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-   -   events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future? (https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/wedding-event-videography-techniques/528297-events-weddings-new-media-distribute-usb-sticks-future.html)

Anthony Lelli May 5th, 2015 06:10 AM

events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
DVD is becoming obsolete, just last week I did a presentation and posted on youtube (as requested) , but the President of the company wanted a copy to keep and when it came to discuss the media then... problems.

He didn't have a DVD player (it was somewhere stored in the basement). I proposed a memory stick with MP4 to be played on the laptop and that I did. But then I was thinking of a better way so I went to bestbuy to see the TVsets on sale and all of them had the USB with a built in player (they call it "APP" now... it's a player anyway) for MWV, AVI and quicktime (those are the most common formats that can be played on almost all the current TVsets with USB)
in the store I could only find 1 Sony capable of playing MP4.

So is the future of our distribution with the USB sticks? in AVI or MOV? or WMP? for edited material obviously (I don't really know if the ability to play from the camera via hdmi could help me or help us shooting events and weddings)

back to my particular Client and how to give him the work it's obvious that I can't literally go to each home to test the TVset that they have. But we should start talking about this because it's not the first time that I hear about the DVD player stored in the basement or something like that.

Now publishing on Youtube (after getting paid for the work) is ok but sometimes I have to deal with Clients who want a tangible media to keep.

BD is out of the question (nobody has a player, many don't even know what it is).

So it's either the good old DVD (if they have a player still and for how long???) , youtube or USB at this point. at least as I see it.

What's your experience?

Chris Harding May 6th, 2015 08:25 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
For corporate clients I would give them a media player with a USB thumbdrive ..that way they can play the USB on a computer or plug the media player into their TV if it's own USB input doesn't play video ..most I have tried seem to love a bunch of JPEG's and play a slideshow but few can play video.

What I give my corporate clients is an LCD brochure ..it's completely non technical and it's just a book with a hall effect sensor in the cover that plays your video on a TFT LCD screen .. it's self powered and the internal LI-Ion battery recharges on a computer or any 5v USB charger (including phone chargers) ...it's small enough to drop into a briefcase and they hand it to a client ..the client opens the cover and the video presentation plays ..close the cover and it stops! Simple and cost effective !! and clients love the fact that don't don't need to connect anything or plug in anything .. no degree in computer engineering is required

My supplier has from small 2.5" LCD's right up to 10" LCD's and all are self contained. I use generic covers but you can also get customised covers too!!

My brides also get one in their package and they absolutely love it ..it's has instant gratification appeal!!


Chris

Noa Put May 6th, 2015 08:33 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
A fat32 formatted usb stick with a h264 mp4 file plays on mac and pc and almost all current tv's support that too. I have delivered in this way to all my weddingclients last year and had zero complaints.

Mike Watson May 6th, 2015 08:40 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
^^ I've never found anything that wouldn't play an h264 (i.e. mp4) on a FAT32 stick. That's what I use.

Leon Bailey May 6th, 2015 09:13 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
I wouldn't say DVD is becoming obsolete and the thing about no one having a Blu-ray player, well, that's not true either. A lot of wedding folks seem to be trying to push the USB or digital delivery method, which I don't agree with.

Why not offer all?

Weddings I offer Blu-ray, DVD, and USB. For corp clients they always request digital files, raw files on hdd, and depending on length of event, a DVD.

But as others have said, H.264 MP4 is the way to go for USB and digital files. :)

Kyle Root May 6th, 2015 12:53 PM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
I'm really going to start pushing the USB route myself.

I'm putting together this video I shot for a local photographer where I used my D750... I made a test mp4 of the rough cuts at 720p and put it on a drive and put it in my TV... quality is crazy out of this world good on my 6 year old 55" TV. Even at 720p! (and it's a 1080 tv).

Taky Cheung May 6th, 2015 11:18 PM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
2 Attachment(s)
I have a LG 55" TV that I bought 3 years ago that the USB port won't play any video. It's on the user manual it only play JPEG as slideshow. Until the day smart TV is in everybody's home (which we cannot control), i can't deliver a thumbdrive and assume they play on my client's TV.

