Announcements > Trainorders.com launches new video system

After several months of planning and development we launched our new video system. Here are some tips to maximize the use of the system:

1. Our system can support uploads up to 400mb in size and allows for different formats such as wmv, avi, mov, and mp4. We suggest you files in the neighborhood of less than 125mb for reliable operation. You add them to a discussion just like you would an image attachment.

2. Each user is allowed to upload three videos per month. If you intend to upload more videos contact us and we will consider increasing the quota. We reserve the right to limit a user from uploading video.

3. Videos are transcoded to mp4 files. They are embedded within the discussion forum as Flash video.

4. When uploading a video do not browse the internet or upload other files. We have found that network congestion can corrupt uploads and hang the browser requiring you to start over. Uploading files through a web browser is often unreliable and if your Internet connection is dropped even for a millisecond you may need to start over. This can be annoying for large files.

5. Avoid hand held video footage. It is difficult to attain quality compression results as shakey footage requires more detailed compression. It is also more difficult to view. Low cost photo tripods can go a long way to stabilizing video.

6. Avoid excessive zooming. It is difficult to attain quality compression results if the scene changes too drastically between frames.

7. Do not compress clips at anything lower than 29.97 frames per second (fps). Fewer fps will result in choppy video. Do not use 15 fps.

8. Our system can support both standard and high definition video. Our server software will analyze your video and decide how to process it. Do not upload a clip with a resolution less than 640x480 pixels.

9. Make your video subject interesting. This can be accomplished through editing. Material of fallen flag railroads is usually interesting without having to do a whole lot. You need to ask yourself "is this something interesting?" A runby of a typical train train is not very exciting. A runby of a train being pulled by a unique locomotive would be more interesting.

10. Use a real video camera and not a point and shoot still camera placed in video mode unless it is something really unique. The sound and video quality on these cameras has a lot to be desired.

11. It can take anywhere from five minutes to over an hour to encode a video. We do not encode the video on our servers as we contract this to a commercial service that processes the videos for us.

12. Playback may stutter depending upon the age of your computer and the method you use to watch the videos. We have tested several browsers and we have found that Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox play videos more efficiently than Internet Explorer. Playing back the video in full screen mode will usually result in smoother playback. You can do this by clicking the rectangular control in the lower right hand corner of the embedded player. Pausing the video and allowing it to load entirely may also result in better playback.

13. You may also download videos for playback in a standalone player by clicking the download link below each video. Stand alone players tend to playback video smoother than watching through a web browser. One such player is called Zoom and can be downloaded here: http://www.inmatrix.com/files/zoomplayer_download.shtml We hope to create a list of players as we have time to research them. If you are particularly tech savvy you can play the video clips on your HD television.

14. We will make incremental improvements to the video system. Our plans include creating a master video catalog and to transition our previous video library by the end of 2009.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

Terrific...good job, Todd.

I'm not very tech-savvy with this stuff, so I would like to clarify something.....Since I'm a Mac user and it accepts a "mov" format, does this mean that Windows users (who do not have Quicktime installed) will still be able to view my video?

So far so good! Now, if I just had a faster internet connection, all would be good.

Thanks for doing this upgrade! I'll give it a try tonight.

I'm looking forward to skipping the transcoding as .wmv files as an interim step.

A question - if the files are converted to Flash movies (.flv) by a 3rd party, is there any reason we couldn't upload an flv? Might save some bandwidth and $$$ if you have to pay a 3rd party to encode your flv's on-the-fly. I can produce flv's on my own if that helps.

- Jon

jonjonjonjon Wrote:
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> A question - if the files are converted to Flash
> movies (.flv) by a 3rd party, is there any reason
> we couldn't upload an flv? Might save some
> bandwidth and $$$ if you have to pay a 3rd party
> to encode your flv's on-the-fly. I can produce
> flv's on my own if that helps.
>

We thought about this as it would save us processing costs. However, we watermark everything coming though to cut down on theft. People can still steal the video, but this would require them to edit out the watermark. Our encoding cost for a video run between .10 and $1 depending upon the size of the video. It is just a cost of doing business.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

Is there a plan to have the videos attached to messages cataloged in the Video & Audio Media Sharing area, as the static photos are done?

milwrdfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is there a plan to have the videos attached to
> messages cataloged in the Video & Audio Media
> Sharing area, as the static photos are done?


Yes, we will make incremental improvements to the video system. Our plans include creating a master video catalog and to transition our previous video library by the end of 2009.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

Will posting of our own multi-media slide shows be acceptable for this video system. I have a few on YouTube, but their quality is lacking, and was wondering about this?

Sneebly

Sneebly Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Will posting of our own multi-media slide shows be
> acceptable for this video system. I have a few on
> YouTube, but their quality is lacking, and was
> wondering about this?
>
> Sneebly

I am open to it, however I am concerned if you use commercial music which might get us in trouble with the music publishers. They have gone after people using music not licensed for online use.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

13. You may also download videos for playback in a standalone player by clicking the download link below each video.

When you "Download this video" where does it download to on your Windows computer? A temp file depending on your browser?