need to show the results of your video editing to a teammate while working on a clip, you can do so using the iChat Theatre feature built in every Mac computer. Final Cut pro 7 also supports the new multi-touch trackpads of Mac laptops to help you speed up your video editing workflow. No free trial, nor FLV support are available.
http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/finalcutpro/
Adobe Premiere Pro CS4

Premiere Pro CS4 is the last version of the popular video editing software tool from Adobe priced at $799. Running on all recent versions of Microsoft Windows (XP, Vista, 7) and Mac (Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard), Premiere Pro CS4 allows you to read major video input formats both from physical volumes or tapeless camcorders like: AVCHD, AVC-Intra, AVI, DV, FLV, F4V, MPEG-2, RED, HDV, XDCAM EX, XDCAM HD, QuickTime compatible, WMA and many others. To export your projects you can choose instead from one of the following video format types: AVHCD, AVC-Intra, AVI, DVD, FLV, F4V, MPEG-2, QuickTime, SWF and WMA. Also available are custom output settings for mobile devices and DVD or Blu-Ray disc authoring. AVHCD and FLV are fully supported both as input and output video formats. A feature allows you to turn spoken dialogue into text-based, searchable metadata that you can use to jump to a specific area of a video clip by searching for keywords or cut a video based on the script. If you have a project created in Final Cut, you can import it inside Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 with no obstacles. No multicam editing, nor online collaboration features are available.
http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/
AVID Liquid Pro 7

AVID Liquid Pro 7 is a video editing software tool for professional videomakers. Available for Windows XP only, the video editor is priced at $999.99. Video input and output formats supported include: DV25, HDV, 1:1 (uncompressed SD and HD), MPEG-2 I-frame & IBP, WM9, MPEG-4 and DiVX. Avid Liquid Pro 7 comes also with a USB2-based breakout box that provides composite, component, and S-Video I/O, along with stereo audio input and surround audio output. AVHCD and FLV video formats are not supported. All pro video editing features like HD support, custom templates,16:9 support, real-time video editing or DVD authoring come as a standard. Plus, you also get multicam editing support that allows you to switch among up to 16 angles in real time. No free trial, nor online collaboration features are available.
http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/Products/Consumer+Products/Advanced+Video/Liquid+Edition/Avid+Liquid+Pro+7.htm
Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9 Platinum Pro Pack

Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9 Platinum Pro Pack is a professional video-editing solution for Windows XP and Vista, priced at $114.95. A free 30-day trial is available to test the software tool before purchase. Video input formats supported are: AVHCD, AVI, MMV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Sony M2TS, OGG, QuickTime, SWF and WMV. Once completed, your video projects can be exported to: AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, OGG, QuickTime, RM and WMV. FLV support is not available. Other than standard professional video editing features like HD support, custom templates,16:9 support, real-time video editing or DVD and Blu-Ray authoring, included inside Movie Studio 9 Platinum Premium Pack you can also take advantage of advanced options such as: color correction, 5.1 surround mixing, the Sound Forge Audio Studio software for enhanced audio editing and 360 free music tracks. No multicam editing support, nor online collaboration features are available.
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/moviestudiopp

Originally prepared by Daniele Bazzano for MasterNewMedia, and first published on November 9th, 2009 as "Professional Video Editing Software: Comparison Guide To The Best Video Editors".

Video Editing Software: Comparison Guide To The Best Consumer Video Editors Under $100

Daniele Bazzano — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:50:00 PST

Are you looking for a video editing software tool that will not empty your pockets? Do you want to spend less than $100, but still get more than basic video editing? In this MasterNewMedia comparison guide you will find the best consumer video editors on the market under $100.

Photo credit: Warezgen

These affordable video editing software tools are a step above of those free video editing tools that are very simple to use for basic video editing purposes, but are far away from professional solutions like the AVID suite or Final Cut which allow you to customize every single detail of the video editing process.

These video editing software tools are aimed to all those people who have played around a bit with timelines, video formats, transitions and other effects and now want to gain greater control on how videos are imported, encoded and presented to their audience.

Just like other video editing solutions, video editing software tools are based on a timeline interface where portions of the video, or "clips", are laid out in sequence and played back. Once video clips are imported to the software tool from your camcorder or your computer hard-disk, you can access a broad spectrum of features to customize your movies.

Where these video editing software tools stand out compared to free video editing tools, is in their ability to manage many different video formats (including popular types like MP4, WMV, MOV or AVI), have different encoding options, and also support pro video editing features like chroma-key, slow motion, subtitling (text and audio synced) or direct video upload to popular social media destinations like YouTube or Facebook.

Let's look now into some of the key traits that characterize these video editing software tools:

Drag&drop video editing: Manage your video in a drag&drop fashion. Just move your clips around the timeline, then re-order and trim to get the output you desire.

Special effects: Enhance and personalize your video with lots of transitions types and filters.

Audio import and editing: Utilize and edit one or multiple audio tracks from your computer to create a soundtrack for your video.

Title and credits: Add an overlay text and final credits to your video. Choose among different fonts, colors and styles.

H.264 support: Take advantage of the H.264 compression codec to produce high-quality video clips.

DVD creation: Create compatible discs that can be read in your living-room DVD player. Add interactive menus, backgrounds and titles to produce a full multimedia project.

I have also prepared a set of comparative tables and individual reviews to put all video editing software tools through their paces. The additional criteria I have selected include:

Platform: Operating system supported.

Input formats: Video formats supported in read mode.

Output formats: Output video formats supported.

HD support: Support for 1280×720 pixels (720p) or 1920×1080 pixels (1080i / 1080p) resolutions.

16:9 Support: Support for 16:9 video aspect ratio.

AVHCD support: Support for AVHCD camcorder standard for high-quality videos.

FLV support: Support for the Flash-based video format.

Video templates: Custom readily-available templates to utilize during video editing.

Free trial: Evaluation period offered free of charge to test the video editing software tool.

Price: Price of the retail copy or digital download of the video editing software tool (applies to what is less-priced).

Here all the details:

Video Editing Software Comparative Table

Video Editing Software

CyberLink PowerDirector 8

CyberLink PowerDirector 8 is a commercial video editing software tool priced at $89.95. You can test the product for 30 days on your Windows XP, Vista or 7 machine before evaluating the purchase. PowerDirector 8 reads a wide range of video formats like AVI, MOV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, HD MPEG-2, DVR-MS, DV-AVI, DAT, VOB, VRO, DVR-MS, WMV, WMV-HD, MP4, MOD, TOD, 3GPP2 and DivX (Windows 7 only), and can output your movies to AVCHD, MPEG-2 HD, WMV-HD, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, MPEG-1, WMV, DV-AVI, MOV, RM, 3GPP2 and FLV file types. Besides basic video editing features, PowerDirector 8 has full support for managing and upscaling SD movies to HD quality, optimizing video surround sound, handling 16:9 aspect ratio and importing video files from AVHCD compatible camcorders. There is also a set of built-in custom video templates to help you personalize your videos. Several other video templates are available for free download at DirectorZone. When your project is finished, you can burn it to a DVD or Blu-Ray disc, save your video in a compatible format with iPods and PSPs, or share your clips directly to YouTube and Facebook. No FLV input support is available.
http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdirector/overview_en_US.html
Corel VideoStudio Express 2010

Corel VideoStudio Express 2010 is a video editing solution for Windows machines. The software costs $49.99 and a 30-day trial period is available. VideoStudio Express 2010 is able to read the most popular video formats like: AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, HDV, M2T, MPEG-4, MOV, WMV, MOD, M2TS, TOD, BDMV, 3GPP and 3GPP2 and can export your video projects to DV-AVI, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, MOV, WMV, 3GPP, 3GPP2 and FLV video formats. Support for HD movies, 16:9 aspect ratio and AVHCD camcorders makes for just some of the basic characteristics of Corel VideoStudio Express 2010. You can also take advantage of one-touch adjustments of lightning, noise reduction and image stabilization, and even utilize the touchscreen capabilities introduced by Windows 7 to edit videos using only your fingers. What is more, a set of free built-in video templates is available to save you time and effort when editing your clips. When your work is finished, you can burn your videos to DVD discs, export your clips to iPod and PSP compatible video formats, or upload and share your movies directly to YouTube. FLV input support is not available.
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Product/1175263344580
Adobe Premiere Elements 8

Adobe Premiere Elements 8 is the entry-level solution of the professional video editing Premiere suite. Priced at $99.99, Premiere Elements 8 works on any Windows machine running XP, Vista or 7 and you can evaluate the product for 30-days before purchase. Import video formats available include: ASF, AVI, SWF, DV, FLV, VOB, HDV, MOD, TOD, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, MOV, WMV, 3GP and 3GP2. Export options instead are the following: AVI, DV, FLV, VOB, HDV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, MOV, WMV, 3GP, 3GP2 and FLV. Note that Adobe Premiere Elements 8 fully supports FLV as input files. Other basic characteristics include the support for AVHCD camcorders, HD-quality movies and 16:9 aspect ratio. A wide range of custom templates for both video editing and DVD-menu customization are available. The built-in SmartSound technology allows you to sync audio tracks with your video and even manage multiple audio files to create custom soundtracks for your movies. When your video is ready to go, you can save it in a compatible video format for playback on iPods or PSPs, burn your video to a DVD or Blu-Ray disc, or upload and share your clips directly to YouTube.
http://www.adobe.com/products/premiereel/
Magix Movie Edit Pro 15

Magix Movie Edit Pro 15 is a commercial video editing software tool priced at $49.99, with a 30-day free evaluation period available. Available for all Windows machines running XP, Vista or 7, MovieEdit Pro 15 supports the following input formats: AVI, DV-AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, HDV, MPEG-41, MXV, MJPEG, MOV, WMV-HD and VOB, as well as these output video file types: AVI, DV-AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, HDV, MPEG-41, MOV, RM, WMV-HD and FLV. HD movies, 16:9 video aspect ratio and DolbyDigital surround sound are all fully supported. Once your project is completed, you can upload and share your videos to YouTube, create compatible video formats for iPods and PSPs, or also burn your videos to DVD or Blu-Ray discs. Several templates are available to customize your movies while editing or to enhance your DVD and Blu-Ray disc menus. No input support is available for FLV, nor for AVHCD camcorders.
http://www.magix.com/us/movie-edit-pro/classic/
Pinnacle Studio HD Ultimate

Pinnacle Studio HD Ultimate is a video editing software tool for recent Windows machines. With a retail price set at $99.99, Pinnacle Studio HD Ultimate accepts a wide range of input files including: DV, HDV, AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, DivX, MPEG-4, 3GP, WMV and MOV while allowing you to save your movies in several standard and high-quality video formats like: AVCHD, DV, HDV, AVI, DivX, RM, WMV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, SWF, 3GP, MOV and FLV. Fully compatible with HD standards and movies produced in 16:9 video aspect ratio, the Pinnacle software has also support for AVHCD camcorders, DolbyDigital surround sound and a large gallery of custom-made templates to personalize your home-produced movies. Once your movie is completed, you have several sharing options: you can burn a DVD or Blu-Ray disc, save your video in a format compatible with iPods, PSPs and the Nintendo Wii gaming console, or you can upload your clips directly to YouTube. No free trial, nor FLV input support are available.
http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/Products/Consumer+Products/Home+Video/Studio+Family/Studio+Ultimate+14.htm
Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD

Vegas Movie Studio HD is the entry-level product from Sony for semi-professional video-editing. Priced at $39.95 (with a 30-day free trial available), Movie Vegas Studio HD can import several video formats either from your camcorder or hard-disk including: AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, M2TS, OGG, MOV, SFA, SWF and WMV. To export your edited videos, you can instead choose among AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, OGG, MOV, RM, WMV and FLV video file formats. Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD fully supports AVHCD camcorders, HD-quality video formats and movies produced in 16:9 aspect ratio. Special feature is the so-called "Ken Burns effect", which is the embedding of still photographs in motion pictures, displayed with slow zooming, panning effects and fading transitions to create the illusion of movement when no motion graphic is available. Also, built-in video tutorials are available at any time to guide you through the video editing process. When your video is ready to go, burn it to a DVD or Blu-Ray disc, export to PSP or share your clips online using YouTube, MySpace and Facebook. No custom video templates, nor FLV input support are available.
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/moviestudiohd
Roxio Creator 2010

Roxio Creator 2010 is a commercial video editing software tool priced at $99.99. Compatible video input formats are: AVI, DV, HDV, DV-AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, MPEG2-HD, VOB, IFO / VOB, XviD, DVR-MS, TiVo, ASF, WMV, MOV, 3GP and AVC. Once imported, you can save your movies and video projects to a wide range of output video formats, including: AVI, DV-AVI, HDV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, MPEG2-HD, WMV, WMV-HD, AVC, MP4, 3GP and FLV. HD-quality, DolbyDigital surround sound and 16:9 aspect ratio support come as a standard, as well as the compatibility with AVHCD camcorders. Built-in video tutorials are also available to guide you through the whole video editing process. A special feature allows you to manage your TiVo shows using Roxio Creator 2010: you can archive your movies, remove commercials and then downscale your TiVo content to export your shows to any portable device or physical support like a DVD. Created projects can either be burned onto DVD and Blu-Ray discs, exported to mobile devices like iPods or PSPs, or uploaded directly to YouTube. No FLV input support, custom templates and a free trial period are available.
http://www.roxio.com/enu/products/creator/suite/overview.html
Final Cut Express 4

Final Cut Express 4 is the entry-level video-editing software tool for Mac. Though priced at $199, Final Cut Express is the only choice for those who have moved past iMovie, but are still not ready for a professional video editing suite like Final Cut. Final Cut Express is available for Mac OsX 10.4 (Tiger), 10.5 (Leopard) and 10.6 (Snow Leopard). Video input formats supported are: DV, HDV, MJPEG, MOV, MP4, iMovie projects and all compatible QuickTime formats. Video export is instead allowed to all the following formats: DV, HDV, MOV, MP4 and, again, all compatible QuickTime formats. The Mac software has full support for HD-quality movies and 16:9 aspect ratio, as well as AVHCD camcorders. The built-in VoiceOver technology helps you create a narration audio synced with motion graphics to produce video tutorials, documentaries or e-learning material. FLV input support, custom templates and a free trial period are not available.
http://www.apple.com/finalcutexpress/

Originally prepared by Daniele Bazzano for MasterNewMedia, and first published on November 2nd, 2009 as "Video Editing Software: Comparison Guide To The Best Consumer Video Editors Under $100".