I am in the middle of customizing this USB/HDMI dongle. When plug to computer, it is a regular USB drive. When plug to TV HDMI Port, it plug and play my HTML5 menu and play videos. It is a plug-and-play turnkey device 100% work on any TV with HDMI port. Even HDMI 1.0 TV.

I'm gonna called it, the TakyDong :)

Paul Mailath May 7th, 2015 03:28 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
what about something like this

Android 4 2 Mini PC Hdmi Smart HD Google TV Stick BOX Dongle Quad Core Bluetooth | eBay

seems to me I can load the wedding on a micro USB and the client can use it on any TV with HDMI - I don't have to worry about compatibility with the TV just the dongle

Taky Cheung May 7th, 2015 08:43 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
That will work. My setup is similar but with Android 4.4 (upgrade to 5.0 soon). I also have it prenatal and tuned to auto load browser to open my TakyBox HTML5 menu. So it will be a more DVD viewing experience. :)

Steven Davis May 7th, 2015 08:58 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
I'm in the middle of pricing thumb drives, around 7 bucks or so on average, but then you add the case which, so 10 bucks, not bad.

I've never had any bride in my area ask me for a thumb drive, so I think it's an interesting sale in my area. A lot of bride's have their mothers paying for things and DVD is always king, not even blu-ray. So I think we are going to a more non-dvd area for certain clients, all you have to do is look at the price of DVD players to know there's a shift to online/file driven video vs hard copy.

Hey Chris, nice stuff on the book, if you have a resource for the book, I'd like to look into it.

Denis Danatzko May 7th, 2015 01:40 PM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
I don't do weddings, but have delivered projects on thumb drives to a handful of customers, all intended for play on a laptop in HD, but have concerns for delivery on any thumb drive:

- Chaptering - I don't know HTML, and am not aware if/how menus can be made to work on a thumb drive,

- protection from erasure - I've always made the files "read only", but without applying a password. That way, if the customer ever decides they really want to erase the video, (maybe following a divorce), they are at least notified that they're erasing something that is "read only". They can erase it, but at least they get that one warning.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that if/when menus are included, then if the .iso file is copied to a thumb drive, it will be treated/handled the same way as a DVD, i.e. the menus are functional. I haven't tried it yet; if others have, please relate your experience.

As for Chris' LCD books, they look interesting and would like to know more about them, too.

Chris Harding May 7th, 2015 06:58 PM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Hi Guys

I get my books direct from China from the people below as they are prepared to have a generic cover and keep in in stock. They also have a nice low MOQ of 10 units so you are not stuck with 100's of something and you decide you want to change ... For low level orders we are looking at complete books for US$30 each.

Shiny Industrial Co.,Ltd
Shenzhen Hesheng Greeting Cards Co.,Ltd
Add:D8 Building,Daweishahe Industrial Park,Gongming Street,Guangming,Shenzhen 518106
T: (+86) 755 61135181 F: (+86) 755 61137039
E: sales04@heshengcards.com


Chris

Ian Atkins May 8th, 2015 06:20 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
So for those of you offering on Thumb-drives...how exactly are you doing that?
What is the file format you use?
Are you able to provide chapters? If not...do you have a single stream of the entire wedding or break up the video into different clips?

I'm toying with this idea for 2016 but I'm worried that I will get a lot of customers that can't get it to work/play and then I will become a glorified technical support person!

Denis Danatzko May 10th, 2015 07:50 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian Atkins (Post 1886048)
What is the file format you use?

...I'm worried that I will get a lot of customers that can't get it to work/play and then I will become a glorified technical support person!

I haven't done this in at least a year, but last time I did there was no need for chapters, so I think I put it out in 3 different formats: as an .avi file, as an .mpg file, and as .mp4. I thought .avi would be a "safe bet" , because:
- the thumb drive had plenty of space for storage, and
- (at least in my understanding) because of the nearly-universal ability of .avi being playable on even an older computer/laptop, and
- less "decompression", technical know-how, and latest whiz-bang hardware was required to play it.
It seemed to me that .avi would present the most widely available, least problematic format. If the other formats worked, then that was a "bonus".
In this scenario, the only drawback would have been the default "play" characteristics of whatever machine/computer was being used, i.e. the "user" had to decide which of the 3 file formats displayed best on the machine being used at the moment. For that particular project, the customer had an "older" laptop that was "off the shelf" and didn't qualify as a "workhorse" by any means. They said they were happy with the options. (For "safety" reasons, I still set each individual file to be "read only").

Hope this helps.

Mike Watson May 10th, 2015 04:53 PM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Chris, do they offer anything that you can print one-off on your own? I'd like to distribute one per video, but I don't do weddings or events, so a generic "wedding" theme wouldn't work for me. But if there were something plain white I could run through my laser printer, it'd be perfect. The website (entirely in Chinese) wasn't much help.

Chris Harding May 10th, 2015 06:03 PM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Hi Mike

The best place to go would probably Global Sources 4.3 Inches LCD Brochure with Video Print/Card and Mailer, Customized Designs are Accepted on Global Sources they list all the bulk manufacturers and then you can negotiate with each supplier. There is actually a myriad of combinations you can get. The first sample I bought was just the module itself (preassembled) and a template for various sizes. I then printed my own case but you do need a printer that handles bigger widths. They will also supply you on request a plain white pre-assembled book and then you can print a sleeve for it. Just be careful with minimum order quantities .. some will only sell you 100 units but nowdays most will drop to 10 at a time. They are happy to send you a sample too but it's not free.

Mike Watson May 11th, 2015 02:24 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Looks like ~$30/ea?

Too rich for me, but I will keep them in mind.

Chris Harding May 11th, 2015 02:38 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Hi Mike

Yep $30.00 each ..bear in mind that it's preprinted and has all the electronics/hall effect sensor/LCD screen preassembled and li-ion battery .... Every bride who has seen it says it's awesome so it adds a lot of value to my package for a small cost ... Sheesh, an el cheapo photo album from the supermarket costs more than that

Tim Polster May 11th, 2015 10:06 PM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Taky Cheung (Post 1885928)
I'm gonna called it, the TakyDong :)

With a name like that, how can it fail!

You have a good idea Taky. I have been looking at USB but it only works for some situations. Higher volume sales get kind of pricey. Data DVD discs with mp4 files on them work as well.

I think DVD will always be there. I also think that "normal" people really know less about tech that we think they do. Everybody knows DVD. It is a shame that the powers that be have decided to do away with optical media. At least it is a standard.

Publishing on YouTube only is going to lead us to lower and lower pay as internet = free to most people. Without a physical delivery the value to the client just seems less imho.

I know we supposed to be advancing but I find it harder and harder to deliver stuff to people these days. HD files are so large that it freaks a lot of people out. It often leads right back to good ol' DVD. :(

Anthony Lelli May 12th, 2015 09:48 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Polster (Post 1886369)
With a name like that, how can it fail!

You have a good idea Taky. I have been looking at USB but it only works for some situations. Higher volume sales get kind of pricey. Data DVD discs with mp4 files on them work as well.

I think DVD will always be there. I also think that "normal" people really know less about tech that we think they do. Everybody knows DVD. It is a shame that the powers that be have decided to do away with optical media. At least it is a standard.

Publishing on YouTube only is going to lead us to lower and lower pay as internet = free to most people. Without a physical delivery the value to the client just seems less imho.

I know we supposed to be advancing but I find it harder and harder to deliver stuff to people these days. HD files are so large that it freaks a lot of people out. It often leads right back to good ol' DVD. :(

yes I agree , you took a pretty accurate picture of how it is right now. But the future? Like I said in my tests @bestbuy it came out clear that as of today the most played format via USB is WMV , in 4K. But that depends on the built-in player they put in the TVset. Tomorrow everything can change. In my particular case the Client didn't have a DVD, didn't have a BD player , just a "recent" TVset and again that didn't help: we can't go to each house to check the TV that they have. A standard is needed! like it was VHS and DVDs before.
At the same time I believe that this is something important for us... How are we going to distribute in 1-2-3-5 years?

