Chris Blair
Forum Replies Created
-
If it’s the model you listed, it cannot play HD (according to the dZine website), so that is likely your problem…not the file extension. Try outputting your program to MPG2 in standard def and see if they can play it.
Again, with most multiplexed MPG2 video (audio and video together in one stream), many of the extensions are interchangeable. So just changing the extensions will allow an app that’s expecting a certain extension to play it. You could even author a DVD (which produces the .vob extension) and that would work.
But again, I think it’s not playing it because it’s HD.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
What’s the pixel resolution you’re outputting to? Their website says the dZine DISplayer only supports SD video, so your file should be 720×480 at 16×9 aspect since the original was created in HD.
Their website also lists that it plays any MPEG video file…which theoretically would mean more than just MPEG2, but it sounds like they want a standard MPEG2 file.
If the file you output is at that size, you could just change the file extension and see if that fixes the issue.
The MPEG2 format also typically wants either PCM, AC3 or MPEG 1 Layer2 audio (I think)…so you should check your audio settings as well.
Better yet, ask if they have a digital version of the manual or if one is available for download online. That should give you exact specs…or call Dzine direct and ask.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
everyone says “do we really need a 48 port switch”.
You now know the answer.BobZelin
Too funny Bob…that’s EXACTLY what I said when we were building out system almost 2 years ago. I think we ended up with 7 or 8 open ports when we were all done. Our shop has 4 edit systems, 1 audio workstation and 11 office PCs, but many of those have mutliple ethernet cards in them so it eats up ports pretty quickly.
And now that we’re in the middle or re-doing our conference room we’re taking up 2 of those ports for it.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
We have a simple one page release that everyone involved signs when we do projects allowing us to use projects for self-promotion. Nobody has ever complained although a few companies will ask to see the samples on our web page prior to us putting them up. We always comply and have never once been turned down.
We also typically give credit where credit is due. So if we produce a spot for an ad agency, we attribut that in the description of the piece on our website. If we hire out a designer to design a logo, we give them credit on the design when we show it etc.
I know I personally dislike it when freelancers take a spot they worked on for us then put it on their website as if it’s totally their own with no description of what their role was. It’s deceptive and unethical in my opinion because it suggests to people that they were the creators of the spot, when in fact they maybe shot it for us or were a lighting director etc.
That said, there’s little you can do about it without hurting feelings and messing up business relationships, so we typically just let it slide. The people that do that are usually smaller shops without the bells and whistles we have so we figure that most clients figure it out by comparing websites. If they don’t from that, they’ll usually figure out who did the bulk of the work when they visit our facility.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
I have to agree with Herb. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had clients stop using us in an effort to save a buck. We don’t get mad and we don’t cut rates, but we offer to help them in their “transition” any way we can.
Virtually every one of them has eventually came back to us to either “fix” something a much cheaper production company or internal employee has done, or they’ve gotten so many negative comments about the horrible quality, they realize what they were getting from us was a pretty decent value proposition.
Granted, there are a couple of agencies that have strayed and never come back. But they were the ones that still told clients that video production cost $1000 a finished minute…a rate that was used when I first started in production in 1983! They’re also the ones that don’t notice the difference between a $100,000 Nike spot and a $500 car commercial shot on a 15 year old DV camera.
It’s scary to see the trends taking place in our industry with flip cameras, iPhones with video etc. But we still preach that clients are hiring us for our knowledge, our expertise, our efficiency on planning an executing shoots, and our abilities to tell stories and communicate. So if they want us to use an iPhone to shoot a video, well, we’ll try to talk them out of it, but if that’s what they want…heck…in the words of Carl Spackler from Caddyshack:
“We can do that…we don’t even need a reason!”
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
Another app that works very well for iPod video is Handbrake. It’s presets are excellent for the iPhone too.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
So nobody else has this problem? Doesn’t anyone besides us use Outlook for email? The manual backup Franklin mentions isn’t an option when we have 8 people that need backing up. People can’t remember to close the application on the days they’re scheduled for backup much less manually back up their databases.
I’ve searched and searched for automated solutions and demo’d many backup apps, and none of them work properly with Outlook when people use the reminders and pop-up functions.
Thanks!
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
Try these:
https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/20/863282
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
Nothing against the home studio folks, but there are clients and projects that you simply cannot do using a home based studio. As someone noted, it depends on your clients and your needs.
Probably half our clients simply would not use us if we didn’t have a decent size facility with a studio, edit suites, conference room etc.
In fact, we’re in the process of upgrading our conference room and studio after doing some shoots at some huge studios on North Carolina and Pennsylvania for a large client. These studios had anywhere from 12 to 36 “stages” that ranged anywhere from 300 to 1000 square feet each. Their lobbies and office areas were VERY impressive and made us re-evaluate what we provide to this particular client in terms of internet access and just general amenities and “looks” of our office.
Believe me, many, many clients still like to be made to feel important and still like to work in stylish surroundings that cater to their needs. They enjoy getting out of their offices and working in other environments..and they like those environments to be nice and comfy.
If you want these clients (and many are well worth the effort), you can’t do it bringing them into your home studio unless you have talent and bookings out the wazoo.
So I think there’s a trade-off in play. You can work out your home-studio and forego the investment of a facility, but there will be some clients that will not consider you for work, especially if they’re the type that like to come to edits, come to planning/concepting sessions (at your place), supervise shoots etc.
But…again…many people prefer the home-studio route because with many clients, it’s just not necessary for them to ever come to your “facility.” So bottom line, it depends on the needs and demands of your clients.
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com -
The easiest and best tools we’ve found for outputting iPhone .mp4 files is using either Handbrake (Mac & Windows versions) or MediaCoder iPhone version (Windows only). Just use the iphone presets and adjust the data rates, pixel sizes, aspect etc. as needed.
We’ve tried the iPhone presets in Carbon Coder, Procoder and a few other encoding apps and none of them output files that will properly play via progressive download. Oddly enough…they used to…until Apple updated the iPhone OS to version 3 (in July I think). But something changed with that update.
We have about 100 videos up on our site available with ipod/iphone progressive download links. On the iPhone, they load and play pretty well if you’re on wifi. They load and play reasonably well on 3G. On anything else they take forever.
On a PC or Mac, you can either left click and watch them in the psuedo streaming mode or right click and download them for your ipod (when on a PC).
Here’a a link if you want to see them.
https://www.videomi.com/portfolio_video.htm
We kept the data rates below 512kb/sec and the audio below 80kb/sec. For most of them the avg. bitrate is around 500kb/sec. You could probably go a little lower and maintain decent quality, but below 400kb/sec you start to see the compression artifacts and blockiness (at least in our tests)
Chris Blair
Magnetic Image, Inc.
Evansville, IN
http://www.videomi.com