Progress on Streaming

I've been working on converting the mp4 video files in the digital collection so they can be streamed using our library server (i.e. they will be stored and accessed locally, not on CONTENTdm's server). This will make playing the videos much more seamless--the file will not download to your computer before playing. Rather, it will stream automatically in whatever default media player you have set up. This also allows me to put up longer videos (i.e. not have to break them up into clips) and prevents easy downloading of the files by end users. 

So far I only have a handful converted. Here is the link to one of them, a "failure analysis" video from 1995 regarding the 4/19 tank and gas assault: http://cdm15042.contentdm.oclc.org/u?/p9010coll4,66

For anyone interested, here are the basic steps I take for each video.

1. In iMovie (or in Final Cut Express) I export the mp4 file using Quicktime conversion, selecting the Enable Streaming option in the process.
2. I move the new file to the designated folder on the streaming server. 
3. In CONTENTdm I find and download into the Project Client the record with the video I will replace. Then I choose the "replace item with URL item," and make any necessary changes to the metadata.
4. I upload the new record with the URL item, approve and index it using CONTENTdm Administration, and viola, it's there.
5. Lastly, I need to delete any of the records with clips and/or records of the VHS tapes themselves, since in most cases I can now put the whole video up and only need one record to reflect that. 

While streaming a video makes watching the whole thing much more manageable and less time-consuming, I still am limiting them at around one hour. For the videos longer than that, I'm going to split them into two (or three) parts. This adds extra steps to the beginning of the process, but worth it, I think. There are limits to what most people will watch/listen to/read online at one time.

This is all slow-going, as I am just fitting it in as I have time, but I am making it a short-term priority, so check back on the videos in the digital collection soon (by the end of the month, say) to see more. I also plan on streaming the audio files after I complete the videos.