Thursday, July 30, 2009

Video Distribution

These days there are a ton of ways to distribute your video. Many I haven't discovered yet and some I've used.
Of course there is the internet, a virtual plethora of sites you can upload and display your work. The internet with it's new high quality streaming and broadband feed can put decent video on any desktop. Where you may trade quality for a larger audience most viewers don't seem to care. More and more people are tuning in their browsers than their TV than ever before. Viewers will watch standard or wide screen with just as much appeal.

You can stream video direct from your site, embed it, or create a network of your own filled with your videos. You can UTube it to a massive audience or feature it within a members only site. There exists today as many sites to host your video as there are pebbles on the beach.

But distribution doesn't stop on the internet. In fact the internet is just one of many ways you can get video to your clients, customers or friends. One new marketing trend is putting video on flash drives complete with your company logo and mailing or handing them out. The customer gets your video plus a nifty thumb drive to keep they can use over and over again. Four gig drives are pretty cheap now and will hold an entire DVD's worth of quality video. Flash drives can even be triggered to start when inserted.

The old stand by DVD is still a great way to distribute your program. Almost no one lives without a DVD player in their home today. Plus DVD's are cheap. This is, and probably will be the primary way people get video into their lives for some time to come. There are cheap alternatives to labeling DVDs now that look professional without breaking the bank on supplies.
DVDs can be mailed easily and given away or packaged to sell from your own home.

Other outlets include distribution companies that make, package, and ship DVDs for you. Outlets such as Kunaki, Createspace, Lulu, DVD Baby, and others will create and distribute your DVD's for you for a fee. DVD's made by them are packaged just like store bought products complete with bar codes, shrink wrap, and color art work.

Physical distribution has taken another route in recent years with the invention of portable devices like IPods, Blackberries and other phone-computer fusions. Today a viewer is just as likely to download a video and watch it on the go with their mobile device as they would sit with a laptop or in front of a computer. People take their TV and entertainment with them, and they take information as well.

Plus there is a new and growing boom for online networks. What once was the domain of the airwaves now has found a home on the web. Complete television networks are springing up on the internet with all of the above as distribution outlets. You can watch a show live, download it, buy it on DVD or carry it around on a device. Hulu has started a trend and you can bet 50 more will exist in a years time. All of them will be looking for fresh new content. I also predict that in a few years the most popular show online will not come from Hollywood but rather from that guy down the street. That guy could be you.

It used to be getting your video seen was the hardest part of video production. Now it's the easiest. Whether you produce local events and weddings or have a flair for making a movie there is a way to get that show on the road! Fast & cheap.

And if you are looking for creative ways to market your video, get customers or get noticed you need only to burn a few discs, upload a few files and maybe even give or mail-out a thumbdrive or disc to potential clients. People love to get something and putting something free in their hands is the first step to making a new prospect.

Look around for creative ways to get your video out to the world. You will find a multitude of avenues.

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