The creators of dvinfo.net?
 

Hi!
I'm apprecating this site more and more, and I'm very thankful of it's existence. Great job of those who started and are currently working with it!
I have searched for a "About us"-link, but haven't found any. Maybe I've missed it. I just think it would be nice to see the people who started and who moderate the site, like small personal presentations with pictures. Could also be interesting with a "history of dvinfo".

Another thing I've thought would be interesting is a list of the most popular film- and videomakers' forums in the world. This is the best I've found regarding technical (dv) questions.

Dear Urban,

You can thank Chris Hurd and his associates for this wonderful site.

Hi Urban,

The creator and sole owner of DVinfo.net is Chris Hurd. He is developing a new and improved content side to DVinfo, but for now here is an admittedly outdated Wrangler page on the old content side that has his picture as well as some of the current and past Wranglers:

http://www.dvinfo.net/network/wranglers.php

There is normally an image gallery (link at the top) but I see it is offline for maintenance at present.

Yes, DVinfo has a wealth of information and is a very comfortable community owing to Chris' diligence in keeping it focused on the topic at hand. That's why I gravitated here and even ended up as a Wrangler despite just being a hobbyist. You can also discover a bit about how Chris thinks -- how he keeps this site so great -- by reading his comments on the Policy Page, which is something everyone using the site ought to be familiar with anyway.

Thanks for that link Pete.

Ye were only chaps when those photos were taken, well well ... still I'm glad I scrolled down the list before trying to spark off a relationship with Christina Hurd.

It's also fun to wander back in time and see the DVinfo.net of years past at archive.org:

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.dvinfo.net

Here's how the baby looked shortly after birth :-)

http://web.archive.org/web/200101272...://dvinfo.net/

And here are the forums when we had 196 members and the most users ever online was 12: http://web.archive.org/web/200110210...info.net/conf/

Sorry mate, she's definitely taken!

Offline much to my chagrin. Jeff and I are working on bringing it back, *hopefully* with its existing image database still intact, as there was a lot of really good stuff in there.

Just one of the many things I haven't got around to yet... it's never been much of a priority. So many times I've seen "About Us" pages on other web sites that go on and on about how great they are... I've never been very good at that... really prefer to let other folks say this is a great place rather than doing it myself.

Indeed, you are right, it would be most helpful. It's another side project I'm working on for DV Info Net -- sort of an ultimate resource list of the best sites, other message boards, blogs etc. that cover the same things we do. It's just late, like everything else.

Okay here's the short version...

Nov. 1997: Unable to find any info on the net about the Canon XL1, I made my own web page about it.

Jan. 1998: Other people began contributing XL1 info, so those pages became the XL1 Watchdog.

Later in 1998 after our studio bought a DV Rex M1 capture card, I joined Martin Hodge's Canopus owners online forum and later on my friend Mike Downey asked me to help moderate it, where I learned a number of valuable of lessons about how to manage a popular internet message board.

Most of 1999 was spent at VariZoom Lens Controls where I rebuilt their web site and learned a lot about other kinds of DV camcorders and got the basic idea for expanding the XL1 Watchdog concept into something bigger. A lot of people kept asking me to produce more sites like the Watchdog tailored to other popular camcorders.

Jun. 2000: I contracted with Canopus to manage their web presence which really kept me from doing much of anything else of my own for quite a while (all of which is entirely the fault of Jan Piros).

Dec. 2000: Eventually got around to launching DV Info Net, which was intended as an umbrella for the XL1 Watchdog and her sister sites, but my obligations to Canopus kept me from working on it very much. DV Info Net's forum software was installed in January 2001 but it sat idle for months as a result of my commitment to the Canopus forum and their corporate site.

Sep. 5th, 2001: After finally growing weary of answering the same technical questions over and over again by email, at long last I got the DV Info Net message board activated, something I should have done a year or two prior.

In 2002, we switched to our "real names only" policy and since then, the strength of the site -- as well as its value -- has come from its members, and most importantly from those who have volunteered to help moderate it. Without them, there wouldn't be very much to see here. They're the ones who deserve all the thanks. That's it for now -- longer than I intended -- maybe someday we'll expand on this story. Much respect,

Thanks Chris for all the hard work you've poured into this site. I belong to those "other" boards and can say confidently that this is the ultimate resource. Haven't had a question yet that this forum hasn't been able to answer.

more props to Kennelmaster Chris: This site was blowing up (2002) when i first dared decide to switch from fruitless years of Bolex no/Nagra filmmaking to DV. Chris and the gang (Ken, Robert KS, Donatello, Rob Lohman, Bill Ravens, Glenn Chan, and many others) made this transition possible.

That is precisely why i listed a credit to Chris and this board in my first feature. W/o their input and Chris' advocacy my early DV production would have been hobbled by *years* of ignorance and trial/error.

Everyone who contributes here is helping each others' productions. Chris saw this potential bounty early on, fostered it, and brought in big-time gurus and trusted providers to help the whole spectrum of shooters and editors. Couple all this with the impact this board has had on camera development and edit SW evolution, and you are looking at an *extremely* significant factor in DV filmmaking.

Every semester i list DVinfo in the 'Resources' page of my class syllabi. Are the students taking advantage of it? I doubt it. They still have this whack idea that the teacher knows everything ;) (so i keep coming back to the board, eternal cycle)

***Chris, there's long been a copy of my debut feature with yr name on it-- PM me a shipping address and i'll send one out.

Eternal thanks,

MRP

PS: the move to have Shiner sponsor this site prolly sealed it for me. Too many cross-ref's for that not to work

Walking around the Cinegear show this year, I twice overheard equipment vendors refer attendees to this site. That was nice.

Ditto. Chris, thanks for this site. I know it must be a pain and you probably wonder sometimes if it's really worth it. It IS. This site is influencing thousands upon thousands of moviemakers across the globe. I personally think you are a lucky man. Few people can go to bed at night knowing they are making a literal difference in how the world is viewed.

I remember emailing Chris Hurd in 1999 and asking him why there hadn't been any new updates to his site in 6 months. I was a new owner of an XL1 at that time and read every article posted on the Watchdog.

Chris emailed me back and said that "big things are in the works".

Little did I know how big this would turn out to be.

Thanks Chris!!!!

Daniel Weber

"Online Community" is a trite expression these days. But I can honestly say, that this forum has the strongest sense of 'community' that I've ever experienced via the internet.

Bravo Chris. Bravo.

Thanks fellows, I'm nothing less than amazed by all that's happened here. From the start the goal has been to create a useful and unique online experience. There's lots more to come. Much appreciated,

I would like to extend my thanks to you as well, Chris. Can't express how much I've learned from the great community of people here. A day isn't complete without hitting your site at least a few times!

Just curious, Chris, if you could comment on how you built the site- are you a programer or did you purchase software to build the site?

Joe