Free Video Editing Tools: Guide To The Best Software And Web-Based Services

Daniele Bazzano — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:03:00 PDT

Are you looking for a free video editing tool to cut or convert your latest video clips? This MasterNewMedia guide provides you with an up-to-date comparative reference to all of the best video editing software and web-based alternatives available.

Photo credit: Leon Suharevsky

Free video editing tools allow you to cut and edit video footage while being completely free and being quite simple to learn and use unlike their more expensive relatives like Adobe Premiere, Final Cut or the Avid Editing suite.

As a matter of fact, most video users just want to do a quick trim to a video ending scene or add an overlay title to the beginning of their latest masterpiece. Now these once complicated and hardware intensive operations can be carried out on free software or web-based tools, at absolutely zero cost and with simple drag and drop actions.

So, if you are looking for simple, bare-bones basic video editing and titling tools, there are quite some options out there that may just fit your needs.

Free video editing tools can be divided into two main categories:

Software: These video editing tools must be downloaded and installed on your computer. These video software programs do not require an Internet connection to work and your final output video files are saved locally on your computer hard disk.

Web-based: These video editing tools work right from within your browser by leveraging the power of the Flash plugin player to work. No downloads or additional plug-ins are required. Some web-based video editing services allow you to download your finished video while some others only allow you to share your video on the web or on your own site.

Let's look now into some of the key traits that characterize these free video editing tools:

Ease of use: Drag and drop operations and one-click access to all key functions. Easy import, editing and saving of final work.

Basic editing: Video editing tools generally provide all basic editing features including clip splitting, clip trimming, cropping, rotating, resizing, zooming as well as other popular video post-production tools.

Use of a timeline: Video editing tools work using a timeline, a visual interface that visually displays the contents of your video clip alongside a time reference to facilitate the browsing and editing work.

I have also prepared a set of comparative tables and individual reviews to better compare all of these free video editing tools. The additional criteria I have selected include:

Platform: Operating system supported.

Input formats: Video file types supported in read mode.

Output formats: Output video file types supported.

Special effects: Support for transitions and special effects.

Titling: Functionality to add text titles.

16:9 support: Support for new 16:9 video aspect ratio.

De-interlacing: Feature allowing automatic merging of odd and even fields of your video footage to get rid of annoying horizontal lines appearing inside MPEG-shot type video.

Here all the details:

Free Video Editing Tools Comparative Table

Free Video Editing Tools

Windows Movie Maker

Windows Movie Maker is a free video editing software included inside Microsoft operating systems until Windows Vista. Windows Movie Maker provides basic video editing capabilities such as trimming, cropping, panning, zooming, titling, adding transitions and other effects to your clips. The software can also blend audio files with video tracks to produce video remixes. Supported input formats are: ASF, AVI, M1V, MP2, MP2V, MPE, MPEG, MPG, MPV2, WM and WMV. Once your video project is completed, you can save your clip to AVI and WMV video formats. Windows Movie Maker also supports videos produced in 16:9 ratio aspect but has no option to de-interlace videos.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx
iMovie

iMovie is a video editing software for Mac computers. You can found iMovie already installed in any recent Mac computer or you can purchase the software separately inside the iLife suite for $79. iMovie supports 3GP, MPEG, MP4, MOV, M4V and MOD as input formats and MOV, MP4 and M4V as output formats. The software provides video editing features like cropping, trimming, zooming, panning, titling, adding transitions and has a large archive of custom templates you can use to enhance your clips. iMovie can also mix audio and video streams together and provides a one-click option to publish your clips to YouTube automatically. Video clips produced in 16:9 aspect ratio are also supported and iMovie automatically de-interlaces your clips when producing the output of your video.
http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/
Avid Free DV

Avid Free DV is a free video editing software from Avid. Originally developed as a lighter version of the professional video editing software Avid Express, Avid Free DV is no longer available for download nor supported by the company. The software works both on Windows and Mac operating systems and supports AVI and MOV video formats both from import and export. The software can mix audio and video tracks to create video remixes and also edit or shorten your clips using the trimming function. Other features include: cropping, rotating, titling, zooming, adding transitions and also a set of special effects to personalize your clips. Avid Free DV does not support de-interlacing.
http://download.chip.eu/en/Avid-Free-DV-1.6.1_101934.html
VideoSpin

VideoSpin is a free video community that helps you share your video clips on the web. Powered by Pinnacle, VideoSpin has a free video editing software for Windows machine available for download to all registered users. VideoSpin video editing software accepts 3GP, AVI, MPEG, MP4, MOV and WMV video file formats both for input and output. Fully capable of basic video editing functions like trimming, cropping, zooming or titling, VideoSpin can also enhance your clips with special effects and transitions as well as mixing audio and video tracks to create compelling video remixes. You can also work on 16:9 videos while maintaining the same aspect ratio and quality when saving your finished project. De-interlace option is not supported.
http://videospin.com/redesign/
VideoThang

VideoThang is a free video editing software for Windows machines. You can mix video tracks, audio files and images to create enhanced visual remixes or just use the basic video editing capabilities to optimize and improve your video clips. The video editing software supports AVI, FLV, MOV, MPG,ì and WMV as input files and allows you to save your video projects in the MPG format. If you wish, you can also import your pictures and videos from Photobucket, YouTube and Picasa. Basic features of VideoThang include: trimming, cropping, zooming, titling and also adding special effects and transitions to your clips. When your video is ready, you can download it, share your work on most popular video sharing-sites or attach your clips to an e-mail message to send to your friends. No de-interlace option, nor 16:9 support for videos are available.
http://www.videothang.com/
RichFLV

RichFLV is a free basic video editing software that allows you to work on your FLV video files. Based on the Adobe AIR platform, RichFLV can be installed both on Windows, Mac and Linux machines. The software accepts only FLV as input video files but can save your edited clips both to FLV and SWF video formats. RichFLV can also manage PNG and JPEG image files to mix with your video stream. The software has full support for 16:9 video resolution and lets you trim your FLV video files precisely using cuepoints, specific markers that identify separate portions of your clips. No special effects or transitions are available, nor you can de-interlace your videos.
http://richapps.de/?page_id=120
Avidemux

Avidemux is a free video editing software that works on Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems. With Avidemux you can manage a wide range of video formats including: 3GP, ASF, AVI, FLV, MPEG, MKV, MOV and MP4. Video file formats available for exporting your finished clips are instead: AVI, FLV, MPG, MPEG, M1V, M2V, MP4, MKV and OGM. The free software allows you to do all the basics in video editing like cropping, trimming, zooming and mixing different video sources and audio files. Avidemux also allows 2-pass encoding and de-interlacing for better overall video quality. The video editing software has no support for special video effects and transitions, nor you can manage or save your finished videos in 16:9 aspect ratio.
http://fixounet.free.fr/avidemux/
ZS4

ZS4 is a free video editing software that works on Windows, Mac and Linux machines. Input and output video formats supported are AVI and MJPEG. ZS4 offers you basic video editing features to work on your video clips and audio files and also supports the insertion of special effects and transitions to personalize your clips. Some of the basic functions are: trimming, rotating, cropping, zooming, panning and also the ability to mix image, video and audio files together to create video mixes. No support for 16:9 aspect ratio, titling or de-interlacing is available.
http://www.zs4.net/
Photobucket

Photobucket is a free web-based video editing tool that lets you remix photos and videos with music, video captions and transitions. Supported input formats are: ASF, AVI, MOV, MPG, MP4 and WMV. Any video project created with Photobucket is exported to a FLV video file. The service provides all basic video editing features like cropping, zooming, panning, trimming and you can also add special effects to personalize your clips. Photobucket even provides an online storage service that enables you to share and publish your visual digital content online. 16:9 aspect ratio for videos is fully supported, but there is no de-interlace option.
http://photobucket.com/
StashSpace

StashSpace is a free video editing tool that you can use inside your web browser. You can upload, store and edit videos produced in AVI, MOV and WMV file formats. Projects created with StashSpace are saved in the FLV video format and can be shared via e-mail to your friends. You can also record directly from your camcorder or digital camera with StashPad to create a video library on your computer to sync with your StashSpace account. All basic video editing features like cropping, zooming, panning or trimming are fully supported. Also supported is the 16:9 aspect ratio for your video footage, as well as the ability to add special effects and transitions to your clips to create unique video remixes. No de-interlace option is available.
http://stashspace.com/video-editing/online-video-editor.stm
MotionBox

MotionBox is a video editing service that allows you to modify and publish your favorite videos right from your browser. At no expense, MotionBox supports the following video formats as input: ASF, AVI, MOV, MPG, MP4, QT and WMV. Once your file is uploaded, you can trim, crop, rotate, zoom, add titles and also insert special effects and transitions inside your video. Your video can be both in 4:3 or 16:9, because both aspect ratios are supported by MotionBox. The service also features the ability to link to a very specific point within the video itself which you can tag and share with friends. No de-interlace option is available.
http://www.motionbox.com/
JayCut

JayCut is an online video editing tool that allows you to manage and edit your video clips online at no charge. You can import movies and pictures from your computer, web cam, mobile phone or video camera and start mashing your content together to create video remixes. Accepted input video files are 3GP, AVI and FLV. Once produced, your video can be exported to FLV, MP4 and WMV and downloaded to your computer or mobile device. You can also upload your clip directly to YouTube or your MySpace page. Video editing features of JayCut include all the basics like cropping, trimming, panning, zooming and titling. No 16:9 support, nor de-interlace option are available.
http://jaycut.com/
Pixorial

Pixorial is a collaborative web-based video sharing service. Free of charge you can upload, edit and publish your clips using only your favorite web browser. Other users can also grab your video mixes once published to add their own touch and re-upload your mashed content to the site. Pixorial supports a large set of video formats like 3GP, AVI, FLV, MOV, MP4, MPEG, RM and WMV. Once generated, your videos are available for free download in low-quality or web sharing in the MP4 format. The editing features of Pixorial cover all the basics like cropping, trimming, rotating and zooming as well as the ability to add captions, special effects or transitions to enhance your video clips. No 16:9 support or de-interlace features are available.
http://www.pixorial.com/

Originally prepared by Daniele Bazzano for MasterNewMedia, and first published on October 26th, 2009 as "Free Video Editing Tools: Guide To The Best Software And Web-Based Services".

Online Video Advertising For The Professional Publisher: A Video Interview With Jeremy Allaire - Part 2

Robin Good — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:27:00 PDT

What are the key trends impacting the fast moving world of online video advertising? What should professional web publishers expect when it comes to monetizing their online video assets?

Photo credit: Robin Good

In this exclusive video interview with Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Brightcove, Robin Good attempts to find out the key trends emerging from the rapid growth of white label video publishing services.

Professional online video advertising is a business sector that is rapidly evolving, but which is still defining itself. This is why web publishers have yet to find the best way to fully leverage online video as an engaging medium and monetization venue for their products and services.

Overall, when it comes to online video advertising, there are two main obstacles to overcome:

Creating compelling content: While the emotional drive makes video a powerful medium to engage customers and promote products, creating compelling content is not as easy as it may seem. Many companies and individuals still struggle to create valuable content by using approaches, methods and tools characteristic of the broadcast era, spending therefore a lot more than required and ending up with dubious production values.

Defining new video communication strategies: A lot of advertisers have already created video commercial assets for TV. These same advertisers tend to re-utilize the same TV assets when approaching online video advertising. While such strategy is good to reduce operational costs, to adapt existing advertising assets to monetize online video usually reduces the ability of the advertiser to break away from traditional mass media approaches and to start exploring more closely the pros and cons of using web-specific online video advertising formats.

In part 2 (Part 1) of this video interview, Jeremy Allaire shares his vision, advice and expectations about the future of this fast-growing online advertising sector.