I also agree about youtube , but that's a reality, everybody knows about it and it became the most important place to watch videos, either we like it or not. I'm afraid that we're going to have to come to terms with it, sooner or later. I don't like it, as much as you don't like it but...

Mike Watson May 13th, 2015 08:55 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Harding (Post 1886291)
Hi Mike

Yep $30.00 each ..bear in mind that it's preprinted and has all the electronics/hall effect sensor/LCD screen preassembled and li-ion battery .... Every bride who has seen it says it's awesome so it adds a lot of value to my package for a small cost ... Sheesh, an el cheapo photo album from the supermarket costs more than that

I mis-spoke. From a value perspective, it's amazing what you get for thirty bucks. From a "how much can I make for it" perspective, I don't think it'll increase the income stream at all. But it is downright amazing that you can get a full-on portable TV for thirty bucks!

Roger Gunkel May 13th, 2015 10:08 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
1 Attachment(s)
I've had USB as a delivery format available for a while, but haven't really pushed it at all, but recently was asked about formats for HD delivery and gave the couple a USB along with their DVDs . They loved it and have now ordered 14 copies of video and stills on USB.

This has decided me to push USB delivery harder, so now take a sample to all my potential clients when I visit them, and display USB video at wedding shows. Most of the new clients that I visit seem to have HD TVs with USB facilities and I also take a simple Sumvision Cyclone media player with me. This connects to any HDMI input and enables me to show HD video and stills directly to their TV via USB stick or SD card. If they can't play the USB straight to their TV, then the Cyclones are only about £20 which they seem to feel is worthwhile to get full HD playback.

I am now offering all packages with DVD and USB, with presentation cases for the USB in various styles. The drives are supplied with our logo and 'Our Wedding' engraved on opposite sides. Depending on the case, a 16gb drive with case costs me about £7, so I include one with the package, plus 2 DVDs. I have attached a pic of one of the cases which comes with a white tissue lined box.

Roger

Ian Atkins May 13th, 2015 12:39 PM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Roger, that's great!

What format are you using for the videos?

Do you have a single file for the entire wedding or do you somehow break it up into "chapters" and/or clips of different events?

I will be making this transition myself by 2016.

Roger Gunkel May 13th, 2015 02:57 PM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Hi Ian,

I render to MP4, taking care that the file extension is .MP4 as extensions such as .mts aren't always recognised. I edit the video ready for rendering to DVD first, with the usual chapter points, then split the files at the chapter points putting a fade in and out of black at each split. I then save each 'chapter' as a separate MP4 file. I number them sequentially and put them onto the USB drive in sequence. Most systems will then play them in sequence automatically, and few wedding clients bother with using menus on DVDs anyway, so feel that the advantage of HD delivery outweighs the USB disadvantages.

Roger

Chris Harding May 15th, 2015 06:24 PM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
It also depends on the couples "tech savy" ... I have had very little if any questions from brides on delivery format so either they don't care as long as they can watch it or they are happy with DVD's ... Despite being a small screen device our LCD video albums certainly go down well with brides but that's probably because of the "instant gratification" they get ...(open album and watch the wedding versus get a UDB?DVD plug it in turn everything on sit down and watch)

I really wonder if brides would complain bitterly if we only supplied USB ?? The only reason I still supply DVD is that it looks more value for money than a USB ... 3 x double DVD cases with printed disks and covers look "more" than a little jewellery box with a USB inside .... then again her diamond ring also came in a tiny box didn't it??

Chris

Steven Davis May 15th, 2015 09:07 PM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Harding (Post 1886716)
It also depends on the couples "tech savy" ... I have had very little if any questions from brides on delivery format so either they don't care as long as they can watch it or they are happy with DVD's ... Despite being a small screen device our LCD video albums certainly go down well with brides but that's probably because of the "instant gratification" they get ...(open album and watch the wedding versus get a UDB?DVD plug it in turn everything on sit down and watch)

I really wonder if brides would complain bitterly if we only supplied USB ?? The only reason I still supply DVD is that it looks more value for money than a USB ... 3 x double DVD cases with printed disks and covers look "more" than a little jewellery box with a USB inside .... then again her diamond ring also came in a tiny box didn't it??

