Showtime

How to Show Your Video To All Your Friends and Family
 

This step-by-step article will give you general guidelines of how your show your movies and videos to others.

Difficulty Level: Average    Time Required: Depends

Here's How:

1. Finish the Video... Save the video in a standard format, like an uncompressed AVI file with full 48 bit sound.

2. Put the video into a format that your friends and family can utilize. Don't make a DVD if everyone has only VCR's...

3. Once you decide on the formats you would like to convert the AVI file into, go through each one step-by-step.

4. VHS technique #1 - You can playback direct to a VCR/TV connected to your capture card's AV inputs (if they have these inputs). Hit record while the movie plays...

5. VHS technique #2 - Put the video back onto a DV tape by using the firewire card. Then playback the video through a VCR/TV.

6. VCD - Convert the video to an MPEG-1 format. Follow advice on the DVD/VCD section.

7. DVD - Get a DVD burner. Convert video to MPEG-2. Follow advice on the DVD/VCD section.

8. Web - Convert the AVI file into REAL, Windows Media, or Quicktime format (depending on what players your friends have). Put it on a web host.

9. Manual technique - Put the video back to the DV tape through the firewire card. Bring the camera to your friend or family's house, flip the TV/VCR switch, and hit play.

10. There are many more output options available including web photo galleries and CD-R's that you can listen to in your stereo. Experiment!
     

Tips:

1. Try to keep web video under 10MB.

2. The Windows Media Encoder is free on Microsoft's web site and will give good streaming video results.

3. Search in About.com for free web hosts to store your videos.

4. Try to get a capture card with a "break-out box" that will allow for analog output (to a VCR).

What You Need: