What Does YouTube’s New Live Streaming Mean for You?

Guest author Ken Myers, takes us on a tour of YouTube’s live streaming service.

Since its creation, YouTube has generated a great deal of interest worldwide from the online community. It has been a place to promote music, acting styles, news broadcasts and more. Throughout 2013, the media powerhouse worked on implementing the ability to live stream events from a user’s account. But what does this mean for you and the YouTube community?

Further Promotional Tactics – There are many YouTube celebrities that relish in having more than half of a million subscribers watching their material. Although editing techniques are what add life and visual appeal at times, live streaming special events could drive the traffic to a channel exponentially. After all, live feeds have always been an attraction for various mediums, including traditional television.In the past, several events have been streamed live across the social media hub and were successful at engaging various viewers. Could this tactic help you promote your own business through the website?

Bloopers Galore – Some actors have a difficult time maintaining their focus on camera. It’s not often that a show can be performed live and not have a great deal of mistakes. Watching these events live could provide you with greater entertainment, though, especially if your favorite celebrities are struggling to keep it together. On the other hand, this is also how a family movie can turn into an R-rated episode. If you plan on capitalizing on the live feed, you need to bring your A-game.

Questionable Materials – Thanks to efforts by Google, you’re less likely to be able to produce material that is morally questionable without feeling some kind of repercussion. Although some people may try to take advantage of the live stream, it’s unlikely they’ll succeed at promoting this content. In order to provide a video for a live event, you need to have more than 1000 subscribers. This rule was implemented to ensure that you are serious about developing quality material for your viewers, making you less likely to take advantage of a live broadcast. If you can prove that you belong to a non-profit organization, you could begin streaming immediately.

Compared to Other Streaming Services – Many live streaming services on the Internet have been developed to allow virtually anyone with a webcam to promote themselves. Unlike YouTube, these services often don’t have any requirements past the basic illegal and adult contracts you must agree to before using the service. Without having a single follower or subscriber, anyone is able to get on these systems and talk about anything. If you’ve ever been to one of these websites, you understand how the quality of the material is lacking. YouTube live streams, on the other hand, require you to have a sense of professionalism and to provide quality material.

Engaging Your Subscribers – In order to grow a subscriber base, your material has to engaging. However, you have to begin producing videos to find out if people will find your content worthy of watching. To keep and increase your subscribers, you can further interact with them by developing a live stream and responding to questions on your Twitter account. This can increase both your viewership and your Twitter activity in a profound way. Of course, it helps to have a level of popularity before committing to a live broadcast of your show.

Future Content – Although some YouTube celebrities may see the value in live streaming their broadcasts, many may still opt out of using those services. For instance, if you produce material that is effects driven, it’s far more difficult to provide the same level of entertainment value. Talk shows and gaming channels are more likely to take advantage of providing a live feed because of the nature of their content. Many popular YouTube shows are unedited as it is, so little would change in the way of creating a live stream or a regular upload for these people.

For many, live streaming content may be nothing more than a pipe-dream. It takes a serious minded individual to develop content that is entertaining enough to draw in the necessary number of subscribers needed. For the rest of us, though, it may be an entertaining way to see our favorite YouTube celebrities sans the editing.

Ken Myers is a father, husband, and entrepreneur. He has combined his passion for helping families find in-home care with his experience to build a business. Learn more about him by visiting @KenneyMyers on Twitter.

Rescue Santa And Get Wondershare Vivideo FREE – Save $39.99

If you’re in the market for a video editor to personalize your videos, you might consider Wondershare’s freebie offer. Starting today, through to December 25 @ 24:00 PST, Wondershare’s premium video product, Vivideo, can be yours at no cost – provided you play and win, the Santa rescue game (more on this in a moment).

If you’re a regular reader here, and “Wondershare” strikes you as being a familiar developer – you score a point! We’ve previously reviewed several Wondershare applications here – including Wondershare Time Freeze – a superb system virtualization application. See – For Added Internet Protection – Virtualize Your System with Free Wondershare Time Freeze.

In order to engage with the game, the developer suggests that you visit the following page – click on the graphic to do so. My advice – DON”T. If you’re into simple and straightforward, then  you should go directly to the “game” page.

The game page – click on the graphic below.

How to play:

Beat the demon & rescue Santa Claus.

Get Passcode when you beat the demon.

Enter your Passcode to get Vivideo.

Fast facts:

Manage Various Video, Audio and Photo Formats

Support all SD and HD videos, including WMV, AVI, MP4, FLV, MOV, MKV, MTS, etc.

 

You can also capture videos directly with a video capture device or add videos from camcorders and other external hard drives directly.

 

Add background music to your videos to add more flavor. All regular audio formats like MP3, WMA, WAV, M4A, AAC, AC3, OGG, etc. are supported.

 

Import photos like BMP, JPG, PNG, GIF, etc. and create home movies with photos and videos combined.

Edit and Enhance Your Media Files with Fantasy

Edit and personalize videos/photos/audios with video editing features like trim, crop, rotate, set fade in & fade out, adjust duration, etc.

 

Add stylish captions on your videos and photos with customizable font, color, etc. to for better video meaning conveying.

 

Bring your movie to the next level instantly with professional and creative filter effects. 30+ filters are ready for your videos and photos.

 

Add transition effects between two clips and apply motion effects to photos so as to achieve a natural and smooth transition.

Share Your Videos with Family and Friends in Multiple Ways

Get optimized videos for playback on your portable devices like iPhone, iPad, PSP, iPod, Wii, Zune, etc.

 

Save edited videos to local hard drive for further use in a variety of video formats.

 

Directly upload your video creation to YouTube for sharing with more people by filling in necessary information.

 

Burn videos to DVD discs or save as DVD folder or ISO image files to preserve videos in a better way.

System requirements: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7. Mac.

I’m a fan of Wondershare’s products – I’ve reviewed and recommended more than a few in the last several years. However, I think the developer has overreached here.

While I appreciate the generous offer, I’m less than enthusiastic that I had to engage in a confusing and pointless, multi stage process, in order to comply with the developer’s demands. Tedious and frustrating – definitely not cool.

BTW, Wondershare – according to popular culture, Santa Claus has 9 Reindeer – not 12.

Note: As part of the “game”, you will be asked to choose the number of Reindeer Santa has. Choose 12, as the correct answer. Go figure!

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Get uRexsoft DVD Ripper Platinum (Win) For Free

Another month, another DVD ripper you’ve probably never heard of. Even so – from now until Sept. 30, this $35 program is absolutely free. And it works!

Best of all, and as opposed to so many of this type of offer – there are no hoops to jump through.

Read all about this software giveaway on CNET’s Cheapskate page here.

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Download Miro HD Video Player – Sync Your Media To Multiple Devices And A Whole Lot More!

There’s been much discussion lately, in Tech media circles, on the benefits of  getting rid of expensive Cable TV, where prices seem to be skyrocketing, and focusing instead on the multiple alternatives which the Internet now provides.

Given that your computer screen is, in reality, a high-definition display, you can easily enjoy Internet sourced videos in HD full screen. Pretty neat – especially if you have a wide screen LCD display.

Miro (last updated May 20th, 2011), is a free (open source), Internet TV platform and Video Player (and so much more), that can certainly even out your path in breaking your reliance on Cable TV – and, the costs that go with it. Miro, in fact, might well be the perfect tool to help with your transition.

Not only can Miro play virtually any video in HD, including, QuickTime, WMV, MPEG, AVI, and XVID, but on top of that this application, which sports major changes from previous editions, is effectively a media management center.  I must admit, I was more than a little surprised at how effective Miro is in this role.

For example, the application quickly, smoothly, and effectively, located my music files after prompting me to select a search path. Playback controls are typical and playlists are easily created.

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The core of the program however, is the well designed video features including built-in Torrent download capabilities.

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In the following example I downloaded a 1.4 GB movie using the Torrent client. The test torrent download  took full advantage of my Internet settings – 1.7 MB per second.

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Playback of the downloaded file was a bit of a treat really. Definitely HD; smooth; quality sound.

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Additional features include the ability to sync media to multiple devices –  including Android phones and tablets. Better yet, Miro will even convert video files to the right format to play on your phone.

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Getting the application just right to meet your specific needs, using the Settings menu is straightforward and uncomplicated.

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Fast facts:

Works with your current music library – It’s very easy to switch from iTunes to Miro– without any copying. Just point Miro to your music and video folders and those files will appear. If you don’t like Miro (impossible!), nothing’s changed.

Converts and syncs to Android – You’d have to be crazy to use a music player that doesn’t sync to your phone. Miro is simply the best music and video player for Android phones and tablets.