Chris

Here ya go Chris...

Promotion Flash Drive Usb Ring 4gb Photo, Detailed about Promotion Flash Drive Usb Ring 4gb Picture on Alibaba.com.

Mark Whittle May 15th, 2015 10:48 PM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Regarding formats and chapters, if you export your mp4 as a Quicktime your chapters points from your sequence timeline are kept intact (at least from Premiere Pro).

I just did a test by exporting Quicktime, then choosing an h.264 720p preset and in both Quicktime Players 7 & 10 the chapters were there.

Then I changed the file extension to .mp4 and opened the file in VLC and the chapters were still there.

I'm going to fire up a windows 7 & XP PC and see if they work.

Mark

Roger Gunkel May 17th, 2015 03:44 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Whittle (Post 1886731)
Regarding formats and chapters, if you export your mp4 as a Quicktime your chapters points from your sequence timeline are kept intact (at least from Premiere Pro).

I just did a test by exporting Quicktime, then choosing an h.264 720p preset and in both Quicktime Players 7 & 10 the chapters were there.

Then I changed the file extension to .mp4 and opened the file in VLC and the chapters were still there.

I'm going to fire up a windows 7 & XP PC and see if they work.

Mark

Will they still play on a TV with a USB input, otherwise they will be limited to watching on a computer.

Roger

Mark Whittle May 17th, 2015 04:13 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Roger Gunkel (Post 1886821)
Will they still play on a TV with a USB input, otherwise they will be limited to watching on a computer.

Roger

Not all TVs with USB inputs can play video at all. My two don't so can't test it.

The Windows 7 test: files play in VLC, Quicktime & Media Player. QT plays chapters correctly. VLC can see them but jumps to the wrong point so that's a fail.
Windows Media Player doesn't see the chapters at all but plays the files fine.

Maybe Taky's on the right track with an HDMI device or Chromecast type thingy.

Chris Harding May 17th, 2015 05:50 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
The big problem here is we never know what the bride has at her home and even if her latest TV does in fact play MP4 video when she takes the USB drive to even a friend's house imagine the issues when she discovers the friend's TV doesn't even have a USB input ! My TV doesn't!!

I know I go on a bit about the bride sharing her day with friends but I want referrals and the best way to get those is for the bride to share her day with people her age that are potential brides in the next year or too. OK it's cute that Nana can watch the video but her friend's are highly unlikely to be future clients so my target is always the bride's friends and the best way to expose your work to them is with a device that is very easily playable at a moments notice and without any tech knowledge ... I have a media player here which plays HD files off a drive perfectly and it's cheap as chips too BUT I cannot see a bride packing up a media box, HDMI cable, AC adapter into a bag and then having to assemble and connect somewhere else just so her friends can see her wedding. Media needs to be ultra simple and idiot proof too. We tend to forget that brides are usually not technically people ..sure they can operate a Smart Phone with magic fingers but I cannot see many figuring out cables and settings.

The LCD albums we use still give the best solution for me and they STILL are tech proof too! I booked a bride last week and the Mother picked up the album, vanished into the living room and watched the complete wedding highlights ... OK it's not a 50" screen with home theatre speakers but it does give immense satisfaction .. the bride not only booked immediately but paid everything up front the same day! My sorta customer!!

If there is something that can do the same thing with absolutely no hassles then tell me about it as it needs to be on my "must buy" list

Taky Cheung May 17th, 2015 06:00 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Denis Danatzko (Post 1885978)
- Chaptering - I don't know HTML, and am not aware if/how menus can be made to work on a thumb drive,
.

