updated: Jul 24, 2007
Apr 20, 2006 - This page got too full and tended to crash people's browsers, so I have split it into two parts - go here for part 2. Each page is still slow to load - there's a lot going on here! (In fact, this page may crash on slower systems.)
Some of the videos insist on starting automatically, so, to give a fair shake to performance and appearance of each individual video, you should stop them all or wait til they stop playing, then play the one you're interested in. None of them was designed to be on a page with all these other videos, so, not surprisingly, weirdness happens! Loadedpun.com is now hosting a blog version of the Testing Ground, where you (user and/or developer) can add your comments and experiences with any of the services (all mine have moved there, so all you'll see on this page are the videos). Click the link under each item to go to its comments page.
Why This Page? Given the number of videoblogging services available, many of which I have tested myself, I decided to do a page comparing as many as possible (listed in more or less alphabetical order), though I haven't had time to do in-depth reviews. NB: I don't actually need any of these services myself (I have plenty of server space and bandwidth on Dreamhost - here's the original clip as hosted by them), and don't have a favorite among them. If you have a video hosting service you'd like to see listed on this page, or have additions or corrections to make about any of those listed, please contact me. I used the same video (the trailer for my videoblog) throughout, starting from the same WMV version wherever possible, to level the playing field. Note that this piece uses A.R. Rahman's copyrighted music. However, since it's just 37 seconds long, I assume that's considered fair use. (If you like the music, please support this amazing musician by buying it.) Unless otherwise noted, the thumbnail images shown were chosen by the services themselves. Many choose the first frame of the movie, something to keep in mind if you usually start your videos with a black screen. Some of the services do not support embedding video on other sites. For those, I provide links to my video as hosted on their sites. See also : A useful comparison table is provided by MediaThink, part of a larger white paper about online video.
The Hosts
A "virtual drive" on which to store up to 1 Gb of material for free. I've uploaded my trailer and made it available for sharing. If there's a way to embed it, this is not obvious to me!
Uses the VideoEgg publisher, which behaved well when I tested it on its own, but in the AOL version crashes both Firefox and IE. Boh.
SWF version of my clip no longer referenced on their site, in fact the whole site seems to be dead. 
Watch the Video
July, 2006 - Blip has added the possibility of earning ad revenue on your videos - see your Blip dashboard.
They seem to have moved or removed my video, but the site is still around.
BrightCove
Requires you download their Video Manager. Gorgeous interface, but I needed a new page for it - go here.
They seem to have moved or removed my video, but the site is still around.
My blog on their site seems to have become a haven for spammers, and the video no longer plays. |
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