CODECS, Web Distribution, and RSS

Before I jump into the blog entry, make sure you have read the Atomic Learning tutorial on video production before class. The username and password for Atomic Learning are in the syllabus. Reading response question is at the bottom of the page.

Getting video out to a Web-based audience can been a daunting prospect. As was discussed in class, one of the fundamental challenges is figuring out which video player(s) your audience is using. Do they have Real Player, Windows Media Player, QuickTime? Watching the video has not always been an easy task either, as Ed Helms shows us in this 2003 video from Comedy Central. While very tongue-in-cheek, the frustration he encounters was not uncommon for many early video users on the Web. For that matter, I encountered it in class just the other day, ironically, trying to show this very video. In addition to video formats for specific players, one also has to be concerned with CODECs. The letters stand for encode-decode and refer to the algorithm used to make the video more compact.

Here's the problem, uncompressed broadcast video is around 2GB/minute. That translates to about 180GB for a 90 minute movie--and that's standard definition, not high definition. MiniDV cuts this down to around 250MB per minute. While the drive space is definitely an issue for editing, it becomes critical for distribution. DVD, DBS, and digital cable all rely on CODECS to get video to you. CODECS are all the more important when you start to think about video for the Web as not only do need to worry about what player the user has, but whether or not the user has the correct CODEC--and there are a wide variety of these.

Things have gotten a bit better over the last few years, though CODECS can still wreck havoc for folks, particularly on downloaded videos. One of the tools that has helped with this is Flash. As of December 2007, some version of Flash is installed on around 98 percent of computers used online. In addition, Flash Player works on Microsoft, Apple, and Linux operating systems, as well as on a host of mobile devices. This makes it extremely flexible. Adobe offers a nice introduction to Flash Video that you should take a look at. The ubiquity of Flash is one of the things that has helped make it a popular format for YouTube and other video sites including many network sites (couldn't resist the Heroes link).

While YouTube is pretty cool (and we'll be talking about it more in another blog entry) iTunes is another option for video distribution and in many ways has helped revolutionize audio and video on the Web. If you've used iTunes much, you've probably heard of podcasts. These are video or audio shows that you can subscribe to using iTunes. You can find one for almost any topic these days. What makes this work is RSS (Real Simple Syndication). BlipTV has a nice discussion of how RSS works for the end user. RSS works with things other than podcasts. If you use http://my.yahoo.com, http://news.google.com or any other news aggregator, you are probably relying on RSS. For the next part of the blog, I'm going to talk you through an RSS feed. We'll go over this in class, but you really need to look at it ahead of time.

The key to RSS is setting up an XML document. You'll be setting up two types RSS files for your podcast, one for to create a list of your podcast files for use in a Web browser and the second so that someone can subscribe to your podcast using iTunes. Denis Sureau offers a nice discussion of the specific parts of a standard RSS feed. You'll want to make sure you use RSS 2.0.* If you want to check your RSS feed to make sure it is error free, open the XML file you created it Firefox--it has a debug feature.

A regular RSS feed and the feed you use for an iTunes subscription are a bit different. Standard RSS is transmitted using HTTP, while the RSS feed you use for iTunes uses ITPC. Creating content for iTunes also gives you the ability to add more metadata to your RSS document.

Here's the RSS feed I used for people that want to subscribe to a podcast I had using iTunes. You'll notice a tag that begins with. This is a remark tag and allows me to leave notes to you in the code explaining what things do. Hopefully it will help.

<?xml version= "1.0" encoding= "UTF-8"?>

<!-- This code is commented to help explain which section does what. Comments describe the code below them -->

<!-- Some of the text is from the Apple web site http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/podcaststechspecs.html-->

<!--this file does not contain all possible iTunes tags-->

<!-- rss xmlns - points to a document that defines what each of the iTunes tags-->

<rss xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" version= "2.0">

<channel>

<!-- Time before the feed refreshes in minutes-->

<ttl>60</ttl>

<!-- The name of the podcast series that shows up in the Podcast column-->

<title>Adventures in EMAC</title>

<!-- website link and arrow in Name column-->

<link>http://www.depts.ttu.edu/masscom/programs/emac/index.php</link>

<language>en-us</language>

<!-- copyright information is not visible in iTunes 2217 is phonographic rights and A9 is the copyright symbol-->

<copyright>&#x2117; &amp; &#xA9; 2007 College of Mass Communications, Texas Tech University</copyright>