I have created a HTML 5 menu system called TakyBox. It can handle chapter mark. Check out this link. Go under Scene Selection. The video is terrain from Vimeo.com but playback chapter mark.

the same menu system is also for thumbdrive delivery

http://takybox.com/vimeo

Nigel Barker May 17th, 2015 06:01 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Photographers have always had the edge with being able to deliver multiple desirable physical artefacts whether it's canvas print or a luxurious wedding album & videographers have always been at a disadvantage because their product is more intangible. Chris's LCD albums are a really nice way of putting something physical into the client's hands so they feel that they are really getting something for their money.

Taky Cheung May 17th, 2015 06:07 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Denis Danatzko (Post 1886224)
so I think I put it out in 3 different formats: as an .avi file, as an .mpg file, and as .mp4. I thought .avi would be a "safe bet" , because:
- the thumb drive had plenty of space for storage, and
- (at least in my understanding) because of the nearly-universal ability of .avi being playable on even an older computer/laptop, and
- less "decompression", technical know-how, and latest whiz-bang hardware was required to play it.
It seemed to me that .avi would present the most widely available, least problematic format. If the other formats worked, then that was a "bonus".

Denis, .mpg is mpeg 2. .mp4 is mpeg 4 in h.264 codec. .mpg is actually the safest bet as all computers can playback .mpeg 2. H.264 .Mp4 is next and is currently the safest bet. Mp4 deliveres the best quality in same bit rate as .mpg, almost all modern computers, tablet , smart phones can playback ,mp4

.avi is the worst one to choose, avi is not a codec. It is a container. It can be any format, Sorenson, mpeg2, h.264, indeo, Windows media etc. should avoid deliver upswing .avi

Taky Cheung May 17th, 2015 06:10 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
This is my mp4 encoding format recommendation

Recommended Encoder Settings for USB Thumbdrive Delivery | L.A. Color Pros Blog

Chris Harding May 17th, 2015 06:11 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Hi Nigel

My feelings exactly BUT I still cannot see why a videographer cannot provide a higher perceived value product to the bride anyway whether it's a DVD set or USB set?? Surely a little more effort (adequately compensated financially of course with a price adjustment) can be achieved with a similar smart album if the LCD route is not preferred? A nice white satin album with some prints (you have to shoot stills for the DVD covers so just zap a few more) and then maybe organise the inside pages to be die cut from your local prints so disk cases can drop into the cut outs.

There must be tons of ways one can make a product appear better value for money ..I remember one member here used to present the DVD cases along with some printed movie tickets and a box of popcorn to clients ..if one was ambitious one could even supply the disks, a new popcorn maker and a bag of corn ready to go .... sounds "corny" (excuse the pun) but an impression with a little extra effort can make a huge difference!

Noa Put May 17th, 2015 06:33 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Harding (Post 1886716)
The only reason I still supply DVD is that it looks more value for money than a USB ... 3 x double DVD cases with printed disks and covers look "more" than a little jewellery box with a USB inside .... then again her diamond ring also came in a tiny box didn't it??

I think we need to explain to our clients why dvd sucks, using a nice dvdbox with color printed dvd doesn't make it a better product, it may look nicer to present but to me this is like using the body of a Ferrari but put the engine in of a Lada. Especially the last year I have told all my clients why they need to have their wedding in HD and not crappy SD dvd and I also showed them what the difference is. I actually had placed dvd on my option list, they can still get them but it will cost them extra.

For me it's time to finally deliver in the quality I shoot at, dvd has had it's time, the fact that many clients don't seem to know the difference is our fault, if we don't show them, they ofcourse don't care because they don't know any better. But once you show them and tell them it doesn't cost them any more they would be stupid not to pick a HD copy.

Usb in such a case is the easiest way to deliver, for me it's just a way to transport it to the client, what they do with it is up to them, if their tv supports it they can plug it in, if it doesn't, they can get a mediaplayer that will make it work.

Quote:

Despite being a small screen device our LCD video albums certainly go down well with brides but that's probably because of the "instant gratification" they get ...(open album and watch the wedding versus get a UDB?DVD plug it in turn everything on sit down and watch)
While I feel it looks great what you offer I think it can be done much easier and have an even more instant gratification; I let them download the trailer from my video account directly to their phone, all today's brides have oversized smartphones with excellent screens and if there is one device that is always on them, no matter where they go or what they do, it's their smartphone. If your digital album would fail then it's up to you to fix it or to have it replaced but the download files I supply are failsafe, their smartphone maybe not but that is not my problem.