Here all the details:

Online Video Advertising - Jeremy Allaire

Duration: 2' 29"

Full English Text Transcription

Robin Good: Robin Good, live from Rome, Italy with Jeremy Allaire of Brightcove, the video publishing professional solution, has giving me the opportunity to talk to its CEO.

Jeremy is really a nice guy. I have been able to talk to him in the past and this time I would like to ask him a little bit more about the opportunity to integrate advertising and video.

Jeremy, before you dive into telling me all the features, do people really enjoy having a pre-roll ad come from before they video? Are we just bringing in the broadcasting metaphors of how advertising is done? Or are we just about to introduce a new way to look at advertising also when it comes to video distribution platforms?

What is your take?

Jeremy Allaire: I think it is a pretty complicated area, but I think what we have seen really over the past several years is that the kind of first wave of video advertising has really tried to mirror the broadcast advertising model.

Video commercials, typically 15-second video commercials are really the predominant kind of sponsorship and that really accounts for the vast majority of revenue that people are generating from online video today.

I think there are good reasons for it.

I think that video itself is a very powerful medium, it conveys information and at least its emotions better than any other medium on the planet.

It is quite natural that an advertiser or a sponsor is going to want to have this impactful branding experience as it is possible. Video has proved itself to be a very potent advertising medium and I think that is why it really is the preference there.

There are also operational issues.

A lot of advertisers have already created video commercial assets. It is hard for them to justify creating completely new creative assets for online, when the size and the scale are still much smaller when compared to television, and so there is a sort of re-use of those assets.

But I do think we are on the cusp of seeing some additional innovation coming in video advertising inside of online video.

I have been a big proponent for many years of producing original Flash-based interactive marketing advertisements, and Flash really is a very open creative environment. It is used quite a bit for rich media advertising already today in web pages, and what we really would like to see is the commercials themselves, that are associated with video, be more engaging and interactive: play a game, interact with and learn about a product or service. Lots of really exciting possibilities there.

That, really I think, is going to be the next wave: is this sort of interactive advertisements that are opt-in for the user, so you do not have to interact with it, but that are more powerful for the marketers as well, because they create really much richer opportunities of engagement with that viewer.

I think there are going to be continued innovations.

The Challenge of Video Content - Jeremy Allaire

Duration: 2' 17"

Robin Good: Good. I would like to know your view, though I would enjoy being hoping to see even a more radical approach to advertising.

My take is that, eventually, probably as we have already seen happening, some of the videos become the advertising themselves and advertising subdue its role of having to market openly something to be used to build the trust and credibility you yourself are building now, answering my question.

Advertising, to me, is going to gradually take a backseat to the real communication content and trust-building activities, that are so much more natural to be the correct builders for a commercial relationship of any kind. That is what I am trying to say.

But let me take you for one last drive onto one of my hard questions, which is: in your experience you have lots of companies using the video services you are providing, large, small, medium-sized ones.

What do you see being most often the obstacle that these companies run into even though they have the money, they have the way to use video, but sometimes companies just do not seem to be able to leverage or make the big jump ahead that these technologies should provide them.

What is holding them back?

Jeremy Allaire: That is a great question.

I think it definitely depends on the type of customer, on the type of company that we are dealing with.

What we see on the media-oriented publishers, so publishers and producers of content whose mission is to really build an audience and gain revenue from that.

For that type of publishers I think the reality is:

It is extremely hard to create compelling content,

it is extremely hard to create content that is compelling from a storytelling perspective, an entertainment prospective, and

it is even harder to build broad awareness and create audience loyalty around that.

I think at the core, the problem has very little to do with technology or with the openness of distributing on the Internet, that is sort of ubiquitous now.

I think really is still the age old problem of: Content is king and it is really hard to create something compelling.

We see a lot of content startups and broadband content startups that have struggled to really break out and make a business of it and I think that will continue to be challenging. So that is one thing.

On the flip-side, when you are dealing with corporations, non-profits, other types of organizations, they instinctively really like the idea of using video for marketing, communications and education, but similar to the media publishers it is hard and also expensive to create compelling video content.

I think a lot of organizations stumble into it. They maybe create video talking heads, or interviews in an office or things like that, that maybe are not compelling, do not have the production values that users of this kind of media are accustomed to. They maybe become discouraged because they are not getting the amount of usage of the video that they thought they could get.

At the end of the day, again, it really comes down to having really great people who understand

video as a medium,

storytelling,

production values,

cutting and editing.

producing,

in a way which is compelling to whomever it is you are trying to communicate with.

My Wish For Online Video - Jeremy Allaire

Duration: 1' 05"

Robin Good: Great, Jeremy thank you. You have been very kind to spend some time to clarify these issues.

I will leave you with the possibility of expressing a wish, if you had the Aladdin lamp and you could just rub it right now, what would be one little tiny wish about business, life, personal that you would have for the future?

Jeremy Allaire: That is kind of you, thank you.

One thing that was really one of the kernel ideas behind my company originally, was that online video could reach into the living room and could reach into traditional TV environments as opposed to just the personal computer or mobile device.

I have a wish that the consumer electronics industry, the PC industry and those that deal with that kind of technology would really embrace open standards and come up with open standards for how these devices can interact with video services on the web. I think that a lot of the attempts today have been very close, very proprietary, not really open in the same way that the web is open.

My wish is that industry really embraces that and those consistent kind of browser-type platforms for video services on the Internet that could get into these kinds of devices. And I think we will see that eventually, but it is still something I am wishing for.

End of Part 2

Part 1 - Professional Video Publishing Trends: A Video Interview With Jeremy Allaire - Part 1

Original video interview recorded by Robin Good for MasterNewMedia. Article editing by Elia Lombardi and Daniele Bazzano. First published on October 21st, 2009 as "Online Video Advertising For The Professional Publisher: A Video Interview With Jeremy Allaire - Part 2".

About Jeremy Allaire

Jeremy Allaire founded Brightcove in early 2004. As chairman & CEO of Brightcove, Jeremy leads the company's technology, marketing and business development strategy. Before working as a technologist and entrepreneur-in-residence for General Catalyst, Jeremy was Chief Technology Officer of Macromedia. Jeremy joined Macromedia with its merger with Allaire Corporation, founded in 1995, where Jeremy was a co-founder and Chief Technology Officer.

Professional Video Publishing Trends: A Video Interview With Jeremy Allaire - Part 1

Robin Good — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:02:00 PDT

What is the difference between uploading your video to typical video-sharing sites like YouTube or using instead one of the paid white-label video distribution services springing up here and there?

Photo credit: Robin Good

Free video-sharing sites like YouTube, Viddler, DailyMotion and others have the advantage to be a no-brainer for anyone getting her hands dirty in video publishing. But what about those publishers who need more control over their video inventory and are also looking to monetize their video assets?

The emergence of white-label video distribution services allows professional online publishers who want to go beyond video sharing for serendipitous purposes, to leverage the opportunity to:

Control the distribution of video clips,

Publish video in HD quality,

Track and monitor viewers and video performance,

Monetize video assets,

Integrate video ads,
Select and customize the type of ads running inside videos,

Integrate ad networks,

Personalize and brand video channels,

Receive dedicated support.

In the first part (Part 2) of this video interview, Robin Good asks Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Brightcove - one of the leaders in online video distribution - to understand first-hand from him what are indeed the key differences and benefits that professional online publishers can get from using white-label video distribution services against free video-sharing sites.

Here all the details:

Introduction

Full English Text Transcription

Robin Good: Hello everyone!

Here is Robin Good from Rome, Italy, and I am today with Jeremy Allaire, CEO and founder of Brightcove, one of the really bright stars in the universe of video publishing and distribution online.

Welcome Jeremy, how are you doing today?

Jeremy Allaire: I am great, thank you so much for having me on.

Pro Vs. Free Publishing Tools - Jeremy Allaire

Duration: 1' 14"

Robin Good: You are very welcome indeed, let me dive right into asking you some of the key questions that my readers are sending me periodically about the world of video publishing.

The first question is: what is the key difference that exists with this new emergent group of white-label professional video distribution services and the traditional video-sharing sites?

Jeremy Allaire: That is a great question.

I think what we have really seen happening over the last couple of years is: more people who run websites, who use their websites for:

Marketing,

communications,

education and

other kinds of applications

wanted to embrace video as a central part of how they accomplish those tasks.

I think initially a lot of people thought: "Hey, there are these free sharing sites where I can go, grab an embedded player", but what a lot of organizations have found is that it is really also helpful to have more powerful tools that make it easier

to manage that content,

to increase the quality of the experience,

to have a lot more control over the brand experience and where the content can be viewed,

to have better business tools for things like recording and analytics.

I think as people have gone from experimentation to really wanting to embrace video more fully, they are looking for professional tools that they can control, that are affordable and that are useful as kind of web development technologies, but I think that is really why this is a category that is emerging for web publishers more generally.

Why Going Pro About Video - Jeremy Allaire

Duration: 2' 09"

Robin Good: It looks like you are saying that while the video-sharing sites have opened the road by showing to people

how good, interesting, valuable and potentially, even profitable it can be to publish video online, and

how that there is enough cloud for some of them to really take advantage of it,

you are discovering the benefits of controlling more how that is happening. And indeed this is also my case so I can fully identify with the situation you have described.

I would like to dive though just a bit more into these key differences. For example: what are the key advantages that I, as a video publisher, have in terms of distribution and visibility when I come over to a service like Brightcove or competing ones?

Jeremy Allaire: I think the key differences are in a few areas.

I think the first is just having a much richer set of tools for how you can present your video. For example:
- we offer a lot of different templates that can be used to present video, maybe an embedded experience,
- an experience with like a channel, with lots of different videos,
- there are tools to kind of contextually integrate video into your site dynamically using web toolkits and APIs.

There is a lot more control over how video can be organized and presented, and that is a really important difference of between just putting an embedded video in a page.

Obviously the brand control is related to that. We really have been seeing this white little space, that is really starting to innovate in terms of how you can create very customed brand experiences around the video itself.

I think another really critical difference is: people who are on websites they want to have vendors that they can rely upon to get support and assistance.

You have a sort of classic technology services businesses that the website owner, the web developer or the publisher working on it, if they have a technical issue, they want to
- be able to reach out the tech support
- go through a knowledge base and
- go into a forum where you got active discussions around those parts and services.

I think that kind of vendor-orientated approach is also a really critical difference, whereas in the sharing sites they are just like any other consumer, and there really are not these kinds of resources available to you.

Those are certainly some of the initial differences, there are many others I think as you start to get into things like the control of where you can distribute your content.

I think white-label services tend to have a lot more features in terms of how you can make that content syndicated out to other sites, or even take advantage of things like mobile devices and do that more readily and those are some of the other differences as well.

End of Part 1

Part 2 - Online Video Advertising For The Professional Publisher: A Video Interview With Jeremy Allaire - Part 2

Original video interview recorded by Robin Good for MasterNewMedia. Article editing by Elia Lombardi and Daniele Bazzano. First published on October 14th, 2009 as "Professional Video Publishing Trends: A Video Interview With Jeremy Allaire - Part 1".

About Jeremy Allaire

Guide To Online Video For Business

EyeView Team — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:00:00 PDT

Do you use online video for business? Do you know which is the best type of video to improve sales or boost traffic on your site?

Photo credit: picpics

Choosing which kind of video you want to produce depends on how you measure the return on your marketing spend. But while there are risks and rewards for each kind of video, you can take for granted the big impact that video has on your viewers and customers.

Have a quick look at these two recent statistics:

In April 2009, ComScore reports that U.S. viewers watched over 16.8 billion videos online.

In a recent survey of executives, over 70 per cent of respondents believed video would increase their brand awareness.

Despite the popularity of online video, though, do not think that a nice clip on your site will make you rich or bring you tons of visitors. It is a bit more complicated than that. Like any other component of your business strategy, you have to test and experiment how to achieve the best results for your specific situation.

To help you choose the right video solution for your business, the guys at EyeView have published a guide to outline and explore the three basic types of videos you can use in your business. These are:

Viral videos

Conversion videos

Educational videos

How do you know which solution is best for you? Is there a type of video which is more successful?

Here all the details:

The Three Types Of Online Video For Business

by the EyeView Team

So much has changed about the way we absorb information in the past few years.

Can you even remember what accessing the Internet was like ten years ago? In 1999 one of the most used features in Netscape’s Navigator was the ability to uncheck Autoload Images. Once you did that you would only get text, no pictures. Page load times were crucial as users were often paying per minute to their phone service provider in addition to whatever they were paying their Internet service provider.

Jump forward to 2004 and everyone was starting to sign up for broadband, but no one was watching video online, it was still too heavy. Short clips would be distributed via email inevitably resulting in your inbox getting clogged up trying to download 5 Mb attachments from the server.

Then in early 2006, things started to change - instead of video being attached to emails people started sending links to a mysterious new site called YouTube. Even more exciting was when people started sending links to sites and blogs other than YouTube that had embedded videos that were hosted by YouTube.

By the time YouTube was acquired by Google for $1.65 billion in September 2006, everyone who used the Internet regularly had seen one of their videos. But YouTube was just the start of the online video revolution. Once it became common practice for people to watch video online, it was only a short time before it became an essential part of the experience.

