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Customized Video
Players
If your
website or video content requires customizing your video
experience with customized video players, we can provide you
with numerous customization options for a low-cost one-time
configuration fee. If you desire a customized video
player, please arrange with Brightcast prior to video
installation since it will require a different set of video
code. Customization options can include:
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Change
the video player size or change if the player plays automatically or not.
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Change
the video player colors to match your site or add branding
to the video player with your logo.
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Build
a multi-video player that can serve from 2 to over 2000
videos and provide an RSS feed that people can subscribe
to. A variety of
multi-video configurations are available based on your
needs.
Website Design Recommendations for
using Brightcast Video
Video Size -
For best viewing experience, allot 486 pixels wide by
412 pixels high for the video player when you are designing
the page on your site where the video will reside. If for page design
reasons, you need to reduce the size of the player, the
width and height dimensions can be adjusted
proportionately, but this may reduce the overall quality
of the video viewing. You will need to experiment
with various sizes to see what works best for you.
Please note however, that there is an expand button on
the player allowing the viewer to expand the video to
full screen while it is playing if they like. (Note: You can
preview the actual size and appearance of the video on the
same page where we provide you access to the Video
Streaming Code.)
Encourage Sharing - The video player showing your video
has built-in viral syndication ability with the email
button. This allows anyone viewing the video to share
it via email with anyone they wish. Consider
encouraging them to share the video by adding text to your
website that says something like "Email our video to a
friend by clicking on the Email button on the video player."
Where
in your Website? - The default video player is set to play automatically.
So, if you would prefer that your video Not play
automatically whenever someone visits the front page of
your Website, we suggest placing your video on an interior
page. If it is placed on an interior page, use a graphic link on
your main page that invite people to visit your "video
page." If you prefer, we can do a custom player for
you for an additional fee, just let us know. (See "Graphic Link Available" below.)
Graphic Link with "Play Video Box"
- We encourage you to use the "Play Video Box", custom designed for you, as a graphic link
to your "video page." This graphic element, which
features an animated play video button, helps invite Web
users to go directly to your "video page."
Simply place the "Play Video Box" graphic on any page in
the site (especially your front page) and embed a link in
the graphic directly to your "Video Page". The "Play Video Box" is 110 pixels by
110 pixels in size. (Note: The graphic can be seen
on the same page where we provide you access to the Video
Streaming Code.)
Where
on the Page? - Place the video as high on the page as
possible so that viewer sees the video the moment they
arrive at your page. Remember: The video will
be playing immediately; so you want them to see the video
right away, without having to scroll down the page. We also recommend
placing the video as close to the upper left corner as
your page design will allow since this is the most
prominent placement on the page.
No
Pop-Ups - Avoid setting up the video as a pop-up
window, as some browsers disallow pop-ups. What's
more, having a pop-up window launch suddenly without any
accompanying information may just confuse your Website
visitor. So, we suggest placing the video on its
own, dedicated page with a small text description (see
Additional Information below for suggestions).
Additionally, if you are using Brightcast's Brandsmit Email Branding to promote your video,
we won't be able to link directly to the video on your
website if you have it setup as a pop-up.
Navigation - Make sure the "video page" on your
Website has
navigation to other parts of your site (particularly
your home page.)
Additional
Information - We recommend accompanying your video
with additional complimentary text information such as
contact details, product summary descriptions, or other
info about your business or the subject matter of the
video. This will help Website visitors take
immediate action, without having to hunt for your contact
info.
Other
Video or Audio Elements - DO NOT have any other video or audio
elements on the same page as your video. This
could cause confusion or frustration for your Website
visitors if multiple elements are playing simultaneously.
Maximize the use of your Video on the Internet
Your Website -
Placing your video on your own website is possibly the
most important way that you can use your video.
Some very important design recommendations for the placement
of your video on your website are found above. Please
read them.
Blogging
- If you maintain a blog for your business or contribute to
a blog for your industry, consider promoting your video by
placing it directly in a blog entry. Most blog sites
will accept the HTML code we provide for inserting your
video into a webpage.
Facebook,
MySpace, or Social Networks - Social networks are among
the hottest sites on the Internet today and are potential
market places for connecting with new clients. If you
have a personal profile or even a company profile on one of
these social networks, use it to promote your video there.
The YouTube page for your video even provides tools
for directly submitting your video to your profiles on
several of these popular sites. Just click on your
YouTube page and check out the wasy to share on Digg, Facebook,
Del.icio.us, and StumbleUpon.
Business
Directories - Increasingly numerous business and
professional directories are allowing listings to include
video content ... even video content from external sources
such as YouTube.
RSS Feed
- If you have multiple videos in a player, then your video
content can also be provided via RSS Feed. This is a
way of continually linking your newest video content to
newsfeeds that people subscribe to with their Mail
Applications, RSS Readers, or on select websites. If
you need the RSS for your multi-video player, just click on
the menu button and then on the RSS feed logo to be provided
with RSS Feed options. Consider providing this RSS
feed as directly related to your website (consult with your
webmaster to find out more).
Brandsmit Email Branding - Sign up for our Brandsmit
Email Branding. With this special service, you will
graphically promote your business identity and link directly
to your video with every email that you send. To find
out more, select Brandsmit from the drop down menu at the
top of the page.
Video
Technical Problems
At
Brightcast we use the most accessible means of
distributing video on the Internet - Flash® Video.
Over 95% of computers world wide are equipped with
browsers that are ready to play Flash. This is
much higher than the percentage of computers that are
ready to play Quicktime, Windows Media, or Real Player
Videos. This means, in most cases, you don't have to
download any additional software to view Brightcast
videos.
Nonetheless, video technical problems can still occur.
Your video technical problems can be the result of one
or more of the following factors:
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Connection Speed
Brightcast.us is designed for high speed connections
only. If you have a dial-up connection, videos
will not play properly. You will need a DSL,
Cable, or T1 connection with good connectivity for
proper video playback.
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Flash Version or Installation
Our videos and video player are formatted for Flash®
version 8, the most widely distributed version of
Flash. If you are hearing the video but not
seeing it, or if the video player is not showing or
operating properly, then you may not have a current
version of Flash, or it may be installed improperly.
You can easily up grade or fix your version of Flash
from the Adobe/Macromedia website by clicking on the
button below and following their instructions.
We
recommend that you visit the Adobe/Macromedia Flash
Support Page if you continue to have difficulty.
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Browser Compatibility
Our video hosting service delivers video with the best
experience in the following browsers:
On
a PC: Internet Explorer, FireFox, and Netscape.
On a Mac: FireFox and Safari.
We do
not guarantee proper operation or display of this
site in any other browsers at this time.
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Internet Service Problems
Your Internet Service Provider may be having issues
with consistent delivery of data at this time.
If you are noticing slow page loads on this or other
websites and you have a high speed connection, then
it is likely that your ISP is having technical
difficulty in your area. We recommend that you
contact your ISP to report the problem.
Report
your problems to us
Help us to serve you better and improve our directory by
emailing us with details about your technical issue (use
the contact link at the top of the page). Provide your name and contact
information and be sure to include as
much of the following information as you can:
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Internet Service Provider and type of connection
(dial-up, DSL, Cable, or T1)
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Computer manufacturer and model (include the year
you purchased it)
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Operating system (Windows 98, Windows XP, Mac OS X,
etc...)
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Browser and version that you use (Internet Explorer,
FireFox, Netscape, Safari, etc...)
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Description of the Problem (please be as detailed as
possible and if the problem was with a specific listing
or page, please include that information
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