At Most, Video Can Be Roughly 10 Minutes in Length

eCollege Video FAQ RULES OF THUMB: At most, video can be roughly 10 minutes in length. If you have longer footage, it must be divided into segments. This keeps the files under 10 MB in size (for the dial-up user). There’s some give-and-take with video quality vs. file size. Usually, the smaller your file size (shorter video)… the better quality your video can have. We also must take copyright law into consideration. As such, we cannot compress entire movies, songs, etc. into eCollege. Small clips, however, are usually not an issue. To play it safe, please get permission from the copyright holder first. FILE TYPES: To see acceptable file types that can be uploaded on eCollege, visit: http://www.elearning.tcu.edu/resources/ecollegefileextensionlist.htm The following are just a sample of file types can be streamed through eCollege: .asf, .asx, .camv, .flv, .mov, .mp3, .mp4, .qt, .ra, .ram, .rm, .wav, .wma, .wmv ----- Only Real Media files (.rm, .ra,) and Windows Media files (.wmv, .wma) will stream from a link that opens an external player. With an embedded player, you can stream Real Media (.rm, .ra), Windows Media (.wmv, .wma) and QuickTime (.mov) files. It is possible to stream other file types, but these are the ones recommended and supported by eCollege. ----- Different file types also tend to produce slightly different results in quality/file size. For example, .mov files made with QuickTime compression (using the state-of-the-art, H.264 codec) tend to result in relatively small files with very sharp quality. You must, however, have the latest version of QuickTime Player installed to view these files. To avoid compatibility issues (Windows Media Player vs. QuickTime Player vs. Real Player)… you could embed Flash video. It is estimated that 98% of computers are capable of playing Flash content. This is perhaps the most “universal” option for your end-user. LINKING vs. EMBEDDED PLAYERS When you embed a player, the end user must have that particular player installed on their computer. When you link to a video, the end user only needs to have a player capable of playing that particular file type (example: QuickTime Player can handle files other than .mov… like an .mpeg) See below for information regarding the proper HTML code for embedding media players. eCollege Video FAQ STREAMING vs. (PROGRESSIVE) DOWNLOAD: Streaming servers deliver just the amount of data necessary to play the video, at precisely the rate needed to play it. They actually open a conversation with the media player. This allows for user-actions like play, pause, stop, and seeking to a particular part of the file. You can skip ahead in a video, or begin playback at a point somewhere in the middle. It also makes more efficient use of bandwidth since only the part of the file that's watched gets transferred. The video file is not stored on the user’s computer. It gets played and then discarded by the media player, so you maintain more control over your content. Streaming tends to be the better solution when your clips are more than a few minutes long. ----- Progressive download involves delivering your video file using a web server. This is a very simple bulk download of the video file to the user’s computer. It may appear to be streaming since playback can begin almost immediately. The "progressive download" feature in most media players allows them to begin playing the file as soon as enough data has been downloaded. Of course, you can't fast-forward to the end of the file until the whole file arrives from the server. The end-user can, however, save a copy of the video to his own computer. Use the download-method when this is a priority. Finally, downloaded content is usually of a higher-quality than media that was created for streaming. HTML CODE: Proper HTML code for embedding media players can be provided, at the instructor’s request. Keep in mind… Files in the File Manager are considered on the “Course Server” Link to them with a relative file path: /ec/Courses/3268/CRS-CIS-2276746/Part_1.mov Files in the Streaming Media Folder of the File Manager are considered on the “Streaming Server” (or “Media Server”). Link to them with an absolute file path: http://epmedia.ecollege.com/media/TCU/ABS-CIS-2276746/Part_1.mov Using the link wizard (“Add Link” feature) automatically adds the appropriate path – depending on where your file is saved (File Manager or Streaming Media Folder). If the file is saved in the File Manager, you will have to change the path when the course is duped. If the path was created in the Visual Editor, however, it will change automatically when the course is duped. .

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