<!-- Text in the Description column-->

<itunes:subtitle>EMAC 4300</itunes:subtitle>

<!-- Text in the Artist column -->

<itunes:author>Ed Youngblood</itunes:author>

<!--when the circled i in Description column is clicked in the iTunes store-->

<itunes:summary>Podcast for students in EMAC 4300</itunes:summary>

<!-- similar to above, but describes the RSS channel-these two should probably be the same-->

<description> Podcast for students in EMAC 4300.</description>

<!-- This is a section and is composed of two tags which designate the name and email address of the person or persons associated with the podcast-->

<itunes:owner>

<itunes:name>College of Mass Communications, Texas Tech University</itunes:name>

<itunes:email>ed.youngblood@ttu.edu</itunes:email>

</itunes:owner>

<!-- The location of the album art-->

<itunes:image href="http://www.depts.ttu.edu/masscom/images/masscommofficiallogo.jpg" />

<!-- Category column and in iTunes Music Store Browse-->

<itunes:category text="Education">

<itunes:category text="Higher Education"/>

</itunes:category>

<itunes:category text="Mass Communications"/>

<!-- An individual podcast item-->

<item>

<!-- Title of the podcast episode that shows up in the Podcast column-->

<title>Adventures in EMAC Vol. 1</title>

<itunes:author>Ed Youngblood</itunes:author>

<!-- Text in the Description column-->

<itunes:subtitle>EMAC 4300 Vol. 1</itunes:subtitle>

<!--when the circled i in Description column is clicked in the iTunes store-->

<itunes:summary></itunes:summary>

<!-- Location of the audio or video file-See Apple link above for more file type information. Length is total number of bytes. In thisw case 2.9MB. See total bytes in file infor-->

<enclosure url="itpc://youngblood.mcom.ttu.edu/~nyoungbl/emac4300_1.mp3" length="2946723" type="audio/mpeg" />

<pubDate>Monday, September 11, 2007, 21:00:00 GMT</pubDate>

<!-- Length of podcast in hours:minutes:seconds-->

<itunes:duration>3:04</itunes:duration>

<!-- Searchable but not visable-->

<itunes:keywords>Mass Communications</itunes:keywords>

</item>

</channel>

</rss>

* A word of caution on the Wikipedia entry. It's got a nice discussion of RSS 2.0, but is missing part of a line of code to validate correctly.

For the reading response, I would like you to address the following:

1) Think back over the video you have consumed over the last 1-2 weeks. How much of it was Web-based vs. TV vs. DVD/VHS? Where do you go to get specific types of video entertainment/information?

2) Thinking back to Ed Helm's video from almost four years ago, how easy do you think it is now for users looking for online video. How do you think the new media landscape has changed or stayed the same?

Web 2.0 and Tutorial Assignments

(pay attention to the mouse overs)

What is Web 2.0? We tend to throw the term around a lot, but can we actually define it? The designation 2.0 indicates an entirely new version, not just an incremental upgrade to the existing system. Wikipedia, itself often considered a Web 2.0 product, says that Web 2.0

"refers to a perceived second generation of web-based communities and hosted services — such as social-networking sites, wikis and folksonomies — which aim to facilitate collaboration and sharing between users. The term became popular following the first O'Reilly Media Web 2.0 conference in 2004. Although the term suggests a new version of the World Wide Web, it does not refer to an update to any technical specifications, but to changes in the ways software developers and end-users use the web. According to Tim O'Reilly, "Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform."

Some technology experts, notably Tim Berners-Lee, have questioned whether one can use the term in a meaningful way, since many of the technology components of "Web 2.0" have existed since the early days of the Web." (all links are from the original Wikipedia article)

Internet pundit Tim O'Reilly describes Web 2.0 in part as "The Web as Platform,"--the Web page is actually an application. Some of these applications, such as Google Docs, which I am using to write my post right now, are clearly applications. By the way, the handy little rollovers you see when you mouse over the links on this post are created in Google Docs, which includes a word processor that can post directly to Blogger and other blog accounts. Other "Web 2.0" products include many of the social networking sites people use, MySpace, Facebook, Flickr, and many others. The intelligent ads, Adsense developed by Google are also part of this transition. Many of these products rely on user created content, be it content a user physically creates or content that the user finds. Example of the latter would be Digg and Slashdot. One of the things that makes Web 2.0 intriguing to me, and others, is that so many of the technologies can be tied into each other. For example, I'm writing this in Google Docs, posting it to Blogger, and if I wanted to, I could embed the YouTube video clips I've linked to directly into my Blogger page.

