convert to flash video online?
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- kelpie
hello chaps,
Have a client who we might be building a video player for, I was wondering if anyone knew of a good reliable service online to convert vid files to flv?
There might not be anything like this and I have to look at software, but the biudget wont be there for that so it'll probably be a sticking point in something I really want to do.
Any pointers or help at all would be massively appreciated from anyone who's done this before...
cheers
Kelps(ps. I was joking in the QBN Member Spotting thread in case you all now think I'm a total cock and don't want to help me ;)
- Nematoth0
have you tried the Flash Video encoder? Not many people have heard of it yet though..
- kelpie0
ok cuntybaws, is this a website that a total tech pleb could go to and end up, after not straining any brain cells at all, with a flash video fomat vid they can then upload into a cms and have display on their page.
This is not for me to do in the studio on behalf of someone, this is for clients to do themselves.
- airey0
why do you want to convert to flv online? the cheapest methods (that i know of, and i could be wrong) would be to use one of many cheap apps (or Adobe Media Encoder) and then upload OR upload the file to youtube and use the converted file from there.
method a would allow the client to convert to flv (and alter the size / quality there also) and then uplaod the file. if it's to a log then use a player like longtail (http://www.longtailvideo.com/) to automatically allow the file to play - although you'll need to set the cms correctly (i've only used wordpress with this).
- kelpie0
ok, web based would be best because, as wioth the cms build we are implementing, a requirement is that anything on this content heavy site can be edited form any computer anywhere. Budget does not allow for purchasing any software to do this, but I may be able to push it to building and branding the vid player.
The ultra cheapo solution would, I know, be to create a youtube account for them and use the API to bring in video from there, but I would rather not do that if possible. By possible I mean if we could find a way to do it as easily as that from the clients point of view.
- Nematoth0
apologies kelpie.. I'm in a bit of a cuntybaws mood today as I've got a massive cold and really shouldn't be in the office.. I don't think you're gonna get this kinda functionality for free to be honest..
http://www.flash-video-mx.com/fl…
"only $1000" - so cheap eh?I think for the most enjoyable end-user experience, you're gonna have to try and persuade the client to invest in some server side software..
The other option is this:
http://www.vidfilters.com/VideoF…
$999.95
- airey0
i've just been through all this for 2 clients myself lately and to be honest, if there's no budget they're fucking kidding themselves. and by budget i'm not talking a lot.
just to get the video ready to go online takes some knowledge and some software - whatever, it doesn't really matter what but whatever they're using must have cost money and if the extra US$30 for an app to convert it to FLV is breaking the bank then they need to start wearing big shoes and red noses to advertise their 'clown' status.
then to upload the files they need either a cms with a php script (or similar) or an ftp area/plugin setup - also would cost money. not a lot possibly but something.
then they need a decent web host to both allow the storage of the large files but - and more importantly - allow the possibly large bandwidth that will happen from people viewing the file. not to mention that the server needs to be quick if you're not offering streaming media. even if you offer a bespoke http streaming setup through in-page coding the server needs to allow for multiple viewers of the same file quickly.
basically it really sounds like you or the client may be setting yourselves up for a car crash from not really understanding what online video requires - which isn't a lot but is still something.
- haha, "clown status" you should come and work up my neck of the woods mate, though I know precisely what you meankelpie
- airey0
another option is to use an intermediary service that uploads, converts and serves the files for you but that also costs. a new one: bits on the run, seems ok, i've been playing around with it so perhaps you should create an account there and trial it out:
- airey0
and the method explained with the longtail player and an app to convert the file would total about US$60. that gives you a file that's ready for upload as an flv and a player for either a progressive load or an http stream.
- and the longtail player lets you rebrand / build new on top of a solid structure.airey
- kelpie0
thanks for the chat guys - the CMS angle is not even approaching the slightest tiniest problem, we have one of the best and most powerful CM systems in the country and the bulk of this already sold job is implementing it on an existing site, so getting the video files uploaded isn't a problem.
Hosting also is not a problem, this will be hosted on our servers. All I need to investigate is a way that we don't have to touch any of the actual video (so they don't need to phone us when they want to include a video on a page, and schedule our time in), and that they can just get it to the right format so that they can plug it into the cms and everything else, believe me, will be handled very smoothly.
Thanks for giving me the idiots cautionary tale though airey, I appreciate it.
I'll look into whether the link above does what it says and if it is indeed rubbish then I'll think again.
Thank you guys.
- longtail does look cool, I think though that we already have all its plus points in house in terms of the player.kelpie
- airey0
how are you delivering the flv's though? progressive, http streaming or actual streaming? i gotta tell you, clients with average connections get jack of vid that are progressive. it's an issue i had to go through and i hope you don't get jammed up by it.
- maximillion_0
www.ffmpeg.org - if you have rights on your server
- Daithi0
Dreamhost have it covered, I believe:
"To create your FLV-format video, you'll need to go to the Goodies > Flash Media area of our web panel where we have a tool to convert avis, mpegs, and movs to FLV automatically for you!
You'll then need to paste some code into your web page to have the player display properly. For more information, be sure to check out the author's extensive documentation as well as the customer-maintained documentation in our wiki. You can be up and running within minutes!"
- if its hosted on dreamhost and not our own hosting as I saidkelpie