As the commercial world started to exploit the power of the Internet for business, it became clear that online video would be co-opted into that fight and made available by almost every business with an online presence which, by 2009, meant every business.

Why Video

The question of what video can do for a B2B company was addressed head on in a recent webinar sponsored by Brightcove, one of the leading online video platforms. The title of the presentation was “Top 6 Reasons B-to-B Marketers Need Videos”. The six reasons are worth repeating to emphasize the advantages video can offer a company.

Grab people’s attention instantly

Tell your story in less time

Bring your ideas to life

Make your site stickier

Create a buzz with viral video

Bring your website into the 21st century

Parsing that list into three types of video based on their natural homes - embedded offsite, on the site’s homepage and within the site - helped to identify the three kinds of online video for business:

Viral Video

Conversion Video

Educational Video

1. Viral Video

If online video got its first big break with the advent of YouTube, then Viral Video was the first breakout star for the medium. It’s a classic case of business noticing what’s going on in the real world and then trying hard to catch up.

Viral videos were the natural result of the culture of sharing that began once everyone you knew and / or did business with went online.

Before there were viral videos, people shared jokes or inspirational PowerPoint presentations. The first viral videos were just evolved versions of the same.

Then there were viral videos that became accidental hits. These were videos that were never meant for a mass audience like the Star Wars Kid, or at least they were videos that could never have anticipated how many people would end up seeing them like the Numa Numa guy.

As the demand for content grew, people started crafting video with one eye on making them go viral. There were several factors to consider. In order for a video to have a chance at becoming viral it needed
to be most of the following:

Original

Unusual

Unexpected

Funny / Mysterious / Sexy

In addition there was one more ingredient, a compound of timing, luck and Internet serendipity, that was required for true online ubiquity. Almost impossible to fabricate, this elusive quality is still the thing that prevents most attempts at creating a viral video from succeeding. Nevertheless businesses leapt at the chance of promoting themselves through video usually by replicating a formula that had already achieved some success or notoriety.

Viral video differs from the other types of video discussed in this paper in terms of its location. Viral video is at its best when it is found outside the company’s site. Viral video is all about distribution and promotion. The company’s aim is for the video to be embedded in many different sites to reach as wide an audience as possible. This is not always a good thing.

Once a video can be embedded outside the company’s site the company loses control over the surrounding text and, perhaps more worryingly, the surrounding pictures and ads. If you allow your video to be watched anywhere, you have to consider that viewers may see your logo and messaging juxtaposed with less savory images.

Metrics For Success

How do you measure the success of a viral video? It’s not enough to consider the number of views only, although this is important. If you are looking at views, you need decide “how much is enough?”

The most popular videos on YouTube have been seen millions of times. In order for your video to be considered a viral success, you might not need anywhere near those kinds of numbers. It depends who your products are targeting and whether or not you were noticed by the right kind of audience.

If the video is hosted on a video sharing site like YouTube, you might want to look at the number of comments your video receives to get an idea of the level of “buzz” you have created.

You can use a company like TubeMogul to upload and track your video across the internet but you probably need to combine that with your existing site analytics to judge whether or not it has an impact on your traffic.

If you’re aiming for a success metric that is even more intangible such as brand-building or buzz-making you will have to work out your own metric for success.

Creating a viral video is a bit like catching a fish... with your hands. It’s slippery and almost impossible, but if you manage it, you’ll feel fantastic.

2. Conversion Video

With all the uncertainty surrounding viral video, it seems much safer to manage video with more tangible goals. There are a number of reasons why site owners would want to place a video on their site. Video is a great way of engaging site visitors. Engaged visitors spend more time on websites. More time spent on websites means more opportunities to make money.

Visitors to a website are more likely to convert the longer they stay on that website and the more they
are engaged with the messaging of the site. Video is great tool for increasing stickiness to a site and a
proven medium for increasing engagement.

The most important thing for a commercial website is to identify the goals of the site. The goal of the site can fall into a number of categories. Some sites even have multiple goals, but it’s better to maintain focus on a single goal for each landing page you want to consider. For most sites the landing page is the site’s homepage. As you build multiple points of entry to your site you should carefully define the conversion goal for each.

These are some of the most commonly seen conversion goals for commercial websites:

Enter Your Details - the aim of the site is to get visitors to give you contact details that can be used immediately or later to contact the customer and initiate business

Download This File - installing the file may be the first stage in turning the site visitor into a customer

Buy This Product - a direct inducement to the site visitor to pay money in return for a product or service

Deposit Now - used by companies to establish the financial relationship that turns browsers into committed customers

Once you have a clear conversion goal for your landing page, a good conversion video should focus on driving users to that goal. Video does that in a number of ways.

To begin with, a conversion video, like any other kind of video, should be an engaging experience drawing viewers in and helping them to spend more time on the site.

A successful conversion video should carry a clear call to action. This can be part of the script, part of the visual, part of the player or any combination of the three.

The call to action in the video must be aligned with the conversion goal for the page the video sits in to ensure that there is a clear path for the viewer to follow.

A brief review of the available material on the Internet throws up an abundance of lists of tips for making your corporate video. If you have questions about any aspect of video making from the perfect duration to the perfect volume, you will find someone with an opinion on the subject. The best thing you can do is to start with what you think makes sense and to test it on your site.But before you can test the effectiveness of your video, you need to make sure people are watching.

There are many ways to promote the viewing of your video on your site. Once you have produced a video that you are happy with, you owe it to yourself to exploit as many of these methods as you can.

First of all you want to ensure that people can find your video. Make it visible and accessible. If the video is a key part of your conversion strategy for a page then make sure people know where it is.

Once you are happy with its location on the page, you should consider having the video autoplay. If autoplay seems too aggressive there are variations you can try such as having the video autoplay without sound (but with subtitles) until the viewer opts in to listening as well as watching.

Metrics For Success

If the goal for your conversion video is to increase conversions then the metric for success should be easy. When the number, or the percentage, of your conversions rises then the video is a success.

Depending on the conversion goal, increased conversion can have a direct impact on the revenues of your company. It is no wonder that more and more companies are focusing on conversion video as the most likely to provide a return on their investment.

3. Educational Video

Educational video probably doesn’t sit on your homepage. There are a number of reasons for adding educational videos to your site and, unlike viral and conversion videos your educational video can help you achieve multiple goals without detracting from the video’s success. That means your educational video doesn’t have to be quite as tightly focused on a single goal.

With educational video you have the freedom to build towards a number of achievements.

Primarily an educational video is there to educate. But, educational video can also help to establish trust and thought-leadership. Visitors to your site who move beyond the landing page and begin to delve deeper into everything your site has to offer may be looking for more information.

We know that video is an excellent medium for distilling information and enquiring visitors can find much to satisfy their curiosity in a well made video. But there are more advantages to putting educational videos in your site.

Good video can be a real differentiator for your company against your competitors. You can use the videos to do things that other people in your market are failing to do well. If a visitor learns everything he needs from you, he’s more likely to come back when he’s ready to become a consumer.

Educational video can also take the strain away from your customer support team. Linking your videos to an FAQ or any other part of your online support can help answer some of the questions and pain points that would otherwise make their way to a customer representative. The interaction can often be even more satisfying with the customer feeling they were able to get the answer they wanted in a format they are at ease with.

Educational videos can guide viewers through a difficult process and help to ease the concerns of nervous browsers. Educational videos can help to build a mentor-mentee relationship between the site and its visitors which must have a positive impact.

There are fewer restrictions in Educational video in terms of duration and messaging. It’s probably not smart to load your Educational videos with sales messaging, but beyond that there is a freedom to communicate clearly knowing that anyone watching is doing so with less enticement that other forms of video.

Metrics For Success

Educational video may be one of the hardest types of video to manage in terms of ROI. The production costs are as high as other forms of video but success should not be measured by the number of views.

There are other metrics that should be captured such as ‘time spent on video’ or how many chapters of your video were viewed. Not every player will provide you with this kind of data, but it can be invaluable for establishing ROI.

Educational videos are less likely to be promoted than other kinds of videos. They are more correctly positioned and targeted to specific customers at different stages in the sales cycle.

Educational videos are designed to prevent customer confusion and deliver clarity. If your Educational video is aimed at reducing the number of referrals to customer support then, then a clear reduction is the best measure of success.

Beyond that tangible proof, the success of educational videos is notoriously difficult to determine.

Summary

Once you are committed to making video part of your corporate marketing strategy, there is still a number of questions to be asked.

Choosing which kind of video you want to produce may depend on how you measure the return on your marketing spend. There are risks and rewards for each kind of video, but there is no denying the potential impact of this exciting medium on Internet users. Harnessing that impact and using it to your advantage is one of the key challenges facing online marketers today.

Originally written by the EyeView Team for EyeView and first published on January 1st, 2009 as "The Three Types Of Online Video For Business".

About EyeView

EyeView creates engaging video content and then tests and proves that the inclusion of video on a site significantly increases conversion. The company also offers services to optimize conversion by continuously improving the video solution and analyzing and testing its impact on visitors.

Photo credits:
Why Video? - Pei Ling Hoo
All other images by EyeView

On-Demand Video Encoding: Guide To The Best Cloud-Based Services

Daniele Bazzano — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:00:00 PDT

Are you looking for an on-demand video encoding service? Do you need a cloud-based alternative that works seamlessly across any type of hardware or operating system? Are you looking for an easy way to convert videos to publish on your web site or watch on your iPod?

Photo credit: Robert Mizerek

On-demand video encoding services allow you to convert and encode video files or raw footage of your camera into any kind of video file. All with a cloud-based approach that saves you from installing software on your computer.

Let's go into more details to better understand what these cloud-based video encoding services can do for you:

Encoding is the process of taking your original video, either recorded by your video camera, web-cam or whichever capture device you use, and preparing it for delivery in a particular medium.

Cloud-based services live and work entirely on the web with no software, plugins or any other stuff installed on your machine.

To use these cloud-based video encoding services, all you need to do is upload your video file, specify the output format you need and then sit back while the encoding service does the rest. When your file is ready, you are notified and given a download link to save the converted file on your computer.

On-demand video encoding services allow you to convert and encode your video files from / to most popular video formats like 3GP, AVI, FLV, MOV, MPG, MP4 or WMV. Professional video encoding services will also convert the ratio of your video (from example from 4:3 to 16:9 or vice versa), preserve the quality of your clips if you are converting high-quality or HD videos, and support de-interlacing, 2-pass encoding and H.264 encoding.

What is cool about these on-demand video encoding services is that you do not need a brand new machine nor the fastest Internet connection in the world. Any type of hardware, operating system and broadband connection will do just fine.

To help you better understand the characteristics and to facilitate your job, let me share with you the key features and traits that characterize these on-demand video encoding services:

Free:
- Web-based: Encode your videos without downloading software on your machine and with any type of hardware or operating system you are using.
- Web video encoding: Download and convert videos from YouTube, DailyMotion, Vimeo and other video-sharing sites.
- File conversion: Convert from / to not only videos, but also text documents, image files or audio files.

Professional:
- 2-pass encoding: Get better video quality and reduce the encoded video file size using multiple passes.
- Custom presets: Use ready-available settings to choose the optimal encoding package for web streaming, iPods, mobile phones, etc.
- Real-time monitoring: Keep track of all your video conversions using a web-based dashboard.

Besides these key general features and traits, I have used some additional characteristics for both free and professional on-demand video encoding services to prepare a set of comparative table and individual reviews to put all of these services through their paces.

The comparative criteria I have selected include:

Free:
- Input formats: File types supported to submit your video.
- Output formats: Resulting file types to encode your video.
- Max file size: Maximum file size allowed to upload your video.
- Custom presets: Ready-available encoding settings for different destinations (mobile phones, iPods, web streaming, etc.).
- HQ / HD support: Availability to encode videos while retaining high or HD video quality.

Professional:
- H.264 support: Availability of the H.264 codec for video conversions.
- 16:9 support: Support for 16:9 ratio for encoded videos.
- De-interlacing: Prevent odd and even lines of a video frame to be drawn alternatively to smoothen the perception of motion by the viewer.
- Distribution: Send your presentation automatically to multiple video-sharing sites.
- Price: Cost of the on-demand video encoding service.
- Premium features: Key advanced features available in premium paid accounts.