The technology behind many of the technologies is Ajax, Asynchronous JavaScript + XML. Wikipedia's article on Ajax is worth reading over. If you are planning to work in new media, you've got to at least know what the term means and the basics of what's going on.

Several people have tried to put the ideas of Web 2.0 into short video. Michael Welsh, a professor at Kansas State University posted a short video early this year which tried to define the idea of Web 2.0. You can also read a transcript of an early version. He's not alone, here's another short video, based in part on the Wikipedia article, describing Web 2.0.

Not surprisingly, there are podcasts that are geared specifically to Web 2.0 issues. The Web 2.0 Show discusses many of the Web 2.0 technologies and products, as well as providing interviews with a variety of people involved in the industry. Episode 1 includes an interview with the founder of Wordpress, a blogging tool/site, and a discussion of what Web 2.0 is. It's also an example of how to use a blog/Web site to support a podcast. Note the subscribe options on the page. You might also check out the Web 2.0 Summit podcasts on iTunes--no I don't expect you to listen to all of them, but it's worth listening to at least one (or part of one). While you are in iTunes, see what else you can find on technology and Web 2.0.

By the time you've finished reading this entry and have gone through the links inside of it, you should be forming an opinion as to what Web 2.0 is. I'd like to hear your version of what Web 2.0 is, as well as find out what your favorite Web 2.0 products are. So, in the comments section, in the reading response, tell me what YOU think Web 2.0 is and either discuss how you think Web 2.0 will change the electronic media industry or explain what your favorite aspects of Web 2.0 are. Be ready to talk about these in class. Your response should be submitted as a comment to the blog and needs to be completed before noon on thursday (January 17).

Also for next class, you should have gone through the following tutorials:

UT Austin iMovie Walkthrough (They have some other nice tutorials in their Graphics & Multimedia Section)

Avid FreeDV Tutorials (DV Xpress and FreeDV have the interface is the same interface. I can get you a copy of FreeDV if you would like one)

There also some iMovie tutorials on Atomic Learning (see the syllabus for the address and password)

If you would like to, you can check out a camera from Rob in the basement and try capturing some video and editing it in iMovie (keep the import to under 3 minutes if you do not have a drive yet--remember that the Digital Media Studio in the library is open late (I think 2:00 a.m.). I'll have hard drive information up soon and will also send it by email.

Have a good weekend!

Welcome to the EMAC 6315 Blog!

Welcome!
Hi, and welcome to the blog for EMAC 6315, Video and New Media. For the next three months or so, I'll be posting podcasts, vodcasts, and blog entries for the students in my class and anyone else who stops by. Some of the entires will deal with tools and Web sites that may prove helpful for those interested in creating content for podcasts and blogs. Other entries will lay the groundwork for in-class discussion of some of the issues related to new media, including links to other blogs and podcasts--after all, isn't that part of what this is all about ? I'll also be posting links to my students' video podcast. Each of them will be producing a four-episode series of themed podcasts this semester and blogging about the series. Watch for the links to be posted. The first student podcasts should be available around February 1st.

Course Goals
This course approaches video and new media from three somewhat different perspectives. First, it looks at the creative process involved with producing video, particularly for the “small screen.” Second, it addresses the technology behind distributing video through new media. Finally, it explores the interplay of new media video with both industry and society as a whole.

The Creative Process
We will cover basic video production techniques including shooting, lighting, writing, and editing, with an eye towards producing material for an educational environment. We will also discuss issues related to producing material specifically for new media. As part of this process will look at the following software packages: iMovie and Avid. We will also look at some of the alternative video production techniques including those using Second Life, World of War Craft, and Unreal Tournament.

Technology
The creative process, of course, only gets you so far. You also need to be familiar with how material is distributed. To this end, we will be looking at some of the background technologies, such as codecs, RSS, and XML. We will also look at a variety of distribution models, including user generated content such as YouTube, BlipTV, and Google Video; commercial sit6es, such as NBC.com, Joost, and iTunes.

Society
Finally, we will examine how these technologies are being used and how old media are responding to new media video. Discussion topics will include politics, journalism, public relations, advertising, intellectual property, and content distribution.