CD with Videos for those without high-speed internet: *Critiques Requested*

[Exponent]

I have been working on a CD that contains videos, largely from YouTube, for giving to people without high-speed internet. My primary motivation was my mom, but I've gone beyond just putting a bunch of videos on disc and mailing it to her, and instead made something that I think could be distributed to a lot of people.

I've gotten it to a point where I'd like to get other people's opinion of the overall layout. I used HTML, so it will open up in a browser, have links to the various sections, and so forth. I have uploaded this page, along with the relevant images, to a small piece of space I have on the web, here:

http://members.gamedev.net/andrew_gainey/RonPaul/

I would like any critique anybody has. Perhaps the layout could be improved. Perhaps it doesn't show up well in certain browsers (I've tested Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 7), or in certain resolutions. Or any other suggestions people have.

I've stuck to interviews, speeches, and debates, avoiding the more stylistic videos, in order to reach people who just want basic information, and don't want content that tries to advertise or appeal to emotion in any significant way, so keep that in mind when looking at my selection. If interested, though, I will try to find a way to get the whole CD on the internet, and allow others to modify it as they see fit, making different collections of videos for different groups of people, modifying which textual sections are provided, and so forth. But for now, I'm just trying to get a basic version done.

Thanks for any help.

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Update (June 18th, 2007)
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A two disc set, designed to be distributed as a pair (though the first disc can be distributed by itself as well) is available as a straight-forward download here:

http://rpmedia.dreamhosters.com/Exponent/

[ratsbew]

Wow, very well done. You should make a zip file and upload it somewhere for people to download.
MegaUpload allows filed of up to 500MB to be uploaded and downloaded freely.

[xcalybur]

I love the page. Very well done, but none of the video links work. Please fix that.

[Exponent]

I love the page. Very well done, but none of the video links work. Please fix that.

They weren't meant to. I don't have room on my webspace, but am just trying to get opinions on the layout. And thanks for the opinion! I'll try to get a zip on a site like MegaUpload like ratsbew suggested as soon as I'm ready to begin distributing it.

[CurtisLow]

Yeah, Great job!
If you could upload the whole thing. I would love to burn 100 copies and pass them around. And note on the sleeve after there done with it to pass it to a friend.

Again, very nicely done!!!

[Razmear]

Nice job, you might want to sort the videos with newest on top tho.
Don't want the first vid they see to be of Ron in a dorm room 3 months ago when it could be him speaking of current events.

eb

[ratsbew]

I remember Josh (the guy who owns this forum) saying that he has 2TB per month of bandwidth, maybe you could talk to him about distribution?
Of course there is always the bittorrent method.

[JoshLowry]

This is awesome.

I could host it but I'm not sure how it would effect server performance. It would probably be ideal to get a torrent of this cd.

After we get a torrent going, those who are technical could download it, then mass burn it to cds. Sending a 500mb link to someone is going to get a much smaller response rate.

I think you are right on target Exponent and it looks great. I think the debate compilation from the May 3rd debate should be front and center. Kind of like a "Watch this first"

You may want to put the videos at the very top as people can watch those and then dive into reading once they are interested.



I noticed your link to the May 3rd debate it goes to "http://members.gamedev.net/andrew_gainey/RonPaul/Videos/20070515_Debate.avi"

I know those links are not live, but it is linked to the May 15th debate.

This would be an awesome cd to pass out though. Please do let us know when it is available so that we can spread it.

Nice work!

[Exponent]

Nice job, you might want to sort the videos with newest on top tho.
Don't want the first vid they see to be of Ron in a dorm room 3 months ago when it could be him speaking of current events.

eb

Yeah, I was trying to figure this out. At first, I had it sorted chronologically, but that put a whole lot of less significant videos up top. I decided to rearrange it as I saw fit. At that point, it becomes subjective as to what should go on top to get people's attention first. I wanted people to quickly see the videos that did a really excellent job of highlighting Dr. Paul's various views (such as the CNN candidacy announcement), but also provide some half-decent really short ones (some people are impatient). I tried to make the debates, responses to the debate, and so forth further down, because they don't do as good of a job covering all the issues. But like I said, other people will be free to (and probably should) rearrange according to how they think it will best reach those that they'll distribute it to.



Right now I'm attempting to get my computer to burn a CD, to test the icon and autoplay stuff, as well as make sure the links work (thanks Josh for that catch, I had a few messups apparently). (My darn computer doesn't have enough free space, and seems to insist on having over a gigabyte free on the C drive to burn a 600 megabyte CD, even though the files are already on the D drive, and I have plenty of free space there. Grr.)

I'll try to get a copy to you all as soon as I've confirmed that everything looks good.

