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Distribution
The word ‘encoding’ crops up a few times in the following section. Encoding is taking a computer video file and changing it into a different type of video file. For instance, once we have finished editing a film, the edit software outputs is as a QuickTime file. This has to then be encoded to a mpeg2 file to be put on a DVD. This is a number-crunching exercise performed by complex software. Hope that makes sense.
DVD With DVD players now available for £30, DVD is the most common form of distributing finished films. It benefits from good quality, and the ability to choose different films through an on-screen menu.
As High Definition screens become more popular, new High Definition DVD formats are becoming available, giving even higher quality images.
The Fat Dog Film Company can duplicate to standard DVDs, or to Blu-ray or HD-DVD.
We can handle a couple of copies to 1000s, and can print the face of the disk, card sleeves or case inserts. All of this can be shrink-wrapped and shipped if needed.
Internet As broadband becomes commonplace, and speeds increase, the internet is rapidly becoming the easiest place to distribute video content.
The options are to stream your video (the film plays straight away), or to download the entire video file. These both have pros and cons.
Streaming video needs no input from the viewer, other than to click on play (although streaming video can be configured to play automatically). However, due to the constraints of squeezing video through phone lines, playback can be choppy, and quality is not too good. Video sharing sites such as You Tube use streaming to deliver clips, and video uploaded to these sites can be embedded in your own web pages.
Downloading video requires the viewer to save the video file on their computer, remember where they saved it and then play it back with the correct media player. This is more technical, but files a can be bigger, and hence the video quality much higher.
The Fat Dog Film Company can encode your film for streaming or download, in any format for any video player. And don’t worry, we can also advise on which is best for your needs!
Computer playback Most computers will play DVDs (with the correct software), but films can also be made into files which can live on the computer’s hard drive, and can be played back without the need for a disk. Useful for promotional films on salesman’s laptops.
We can encode your film to mpeg1, mpeg2, mpeg4, Windows wmv files, QuickTime movies, Real Player files or just about anything else.
Gadgets There are more and more gadgets which can playback video clips, and some are useful for corporate presentations.
Mobile phones – small screen is not ideal, but you can carry your promotional film wherever you go!
iPod – again, screen is small, but cool-factor is worth a lot.
iPhone – bigger screen with true widescreen format. Even more cool-factor (if you can find one).
mp4 players – these are the video equivalent of mp3 music players. Come in all shapes and sizes, some with good quality, large wide screens. Good wow-factor. Video needs to specifically encoded for different players. (Yes, we can do that)
Playstation portable (PSP) – very good quality widescreen, but limited to file size by Memory Stick capacity. Usually enough size for 15 minutes of good quality video. Again, needs specific video encoding. Films can be put onto UMD disks (the type of disk PSPs play movies from), but this is very expensive.
Ultra Portable Computers – these are laptops, stripped of everything except the screen, and shrunk down. These are usually widescreen and lend themselves well to video playback. They can also be used as a regular laptop.
VHS Yep, we do still occasionally do these.
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