Fast-Changing Technologies Make Producing and Publishing Videos Harder Than Ever

Fast-Changing Technologies Make Producing and Publishing Videos Harder Than Ever

SupportSpace's Certified Industry Experts Teach Consumers How to Create Videos and Share Them on DVDs or on User-Generated Sites Like YouTube

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., Nov. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Advances in technology have enabled consumers to create more interesting and sophisticated videos to share with friends and family, yet ironically, technology has caused as much confusion and frustration as opportunities for the average PC user. More often than not, only sophisticated videophiles are able to take advantage of anything more than the most basic features. According to certified technical support experts from SupportSpace, an online service dedicated to providing consumers with a new standard of tech support, many consumers lack the knowledge about the operation of their equipment, the software that comes with their computer, and video formats, making publishing and sharing video frustrating and time confusing. Basic knowledge and a few simple steps can help users avoid the common mistakes that keep them from capturing and sharing their memories.

"With so much video content on sites like YouTube, MySpace, and other user-generated Web sites, not to mention videos burned at home on DVDs, people are now more motivated to create their own personalized videos, and they want to do it quickly and easily," said John "PapaJohn" Buechler, one of SupportSpace's certified Microsoft Movie Maker(R) Experts, author of three books, and publisher of weekly newsletters on Movie Maker and video production and editing. "The problem is that even if technology is making this all possible, the software is more complex and feature-packed, video standards are changing, and formats -- from iPods(R) to YouTube to DVDs -- are confusing. Users need help because the choices they have to make just to get started are more complicated."

"With the holiday season approaching, consumers need to get a little education on the basics before they can get to the point where they can enjoy, watch, and share their video memories," said Yair Grindlinger, Chief Executive Officer of SupportSpace. "SupportSpace is the one place where consumers can educate themselves and get support by accessing seasoned, certified industry experts like PapaJohn to get personalized help and answers as quickly as possible via the Internet or the phone. People don't have the patience, interest, time, or money to wait on hold on vendors' tech support phone queues or deal with in-person visits by a technician who may or may not be a subject matter expert on their specific problem."

What Most Consumers Don't Know About Making And Sharing Videos
-- The Physical DVD Is Not Necessary Much of The Time: Even though it is
an easy way to share movies, burning movies to DVDs is an extra step
and involves compressing video files, thereby reducing fidelity. Often
it is easier to play a video directly from a PC, an option that offers
higher image quality and is simpler now more than ever with new
monitors, TVs with digital inputs, and digital projectors.

-- DVDs Created on A Computer Play Better On A Computer: Not all DVDs
created on a PC play perfectly in all DVD players. Also, videos created
on a computer play at the highest fidelity on a computer, whereas the
same videos played on a TV may have the edges of the image cut off, for
example.

-- New Hi-Definition Disks Will Replace Older The DVD Formats: As new
high-definition and DVD formats evolve, standard DVD formats may become
obsolete, creating future playback issues for home movies burned and
stored in current DVD formats.

-- Creating Videos For Different Viewing Formats Takes Knowledge:
Consumers need to have basic knowledge of different viewing formats
such as Apple(R) iPods, DVDs, and Web sites, as they require different
bit rates. For example, a DVD requires a throughput of 5 MB/second
while a video prepared for YouTube uses only 300 KB/second.

Tips For Making and Sharing Videos
1. Determine How Your Viewers Will Access The Video: The first step in
making a video is knowing who will view it and how they will access it.
Making a video for the Web or a mobile video phone involves different
steps than burning a long DVD for viewing on a television.

2. Choose The Viewing Format Will Determine File Size and Quality: A
DVD-quality video with the appropriate bit rate (5 MB/second for DVD)
will produce much too large a file for YouTube, which does not support
videos longer than about 10 minutes or 100 MB.

3. Do a "Dry Run" Pilot Program First: Creating a short video and posting
it online or on a DVD helps consumers familiarize themselves with the
production process. In addition, they will be able to get used to
working with software programs like Microsoft's Movie Maker and with
hardware and software components from different vendors. Doing so will
help and identify potential problems before spending many hours on a
project only to find it difficult to complete.

4. Learn How To Upload Files To The Web: Whether it is an ISP or YouTube,
knowing how to upload a finished project is critical to successfully
sharing your memories.

Consumers can log onto http://www.supportspace.com/ 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for personalized support with certified industry professionals. Certification is a rigorous process at SupportSpace, and all the experts receive their level of certification based on technical knowledge, service, and communication skills and a complete background check.

SupportSpace and its experts are passionate about helping consumers enjoy technology. SupportSpace expert John "PapaJohn" Buechler is a Movie Maker expert, author, frequent contributor to industry magazines, and lecturer on video production.

SupportSpace (A New Standard of Tech Support)

SupportSpace is a unique online service dedicated to providing "a new standard of tech support". Giving consumers and small businesses access to the Web's most robust community of independent, certified tech experts capable of solving virtually any tech-related need, SupportSpace puts people in charge of their digital world-enabling them to find their own "personal" expert by sorting across level of expertise, price, availability and user ratings/reviews. Customers also have the option of building an on-going relationship with a particular expert who is familiar with their profile and individualized needs. SupportSpace provides immediate, real-time support offering online, phone and remote control access options (with no waiting in line or on hold). SupportSpace created the first proprietary support platform that allows experts to remotely share knowledge resulting in superior customer satisfaction.

Founded in 2006, SupportSpace is privately held and headquartered in Redwood Shores, CA with experts located across the U.S. For more information, please visit http://www.supportspace.com/ or call (650) 489-4646.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: SupportSpace

CONTACT: John Sommerfield of Trier & Company, +1-415-334-9590,
john@triercompany.com, for SupportSpace

Web site: http;//www.supportspace.com

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