Frequently Asked Questions

The FAQ section is a work in progress. If you have questions that we have not answered please send them to support at vlogcentral dot com. You can also ask follow-up questions by posting a comment to a FAQ.

We're planning on having several FAQ sections: one for prospective users, one for new users, and another for advanced users, for example. At one extreme we have to explaing what blogging and videoblogging are, at the other we'll need to talk about atom tags, etc.

Frequently Asked Questions: by Category

About Vlog Central Service

How much does Vlog Central cost?

At least during the testing phase, Vlog Central is free. We are not monks, however, and we do need to figure out how to monetize our work. The obvious model is to charge based on storage and bandwidth, but we're open to creative ideas.

Posted by yancy at 01:41 PM | Comments (0)

Using Vlog Central

What is the best video format to publish?

We recommend using a motion-JPEG format if you have a choice. Motion JPEG files are larger than true streaming formats, but are the best format to use for generating multiple streaming versions. Since Vlog Central automatically generates highly-compressed video files for Windows Media and QuickTime from the file you publish, people who visit your blog will see much faster download times than if they were trying to view the original motion-JPEG file.

Posted by sean at 10:10 AM | Comments (0)

What's the best way to keep up with Vlog Central?

We recommend using a Blog News Reader. It will notify you of enhancements to Vlog Central, new FAQs, and of course, new videos on Vlog Central and other blogs that are powered by Vlog Central (coming soon). It's easy:

1) Download a Free or Trial News Reader.
For Windows, try Feed Demon (Trial Version).
For Mac OS X, try NetNewsWire Lite (Free Version).

2) Use the Syndicate this site link here or on the homepage to subscribe to Vlog Central.

3) Every time you run your News Reader, you'll be automatically informed of new content on Vlog Central, Vlog Central powered sites (not yet), and any other blogs or news sites to which you subscribe.

Cool, huh?

Posted by sean at 10:49 AM | Comments (0)

Why does it take so long to upload videos?

Most home broadband (Cable modem and DSL) connections are much faster at downloading than uploading. Fortunately, you only have to upload your movie once. After that, you and your readers/viewers will be able to quickly play movies in your videoblog.

Posted by sean at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)

What video formats can I publish?

In general any format which the Vlog Client can display in its preview window can be published and will automatically be converted to formats that can be viewed by standard video players (Windows Media and QuickTime.)

If you have a choice of formats, we recommend motion-JPEG at a 320x240 frame size.

If you find a format that previews in the Vlog Client but doesn't display correctly on your blog, please post a comment on this FAQ entry.

Posted by sean at 12:14 PM | Comments (0)

What kinds of devices can I use to publish video?

If you can get the video file onto your computer and it will play in the Vlog Client, you can publish it to a wide audience via Vlog Central. You can also publish video via e-mail -- this is a great way to publish video directly from your cell phone.

We have a limited number of users in alpha testing right now, but so far we have posted content from:
1) Nokia 3650 cell phone.
2) Sony TRV-900 digital camcorder.
3) LogiTech QuickCam web camera.
4) NTT DoCoMo cell phone (Japan).
5) Fuji Digital Camera.

Please let us know about positive (or negative) experiences you've had with other video capture devices.

Posted by sean at 12:44 PM | Comments (0)

Why does a movie take so long to appear on my blog after I've finished uploading the movie?

After your video has been uploaded, we optimize this video for presentation to the viewers. This is a computing intensive process and can take some time to complete. We do not post an entry to your blog until this process is finished, at which time we'll e-mail you of its completion.

Posted by JC at 06:56 PM | Comments (0)

Vlog Client (Java Client)

How do I get the latest Vlog Client?

Every time you start Vlog Client it will automatically check for updates and run the latest version.

Click here to run the Vlog Client.

Posted by sean at 11:04 AM | Comments (0)

Why do I get a security warning when I run the Vlog Client?

The Vlog Client uses Java Web Start technology. Because Java has a very high security standard, users are always warned before running programs received over the Internet. Running the Vlog Client application is no more dangerous than downloading any other software utility from the Internet. The Vlog Client won't do any deleting or invading -- you have our word on it(tm).

Posted by JC at 08:40 PM | Comments (0)

What is Java Web Start?

Java Web Start is a built-in feature of recent versions of Java. It is included with Java version 1.4 for Windows and is pre-installed on Mac OS X 10.2 or later.
Java Web Start lets you create an icon on your desktop for the application. Every time the application is started it makes sure you have the latest released version before running. The program is installed on your hard disk and new files are only downloaded when necessary. This allows you to get improvements to the Vlog Client with no effort on your part!

Posted by sean at 01:46 PM | Comments (0)

What is the Vlog Client?

The Vlog Client is a Java-based application that Windows and Mac OS X users can use to post video via Vlog Central to their blog. It is a full-fledged desktop application that is launched from the Vlog Central server via Java Web Start. It allows you to drag-and-drop video, create your blog entry, and post to your blog.

Posted by sean at 03:40 PM | Comments (0)

Can the Vlog Client create hyperlinks?