Download and play almost any video – Do you still use separate programs to download, play music, play videos, and sync to your phone? Miro plays almost any video or music format and downloads from YouTube, podcasts, Amazon, and bittorrent.

Convert any video – You can convert almost any video with Miro into mp4/h264, with presets for almost any device you can think of (including iPhones, iPods, iPads, Android phones, and more).

Share Your Media on your Network – When two Miro’s are on the same Wi-Fi network, they can stream and transfer music and videos to each other. It’s the easiest way to watch a video or play music upstairs if the file is downstairs.

Ultra-fast torrent downloading – Miro has some of the fastest bittorrent downloading in the world, built in. Try us head-to-head with any bittorrent application!

Open-source – don’t lock yourself in – Unlike some other media players, Miro is not trying to run your life. Not only is Miro 100% free and open-source, it’s made by a non-profit organization. You don’t need to be locked down by one corporation to have a great media experience.

Buy Music and Apps inside Miro – The Amazon MP3 store is built-in to Miro. Buy, download, and listen, seamlessly. Buy Android apps from the Amazon or Google app stores and they will sync to your device.

There are many more features in Miro that can be quickly covered in a short review. I haven’t, for example, covered the easy way to stream and share music and video on your local/home network, using Miro. Checkout the publisher’s features page.

This program continues to receive high praise from video geeks, and it’s worth considering as an addition to your entertainment applications.

System requirements: Windows 7, Vista, XP, Mac, Linux. (I have not tested this application in 64 bit – but, I understand 64 bit support is available).

Download at: Miro

User Manual for Miro 4.0 available here.

A caveat: During the install process, pay particular attention so that you don’t install items you may not want (Yahoo Toolbar/homepage) .

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Save $49.95: WinX DVD Ripper Platinum KungFu Edition – FREE Until May 31

A shout out to long time reader Ben Blasto, for the tip on Digiarty Software’s latest license giveaway – WinX DVD Ripper Platinum KungFu Edition.

This post is informational only – I have not tested this application but, I have downloaded it. It just might come in handy.

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Fast facts (from the site):

Bypass all Copy Protections & Region Locks – It provides breakthrough performance to access all DVD encryption technologies, including DVD CSS, region code, RCE, Sony ArccOS, UOPs, Disney X-project DRM.

Feature-rich DVD Ripping Software – WinX DVD Ripper Platinum offers worry-free conversion of DVD to AVI (DivX, Xvid), MP4, MPEG, WMV, 3GP, MOV, FLV, which makes DVD compatible with all popular Windows media players, Apple iPhone (iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4), iPad/iPad 2, iPod, Sony PSP, Zune, Mobile phone, etc.

Clone DVD to ISO & Copy DVD – The built-in DVD copy feature supports 1:1 full DVD disc to ISO image clone. It also allows you to copy full title/main content of DVD to MPEG-2 file with lossless video quality and 5.1 Channel AC3/DTS Dolby audio.

No.1 Fast DVD Ripping Speed – With this DVD converter, you can flexibly set CPU utilization. It also supports the newest CUDA, owns optimized configuring for i5 i7 CPU and Super Encode Engine based on MMX- SSE & 3DNow.

Enjoy Unmatchable Video Audio Quality – The embedded High Quality Engine and “Yadif Double Frames” De-interlacing Engine greatly improve the output video effect.

Rip DVD to iPhone iPad/iPad 2 – Perfectly rip and backup DVD to popular portable devices, including Apple iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, Sony PSP, Zune, Zen, etc. Plus, this program comes preloaded with a number of profiles for these devices.

Happily, you don’t need to visit the developer’s Facebook page to “like” (a pain in the ass marketing tool currently being used by too many developers), or register with the developer, in order to receive the license code. Simply download from the site and apply the following license code.

WINXRP-5357-7234-1561

System requirements: Windows XP, Vista (32 & 64 bit), Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit).

Download at: the developer’s site (Digiarty Software)

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Free Nero Kwik – Media Management Application

Nero has just released a free media management application, Nero Kwik Media, that’s definitely worth a look. Richard Carriere, Nero’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing explains the new application this way – “Kwik Media …….. lets you do picture, music, and video organizing, managing, exchanging, putting up on social sites, viewing, and basic editing.”

