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Thank you for the great article Roy!

We are continuously educating clients that even the smallest businesses deserves quality video products and can benefit greatly from them. You are right - they don't have to pay a fortune to make a big impact.

However, I would like to take one of your thoughts a step further and say that while YouTube is still in its "infancy" on the larger scale it is already suffering from some of the problems e-mail faces.

This is why we tell our clients to think outside of YouTube. There are many sites hosting video (Blip.tv, Vimeo, Revver, etc.) and when you use them you don't run the risk of someone thinking your video isn't high quality because it has YouTube in the corner.

Thanks again for a great article!

Something just came up tomorrow so I will be unable to attend. Hopefully next time! I hope it is a great event.

~Lindy

Exactly right Goldie!

Absolutely! I would just recommend using another free service like Revver, Blip TV, or Vimeo to upload the video and then embed the video on your website. They have a better quality player without the YouTube logo.

I think it is important to talk about the difference between a promotional video about your product or service on your website and a YouTube Video. Remember, YouTube is just an easy way for people to VIEW your video not necessarily promote anything. If you want to have a video that sells your company, you never want to put it on YouTube alone. Sure, you may use YouTube to put the video in a format that most anyone can watch from any computer, but you want that video prominently displayed on your website or in an e-mail blast.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend using YouTube as your video player. It is designed to make even the nicest quality video look low quality and there are so many other options available. Plus, there is now a first impression that comes with seeing that YouTube logo on your video.

I think every business can benefit from a video about their product or service (I might be biased though). So, don't think about YouTube when thinking whether or not you should have a video. YouTube is not always the answer when utilizing those types of videos.

The bio at the end of my articles sometimes disappears and I have to re-enter it. Am I doing something wrong?

Joe,

On a Mac: iMovie. On Windows: probably MovieMaker. If you want to get fancier than primarily straight cuts, the next step up on a Mac would be Final Cut Express, followed by Final Cut Studio. On a PC, head to Adobe Premiere Pro or Vegas.

Or, you can always hire us to do the fancier work for you! :-)

Joe,

We've never had such a problem with YouTube accepting H.264 files.

How big is the file you are trying to upload?

First, let's determine which part of the process decided to poop its pants.

Do you still have the original file that you ripped from the DVD? Play it - is the audio off there? If so, then you just need to re-rip the footage. When you do, make sure that the "re-sample audio to 48k" is checked if it wasn't on your first try (I've had that button cause me some grief in the past).

If not, go one step further down the stream. Play the file that the converter created. The file that's on your hard-drive, not the one online. If the converter caused the problem...try re-encoding. I've never actually used that software, so I'm not sure what else you could do to fix it inside the application. I'm not terribly familiar with Windows-based solutions, but if your converter keeps failing QuickTime Pro should do the trick (~$29, I think).

If there's no lag from the transcode, then somehow the YouTube Flash conversion (what happens when you upload a video to YouTube) introduced the problem.

Also, from Squared5 you should be able to create a file that is YouTube appropriate directly, without having to use any intermediaries. Just choose the Quicktime option, set your encoder to H.264 and your frame-size to 480x360. YouTube servers are pretty robust, and can handle just about anything you throw at it (quality, obviously, will vary).

Let me know if you need anything else!

Joe,

I've noticed you've been having some video issues (I've read your multiple posts). Here is some information that I hope will help.

These instructions assume that the DVD/DVD folder is not encrypted with CSS.

First, download MPEG Streamclip - it is a free application for both Mac OS X and Windows: http://www.squared5.com.

This application allows you to take any section of a non-encrypted DVD and encode it as basically anything you want.

Once you have MPEG Streamclip installed, put the DVD into your computer (ignore this, if you already have the VIDEO_TS folder on your hard drive). Open MPEG Streamclip and choose File > Open DVD. From there, navigate to the DVD you put into your computer (or to the folder on your Hard Drive). On the DVD, there will be two folders, AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS. Choose the VIDEO_TS folder.

Now you can play through the footage and mark in and out points to isolate just the chunk you want - i and o are the keyboard shortcuts for this.

Go File > Export to Quicktime and choose the settings you want. I'd recommend H.264 as your encoder. Just make sure that "Deinterlace video" is checked - this will ensure you don't get any jaggies when you upload the file (unless you know that the footage on the DVD is already progressive, then you don't have to).

If you don't really feel like doing it yourself, or if it's not behaving the way it should, feel free to send us a message or give us a call - we're happy to help!

~Lindy and Kris Boustedt

Thank you Zita for the great tips.

I'm curious, what are your post-networking event tips? What are your best practices for all the business cards you collect?

I understand the difficulty in trying to convince clients out of "trends". We have a similar battle right now with the infamous YouTube video.

It's hard to sell quality videos that actually speak a message when so many think they can create a YouTube video themselves.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Good luck with the battle and stay strong!

Great tips.

One question from someone who has lost 60 pounds and needs to get those last 10 -

If you are getting enough sleep at night (7-8 hours) do you think it is still better to work out in the evening?

I have read many different views on when to exercise to get the most out of the metabolic boost.

~Lindy

Amen to that! Thank you for posting what so many of us are thinking!

Chris,

I know I'm a little late reading this article but since I just joined Biznik I have a free pass, right?

Thank you for this wonderful article. I wish that I read it a couple years back when we started our business and made the hourly mistake.

I'm curious - we've been finding that charging by the full or half day is working well - what are your thoughts on the full and half day? Do you just charge by a full day always?

~Lindy Boustedt