Ask Mr Video

AskMrVideo Newsletter | July 6, 2009 | Volume 3, Issue 17

In this issue:

• Video of the Week
• Feature Article
• As Seen On
• Recommended Resources
• Video Gear Review
• Members Only
• About Mr Video

Happy Independence Year! A year ago this month I quit commuting 3 hours (each way) to put in a 9-5. It's been the most fun, challenging and rewarding year EVAH. And, the last 12 months were not free from growing pains. But as with anything, challenges help you grow as a person and get to the next level. Each year of AMV has brought in new friends, new members, new connections and new opportunities. I want to thank each and every reader and member for all your continued support and feedback!

I'm celebrating my independence (and gratitude to you all) by having my first annual Christmas in July Special. Anyone who is a member of AskMrVideo on July 25th will get a special gift from Santa. Not a member yet? The timing has never been better and the value never higher! Your AMV membership includes powerful tools like the Video Opt-In Machine, membership to our sister site PeopleOnYourPage.com and our popular Video FAQ Player (not to mention hundreds of music tracks and all kinds of video templates, tips tricks and tutorials for your rapid video start.

If you want to take advantage of my Christmas in July offer, become a member today. For only a buck, you can have access to all the goodies. Got friends? Forward them this email - they will thank you for it! Stay tuned to my blog at http://www.AskMrVideoBlog.com for more details about Christmas in July.

Perry Lawrence
Mr Video

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Mr Video Says: "Michael Buckley makes a 6- figure income from YouTube. You can get some fantastic insight into the income models in this "How I Do It" video. Summary: 1) Be Patient 2) Tag Appropriately 3) Be Consistent 4) Post as responses. Check out the entire video as Michael has some great tips."

FEATURE ARTICLE

More New YouTube Features

YouTube has been busy rolling out some amazing and welcome new features. First up is their new YouTube channels 2.0. I showed you a video of that in last week's newsletter. Here are a few more things that you may not know about yet that YouTube has quietly added.

The image below shows (1) The Watch in New Window arrow - open your videos in a new window thus allowing you to continue surfing while watching in a separate window. (2) Is the HQ and HD switch which you all know of by now. But what if you want to force an HD playback either by direct link to the video in YouTube OR in an embedded situation? That's where (4) comes in. Clicking the Play in HD checkbox forces the embedded video to play in HD. Get this checkbox (and other customize settings) by clicking on the (3) Customize gear.

What about if you want to link to a video and have it playback in HD? In the past I have suggested adding &fmt=18 for HQ and &fmt=22 for HD like this:
(click to see) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOlPMNdM4uA&fmt=22

Jumbo right?

Now you can simply add &hd=1 (try it) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOlPMNdM4uA&hd=1

(a little easier to remember)

YouTube has upped the file size limit from 1 GB to 2 GB

In addition to all that HD goodness, YouTube has added the ability to put your own commercial overlays on your videos and link them off-site. Oh Yeah baby. The videos just need to be Promoted videos. Easy enough to do. Get all the details on THIS cool feature here: http://ytbizblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/use-call-to-action-overlays-to-drive.html

YouTube ROCKS!

AS SEEN ON...

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

EZS3.com :: The EASY way to put your videos and media on the web!

TrafficGeyser.com :: Dominate your niche by using the premiere distribution tool! Get one month at no c'ost!

Got a video question or need a recommendation? Just Ask Mr Video here.

VIDEO GEAR REVIEW

YouTube Revisited

YouTube has really stepped up the pace on new features recently. In the feature article above, I covered a lot of these. What's even more interesting to me is to sit back and think about the future of video given some of the latest developments with YouTube, Google, and Firefox. I'm not one for predictions but follow along for a second.

Firefox 3.5 now allows for direct embedding (no need for players, plug-ins, codes etc) of Ogg/Vobis encoded (opensource encoder) videos. If you have updated your FF to 3.5 check it out here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/video/firefox-3.5.html

Video wants to be the next thing (Web 3.0?) so I say let it. With Gmail's close ties to YouTube, I can envision embedded video in email sooner rather than later. (We already have video in gmail chat!)

Today, we have three competing standards:
1) Flash video, which is the current standard (Adobe). 2) h.264 the clear winner in quality and portability (MPEG LA). 3) Ogg/vobis codec giving you the ability to embed video anywhere (open source).

My money is on h.264. Quality, Portability, and Plays well with others. Always a good thing! But, keep your eyes on ogg/vobis - a worthy contender.

Ask The Video Pros (weekly Interviews with Industry Experts) - This Week, Arnel Ricafranca

Website Strategy Session (weekly website strategies for folks like you) - This Week, Linda Locke

ABOUT MR VIDEO

Perry has been in video production for over 20 years and has produced, shot, and/or edited videos for companies like Merck, Maxwell House, Nickelodeon, P&G, Ogilvy & Mather, IBM, and many others. Perry is also the "Go To" video expert for the top names in internet marketing such as Yanik Silver, Carrie Wilkerson, Barry Dunlop, Ryan Lee, Dean Hunt, and many others.

Perry has taken the steps used by professionals and distilled them down to an easy to use formula that guarantees better videos, each and every time.

As a proud member of the Video Marketing Association and "Mr Video," Perry has quickly become the definitive resource for helping business owners and marketers strategically leverage the power of video.