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The install is a two stage process. In the initial stage, a number of Direct 3D extensions and sundry other bits and pieces, are installed – as per the following screen shot.

Following the required reboot, the main Kwik Media application is installed. If you’re watching the install carefully, you’ll notice that an Ask Toolbar appears to be installed. The reality is – the Toolbar executable is copied to the HD. However, you will have an opportunity to reject activating the Toolbar.

The user interface is underwhelming from a styling perspective – a perfect example of form following function.

If simple and unobtrusive is what you want – then, you’ve got it here.

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Media library user interface:

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Media Center user interface:

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Creation Center user interface:

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Burn and copy Disc Center user interface:

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Fast facts:

Move photos, videos and music anywhere – Move all the files your heart desires to and from your PC and mobile devices

Play back Blu-ray movies – View HD video projects on DVD and watch Hollywood Blu-ray movies on your laptop

Burn Audio CDs from MP3s – With just a few clicks, you can create a CD mix from your favorite playlists

Play and rip music – Play back your favorite jams from your laptop and rip Audio CDs to add to your computer

Find and organize friends by faces – Easily organize photos of friends and family by faces

Search and organize – Browse and organize photos, music and videos in one place

Play and rip music – Conveniently create projects to burn and share straight from your library

Edit photos before sharing – Make quick and easy edits of photos before sharing or adding to slideshows

Share videos on YouTube or myNero – Upload your photos, music and videos to social media websites with just a few clicks

Edit slideshows with effects – Add exciting, animated background themes to slideshows

Easy Media Syncing – Sync your music playlists as well as photo and video album contents from your PC to any mobile device with USB mass storage

Download at: Nero

Additional functionality can be purchased (although, some apps are free), from the Nero Store.

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Bottom line:

If you’re looking for a reasonably inclusive free media application, capable of handling videos, music, and photos, then Nero Kwik Media should make your short list.

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WinX Blu-ray DVD iPhone Ripper Giveaway – Free Until January 10th, 2011

Limited time license freebie, from Digiarty Software.

From the developer’s site:

Ideal software to rip and sync Blu-ray DVD to iPhone (iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4), iPod, iPad and Apple TV. Based on High Quality Engine and advanced De-interlacing, it delivers remarkable image quality which is near original movie. The software comes prepared with sets of profiles to maximally simplify the ripping process.

 

 

To Download this application, go to the developer’s site. Following installation, enter this license code – AB-TQUQYZGY-PFRNUT

If you have no need for this application, your friends, coworkers, or family, with an iPhone, might like the opportunity. Consider passing it on.

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Is DownloadHelper The Perfect Free Video Download App?

I’ve almost given up watching Television. As Newton N. Minow observed in 1961, Television “is a vast wasteland”. Minow went on to say “True, you’ll see a few things you will enjoy. But they will be very, very few. And if you think I exaggerate, I only ask you to try it”.

I often wonder what his observations on the current state of broadcast TV might be. If TV was a “vast wasteland” in 1961……

In any event, I just can’t bring myself to watch the dreck that passes for entertainment. Instead, I’ve gone to watching what I want to watch, when I want to watch, by either streaming video content, or downloading selected content for later viewing.

While searching for an application to facilitate downloading video content, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of available applications. Google “free video downloader”, and you’ll find over 41 Million references. I think you’ll agree, that’s a mind numbing number.

After testing more than a few free video downloaders, I settled some months back on a Firefox extension, DownloadHelper. With over 77 Million downloads to date, it’s hardly an exaggeration to call this add-on – popular. Not only will this tool download and convert videos, but it can download audio and picture galleries as well.

Once installed, you will find a new application icon has been added to the menu bar – notice the small white arrow pointing to the new icon in this screen capture. Clicking on any graphic will expand it to the original size.

The preference menu provides a fairly complete set of tweaking capabilities.

The application will recognize that a webpage has imbedded media (you will noticed the icon revolving), and simply clicking on the icon will allow you to download any media on that page.

The following screen capture illustrates that there are two .flv videos available for download on this National Geographic page.

In the search for the “perfect” video downloader, I’ve tested literally dozens of applications, and not one can hold a candle to DownloadHelper. Despite some minor issues, this application deserves a 10 out of 10.

DownloadHelper has additional functionality that I have not covered in this short review. If you’re into downloading online video, I highly recommend that you take a close look at this application.