While I understand brides prefer to have their film presented in a shiny box I would only be happy with that if the contents in that box are of the highest quality I can deliver.

Chris Harding May 17th, 2015 07:02 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Hi Noa

I did use the term DVD as an example ..it can of course be USB or BluRay etc etc ... I know we would love brides to see our work in the highest possible resolution so it's shown off at it's very best BUT it also has to be a "no hassle play" ... Sure, supply in BluRay and the bride then thinks "shucks now I have to buy a new player .. and worst of all I have to get hubby to connect it up which will take a month at least because I can never get him to do anything for me"

On the other side of the coin I really wonder is brides even bother to look at resolution .. sure we pixel peep but they are only looking at content ! I have shot weddings in 4:3 on my Panasonic AVC20's with 1/6" chips and plastic lens and watched them with brides on a huge TV which stretched the image to 16:9 and the groom was blown away .."It's so clear" he said ... 720x676 video on a big screen and he thought it was perfect. Yes, I DO want brides to watch my footage at 1080 but I wonder if they really care ... I have never had a quality complaint from a DVD. On the other hand miss the cutting of the cake after kiss whether it's in SD or HD and she will be on the phone to you the next day!!

I do agree with providing a highlight video for download and yes we do have all our supplied highlights available online for brides ...some go crazy over the online video some might only watch it once. Do they all download the video onto their phone ..do they have enough space or is the phone full of selfies ...one never knows??

The bottom line of this conversation is something I have said many times and that's "we need to supply what the bride wants, NOT what we THINK she wants" .... The big issue of course is to figure exactly what the bride wants!! What we REALLY want on this forum is a bride who can throw in a few posts and tell us, "Boys you are doing it all wrong ..you have no idea what we want!! Now THIS is what you should be doing"

Chris

Mark Whittle May 17th, 2015 07:25 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Deleted double post.

Mark Whittle May 17th, 2015 07:29 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Some photographers put all their pictures on a disk and that's all they deliver.

Traditional old school & other pro photographers have a range of products - albums, thank you cards, large prints, coffee table books, video slideshows… what the bride wants is up to the bride to choose.

The MP4 file USB is one product, if you like, in our potential range of DVD, Blu-ray, Taky box, Chris' picture player thingy, these are all options we can give to them, as well as wireless delivery where I envisage is where we're headed.

I imagine the tech savvy young couples will know exactly what to do with the MP4 file: they'll stick it in their computer, transfer it to their smartphone/tablet/NAS media server, upload it to whatever they want. It is not really our concern what they do with it.

If they are not savvy and they don't know what to do with it, then that option is inappropriate and they will need to choose a different medium. USBs may not last that long either as smartphones are too thin, iPads & Galaxy pads don't have them and some laptops are phasing them out as they get thinner too. And most young people these days don't have a desktop machine.

We just need to give them options and I'm grateful this forum lets us share those ideas.

Nigel Barker May 17th, 2015 07:41 AM

Re: events /weddings : new media to distribute USB sticks: is the future?
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Whittle (Post 1886850)
Some photographers put all their pictures on a disk and that's all they deliver.

Traditional old school & other pro photographers have a range of products - albums, thank you cards, large prints, coffee table books, video slideshows… what the bride wants is up to the bride to choose.

The MP4 file USB is one product, if you like, in our potential range of DVD, Blu-ray, Taky box, Chris' picture player thingy, these are all options we can give to them, as well as wireless delivery where I envisage is where we're headed..

The nice thing from the photographers point of view is that all these different products are an up sell that generates more income. Unfortunately because of the intangible nature of video it's difficult to sell more versions of the same finished product in different formats. The photographer can sell the same photograph in different physical forms (album, canvas, thank you cards, beer mats...). A videographer will struggle to sell as separate line items a download, a USB, a DVD & a Blu-ray charging separately for each physical incarnation of the same video.


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