[UtahApocalypse]

It looks great. I think it will be good for use with those that have PC's and can just use a browser. Now if you or someone can make a DVD version that would be awesome.

[a_texian]

Exponent,

You can't know just how grateful we "technologically challenged" folks would be to get a bunch of copies of something like this into our arsenal. That is BRILLIANTLY compiled and is a very attractive and professional layout too.

If this were to become a public-domain CD (or DVD), you can bet I'll be right there burning off oodles of copies to distribute amongst the masses in my area. I live way out in the sticks in Central Texas and almost everybody I know are ranchers, farmers and small town folks with limited computer/internet skills (including me). Almost all of 'em however have DVD players and satellite TV systems, so as long as it's compatible with that type of setup, I do think this could go a long way to influencing many of my pards out here in the Hills. A smaller percentage of them (maybe 30% to 40% of the folks I know) have computers, with the vast majority of them only having enough skills to surf the web and email. Something to maybe keep in mind with respect to us rural citizens. What I suppose I'm getting at is that the more simple and "cross platform" it is, the easier it'll be to get to the masses in my type of rural/small-town area.

Thanks for such a tremendous service. I'll keep a periodic eye on this thread to see when you've completed it and found a way to distribute it successfully.

Way to Go!


Ed Boyd
Central Texas

[a_texian]

In retrospect, I suppose that a DVD version that could be played/viewed on any livingroom DVD player would have to have the videos and each "block" of talking points (ie., text) assigned it's own "chapter", so they could be viewed and in fact studied by the viewer without it scrolling. Does that make sense?

It'd surely go a long way towards getting such an awesome compilation of info (kudos once again) to the many, many masses who don't have a computer.

Thanks again!

[austinphish]

i think it is a great idea. i am always trying to get my friends to watch important DVDs (Waco - Rules of Engagement, Fog of War, Manufacturing Consent, Corporation).

Anywho keep up the good work fellow patriot.

[Exponent]

I'm working on making a final zip right now, though it's taking a while, as I have to copy a bunch of files from my laptop, which is out of space, to my desktop. I spent yesterday getting auto-play to work, which I am figuring will be an important feature for those who aren't very techy (who wants to open up the CD drive in My Computer and figure out to click index.html?). And this morning I added the two Bill Maher videos, and the May 22nd speech on the floor of the House, bringing the total size up to 649 MB.

As for DVDs and such, this disc will require a computer, and won't work through any TV-based entertainment system. I do not have the knowledge or the hardware to do a DVD, unfortunatley, but perhaps others will.

I also do not know if it is Mac-compatible. I will have two versions, an AVI version and a WMV version. I might also make another AVI version using a different codec (it is currently using a slightly old but rather standard codec from Microsoft), as well as an MPEG version. If anyone has the ability to make a Quicktime version, that'd be excellent.

I will report back as soon as I have zip files uploaded and accessible.

[Exponent]

Finally!

Okay, I have two zip files, one for AVI, and one for WMV. All you need to do is unzip the files, and copy the files directly into the root folder of a blank CD.

The current (probably temporary) URL for the AVI zip is:
http://d01.megashares.com/?d01=b93aee0

The URL for the WMV zip is:
http://d01.megashares.com/?d01=4ac2b21

(

The FAQ for megashares.com says this:

How long will my files remain on Megashares?
Your file will remain available through your unique download link as long as there is 1 download in the first 7 days and 5 downloads in 25 days which restarts the 25-day counter.

)

And if anyone is willing to host these files on a more permanent server, that'd be great.

[CurtisLow]

I don't understand the site? Need to get it uploaded to an FTP site. I'm looking into it.

Your Download Passport is: 2da136f53be6b6cd2867f9bf3
You have 250 MB left that you can download with this passport.
Your download passport will renew in 0:113:50.

[Exponent]

I don't understand the site? Need to get it uploaded to an FTP site. I'm looking into it.

Your Download Passport is: 2da136f53be6b6cd2867f9bf3
You have 250 MB left that you can download with this passport.
Your download passport will renew in 0:113:50.

Hmm, that sucks. Didn't know the service was weird like that. I had problems finding any other sites that allowed more than 300 or 500 MB. Yeah, if there was some private FTP, that'd be excellent.

[ratsbew]

You can always use bittorrent for distribution. Here is a tutorial in case you don't know how to make a torrent.

[Exponent]

You can always use bittorrent for distribution. Here is a tutorial in case you don't know how to make a torrent.

Well, duh! *smacks forehead* Thanks, I totally forgot about BitTorrent. I haven't actually used it for uploads yet, so it didn't occur to me to do so this time.

