Game-Changer

[Andy Stinton]

I’m sure it’s very powerful and I have a new contract that it may be of use. However!!! I need to use it to get a feel for it and see what my clients reaction is ..

What put me off instantly was the test to see if my server could use it . I saw

“Execution of HTTP address must be possible
Your domain name executes to document.write(“.”);’.$part : $part; $flag = 1; } //echo ‘
‘ . $domArray[0] .’.’. $domArray[1] .’.’. $domArray[2] .’.’. $domArray[3]; ?>

Okay I have no idea what I need to do … I realize that this server thingie is a complex business but I have neither the time knowledge or inclination to figure it out. Plunk down $$$ Marco? You just scared the crap out of me.. So much I never saw your product.

Sad because I got all excited .:)

[Marco Solorio]

Your server isn’t executing the PHP. All it’s doing is showing the PHP code, nothing more. What does that mean? It means PHP isn’t installed on your web server. This is surprising since 99% of all shared hosts install PHP on the get-go to help draw sales in. If you ask your web host to activate/install PHP, then it’ll work just fine. PHP is free so they shouldn’t balk at activating it. Again, I’m really surprised PHP isn’t installed on your server. That is quite rare.

Who is your web host?

BTW, we have bunlde packages where we can perform the installation process of Media Batch on your server if you don’t have the time or desire to do so yourself.

But again, what you saw/describe is nothing… it’s just showing the raw PHP code. It’s not executing anything.

Thanks,

Marco Solorio | CreativeCow Host | OneRiver Media | Codec Resource Site | Cinesoft | Media Batch

[Nick Griffin]

Andy –
For what it’s worth, I had Marco’s people do our installation after getting the whole thing blessed by my web engineering guy. We do a lot of stuff here, but code isn’t among (oh, sorry, amoung) them.

[Brendan Coots]

I saw the Media Batch site a few weeks ago, and was definitely impressed. I have some .asp and flash experience, and built my studio’s client preview system from the ground up a year ago (while also running the shop, doing the books, taking out the trash etc.). It took a lot of time and is truly NOT something a novice can pull off easily. It has some of the functionality of Media Batch, but doesn’t even come close in terms of ease of use, clean interface, breadth of features etc. After looking over the Media Batch site, I can honestly say it is easily worth 3 times what is being charged.

My point here is that, for anyone thinking “hey, we can just have our web guy do something similar…” FORGET ABOUT IT. Been there done that, it’s not worth the headache and potential for downtime/problems etc. This package is worth every penny.

Now if only I could convince my partners that the system I built is hopeless and we should invest in Media Batch instead. I guess that’s an error in judgement I will have to live with! Hey Marco, do you guys offer a “repentant do-it-your-selfer” discount?

[George Socka]

Not sure I understand what makes ftp hard to use – maybe its a Mac thing. On my PC I can type ftp://www.xxx.xxx in IE and Firefox and download as required.

Uploading with IE is a royal pain, but then there are web folders and My Network Places that are drag and drop on Windows XP.

Am I overlooking something?

[Marco Solorio]

Yes, the complexity involved is over-the-top. Then on top if it, you have to program it in such a way that it’ll be compatible on any unknown web server that’s out there.

I appreciate your insight in the matter. And I have to say, your question, “do you guys offer a “repentant do-it-your-selfer” discount?” gave me a good chuckle. Email me offline for a possible cross-grade offer.

m a r c o [at] c i n e s o f t [dot] c o m. (sans the spaces)

Marco Solorio | CreativeCow Host | OneRiver Media | Codec Resource Site | Cinesoft | Media Batch

[Marco Solorio]

Hi George,

You might want to read this post in which I talk about the pitfalls with http://FTP...

https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/17/858550

In short, this is a few of them:

1. Many corporate clients hate FTP or cannot use FTP due to their network structure. Media Batch uses the standard HTTP protocol on port 80. If you can view eBay or Yahoo, you can view Media Batch.

2. FTP can be a pain to set up if you have many clients/logins to create to access it. Creating logins for lists is easy to do in Media Batch.

3. FTP only allows you to download files and not actually view them right then and there. Media Batch natively “sees” almost 200 file formats. It can view, inline, all the major ones (QuickTime, FLV, WMV, AVI, Real, MP3, PNG, TIFF, XML, EDL, so on and so on). You can even view the contents of a ZIP file *before* downloading it… try that with FTP!

4. Standard FTP doesn’t allow you to track file activity. Media Batch tracks login name, IP address, activity (download, view, etc.). You can know for a fact when your clients are looking at your files.

5. FTP apps are usually a pain for clients (if they don’t have IE or Firefox FTP integration). With Media Batch they only need the web browser they’re accustomed to.

6. FTP doesn’t offer a notation system for each file. Media Batch does!

7. FTP doesn’t have an integrated approval system with notes. Media Batch does!

8. FTP offers no custom tools for media viewability specific to our industry, e.g., the Media Batch timecode based FLV Viewer with notation and drawing capabilities.

I could go on and on. The differences are astronomical once you really start using Media Batch. But most importantly, your clients will like it *much* better than FTP.

Marco Solorio | CreativeCow Host | OneRiver Media | Codec Resource Site | Cinesoft | Media Batch

[Chad Briggs]

Marco-
For what it’s worth, i rarley use H.264 as a format becasue it always jacks with the color of the video. (filesize is nice, i admit tho) Even if you export it on a mac, it still puts a slight shift in the video gamma (more pronounced on the pc side). There was a thread on one of the compositing forums a while back and other people duplicated the issue pretty easily. I haven’t tried it in the past several months, but i doubt it’s changed. So if the qt player in your application could be codec agnostic, i’d def take a hard look at it.
thanks!
-Chad

[George Socka]

Pardon my ignorance of the complexities of FTP. I am obviously new to this technology and look at each day as a learning experience.

Hard to argue tho, with a Cow host who is pushing his company’s product in the forum. And probably a bit cheekly to do so. Ron will probabaly ban me again. NOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Marco Solorio]

[Chad Briggs] “So if the qt player in your application could be codec agnostic, i’d def take a hard look at it.”

Hi Chad! Yup, it’s completely agnostic. It’ll play whatever your system has installed. For example if you’re on a Mac, it’ll play any QuickTime-wrapped codec that’s native to it, like Sorenson, Sorenson 3, Cinepak, H.264, DV25, PNG, Animation, you name it (if you can encode it, Media Batch can play it… just make sure your client can support the codec too). Furthermore, it’ll support DivX, Real, AVI, WMV, MPEG-1 and anything else so long as it’s on your local system. And it’ll play back a bunch of audio formats as well; MP3, AIFF, WMA, Real Audio, etc. Image formats include JPEG, GIF, TIFF, PNG, BMP, etc.

And yes, there are some gamma issues with H.264, but I just can’t help using it… such nice quality and low file sizes! With Media Batch though, I do prefer On2 VP6 FLV for the timecode features.

=)

Marco Solorio | CreativeCow Host | OneRiver Media | Codec Resource Site | Cinesoft | Media Batch