My Backyard This Morning - Macro HD Video from youdiejoe on Vimeo.

Move over YouTube! Vimeo is here to save the day with HD web video! Finally… the days of easy to share, high quality web video are here! I’m a bit late on posting this, but better late than never. The best part of this is the HD video is delivered via Flash so you don’t need to download annoying plugins, etc. like you do with Stage 6.

Of course, you will need an HD camcorder. The good news is HD camcorder prices keep dropping so soon everyone will be shooting in HD. On my wish list is the Panasonic HDC-SD5 camcorder which sells for $999.95. Now… I just need to remember where I put that spare grand I left lying around somewhere…

At long last, we may be able to watch videos on YouTube in high definition, thanks to Adobe’s latest version of it’s web video software: Flash Player 9. The new player supports H.264 video, which is the same as used in Blu-Ray and HD-DVD video players.

I tested the new player out by going to the Adobe Flash Player 9 download page.  I uninstalled my older version and installed the new one and tested it watching their demo video here.  The video looked excellent, but I don’t think I got the full effect as the hardware on my computer is too old to get the full experience.

I’m glad to see there is hope for higher quality web video on the horizon.  Hopefully sites like YouTube will take advantage of this and perhaps within a year or so HD web videos will be standard.

[via Read/WriteWeb]

When I first started this blog my intention was to focus on video sites like YouTube, Metacafe, etc. But, since Ustream.tv has arrived on the scene I’m going to include tips to improve your live streaming video as well.

My first tip is on how to embed your current Twitter status in your Ustream video. I spent a few days obsessing on how to get this done and finally figured out how. I’m sure this isn’t the best technique, but as far as I know it is the first… and it works.

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Have you ever seen those nifty little video intros some of the YouTube A-listers have and wanted one of your own? Well, look no further - Kevin from RHComics.com is the man for the job. Drop him an email for a quote. He has done work for Nalts, Xgobobeanx, SXEPhil and more. Here are bunch of his other video intros if you’re curious.

If you don’t have access to a beautiful Japanese soccer playing woman, but still want to increase the popularity of your videos, don’t despair. Here are a few simple things you can do to help your videos stand out from the crowd…

1. Pick an attention getting thumbnail for your video.

The video to the left took only one day to get to the most viewed videos on YouTube for that day. I wonder why? Hmm… could it have to do with cleavage? I think so. YouTube currently makes a thumbnail preview for your video using whatever is at the halfway point in your video.

You should try to edit wisely so you can have a thumbnail preview that will make people want to click and watch your video. Or, do like LonelyGirl15 does and put a frame or two in the middle to make your video thumbnail. Other video sharing sites allow you to select a thumbnail, but until YouTube adds this option you will have to use this little “hack”. Otherwise you can end up with a very dull looking thumbnail that nobody will be interested in. Try to make a thumbnail that makes people think… “Hmm…I wonder what this video is about?!”.

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Nospam4artsnet gives an excellent demonstration on how you can improve your videos with simple changes in your setup. Only one item is changed for each take during this video.

Blunty3000 gets asked a lot how to improve the quality and watchability of videos and shares some tips with you. Topics covered include how to make better video responses, controversial videos, editing tips and how an accent can bring you more subscribers.