And none of it hived off into a 'Pro' account that has to be paid for :-)

 

Most importantly of all the support here is fantastic. While other hosting companies will just ignore emails or requests for help when a video just won't upload ExposureRoom are always quick off the mark in offering help and workarounds (FTP access!) while they try and get to the bottom of any problems.

 

On one occasion I'd spent 2 months trying to get a video uploaded to a video hosting service. It was ExposureRoom who diagnosed the fact that a bug in my compression software was rounding the pixel width of my video to 1279 and not 1280 and that Flash transcoding needed the width to be a multiple of 4. Now THAT'S what I call service!

 

Some of the user groups I'm involved with prefer to have their own area on a site somewhere eg my videos for the VistaSquad user group typically end up on their Pro account on another video site. But I've been putting most here on my 'personal' account which user groups then embed in their own blogs. Over time it's got kind of messy with personal stuff being mixed in with technical user group stuff.

 

So for the last few weeks my 'user group' videos have started to be posted on a separate account area called 'RIAViewMirror'. Alas, there's no easy, quick way to move all the existing videos across to their new home so they'll stay here, but if you're looking for new videos I suggest you keep an eye on the new channel rather than here.

 

Cheers,

Ian

 

I wish I'd had this book six months ago. It would have saved me a lot of hassle, time and stress!

 

As a full-time web developer working with Microsoft .NET technology I tend to buy a LOT of technical books. Some of them even get read! I wish the vast majority of books I've bought were as well-written as this. In the rush to be 'first to market' too many books forget the basics like proof-reading, or making sure the book reads consistently from front to back, or even that the basic subject matter is thoroughly covered. We live in a world where book publishers seem to grab as many "technologists" as possible, claim to 'co-ordinate' them to write a book, and then push out something that has no consistency, no style, no real coherence, and a million and one factual errors and typo's that show how 'rushed to market' the book was.

 

Thankfully, I had no such problems with Andy Beach's book. It's an absolute gem and clearly a labour of love on the part of the author.

 

Truth is I delayed buying the book because I thought it might be a bit .. well... you know ... dull!  How exciting can you make compression be? Who'd want to read a whole book on the subject? Isn't compression something you just get your NLE to do automatically when you hit the 'Render' button?

 

Well, as it turns out... no! That way, as I've discovered to my cost, lies a lot of pain. Andy's book gently points out all the traps and pitfalls, gives you a strong grounding in the basics, and even contains interviews with people whose full-time job is doing video compression.

 

He not only gives you the basics on all the different formats and codecs, but goes the extra mile in comparing different compression software, avoiding any 'religious wars' but pointing out the highlights and possible problem areas of each.

 

And the book's pretty up-to-date too. I was slightly disappointed that Microsoft's Expression Encoder was only covered in its version 1 release (version 2 was in beta as the book went to press, and had significant enhancements made from what I can gather), but pleasantly surprised that Microsoft's Silverlight technology, and the templates available, was given a pretty thorough mention.

 

I was relieved to read that the compression software I'd bought (Sorenson Squeeze) wasn't regarded as too shabby (its biggest strength being its ease of use for beginners - that'll be me then!) whilst also being grateful for having its weaknesses pointed out.

 

All-in-all, this is what I'd regard as an essential read for anybody doing video for the web (There are excellent chapters covering DVD and Blu-Ray, Mobile and Set-Top Boxes too). With discount (from the good folks at www.compman.co.uk ) I got the book for just over £20 - which, frankly, is a bargain. The book clocks in at 320 pages and is printed in full colour on nice glossy paper.

 

I'm quite picky and critical of technical books. I found little to criticise with "Real World Video Compression". In fact I was so impressed I've ordered the companion volume (albeit by a different author) "Real World Digital Audio".

 

Highly recommended for anyone even vaguely involved in video for the web.

 

The learning curve has been far steeper than I expected, owing mainly to all manner of problems around compression, different video formats, and the way my video's get transcoded on different video web sites.

 

But I think I've learnt a lot over the last few months, and expect to go on learning a lot over the next few months (and years), and it occurred to me that I really ought to blog my learning experience as I go

.

So here I am! The day I start this blog happens to have coincided with the realisation that I need to do more than just get to grips with my NLE (Sony Vegas Pro 8) - I really need to try and learn Adobe After Effects to achieve the results I want for a planned weekly internet review show.

 

Despite being a lifelong despiser of Adobe products (hence the use of Vegas over Premiere Pro) I've ordered an upgrade from my copy of Adobe Design Standard CS3 to Adobe Master Series CS3 (it was about the same price as buying a standalone copy of After Effects, but meant I also got Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Flash and a bunch of other stuff too!) As seems typical with any Adobe products I paid a premium price for fast delivery, only to find a week later I'd had no email or confirmation of despatch, just a "processed" indication when viewing my online order.

 

A subsequent phone call has revealed that the supplier is 'awaiting stock from Adobe', which means I've got at least a two week wait ahead of me. Thank goodness for 30 day trial versions, which mean I can get started almost immediately.

 

I'll be posting reviews of the various tools I'm using to start learning After Effects over the coming weeks, together with any other thoughts I think appropriate. Later today, I'll post my review of Andy Beach's "Real World Video Compression" from Peachpit Press which I finished reading yesterday.

 

Stay tuned!