Here all the details:

On-Demand Free Video Encoding Comparative Table

On-Demand Free Video Encoding Services

Zamzar

Zamzar is a free on-demand conversion service you can use to convert and encode your videos. Without even registering, you can start converting videos from / to the following formats: 3G2, 3GP, AVI, FLV, GVI, M4V, MOV, MP4, MPG, RM, RMVB, VOB and WMV. Each video must not be larger than 100MB. If your video is already on the web, just provide the URL and choose one of the supported formats to start your conversion. You will receive a message on your e-mail inbox with a link to download the encoded file. No custom presets nor HQ / HD support are available.
http://www.zamzar.com/
Media-Convert

MediaConvert is a free service that performs on-demand conversion from / to different file formats like text documents, images, audio files and videos. Registration is not necessary. For online videos, you have a wide range of supported formats available: 3G2, 3GP, AMV, ASF, ASX, AVI, DV, DPG, FLI, FLV, GVI, M4V, MKV, MOV, MP4, MPG, NSV, OGG, OGM, RM, RPL, SWF, VOB and WMV. You can customize different options to enhance the conversion (or encoding) process like: video resizing, audio quality, video quality, video length, and more. MediaConvert supports files up to 200MB. To speed up your conversions, you can also choose a custom preset with ready-available settings for popular mobile phones or iPods. To receive your converted file, wait for the on-screen notification or provide your e-mail address to get a download link when your file is ready.
http://media-convert.com/
Media Converter

Media Converter allows you to convert media files online, free of charge, including videos. Registration is not required. Supported video formats are: 3G2, 3GP, AVI, FLV, M4V, MKV, MOV, MP4, MPEG, OGG, RM, WMA and WMV. Files uploaded for conversion or encoding must be under 100MB. You can also provide a URL from a list of popular video-sharing sites and encode a video in FLV format. Files to convert can also be queued. You have 5 free conversion per day without registering to the service. No custom presets, nor HQ / HD support.
http://www.mediaconverter.org/
YouConvertIt

YouConvertIt is an on-demand video encoding service that helps you convert your video files to any format, without spending a dime. Registration is not mandatory. Supported file formats are: 3GP, ASF, AVI, FLV, MOV, MP4, MPEG, MPG, RM, SWF and WMV. Maximum file size for converted files it is not clearly specified. You can also convert online video directly from video-sharing sites like YouTube by copying and pasting the URL inside YouConvertIt. The service will then encode the video and give you a download link when your video is ready. Custom presets and HQ / HD conversions are not supported.
http://www.youconvertit.com/OnlineVideo.aspx
MovAvi

MovAvi is a free on-demand video converter and encoder that works both with uploaded files or online videos. Without registering, you can submit a file from your hard-disk or a URL from a video-sharing site, choose an output format and wait for your conversion to take place. Supported input formats are: 3G2, 3GP, AVI, MOV, MP4, MPG and WMV. Output video formats are instead: 3G2, 3GP, AVI, FLV, MOV, MP4 and MPG. Each video file must be limited to 10 minutes and 100MB in size. You also have a list of custom presets to speed up your conversions with ready-available settings for popular devices like mobile phones or iPods. HQ conversions are fully supported, but HD videos cannot be converted.
http://online.movavi.com/
OnlineVideoConverter

OnlineVideoConverter allows you to convert video files from / to major popular formats, free of charge and without registration. Supported formats are: 3G2, 3GP, ASF, AVI, FLV, MP4, M4V, MKV, MOV, MPG, OGGì and WMV. Files to convert must not be larger than 100MB. You can either convert a file on your hard-disk or an online clip available on a video-sharing site like YouTube. You also have several customization features to choose for optimizing your conversions like: video codec, audio codec, video quality, audio quality, video resolution, etc. To facilitate your conversions, you can use one of the ready-available presets with customized settings for popular devices like iPods or mobile phones. HQ and HD conversions are supported.
http://onlinevideoconverter.com/
UEncode

UEncode is an on-demand video converter that allows you to encode and convert video files in multiple formats. Registration is necessary. Free to use, the encoding service supports the following formats: 3G2, 3GP, AVI, MOV, MP4, MPG and WMV. You can convert any type of video file, no matter how big is the video. To start your video conversion, upload a file to UEncode, choose your preferred settings and then wait for an e-mail with a download link to your encoded file. your You can either choose your settings or use a set of custom presets to obtain the best results for popular devices like mobile phones or iPods. HQ encoding is supported, but HD encoding is not available.
http://www.uencode.com/

On-Demand Professional Video Encoding Comparative Tables

On-Demand Professional Video Encoding Services

Hey!Watch

Hey!Watch is an on-demand video encoding web service. The service supports conversions from / to the following video formats: 3G2, 3GP, ASF, AVI, DVD, FLV, MP4, MOV, MPEG, MPEGTS, MJPEG, MPEG2, PSP, RM, SVCD, VCD and VOB. Hey!Watch allows you to customize several options while encoding your video, like: de-interlacing, conversion from 4:3 to 16:9 video format or vice versa, H.264 encoding, HD support, 2-pass encoding, Theora for HTML 5 support, watermarking, and more. The service also makes available a REST API to externalize your encoding tasks while focusing on your core business. Hey!Watch works with a pay-as-you-go philosophy. The price for each video you encode or convert depends on the length of the video itself and the type of conversion you make (standard quality or HD). You pay for the service by purchasing credits which cost $0.10 each. Each time you use Hey!Watch, you spend one or more credits. No distribution nor premium features are available.
http://heywatch.com/
BetterEncoding

BetterEncoding is a free on-demand video encoding solution. The web service claims to convert from / to any video format with no limitations neither in size, nor in the length of your clips. BetterEncoding uses a proprietary algorithm which operates a particular type of compression that is capable of shrinking the size of your videos by a 40% - 60% less than other similar encoding services. All without sacrificing the video quality. Each conversion can be customized on your specific needs by selecting options like: de-interlacing, H.264 conversion, 16:9 support, 2-pass encoding, and more. BetterEncoding does not make its API available for easier customization of your video encoding processes. No distribution nor premium features.
http://www.betterencoding.com/
Encoding.com

Encoding.com is an online service that allows you to convert and encode your videos on-demand. The service recommends the following input formats for optimal conversions: 3GP, 3G2, ASF, AVI, FLV, MOV, MP4, M4A, M4V, MPG, MPEG, MJPEG and MJPEG2. Other video formats may be accepted but are not tested to work. Encoding.com lets you customize your conversions with different options like: de-interlacing, H.264 conversion, HD conversions, 2-pass encoding, 16:9 support, audio quality, video quality, and more. The service also provides an API to integrate the Encoding.com conversion engine into your web service or online publishing platform. To speed up your conversions, you can also use one of the custom presets, which are ready-available settings for web streaming, mobile phones, iPods, and other media. Encoding.com pricing starts from $19/month for maximum waiting time of 30 minutes before video processing, 1GB of monthly encoding bandwidth, 5GB of max encoding bandwidth per hour and email support. Premium plans start from $49/month and give you the following privileges: maximum waiting time of 10 minutes before video processing, 10GB of monthly encoding bandwidth, 15GB of max encoding bandwidth per hour and email / phone support.
http://www.encoding.com/
Flix Cloud

Flix Cloud is an on-demand video encoding service which is completely web-based. Flix Cloud supports the following input / output formats: 3GP, 3G2, AVI, DV, FLV, MOV, MP4, MPG, MPEG, MJPEG, OGG, RAW and VOB. The service also supports several customization options to get the best out of video conversions: 2-pass encoding, HD conversions, de-interlacing and H.264 encoding among the others. Flix Cloud also makes available its API for easier integration of its conversion engine into your web service or online publishing platform. Flix Cloud is priced by how much video data you transfer in and out of the service (source video size and converted video sizes). The costs are: $0.00175 / MB for input data and $.00225 / MB for output data. No distribution nor premium features available.
http://www.flixcloud.com/

Originally prepared by Daniele Bazzano for MasterNewMedia, and first published on September 29th, 2009 as "On-Demand Video Encoding: Guide To The Best Cloud-Based Services".

Online Video Marketing: How To Optimize Your Web Site Conversion Rates Through Video

EyeView Team — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:14:00 PDT

How can you optimize your web site conversion rates by using online video? Sure enough, there are several things you can do to make your web published videos help you increase your web site conversion rates. Whether you want more ad clicks, more time on your site or more downloads of your latest PDF, video can greatly help. The key is knowing which are the variables that make a difference when adding video to your content. How do you find out?

Photo credit: Ruben Sarkisyan

By testing.

Yes, video can be a persuasive tool in increasing conversion of casual browsers into paying customers for your site. But different videos impact different sites differently.

With that many differences, you have to test.

The emotional draw of the television experience, the increased adoption of broadband and the ongoing growth in Internet content consumption are all contributing to drive the growth of online video.

Just have a look at these two recent statistics:

In April 2009, ComScore reports that U.S. viewers watched over 16.8 billion videos online.

In a recent survey of executives, over 70 per cent of respondents believed video would increase their brand awareness.

But being aware of the power of online video, doesn't help when you need make your videos become a true instrument of marketing advantage. What you need to know is what are the variables you should be paying attention to, to guarantee your video maximum impact, widest reach and the ability to communicate effectively your key message.

Is it better to start a video via user input or have the video play automatically?

What is the ideal length of a video clip?

Can a visual trigger help increase user engagement?

Does a voiceover help you broaden your audience?

To help you answer these questions, the good guys at EyeView have recently published a report outlining ten key video optimization techniques to test when trying to increase your ability to convert normal web site visitors into real customers.

Here all the details:

Conversion Optimization Through Video - 10 Things You Should Be Testing

by the EyeView Team

Optimizing conversion for your online visitors should never be about guesswork. It’s not enough to build a campaign based on previous success stories for other people’s sites.

At EyeView we prefer to bring you proof direct from your own site, rather than relying on someone else’s results from another site during a different season.

Testing is the key to optimizing your website.

When you test, you remove the influence of guesswork on your business model and replace it with real data.

The results of your tests will inform the decisions you make with far greater authenticity than any supposition or anecdotal impression you may have.

Only by testing can you be certain that you are really achieving the goals you set for yourself and only by testing can you prove your ability to surpass those goals.

In April 2009, Internet users in the U.S. watched over 16.8 billion videos online.

There is a growing expectation among Internet users that all sites will feature video.

In a recent survey of executives, over 70 per cent of respondents believed video would increase their brand awareness. But video is not just for entertainment and awareness. It can also be used for information and explanation.

Video can be a persuasive tool in increasing conversion of casual browsers into paying customers for your site. But different videos impact different sites differently. With that many differences, you have to test.

This document will suggest the first 10 tests you should carry out to ensure that your video is performing to the best of its ability and converting your visitors into customers.

1. Video Or No Video

The most basic control test means comparing your site without video to the same site with a video in place. But that doesn’t mean it can be passed over or forgotten. As soon as you have a video that you’re happy with you want to post it to your site.

You spent time agonizing over the script and now you want to show your masterpiece to the world. You want everyone who visits your site to watch your video and be so convinced by the added value you have demonstrated that they are instantly converted to lifelong customers. But before you do that, there are some things you need to know.

What’s your current conversion rate? Your conversion rate is defined as the number of visitors to your site who reach your conversion goal divided by the total number of visitors to your site expressed as a percentage.

Being able to define your conversion rate assumes you have clearly defined your conversion goal.

Let’s assume that you know your current conversion rate. The only way to be sure that your video is increasing your conversion rate is to test a version of the page with the video against a version of the page as it existed before the video.

It’s not enough to use last month’s figures and compare them to this month’s rate with the new video. Comparing old data with new data is inconclusive. There are too many other factors that might have contributed to the changes.

The only way to be absolutely sure that the introduction of your video is responsible for any changes you can measure is by simultaneously testing two different versions of the same page.

Once you have proof that adding video increases conversion and you can accurately measure the size of the increase, it is easy to calculate how soon you will achieve a return on your investment in the video. With this information in hand, you are free to experiment with a wide range of additional tests to fine tune your video’s effectiveness and further boost conversion.

2. Autoplay Or Press To Play

It’s a simple question with a complicated answer. Should your video have a trigger requiring visitors to click somewhere in order to initiate the video or should the video begin playing automatically the first time a visitor arrives at the site? There are arguments to be made for both sides.

On one hand many website owners believe that users find autoplay intrusive and pushy. You may feel it’s too much of a ‘hard sell’ to begin playing the video without a specific request from the visitors to your site.
On the other hand, once you know that it increases conversion, you might want as many people to see it as possible, regardless of whether that comes across as pushy or not.

Before you can make an intelligent decision one way or the other, you need to know what the impact on your conversion would be. Ultimately you have to decide what is right for your site and your users.

Different play options will work in different scenarios and only by testing will you know for sure whether the advantages to be gained by having the video play automatically outweigh the disturbance it causes.

At EyeView we saw one of our customers increase conversion by an additional 20% when their video was allowed to autoplay. Conversely we also saw a case where having the video autoplay reduced conversion indicating a negative impact.

Without testing, it is impossible to know which scenario would be true for your site. Wouldn’t you like to know for certain?

3. Call To Action

Everyone knows how important the Call To Action is.

Bryan and Jeffery Eisenberg wrote extensively about this important element of online marketing in their bestselling book Call To Action: Secret Formulas To Improve Online Results. They describe online marketers as customer acquisition managers driving incoming traffic into the right funnel. The Call To Action is a crucial part of their arsenal and key to building and maintaining your conversion goals.

When it comes to scripting a video, the question arises as to where to place the call to action.

A video is a more linear experience than viewing a web page. On a static page, the user may jump around sampling different paragraphs distracted by various bells and whistles until he or she alights on the Call To Action and is suddenly inspired to perform the required action.

Watching a video is a different experience entirely. Viewer expectations are different for video. Unlike a web page, a video has a start, a middle and an end.

If the goal of the video is to increase conversion and get the visitor to do something, it has to include a compelling Call To Action, there are good arguments for doing so at the start, at the finish and anywhere in between.

