We have added an Advanced Workflow section and clarified a bit more on some other aspects. The new information is mainly related to creating custom video icons and using Flash video for playback. The page is at:
http://209.200.110.159/HelpConsole/Shozam/default.aspx?page=2Media-Video-About.aspx
Here is the new/modified portion of the page:
What is a widget?
A Web widget (also called an online widget) is basically a standalone "section" that can be embedded in any Web page, such as your personal blog, a MySpace page, an eBay auction page or online store pages. The Web widget usually resides in a rectangular area on the page, and its behavior is independent of other sections from the page. Online widgets embedded in a page can be viewed by simply opening that page in the browser.
A Video widget is a Web widget which mainly plays video. YouTube is currently the primary provider of Video widgets. It allows users to easily and reliably convert their videos into a Web-friendly format that can be embedded in Web pages. YouTube provides the HTML code that you would insert in Shozam. Alternatively, you can use any third party video converter to convert your videos into Flash format video. You can then use your own HTML code to insert in Shozam and have more control over Flash video playback.
Recommendations
To ensure reliable playback of your videos, you have to convert them to a Web-friendly format. The best way to do this right now is to let YouTube do this for you:
- Upload your videos to YouTube
- Copy the Embed code provided by YouTube
- Click Add video widget in the Step 2, Video tab
- Click paste and then OK
This workflow has the following advantages:
- Your video will be converted in the best possible format for the Web, so anyone can see it.
- YouTube will host your video for free (and provided necessary bandwidth on their fast servers)
- Your Web gallery uploads will be faster
Using YouTube also allows you record videos directly from your desktop camera or your mobile phone.
Advanced Workflow
The Video Widget method described above will provide a generic video thumbnail image (icon) in your gallery. If you want each video to have its own descriptive icon you can add those "placeholder" images into Shozam, insert Flash video playback code and then hide the images (so only the video appears on the page, without the image placeholder). Do this:
- Step 2: Add image that you want to be used for the video thumbnail. You may want to have some "play" arrow or video graphic overlayed on the image so when Shozam creates an icon from it, it will be more representative to the viewer.
- Step 2 -> HTML Tab: Select the the new placeholder image on the left and enter on the right the code that will display the Flash movie. This code will be placed on the Large Page and the QuickView Page for the respective image so the Flash video will play on those pages.
- Step 2 -> Other Tab: Select the placeholder image on the left and check “Hide image(s)” on the right. This will hide the placeholder image so only the video displays.
This process allows you to use "placeholder" images so Shozam uses them to create the respective thumbnail but will hide the actual image to be displayed on the typical image pages. It is a great workaround to use when you want to put an HTML widget on a page and you want to control the image to be used for the thumbnail representing that widget.