Note: When you first install the extension, your browser is redirected to a welcome page with links to a user manual at http://www.downloadhelper.net/manual.php and a FAQ at http://www.downloadhelper.net/faq.php

System requirements: Windows 7, Vista, XP,  Firefox (all).

Download at: Mozilla

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To Watch This Video You Need To Install A Codec – DON’T DO IT!

If you are attempting to view a site’s video content, and you get a popup advising you that you need to download a new codec to enable viewing – DON’T.

A favorite method used by cyber criminals to drop malware on unsuspecting users’ computers, is the requirement that you must first download a “missing” codec, to enable viewing.

If you’re curious, or you’re not convinced that this is a potentially dangerous scenario – go ahead and click. But, before you do, make sure you have:

A current backup CD/DVD, or other media, containing your irreplaceable files – you’re probably going to need it.

Your original operating system install disk – you’ll need this too.

Your system and peripherals driver disks. Without these you’re going to spend hours on the Internet locating (if your lucky), drivers that were written specifically for your peripherals.

You can save yourself all this trouble, and heartache, just by one simple action, or more properly; by a single inaction. Don’t click!

It’s possible of course, that you may be lucky, and you may be able to recover control of your computer if your anti-malware applications are up to date, and the malware signature database recognizes the intruder as malware.

But I wouldn’t count on it. Often, anti-malware programs that rely on a definition database can be behind the curve in recognizing the newest threats.

Consider this: Currently there is an epidemic of so called “rogue software”, on the Internet, with much of it being delivered by the constantly evolving Zlob.Trojan, or the  Zlob.Video Access Trojan, which are often hidden in fake, and malicious, codec downloads.

As the following screen captures illustrate, there is a wide variance in these invitations to install a missing, or “required” codec.

Common sense should tell you, if a website does not recognize a standard codec, there is something wrong. Ask yourself this question; how long would a website stay in business if a visitor is required to download a specific codec to view content? The answer is clearly – not very long.

Don’t be the type of person who clicks indiscriminately at every opportunity to do so. If you do, I guarantee you – your computer will be infected within minutes.

To ensure that you have a full set of codecs on your computer, consider downloading one of the following free codec packs. With a full set of codes installed on your computer, any request to download a site specific codec, should be viewed with suspicion.

Windows Essentials Codec Pack – Windows Essentials Media Codec Pack provides a set of software codecs for viewing and listening to many forms of media in Windows Media Player. While this program merely enhances a media player, it does a fine job of accommodating many different and unusual types of videos and music.

Download at: Download.com

The K-Lite Codec Pack – There are several different variants of the K-Lite Codec Pack. Ranging from a very small bundle that contains only the most essential decoders, to a larger and more comprehensive bundle.

Download at: Codec Guide.com

Media Player Codec Pack – The Media Player Codec Pack is a simple to install package of codecs/filters/splitters used for playing back music and movie files. After installation, you will be able to play 99.9% of files through your media player, along with XCD’s, VCD’s, SVCD’s and DVD’s.

Download at: Download.com

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Software Giveaway – iPhone Video Converter, available for FREE from 13th July, 2010 to 26th July, 2010

iSkysoft Studio let me know the other day, that their iPhone Video Converter is being offered for free, from 13th July, 2010, to 26th July , 2010.

I have not tested this application, and the following information has been provided by iSkysoft Studio.

iSkysoft iPhone Video Converter converts all popular video and audio formats such as AVI, MPEG, MOV, OGG, WAV to iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 4 supported formats including MP4, MP3, etc.

It provides a series of practical settings such as video crop, file trim, video brightness, contrast and saturation, and merging multiple files into one output file.

There are Mac and Windows version, both free.

Key features for iSkysoft iPhone Video Converter:

Convert video such as M2TS/MTS, MOD, TOD, AVI, MKV, WMV and audio for playback on iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, etc.

It supports new iPhone 4.

Extract audio to iPhone audio like MP3, AAC, WAV for playback on your iPhone and other portable players.

Crop away black borders of the movie and watch it in full screen.

Trim the length of any title or chapter to get video or audio clips you need and convert the specific segment you like.

You can get your favorite lines or episodes and save them in MP3 format for your iPhone as ringtones.

Merge several video clips to one output file so that you can enjoy a long video without interruption.

Note: You can’t get free upgrade and technical support.

You can checkout this free offer at the developer’s site here (Mac), or here (Windows).

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