There is even an argument for making the Call To Action visible and accessible to the viewer throughout the running time of the video. Following the principle of ‘See it. Hear it. Click it.’

Viewers will be more likely to respond to the Call To Action if they are explicitly told about it and can find itimmediately.

Only by testing different options will you discover which is the best for your visitors.

4. How Long Should My Video Be?

There is no definitive answer for this oldest and most baffling of questions.

The latest statistics show that the average length of an online video is three and a half minutes. But this average includes everything from full length episodes of TV on Hulu to the silliest short clips on YouTube and makes no concession towards marketing videos that are precisely designed to boost conversion.

There are some fundamental adages such as ‘less is more’ and reminders about how easily bored viewers can click away from your content, but on the whole, no one can say for sure, how much is too much or how little is not enough.

Every video we have published to date has shown a drop off graph of viewers over time. You must expect that not everyone who starts watching your video will make it to the end. All you can do is experiment to reduce the gradient and try to hit the plateau as early as possible.

The solution, as always, is to test and test again. Once you have completed your video seen it work, why not recut it and reduce it in length by 30%.

Pay close attention to the drop off graphs for each version and see how many people make it through to the end. The more people are engaged with your video, the more likely they are to convert.

Maybe the way to increase engagement is to add another chapter with a more detailed explanation of your offering once you have the viewers’ attention. If you are willing to experiment and try different versions of your video, you may learn some interesting facts about your messaging and its effectiveness.

Remember, you might not want to tell your visitor everything about your company, but you definitely want to tell him enough to move him to the next step in the funnel.

5. The Wonderful Thing About Triggers

Triggers are wonderful things. The trigger is the element on your page that lets visitors know that there is a video to be watched. It might be a rectangle in the ad column with a play button in the middle or it might be a giant square with all kinds of animated shenanigans encouraging you to click on it.

The trigger acts as a miniature Call To Action for your video.

If you know that your video works and you know that it is converting browsers into customers then you want as many people to discover the video as possible. A great trigger will help with this.

Of course your video’s trigger may have to compete with some other page elements for attention.

You have to find the balance between sending people to watch the video versus people who would convert anyway finding the Call To Action straight away.

Previous tests should have convinced you that video viewers are more likely to convert, now you have to turn casual browsers into video viewers without cannibalizing the ones that would have converted regardless.

Once you start looking at triggers, there is a remarkable variety to choose from.

Do you want an animated trigger or a one that sits quietly on the page waiting for people to discover it?

What are you going to write on your trigger to encourage people to click on it? Is “Click Here” more effective than “Play Movie” or “Watch Demo” or “Take Tour”?

Where on the page should your trigger sit? It seems obvious that above the fold is going to have more impact than below the fold, but is there a difference between the right-hand side and the left-hand side?

The process of visual search that every user goes through when confronted with a new page is wonderfully complex.

Taken from a case study called Using Eye Tracking to Compare Web Page Designs by Agnieszka Bojko and originally published in the Journal of Usability Studies, this extract gives a brief taste of the complexities involved.

To find the correct link, button, or another control on a web page, users must successfully complete two stages of visual search:
Deployment of attention: In the first stage, attention needs to be allocated to the target, so the target can be processed. Effectiveness and efficiency of this stage depends on how easy the target is to notice, which is affected by the overall display layout as well as the location and visual presentation of the target and other elements.

Target processing: During the second stage of visual search, target processing, users’ attentional resources are allocated to recognizing the meaning of the target and its relationship with their goal. Completion of this stage depends on how easy the target is to comprehend, which is related to the target’s content (e.g., label) and affordances (e.g., whether it appears clickable or not). Only upon successful completion of both search stages, can users select the correct target.

Trigger definition should never be taken for granted while testing offers the necessary flexibility to ensure your site is optimized.

6. Parlez-Vous Video?

You may not be fluent in multiple languages but your potential customer base is.

While English has become the lingua franca for international business meetings, the expectations of a user watching a video in the comfort of his home or her office are very different.

While every video engagement graph shows some drop off of viewers during the first few seconds, the drop off among non-native speakers watching a video in English is significantly higher.

If you want your video to have the same considerable impact in non-English speaking markets, you should consider offering the voiceover in multiple languages and aligning the default language with the geo-location of each visitor.

You might also want to test the use of subtitles on your conversion rates. Without knowing the proportion of your visitors who watch your site with speakers turned on, you have no way of being sure how many people are hearing your message.

Use your traffic source analysis to determine where in the world the visitors to your site are based and test different combinations of voiceover and subtitles to achieve optimum conversion.

7. What Kind of Voiceover Works Best?

Do we respond differently to messages delivered by a female voice than by a male voice? Do we have different expectations in terms of trust, authority, technical understanding? Do these questions elicit different answers depending on whether you are a man or a woman?

In their classic book Gender Voices, David Graddol and Joan Swann discuss in detail the differences between male and female speaking voices and our responses to them.

Most people can easily identify whether or not a voice belongs to a man or a woman. What is harder to determine is whether that voice influences the listener in any direction.

If your product is aimed predominantly at one gender more than another or one age group over another, you may want to test different voiceovers to measure their impact on your conversion rate.

There are other voiceover issues that are harder to track such as regional accents. Culturally, some populations are more sensitive to non-standard accents although even the BBC has long moved away from only allowing presenters to use Received Pronunciation.

8. Is Animation The Best Option?

Gone are the days when animators would painstakingly draw every frame of a film separated by minute changes and photographed in succession to give the illusion of movement.

Today’s animators have a wide range of images and effects available at the click of a mouse. You can go from storyboard to completed animation within hours. You can change your mind and implement those changes with very little fuss to produce professional looking and stylish animation that delivers your message and engages your viewers.

Animation is attractive, flexible and quick. But is it more effective than recording a human being talking to camera or interviewing someone on camera? In other words, is there a trust issue here that may impact your conversion?

The question doesn’t have to binary. There are ways of combining the flexibility of animation for the parts of the video that may change over time with the authority of a human face delivering a message to camera with sincerity and integrity.

Also the answer is not going to be the same for every site. If you are a lawyer should you let an animated avatar tell your story? If you are a medical practitioner should you have an actor say your lines? If you are a service provider, how important is a live testimony to your message?

If you already know for sure which of these approaches works best for your target market then there is no reason to run a test. But if you don’t want to look like a mickey mouse marketer, you need to understand the power and the risk of using animation in your video.

9. How Important Is Music To My Video?

Where would Norman Bates be without screeching violins to accompany his killer moves? How menacing would a mechanical shark named Bruce have seemed without the chromatic rumblings of the double bass in John Williams’ score? How does music enhance or interfere with the messaging in your video? As with many of the earlier tests, there can be no definitive answer to this question.

Different viewers in different markets may have different expectations for background music.

Licensing professional music is time-consuming and expensive. It’s even harder to determine the ROI for such an investment.

Creating your own sounds or using a copyright-free loop is usually the cheapest option, but is it the most effective? Have you ever tried watching your video without music? Was it clearer or less clear? Will you viewers notice a difference and how will it make them feel?

You may be absolutely positive that the video is better with a stirring score, but how can you know for certain without trying the alternative? The results will either confirm that your intuition is great or they will surprise you. Either way, you will have learned something and moved closer to tested and proven optimized conversion.

10. How Important Are First Impressions?

First impressions are undeniably important. But second impressions can be important too.

If the gods of the Internet didn’t want us to deal in second impressions, they wouldn’t have created cookies.

Your site probably knows when a visitor arrives for the second time. It’s up to you what you do with that information. Do you use it to change the way video is presented? If a visitor has already seen your video once, do you offer him the same thing again or do you use the real estate to try a different approach?

You may even take it further by developing a second video for repeat visitors. Maybe just the highlights with a different Call To Action.

A second visit is a second opportunity to achieve the goals you have set for your visitors. Perhaps the best way to do this is by experimenting with the video you show.

Depending on the market you work in, it may be perfectly acceptable for visitors to convert after more than one visit. Make sure your video does not become an obstacle for returning prospects.

Summary

Q: When will I be finished optimizing conversion for my video?

A: Not for a while.

Whoa! The reality is that you might never know for sure whether a tiny tweak here or an extra word there will make a difference to the conversion rate of your site. But that doesn’t mean you should do nothing.

If you start with the tests laid out in this document you should be well on the way to understanding the impact of video on your conversion rate and better informed about how video can help grow your revenue.

In an internet world of infinite variety you cannot say that what works for one will work for another, but you absolutely can say that what should be tested for one site should be tested for others.

The tests listed here are just examples of variables that could have significant impact on your conversion rate and therefore on your revenue.

Originally written by the EyeView Team for EyeView and first published on January 1st, 2009 as "Conversion Optimization Through Video - 10 Things You Should Be Testing".

About EyeView

EyeView has established offices in Boston and Tel Aviv. EyeView creates engaging video content and then tests and proves that the inclusion of video on a site significantly increases conversion. In addition, EyeView offers services to optimize conversion by continuously improving the video solution and analyzing and testing its impact on visitors.

Photo credits:
Conversion Optimization Through Video - 10 Things You Should Be Testing - David Humphrey
1. Video Or No Video - Robert Kneschke
3. Call To Action - mipan
4. How Long Should My Video Be? - Aleksandr Lobanov
5. The Wonderful Thing About Triggers - Brian Jackson
6. Parlez-Vous Video? - Robert Lehmann
7. What Kind of Voiceover Works Best? - mipan
8. Is Animation The Best Option? - Visual Explainer
9. How Important Is Music To My Video? - Alex Kalina
10. How Important Are First Impressions? - Mikhail Matsonashvili

Live Video Streaming: Guide To The Best Broadcast Services To Stream Your Video In Real-Time

Robin Good — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:31:00 PDT

Live video streaming services allow you to broadcast live any video content from your computer to any number of viewers connected via the Internet. In this guide to the best live video streaming tools you can find all of the available free web video broadcasting services compared and put through their paces.

Photo credit: Ruslan Gilmanshin

To stream live video online, the key requirement is having a good upload bandwidth. 384Kbps would be an acceptable minimum, with 500 Kbps or more providing the best results and video quality. Unfortunately many Internet providers offer plenty of download bandwidth to Internet subscribers, but keep the available upload bandwidth to a very bare minimum. This is why it is a good idea before you get excited about video conferencing that you do check your effective upload bandwidth from the computer and connection you plan to be using.

There are many free tools that can help you gauge your effective upload speed. I use the one from my provider, which is at http://test.ngi.it but there are a ton of other good ones starting from these ones listed here: best tools to test your Internet connection speed.

One thing to keep in mind when testing your upload speed is from where this is being measured. If your speed test uploads a test file to a relatively close by server, you may likely see upload speeds as high as your provider promised, but considering that when you video conference with someone, your other party may likely be across the ocean, it is always a good idea to use a speed testing service that can measure your upload speed from different locations around the world.

Whether to stream your life 24/7 or to create a professional daily show that integrates pre-recorded clips and multiple cams, you have also lots of live video streaming services at your disposal to broadcast yourself in real-time.

All of the top video streaming services allow you to easily embed and re-distribute your video channel to multiple sites and social media, generally providing also a way for users to comment back, rate, and even chat back to you during your live transmission.

Advanced features include automatic recording of your video performances, auto-distribution of your live video to popular video-sharing sites like YouTube, the ability to invite and display video co-hosts who connect from separate locations just as news reporters do during the news, or event the option to switch between multiple live cams connected to your own computer.

In the comparative table that follows I have collected and compared the more important key traits and features for all of the best live video streaming services available out there. While I was testing and reviewing these tools, these were the most important criteria I did identify to put these services through their paces:

Text Chat: Integrated text-chat with viewers while streaming.

Co-hosting: Option to host other video streams in your show.

Multiple Cams: Live switchboard supporting multiple live cams.

Recording: Auto-recording of live streams.

Distribution: Posting to YouTube and other video sharing sites automatically.

