Camcorder Tips: How To Upload Your Video To The Web

by Jim Hofman

Hey, remember 30 years ago when your dad took home movies on his old 8 mm camera? The whole family would sit together in a darkened room while dad loaded the film on those giant spools, and that choppy old projecter would show summer vacation highlights. Ah, memories.

While those days are long gone, families still share home movies. In fact, home movies are arguably bigger than ever, except now it’s filmed with camcorders and shared via the web. If you’re struggling with loading your camcorder video to the internet to share with family and friends, here’s a step by step guide to simplify the process.

Step One: Upload The Video To A Video Editing System

First, upload your video into your video editor. Your friends and family will be able to access your video faster if it’s short, so be sure to edit out any unnecessary video. The most popular online video showcase, YouTube, limits you to 10 minutes per video clip. If your video is longer, you’ll need to edit it down. Or, you can upload it as a video series, for example Part One, Part Two, etc. Also, be aware that shorter video loads faster, an important consideration for those with slower loading computers.

Step Two: Decide On Your Video Format

The major video format options for internet video are Quicktime, Windows Media, and Real. Our favorite choice for emailing video to family is Quicktime, because Quicktime is flexible for almost any PC. As for the type of video file, YouTube for example is also quite flexible. File formats like .mpg or .wmv are perfectly acceptable.

Step Three: Compress And Export

Compressing video is important because you want your video to load quickly and not cause the end user any viewing problems. Be aware, though, that the more you compress your video the worse it becomes in terms of picture quality. It’s a good idea to experiment with different sizes, considering the end user as you experiment. YouTube makes things easier on you as it will automatically convert the video according to their specifications.

In terms of exporting your video, just save it to your PC desktop. You can also set up a folder on your desktop and place all your videos within the folder. Either way, storing video on your desktop makes them easier to find and easier to send.

Step Four: Upload And Email To The End User

Uploading video to YouTube is extremely easy. After you set up an account, set your video preference to public or private. Then, add a little information about your video for reference purposes, then select the file from your desktop and choose upload. As for emailing, you can email a video as an attachment if the file is small enough. If it’s too large, just send a link to the YouTube page.

That’s all there is to it. After filming a few videos on your camcorder and going through these four steps, you’ll find it’ll only take 3-4 minutes to go through the entire process. You’ll be able to share your video creations with anyone, anywhere!

About the Author:

For specific camcorder how to information, including recommendations on the new models, be sure to visit our new camcorder resource site. We’ll offer insight into HD camcorders, face detection technology, and offer many specific practical camcorder tips . Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service