Yes, the current version of the Vlog Client supports the use of HTML styling or hyperlinks on the text of your blog post. These HTML tags need to be entered manually as there is no WYSIWYG support.

Posted by sean at 08:58 AM | Comments (0)

Posting to Blogger

Why do I get an HTML error using Blogger?

When you edit a post to a Blogger site that was made using the Vlog Client you will get an "HTML ERROR". It will say "Tag is not allowed" followed by the link back to the source file at Vlog Central. Just ignore this and click on the publish button.

Posted by yancy at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)

I've just created a new Blog on Blogger, but the sign-up page tells me the Blog information is wrong. What do I do?

This has to do with the way Blogger handles default publishing. Blogger will not create the "empty" blog that our software is looking for when you first sign up. As a matter of fact Blogger will not publish anything until you first create a post.

As a work around, you can manually publish an empty Blog. Log into the Blogger interface, click on the "Posting" tab, then "Status", then click on the button to "Republish Entire Blog".

Posted by JC at 11:46 AM | Comments (0)

Posting to Movable Type

Does Vlog Central require an MT plugin?

No. Vlog Central works with "out-of-the-box" Movable Type. A Movable Type plugin would be an interesting addition, let us know if you have any requirements that might be met by an MT plugin...

Posted by sean at 04:57 PM | Comments (0)

Does Vlog Central support MT categories?

Not currently. The MetaWeblog API used by Movable Type (2.661 and 3.0 developer) does not allow us to specify a category for a new post. However, after the Vlog entry has been made, you may change its category with the MT web interface. Posts made with the MetaWeblog API will have a category of "" (empty string.)

Vlog Central will support categories using the Atom API in the future.

Posted by sean at 05:03 PM | Comments (0)

Does Vlog Central support TypePad?

Yes. TypePad is powered by MovableType, and has the same support as MovableType.

Posted by JC at 07:50 PM | Comments (0)

I edited my main index template and now Vlog Central doesn't post my movies any more. What happened?

Our service uses something called an RSD file generated by your blogging software to determine the proper way to post Vlog entries to your blog. If you have changed your template to omit a link to the "rsd.xml" file, or if you're using an old version of MovableType, we cannot post entries to your blog.

RSD is an acronym for "really simple discovery". Although not necessary, you can read the specification to learn more about RSD.

Posted by JC at 07:56 PM | Comments (0)

Posting to WordPress

Does Vlog Central require a WordPress plugin?

WordPress version 2.0 or later does not require a plug-in.

WordPress versions 1.5.2 and earlier require that the WordPress RSD Plugin be installed. It is a relatively simple plugin that is easy to install.

Posted by sean at 05:45 PM | Comments (0)

Linking to Vlog Entries

How do I link to a Vlog Entry?

Since Vlog Central entries appear in the vlogger's existing blog, you can link to the vlog/blog entry using the standard blog mechanisms (usually called a permalink URL) supported by the vlogger's blog host. These links will reference an HTML page containing the complete vlog entry, that is, the video and the associated text entry.

Posted by sean at 12:57 PM | Comments (0)

Can I link directly to the video itself?

At present this is not supported. The mechanism that Vlog Central uses for embedding video in blog entries was designed with three goals in mind:
1) Works in existing blogs (such as Blogger, TypePad, Movable Type)
2) Easy to use for both the vlogger and the vlog viewer
3) Give vlog viewers a choice of playback formats
Unfortunately, a side effect of this implementation is that is not possible to directly link the video. Vlog Central will support direct linking to video content in the future, although some vloggers may choose to not allow this type of linking.

Posted by sean at 01:10 PM | Comments (0)

Troubleshooting

Vlog Client says I don't have QuickTime for Java installed

You may get this error message on Windows systems if you installed (or updated) Java after you installed QuickTime. First of all, make sure you have QuickTime 7 installed. (QuickTime 6 may work, but is not supported.)

The technically-savvy can verify that QuickTime for Java was properly installed by looking for the file "QTJava.zip" in the "lib\ext" folder of your Java installation. For example, on a standard Windows system, with the latest version of Java (currently 1.5.0_09) QTJava.zip should be in this folder:
c:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_09\lib\ext

If you have QTJava.zip in the "lib\ext" folder of an earlier version of Java for example:
c:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_08\lib\ext

You can copy the file into the newest Java "lib\ext" folder and re-launch the Vlog Client and it should be able to find QuickTime.

Posted by sean at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)

Miscellaneous

How did you make this FAQ?

Using Movable Type blog entries, of course. We have modified and will continue to modify the Movable Type setup to make the FAQ more FAQ-like. We want to use Movable Type (MT) so that various individuals can work to add and update the FAQ to provide Vlog Central users with timely, useful, and accurate information.

Posted by sean at 05:47 PM | Comments (0)

Where can I get a soundtrack?

Magnatune has a large library of music with a creative commons license that will allow you to use the music in your videoblog for non-commercial use at no charge. (You must give the artist credit and make your videoblog entry available under the same license.) For commercial use they have reasonable license fees that vary depending the application.

(You should read the fine print on their site and/or consult a lawyer to make sure that you are in compliance with their licenses.)

Posted by sean at 08:21 PM | Comments (0)