Here all the details:

Live Video Streaming Comparative Table

Live Video Streaming: Guide To The Best Services To Broadcast Your Video In Real-Time

Ustream

Ustream is a live video streaming solution that helps you broadcast your life in real-time. All you need is a computer, an internet connection, a microphone and a webcam or video camera. As a broadcaster you got a personal page where your viewers can check your live video broadcast, the videos you have produced so far and use a text-chat area to interact live with you (also using Twitter). Your video player is fully embeddable on other web pages or social media sites. You can also syndicate your videos via RSS feed or using social bookmarking services like delicious or StumbleUpon. On your personal page, you can also display a list of recommended shows you follow and who is following your channel. If you link the Ustream channel to your YouTube account, uploading your video streams to YouTube is just one click away. No co-hosting feature or multiple cams management. You can record your videos, but not automatically.
http://www.ustream.tv/
Livestream

Livestream (former Mogulus) is a video streaming solution to broadcast live and on-demand videos. Set your webcam (or external video camera), microphone and you are ready to go. Your live show is streamed using a video player you can fully customize to match the look and feel of your website. Several ready-made templates are also available to get you started quickly. Each show page integrates a chat area to interact in real-time with your audience. When broadcasting, you can switch back and forth to multiple cameras, regardless of their location. You can also integrate Livestream with your Twitter account to send a tweet notifying all your friends you are live at that very moment. After finishing your live broadcast, your clips are automatically recorded. Livestream is web-based but Windows users can also download for free the Procaster suite which allows you to manage and produce your live streaming efforts directly from your computer. No co-hosting available for the time being.
http://livestream.com/
Justin.tv

Justin.tv is an online community where you can broadcast, watch and interact around live and on-demand video. The service provides you with a show page where you can stream your video using a Flash-based video player. The show page and the video player are fully customizable. You can also distribute your video player to third-party social media sites or embed the player on your own blog. Each show page has an integrated text-chat area where you can interact with other Justin.tv users, but also with your Facebook, Twitter and MySpace contacts. If you link your Twitter account to Justin.tv you can also tweet everytime you are watching a video (using a dedicated hashtag) and see the reactions of other users live on the show page. If you integrate MySpace with the streaming service, your status is automatically updated when you watch new videos. After your broadcast is over, your live streams are automatically archived for seven days to be downloaded. No multiple cams or co-hosting.
http://www.justin.tv/
Stickam

Stickam is both a live video service and a social network that allows you to stream real-time videos over the Internet. You can start a video channel with live or pre-recorded material just with your webcam and mic. When you are live streaming using Stickam, you and your viewers have a text chat area close to the video player to interact with each other. Up to 6 members of your audience can also connect using their webcams and microphones to create a video-conferencing session on-the-fly. Your can redistribute and embed your Stickam video player on any web page or social media site. No co-hosting or multiple cams. Auto recording and auto distribution features are not available for the time being.
http://www.stickam.com/
BlogTV

BlogTV helps you live stream your videos straight from your computer and engage with your audience. You can also record your videos and broadcast your clips at a later time. BlogTV gives you a personal show page with your profile info, video player, chat area and list of your recorded and upcoming shows. To chat with your audience you can either use simple text or login with your Twitter account and tweet with other users. Your viewers can freely download any of the video you publish for offline viewing or redistribute your show episodes to any web page or social media site. You can also embed your video player and customize it to match the look of your own blog. No co-hosting or multiple cams management available. Auto-recording and auto-distribution not supported.
http://www.blogtv.com/
Kyte

Kyte is an online and mobile platform to stream live and on-demand video content. You get a dedicated page where a video player streams your videos and your audience can watch and interact with your content. Next to each video you can put a "module", which is an interactive widget to engage your audience. From the list of modules you can use, you have a text-chat area to communicate with other users in real-time, both via simple text or Twitter messages. Users can also use audio or video to chat back with you. Each video player is largely customizable and can be redistributed on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace with one click. Video player can be also embedded on your blog, both by you or your viewers, who can also comment your clips. No co-hosting or multiple cams management features supported. Auto-recording and auto-distribution of your videos is also not available.
http://www.kyte.tv/
LiveVideo

LiveVideo is a video streaming community where you can produce live shows or video-chat with other users. Just launch your Producer Console and manage all aspects of your show, including video customization, different playback clips, cameras, polls, and more. When you finish setting up your personal page, you can live stream your video or schedule the release of pre-made clips in a video playlist. When you are live, other users can join you to chat, either via text or using their webcams and microphones. Users can also drag and drop different web-cam enabled users inside a video conference to have them participate. Also, as the owner of the show, you can drag chatroom members into your webcam window, and make them co-hosts. No auto-recording nor auto-posting features available.
http://www.livevideo.com/
Veetle

With Veetle you can live stream video from your webcam, DVD, tuner card, any file on your computer or your own TV. To have Veetle work on your machine, you need to install either Veetle TV or Veetle Broadcaster software (PC, Mac and Linux), depending if you want to watch or broadcast videos. Both software make the live streaming service work inside your browser. The channels you create with Veetle cannot be personalized nor redistributed on other sources through an embeddable player. The service is still at its beta stage and misses common features like co-hosting a show, manage multiple cams, auto-record a show and auto-post your live streams to external destinations.
http://www.veetle.com/
Yaika

Yaika is a social lifecasting community where you can live stream your video or audio, and also interact with other users. Every channel created on Yaika works like a blog, so you can post your live streaming content and also write posts. Other features include live chat with your audience, receive comments, ratings and also redistribute your content over third-party websites using an embeddable player. Your viewers can use their webcams and microphones to connect with you live and you can make any member of your audience the co-host of your show. There is also a video messaging feature to send public / private video clips to anyone with an e-mail address. Multiple cams are supported on Yaika. Auto recording and auto distribution are not available for the time being.
http://yaika.com/
Make.tv

Make.tv works as a professional web-based studio to produce live videos. You can switch between multiple cameras, monitor different sources (live and pre-recorded) and adjust volume levels inside an interface that resembles a recording studio. Your viewers can chat with you in real-time via text or using their own webcams and microphones. Co-hosting is also supported if you want a member of your audience to present with you. You can freely redistribute your live videos with a customizable player that you can embed on any web page or social media. Recording is allowed, but not automatically. After your clip is recorded, Make.tv publishes the live video without any upload or conversion process. Auto distribution is not supported. Pricing available on the site.
http://make.tv/
Glomera

Glomera is a web TV platform that helps you broadcast live videos. You can also pull videos from YouTube to broadcast inside your web TV or create niche-targeted compilations to redistribute on third-party websites.. With Glomera "Total embed" option, you can install the whole Glomera platform on any website or blog to broadcast your live videos. The video players available are fully customizable to match the look and feel of any web page and adapt to your needs. Users can comment your videos and re-embed your clips but cannot text-chat with you. Co-hosts and multiple cams support is not available. No auto upload to third-party sites and auto-recording supported either.
http://www.glomera.com/
Zaplive.tv

Zaplive.tv is a video streaming platform to broadcast live videos. Just plug your external camcorder to your computer (or use your webcam) and you are ready to stream using the web-based interface of Zaplive.tv. Multiple cams are not allowed, neither you care able to co-host your live streaming session with other users. The video-streaming player is fully embeddable on any web page and supports an interactive text-chat box to communicate in real-time with your users. Other player features include a Twitter window to check any Twitter stream and perform searches, and also an interactive button that allows your viewers to call you. Zaplive.tv also works on your mobile with a dedicated software that supports several last-generation cellphones. No auto-recording nor auto-distribution.
http://www.zaplive.tv/

Originally prepared by Robin Good and Daniele Bazzano for MasterNewMedia, and first published on July 27th, 2009 as "Live Video Streaming: Guide To The Best Broadcast Services To Stream Your Video In Real-Time".

Professional White-Label Video Publishing Platforms: Guide To The Best Services

Robin Good — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:30:00 PDT

White-label video publishing and distribution platforms allow professional web publishers to move beyond zero-cost video sharing sites like YouTube and onto services which guarantee faster transcoding, HD video quality, the option to schedule both VOD and scheduled programming, CDN-based distribution, ad management and integration as well as private labeling and personalization of your video player.

Photo credit: Liubomyr Feshchyn and Christophe Testi mashed up by Robin Good

If you are looking for solutions that would allow you to set up a professional web TV channel of some kind, one for which you have a budget to spend and hope to sell advertising and sponsorship for, you have no choice but look for a professional white-label video publishing and distribution service.

The traditional free video sharing sites like YouTube, are great for uploading and distributing at zero cost your favorite video clips. Much less exciting is the moment when you want to start controlling the ads that are displayed on your video clips, or you want to set up a day-by-day video programming schedule while monitoring and analyzing traffic, views and clickthroughs.

This is why to move from amateur video sharing to professional video publishing you really need to consider seriously whether you have a budget to support the costs that such pro video distribution services require. The video services I review here have all some kind of monthly or yearly fee that is clearly not within the reach of the typical blogger or independent video-maker.

On the other hand what's the use of publishing tens of video clips and having hundreds of thousands of video views on YouTube if this provides very little return in terms of visibility and revenue for your business or web site?

The times are ripe for serious and economically capable video publishers to step up significantly above the generic, amateur Internet video publisher, and to strengthen their online video presence by providing extra quality, reliability, speed and monetization options which are so critical to their own future survival.

In this MasterNewMedia guide I have selected, reviewed and compared for you the best private-label video publishing and distribution platforms available out there, while paying particular attention to their key traits, strengths and weaknesses.

This is an area that will see fast growth and many new entrants in the near future due to the increasing demand for quality video channels and the need for many video sharing sites to start earning back their rapidly escalating bandwidth and storage costs.

If you are into video publishing or are considering the move from amateur to professional video publishing, this guide can help you get a comprehensive view of this new market and of the traits and features that characterize the first group of providers competing to get your attention.

Here all the details:

Professional White-label Video Publishing Platforms Comparison Table

Professional White-label Video Publishing Platforms

Brightcove

Brightcove is an on-demand video platform to distribute and monetize your online video inventory. The web-based Brightcove Studio lets you create branded videos with your logo and monetize your clips trough advertising campaigns. Brightcove players are fully customizable to match the layout of your web pages and also maintain optimal quality whatever device or internet connection video you choose. Videos can be re-distributed and embedded across any website, even using widgets. Videos streamed are encoded with H.264 and VP6 codecs and range from low-quality till HD. You can also program video broadcasting using playlist creation facilities. You keep total control over the ads you show with your videos by choosing ad units, insertion points, frequency, relevance. You can also integrate your ad servers and ad networks to serve ads with your videos. Custom reports are generated by Brightcove to help you track the performance of your clips. To get a price quote (on an annual contract basis) you have to contact Brightcove sales.
http://www.brightcove.com/
Livestream

Livestream is an online video platform that broadcasts live and on-demand videos. The premium account is priced at $350 and allows you to have a white-label channel to deliver videos with your own brand logo or watermark. Using a web-based interface, you can fully customize the size and look of your video player and also configure the redistribution of your videos; allow only specific audiences to view your clips or even disable sharing if you prefer. A list of ready-made templates for your channel is available and the integrated user chat allows broadcasters and their audience to communicate in real-time. Videos are encoded with Sorensen Spark (Flash 7) specifications and HD is supported. You can create a video playlist with the Autopilot feature to broadcast your videos 24/7 automatically. For optimal video encoding Livestream recommends around 700Kbps of upstream bandwidth. Livestream also provides an analytics tool that tracks and reports the performance of your videos. Advertising is supported and your ads are integrated inside channels using overlays that can be either served by you or by integrating ad servers and ad networks into your video production workflow.
http://livestream.com/
Watershed

Watershed is the white-label version of Ustream interactive broadcasting platform. Watershed allows you to publish and distribute ad-free, branded videos to your audience both on web pages or mobile phones. Live streaming broadcasting is also supported. The video player is fully customizable and your videos can be password-protected or limited in number of views from your web-based Administrator control panel. HD videos are supported. You can also interact live with your audience via text chat, real-time polls or co-hosted broadcast feeds. Watershed does not support self-served or third-party-served ads on your videos. Reports are generated to take care of the performance of your clips. No video programming. Two pricing options are available: monthly-based plans starting from $49 and a pay-as-you-go pricing model that charges for monthly or hourly views by a single user. No encoding info provided.
http://watershed.ustream.tv/
Glomera

Glomera is a web TV platform that helps you broadcast live and on-demand videos with your own logo. You can pull video from YouTube to broadcast inside your channel or create niche-targeted compilations to redistribute on third-party websites. With Glomera "Total embed" option, you can also embed the whole Glomera platform on any website and start offering a professional video platform at no cost. Video channels are fully customizable to match the look of any web page. The scheduling feature lets you organize your web TV programs in a daily, weekly, or season-long programming. HD videos are supported and videos are encoded using FLV specifications. Web TV channels you build with Glomera Premium account are ads-free and you cannot serve third-party ads. The reporting feature allows you track the performance of your clips. Glomera Premium account is priced at €199/month. You can also purchase additional interactivity options for your channels like: rating, comments, on-demand video list, guide-programming, and more.
http://www.glomera.com/
Ooyala

Ooyala has developed Backlot, a scalable video platform with content syndication controls and monetization features. Video quality is preserved to match your syndication relationships (web pages, video-sharing sites, mobile devices, or other). Backlot video player supports overlays with our logo / watermarks and is fully customizable. You can arrange your clips in playlists and program the broadcast with no operation needed from your side. Videos are encoded in H.264 format and HD video is supported. A video metrics report is generated to help you monitor the performances of your videos. Backlot manages also ad insertion points, frequency and the different ad units like pre-roll, post-roll, mid-roll and interactive which are served with your clips. Third party ad servers and ad networks are also supported. Prices depend on the campaign; more info contacting Ooyala sales department.
http://www.ooyala.com/
Vmix

Vmix provides web-based video and image publishing solutions to distribute and monetize your content. You can brand your clips, serve ads with your videos and also track the performance of your channels. Videos are encoded in H.264 / FLV and distributed at optimal resolution to websites, mobile phones and portable devices using customizable players, widgets and applications. Vmix has support for HD videos too. A list of ready-made templates is available. Your audience can also interact with your videos using ratings, sharing, or video / text commenting tools. Scheduled playlists are automatically created to operate your video channel without human input. You can customize ad-serving procedures on your videos using different ad units (pre-roll, post-roll, overlays and also animated ad units), insertion points and frequency. You can bring your own ad server / ad network to serve ads inside your video clips. Pricing is subjected to distribution campaign you choose; more info on Vmix corporate website.
http://vmix.com
PermissionTV

