Q;
How do I start the process?
A; To start the process you will need to send
Jim (aka spaz) an e-mail detailing what you would
like done, and to receive a mailing address to send your video
to. This would also be a good time to ask any specific question
you may have regarding the process.
Q; What do you do with my video?
A; After we receive your video (in either mini DV, DVD or VHS)
we will check to make sure it is in good working order, then
send you a short confirmation e mail letting you know that we
received it and will start processing the video.
Q; How is the total runtime in minutes calculated?
A; When we receive the raw footage we will play through all
if it, checking the timer built into our hardware. Then add
up the minutes per scene and for the total. Depending on what
you want done you will then receive an e-mail with a break down
of how many total minutes per scene and total minutes. and what
the cost will be depending on what exactly you are having done
to the footage. (in example, if you order a broadband and a
dial up size for each video, that will be two separate files
and therefore twice the end cost)
Q; Can you place my URL on the video?
A; Yes, any line of text can appear on your finished video.
We also recommend that rather than having it set at 100% opacity
(solid color) you allow us to fade your text from 100% opacity
down to 20-40% during the play of the video. This keeps your
product ID on screen while not being to intrusive on the content
of the video.
Q; Which format is right for me?
A; This is a purely subjective question and replies a lot on
your own personal preferences and what specific uses you have
in mind for the finished product. If you would like to stream
the video on your site and/or embed it into an html page. Then
.wmv has the best compression versus file size of any of the
formats, and will generally not buffer as long as a .rm file
or take as long as an mpeg. But if you just want to provide
video content for your members, I suggest using mpeg-1 as it
is accepted by just about all media players with little to no
codec issues ever. We use advanced compression software, so
there may be some codec issues with your media player or the
media players of your members with the .wmv format. Make sure
you are ready to instruct people where they can get a complete
list of codecs and be ready to help them install them on their
machines. This can be very time consuming. As a general rule
we always recommend using mpeg-1 format.
Q; How long will the process take?
A; This is entirely dependant on how much work we are doing
for you. Generally, we give ourselves one calendar week per
sixty minutes of video from the time we receive your video until
we mail it out to you/give you a link to download it from. If
you have a very large quantity of work for us to do, we can
work with you on delivering the finished product to you as we
go along, so instead of waiting for the entire job to be completed,
you can be downloading each scene as it is finished.
Q; Can you edit my content?
A; As a general rule the answer is no, we will not edit the
video you send to us. But we will do things like color/contrast/gamma
correction for you if you choose at no additional charge. Also,
if you have minutes at the beginning or end or both of your
video that you do not wish to include in the finished product,
just let us know the specifics and we will remove it and not
charge you for those minutes. This should be specified before
any work is started.
Q; Can I get it done faster? (Rush Service)
A; Yes, please see the costs that will be incurred for this
on the Prices Page
Q; What formats of VHS tapes can you work with?
A; You name it. We can work with video from all over the world,
NTSC, PAL1, PAL2 are not a problem for us. If you are sending
us a format other than NTSC please insure that the quality of
the video is good. Our hardware is sensitive and if the tape
is in poor condition our experience has been substantial frames
dropped.
Q; I already have an mpeg, but it is too big, can you
recompress it?
A; Yes we can. And depending on the quality of the original
mpg we can assure you that there will be very little difference
in the appearance of video from your large file to our much
smaller one.
Q; What is the difference between Broadband & Dial
Up?
A; Broadband file sizes are much larger than that of the dial
up. For example, our broadband file size is approx 6Mgs per
1 minute of video compressed to mpeg-1. But the clarity of the
finished product cannot be matched. We compress to 352x240 and
that can easily be viewed at full screen mode on a 1024x768
screen resolution with incredibly little to no pixelation. For
the file size, this is unsurpassed quality in the industry.
Check out our Samples Page to see for yourself.
Q; Can I get clips cut into any length?
A; Yes, any specified length of time you like. From a straight
capture of the entire scene to 5 second clips of the entire
scene. Or you can pick and choose which minutes you would like
cut into smaller clips. But if you want, say a 10 second clip
from various times on a scene, you will receive that minute
of video cut (example at the 5 minute point in a video, you
want a 10 second clip, from 5:00:-5:10, you will receive six
10 second clips from 5:00-6:00).
Q; Can I get screen captures (still images) from my
video?
A; Yes, we will take screen captures for you at whatever interval
you select. Anywhere from 1 per second, to 1 per minute. These
will be raw captures selected by our software, so some cleanup
may be necessary.
Q; Can I download the finished files while I wait for
the delivery of the CD?
A; Yes, if you choose we can zip up the finished files and upload
them our servers for you to download as soon as you like.
Q; Can you upload into my server?
A; Yes, as long as you provide us with working FTP info we will
gladly upload the finished files to your server to a dir you
specify.
Q; Can I FTP into your server?
A; No, for security reasons that is not a delivery option we
are able to offer at this time.
Q; Do you have any recommendations?
A; Yes, firstly, although we take great pains to insure that
the content you send us is well taken care of. Packages can
be lost/destroyed in transit, our hardware might burst into
flames while your content is being captured/compressed. Any
number of things can happen. We strongly recommend that you
avoid sending a 'one and only' copy of anything you have to
anyone. While we base our reputation on our ability to give
you the best possible product for the lowest possible price,
all while taking as good of care or better of your content than
we would our own, we simply cannot foresee every possible 'worst
case' scenario. Please back up a copy of whatever you send to
us prior to shipping it. For legal reasons (and to cover our
asses) we cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage
of content sent to us except for reasons of gross neglect---------which
we won't do anyway's.
I also strongly recommend that you look at the feasibility of
using mpeg-1 format for your finished product. By using that
format exclusively since 1999 I can honestly say that my tech
support questions are never about the video files themselves
(usually about why someone is locked out of the members area).
By choosing this format you save yourself a lot of time and
money by avoiding very technical answers, and possible charge
backs from dissatisfied members who can't play the movies due
to codec issues.
If you have any questions, please feel free
to Contact Us
anytime.
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