What is Streaming Media? Streaming media is a protocol that allows audio/video files to be delivered via the internet. The term "streaming" means that the file is played in real time as it is being received, as opposed to waiting for the entire file to be downloaded before playing. What is Video email? Video email is the process of sending video via email. Our approach is unique in that the video file does not act as an attachment to the email. Instead the video is stored on the systems servers and viewers of your message are driven to a URL from which your message is streamed to the viewer. What is encoding? Encoding is the process of taking one file format, video or audio, and converting it into another file format. Converting an .AVI video file to a .WMV video file is an example of encoding. A video or audio file is typically encoded for one of two reasons, size or player compatibility. File size is in important variable in playing video content over the internet since files that are large in size require faster connection speeds to be played back quickly. For instance, an individual with a slow connection to the internet trying to stream or play a large video file is going to have to wait much longer then a person with a fast connection to the internet. However, it is important to note that there is an inverse relationship or tradeoff between size and quality; typically it is safe to assume that the larger the file the better the quality. With this said, when you record a Video email it is encoded into a low, medium and high speed encoding so that your viewers, regardless of the speed of their internet connection, can quickly view your message. Player compatibility is another important reason to encode a video. It is not uncommon for a viewer to use or have a media player installed on their PC, which may not playback or support all file formats. One way to avoid playback failure or difficulties is to encode a file into their players preferred format. By default Video email encodes into two file formats .AVI and .WMV with additional formats forthcoming. What is the difference between low, medium and high bandwidth encoding? The primary differences between low, medium and high bandwidth video encodings revolves around the frames per second (FPS) and the bit rate of the video. The FPS controls the number of individual video frames, which appear per second of playback the bitrate controls the amount of data being transferred per second. Video encodings designed for low bandwidth playback have lower number of frames per second and a lower bitrate, the lower FPS decreases the overall video quality in exchange for a smaller file. This is done so that low bandwidth viewers can view the file quickly. This is advantageous because a low bandwidth viewer would have to wait several minutes to view a high bandwidth video. As a side note, the type of video format being used also affects the overall file size. What is the difference between creating a New Video Message, Recording, and Uploading? There are three distinct ways to load a video into your Video Vault: Creating a New Video message, Recording a video, and Uploading a video. When you select the New Video Message feature you use the video recorder to compose a video message that when complete, is sent as a Video email to your message recipient. Recording a message, which can be accessed from your Videos Tab, uses the recorder but only uploads the composed message to your vault. No email is sent with the record feature. Uploading a message is similar to the Record feature in that an email is not sent, however, uploading does not use the recorder to capture your video; uploaded messages are preexisting videos on your local PC. What is a video CODEC? A CODEC is any technology that is used for compressing and decompressing data. Some of them come with Windows (like MS Video 1, Intel Indeo 3.4, Cinepak), others are installed by some software packages (Like Microsoft Windows Media MPEG4, etc.) As a viewer of a video you will have to make sure that you are using a player that supports the CODEC which you are trying to playback. For a list of compliant CODECs please visit the Upload section of the help documentation. Will the file size be too large for my recipient's inbox? When you send a Video email, you are sending a link to view your video, not a file attachment so the size of the message is small. Your actual video resides on our servers and is streamed to your viewer when they click on the link located in the email. Do my recipients or I need a high speed Internet access? No, you can send and receive Video email regardless of your Internet connection since viewers can select between low medium and high formats. However, it is important to note, that with faster connection speeds there is typically an increase in the video quality and the playback time. How can I view the message in Full Screen Mode? You can view your Video email in full screen mode by either double left clicking on the video frame or by right clicking in the video frame, selecting the zoom feature and clicking the “full screen” button. To back out of the full screen feature press the “Esc” key on your keyboard. I’m on Macintosh. Can I send a Video email? Currently Macintosh users are unable to send a Video email, however if you are using one of Mac’s latest Operating Systems, such as OS 10, then you will be able to view a Video email. This will change when version 5.0 is released. Can I upload DVD's, VHS thru Hellolive? Yes most Churches and Ministries will edit their broadcasts first then upload them.