PermissionTV offers a web-based solution to manage and monetize your online video inventory. You can choose between different player solutions that are freely customizable and redistributable on any web page. Viewers can interact with your video content by clicking on graphics, surveys or advertisement overlays and pop-ups. You can also create video playlists and deploy niche-targeted channels to your audience. Ad networks integrate with your videos to serve contextual ads using pre-roll, post-roll and mid-roll ad units. No info is provided about the encoding codec used for your videos, but HD is supported. No programming feature available. Pricing details available upon request to PermissionTV sales department.
http://www.permissiontv.com/
Twistage

Hosted video platform Twistage allows you to create customizable video players with your own logo to embed on any website. Twistage integrates with your existing content management system (e.g. a blogging platform) or content delivery network. Videos are delivered to match the internet connection requirements of viewers; the video platform promises "uninterrupted delivery regardless of your site's traffic demands". Videos are encoded using H.264 specifications and HD is supported. Video player is fully customizable to match the look of any web page. You can create a video playlist to broadcast your videos in sequence. Ads on your videos are served using different ad units: pre-roll, post-roll, mid-roll, overlay and in-page banner advertising. You can also bring your ad server or ad network to provide your ads. Analytics reporting allows you to track the earnings and spread of your videos on the web, but also which portions of your videos are the most viewed. No programming features. A free trial is available. Contact Twistage sales department for pricing options.
http://www.twistage.com/
Castfire

Castfire allows white-label video publishing so you can distribute and monetize your own videos using your logo / watermark. You can take control of the video production workflow and customize your player, ad serving procedures, viral redistribution, and much more through a web-based interface. A single video upload automatically generates multiple video formats to match your distribution needs and maintain good quality either on mobile phones, iPods, media box sets, HD-compatible TVs and more. Videos are encoded complying with H.264 specifications. Castfire has partnered with the automated video distribution service TubeMogul and allows you to distribute your clips on multiple video-sharing sites and also track precisely the performance of your video. You can also schedule and broadcast your videos without any user input. Ads can be served by third-party ad networks or ad servers using pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll units. Prices depend on the distribution campaign you choose; contact a Castfire representative for more details.
http://www.castfire.com/
Delve Networks

Delve Networks provides a online video solution to manage, publish, measure, and monetize your video content. With a web-based management tool you can create an embeddable player that matches the look of your website and is freely redistributable over any web page. The player also auto-adjusts the video quality for best results with every internet connection. The codec used to encode videos is H.264 and HD is supported. You can offer your users the ability to search inside your videos for topics of interests; a heatmap shows the portion of video that corresponds to a specific topic. Delve Networks also provides analytics features to track the performance of your clips, but you can also use Google Analytics to monitor your video content. No video programming though you can broadcast video playlists. Advertising capabilities include the integration with ad servers and ad networks. Ad units options you can choose to serve your videos are pre-roll, post-roll and "random". You can also set the frequency your ads are served and specify the ad insertion points. A 30-days trial is available yo test the service. For pricing options, you have to contact the sales department at Delve Networks.
http://www.delvenetworks.com/
VideoBloom

The Premium plan of VideoBloom ($299) allows you to deliver and monetize online videos with your brand logo using a dedicated player. The player is fully customizable and you can also redistribute and embed your videos on any website or social media page. Videos are encoded using MPEG4 specifications, also in HD format. VideoBloom claims that your videos are deployed to match the different internet connection speeds of your viewers while maintaining optimal video quality. Video playlists are available to broadcast niche-targeted compilations. No video programming. You can use different ad units to monetize your videos: pre-roll-post-roll, overlays, skin ads (for your video player) and companion ads. The analytics tool measures the popularity of your video on the web as well as your earnings through a web-based dashboard.
http://www.videobloom.com/
MonetizeMedia

A live streaming and on-demand video publishing platform, Monetize Media allows you to distribute and monetize your video assets. Through a web-based interface you can arrange your video, organize playlists and insert advertising inside your clips. You cannot schedule playlist broadcasting for the time being, but you can pull videos from most popular video sharing sites to add to your custom channels. HD videos are supported. You have a list of ready-made video players at your disposal that you can also customize and scale to match perfectly any web page or mobile device. All video players offer chat, ratings, comments, social network sharing, social media tags, and RSS functionalities. Video players also detect the connection of your viewers to auto-adjust video resolution. You can set your videos for public or private access. Monetize Media supports online ad units such as banner, in-stream, overlay and pre-roll ads. Ad network integration is allowed to serve third-party ads. You can deploy your video on a pay-per-view basis and receive payments using your PayPal account. Performance reports are available to track the popularity and monetization goals of your videos. No encoding info is provided. Gold plan is priced at $1199/month plus a one-time setup charge of $500. A free trial is available to test the service.
http://www.monetizemedia.com/
BitGravity

BitGravity is a content delivery network that provides delivery of on-demand video and live streaming broadcasts. The service takes care of distributing your videos but is not aimed to monetize your video assets with advertising campaigns. Codec used for videos is H.264 and HD is supported. There is no custom video player provided, but customers are free to modify the API of the Flash player to match their production needs. No video programming or analytics features. For further info you have to contact a BitGravity representative.
http://www.bitgravity.com/
GizmoUTube.TV

GizmoUTube.TV is a white-label video platform that allows you to broadcast either on-demand and live streaming shows. GizmoUTube.TV provides a customizable video player which supports HD, interactive video search and redistribution on third-party websites. Videos are encoded in Flash H.264 and VP6 formats. Ad integration is not supported for the time being. For $1999/year you get a .TV domain name and 1GB of storage space per month. Expenses for bandwidth traffic are managed by Bits On The Run and payed separately. No programming available. More info on corporate website.
http://www.gizmovideo.com/gizmoutube.tv/
The FeedRoom

The FeedRoom is an online video platform that helps you create and distribute niche-targeted video channels out of your online video inventory. Different customizable video players are available to help you find the correct matching with the look of your website. Players are also scalable, redistributable and allow user interaction with rating and commenting features. HD videos are supported. Reporting functions tell you who is tuning in, what and how much they are watching, and an understanding of which sources are driving traffic to your site. With The FeedRoom you can also monetize your video assets by offering online subscription, pay-per-view programming or by integrating advertising features. The platform has support for all popular ad formats, including in-stream pre-rolls, post-rolls and banners, as well as contextual targeting ads. You can also rely on ad networks partnered with The FeedRoom to serve third-party ads on your videos. No programming feature and no encoding info is available. You need to contact the company for available pricing solutions.
http://www.feedroom.com/
BestTV

BestTV provides fully customizable Internet TV channels to distribute and monetize your video content. You can either broadcast white-label live streaming shows and on-demand videos on PCs, set-top boxes or mobile phones. You have also the option to create targeted playlists but not schedule a playlist to be broadcast without user input. HD videos are supported. You can monetize your video assets using both subscriptions and advertising options. Regarding advertising, you can employ pre-roll, post-roll and banner ads while setting ads frequency and capping to achieve optimal results. Ad networks can be integrated to serve third-party ads with your video content. Detailed reports are available to track your advertising campaigns and video performances. No encoding info is provided. To get a quote for BestTV solutions contact a company representative.
http://www.best-tv.com/
Kaltura

Kaltura is an open source online video platform that allows you to manage, distribute and monetize your online video inventory using open standards. You can also import third-party video content from other websites or video-sharing sites, add your videos and create custom playlists to engage your audience. You can schedule your playlist for broadcasting without input and also take advantage of advanced features like: remix and annotate your videos, add text slides, translations, and much more. When you have your content ready, your video is encoded using FLV and H.264 codec (HD supported) and then published using a customizable widget player that matches the look of your website. Powered by Gyga, your widget player is freely redistributable on any website or social media sites. Kaltura also has pre-integrated solutions for WordPress, Drupal and MediaWiki sites (free up to 10 GB of streaming & hosting). You can allow viewers to download your video player for offline viewing or broadcast private shows. Kaltura has partnered with ad networks to help you show ads with your video content that comply with IAB standards. Detailed statistics and analytics of your online video offering are also generated for your video campaigns. Contact Kaltura sales department for price quotes or to get a free trial. The company offers also a self-hosted version of the platform that publishers can download for free and host behind their own firewall.
http://corp.kaltura.com/
KIT digital

KIT digital provides solutions manage, publish and monetize your online video assets. Videos can be offered on-demand on websites or mobile devices and you can put your own logo to represent your company. Video players offered by KIT digital can be fully customized, redistributed and shared on any web page. No info on HD support or video encoding. To capitalize on your video inventory you can serve ads with your content, even integrating your ad networks. Ad units accepted are: pre-roll, post roll, companion banners and flash overlay ads. Alternative revenue channels supported are: subscriptions, DTO (download to own), VOD (video on demand), and PPV (pay per view), pay per click and pay-as-you-view (per second / per frame). Detailed reports are generated to track your earnings and the performances of your videos. No video programming. Contact KIT digital for pricing info.
http://www.kitd.com/
SOFTing K.iTV

K.iTV from SOFTing is designed to assist content providers with all key functions associated with managing online video: content uploading, cataloging, tracking and maintenance, advertising, analysis, billing and paying. You can either offer on-demand or live content. Once uploading your content you can take advantage of fully customizable video players that also allow you to create scheduled playlists to broadcast without any input from the user. A list of ready-made templates is available if you do not have specific customization needs. Advertising is supported with most common ad units: pre-roll, post-roll, in-stream, image & flash banners. Third-party ad network integration is not supported. Other monetization strategies include billing and subscriptions. Contact SOFTing support for pricing details.
http://eng.eu-softing.com/
Sorenson Video Delivery Network

Sorenson Video Delivery Network is a white-label video publishing platform that helps you manage and monetize your video assets. Video you upload are encoded using either Spark, VP& or H.264 codec and HD is supported. You can then syndicate your video to any website pasting a piece of HTML code or directly to iPhone models. A custom WordPress plugin is also available. You have multiple players to choose from that you can scale to match your publishing needs. Video players available have all a permalink but do not support playlist creation nor scheduling. Analytics features give you a real-time snapshot of audience engagement. Advertising is not supported for the time being. Pricing starts from $99/month for 1,000 streams and up to 20 minute videos. Free trial available.
http://www.sorensonmedia.com/video-delivery-network/
VideoPublishing

VideoPublishing is a white-label platform that lets you manage and deliver your video content. You can customize a broad range of video players to the colors and style of your firm and website. Videos are encoded using H.264 specifications and are scaled to match their destination (up to HD quality). All videos you manage and deliver can be converted in different formats and monitored to evaluate their performances. Tough VideoPublishing does not offer any ad integration or control, you can freely integrate your third-party ad networks if you want to run ads against your videos. Pricing starts from $49/month and 200 hours of streaming per month. Free trial available.
http://videopublishing.com/
Quick.tv

Quick.tv is a white-label video platform that allows you to manage and monetize your video inventory. The player you get is scalable, fully customizable and allows you to display your company logo, interactive images or promotional banners your viewers can click. Each player is also redistributable using the embed code or via e-mail if you set this option. You can also create niche-targeted playlists to display in a single player window, but not schedule the release of each video. HD is supported. Quick.tv runs ads on your videos using DoubleClick, but you can also bring your own ad network to serve advertisement in the most common formats like pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll. Pricing plans start from $120/month for 750 playout minutes in standard video quality and each video must be up to 5 mins. No info provided on encoding procedures.
http://www.quick.tv/
Vzaar

Vzaar is a video publishing platform that allows you to embed unbranded video players on your site. You can choose among different sizes for your player and either stream your clips in standard quality (FLV, H.263) or HD (MP4, H.264). Other player options include: set borders, set color, display in-stream text and hyperlinks. Vzaar also integrates with eBay so you can post your videos to the popular auction site directly right away. Worth mentioning is the "replace" function whereby you can substitute an embedded video with a new one from your inventory without pasting again the embed code. Different pricing plans are available, but to have an unbranded player you need to start from the Bronze plan. The Bronze plan costs $10/month for 5GB of online storage, advanced player settings and improved ranking inside Google search results. No programming or custom ads control.
http://www.vzaar.com
Magnify.net

Magnify.net is a white-label video publishing platform that allows you to integrate user-generated video, video that you produce, or video that you discover into your own web site. Video players offered by Magnify.net are fully customizable and scalable to your needs. Video players are also redistributable and can be shared on any web page or social media site. Videos are encoded using FLV / VP6 codec. To capitalize on your video inventory, you can serve ads with your content, even by integrating your ad networks (this option is currently reserved to enterprise customers only). The analytics feature allows you to track your earnings and the performances of your videos. No video programming. Pro packages of Magnify.net start from $249/month and allow you to have a customizable branding channel, custom watermarks, a custom graphic package, up to 250 videos you can upload and a 50 / 50 revenue split on ad banners.
http://www.magnify.net/

Originally prepared by Robin Good and Daniele Bazzano for MasterNewMedia, and first published on July 6th, 2009 as "Professional White-label Video Publishing Platforms: Guide To The Best Services".