Okay, then. Assuming I did this correctly, you can get the two torrent files here in this single zip:

RonPaul2008_VideoCD_Torrents.zip

I'd just post the individual torrents, but GameDev restricts file types to a limited set, and .torrent isn't a part of that set. Hopefully this is a minor issue.

(And yes, my strange mix of up-to-date and out-of-date computer skills are silly. What can you do? )

[CurtisLow]

Thanks Exponent!


........I can't open it? Can someone tell me what program to use to open it. ty!

[Exponent]

Have you extracted the zip file, to get the two .torrent files?

RonPaul2008_VideoCD_AVI.zip.torrent
RonPaul2008_VideoCD_WMV.zip.torrent

If you've gotten that far, then I suppose you need a BitTorrent client. I've been using Azureus. Others have been recommended in this other thread.

Once you've downloaded it from BitTorrent, then you just need to unzip the files again. Those files can then be burned straight to a CD.

[edit]I'm new to uploading over BitTorrent, though, so I might be missing a vital step on my end. I'd appreciate it if anyone who tries downloading it lets me know if they succeeded or failed.[/edit]

[Exponent]

I have updated the files. I think I may have done something wrong previously, and wasn't properly seeding the torrents correctly. The link is the same, but the .torrent files inside the zip file are different. If it wasn't working before, try redownloading from here and hopefully it'll work this time.

Sheesh, I'll figure this stuff out if it's the last thing I do!

[LibertyEagle]

I think it's great. Though, I would include the "Educating Rudy" press conference and the subsequent Dome Nation video interview.

The only other thing is to me the dorm room interview is extremely boring and I love Ron Paul. If it has that effect on me, I wonder what others that aren't so sold on him will think?

Overall, I think your work is fantastic! This could be what we need to burn tons of copies of and pass out to those folks who have CD players, but aren't internet savvy.

Thanks for such a wonderful job.

[thomaspaine23]

#1 Use a program like VCD Maker 4.0 (tucows.com) to make a video CD that will
play in ALOT (but not all) DVD players.

#2 Communicate with video remarks first and an "in depth" option later.

#3 torrent it, and you need people to keep the torrents available

#4 Youtube video snippets with torrent filename included and a blurb like
Distribute this to your friends without computers, here's how:

1. DL torrent
2. Burn VCD
3. hand them out

I'm sure there are alot of people willing to burn discs but they lack the know-how
to do so.

[Exponent]

#1 Use a program like VCD Maker 4.0 (tucows.com) to make a video CD that will
play in ALOT (but not all) DVD players.

#2 Communicate with video remarks first and an "in depth" option later.

#3 torrent it, and you need people to keep the torrents available

#4 Youtube video snippets with torrent filename included and a blurb like
Distribute this to your friends without computers, here's how:

1. DL torrent
2. Burn VCD
3. hand them out

I'm sure there are alot of people willing to burn discs but they lack the know-how
to do so.

I tried keeping a torrent up myself (though I've never uploaded through a torrent before, so I don't know if I've done it correctly), but no one has downloaded it, so I'm still the only source for now. I was keeping my computer on all the time, but after so many days, I started shutting it down, when there wasn't any activity.

As for VCD, I'll look at that.

I did mean to add YouTube links with the videos, but forgot. Maybe I'll work on a second version. Probably after the 3rd debate, when I can add new stuff in. (I kinda burned myself out working on this. Pathetic, but true.)

[Swmorgan77]

I have put together a CD-ROM with an autoplay menu with 4 folders for:

Links,

Videos,

Archived Web Pages and articles

Audio MP3.

Everything is self-contained so that those will no/slow internet will not have a problem.

The movies are all quicktime MP4 and I also included the install quicktime .exe

What is the best way to get the .iso file out? I only have a cable connection, so limited upload speed. I could drop a few of these in the mail to the right people to get them out.

swmorgan77@yahooo.com

[RonPaul DVD]

Most frustrating. I downloaded the avi and wmv files in the zip. I downloaded .torrent through Azureus and I see each zip folders on the home page but I can't figure out how to get them to play.

I also tried to open them from my computer but I just keep getting a message in a little box in the lower right hand corner saying that it has already been added to the download list.

Does anyone have any suggestions on we can see this CD and burn copies of it?

[Exponent]

Most frustrating. I downloaded the avi and wmv files in the zip. I downloaded .torrent through Azureus and I see each zip folders on the home page but I can't figure out how to get them to play.

I also tried to open them from my computer but I just keep getting a message in a little box in the lower right hand corner saying that it has already been added to the download list.

Does anyone have any suggestions on we can see this CD and burn copies of it?

Sorry, I was getting ready to go to bed, and having seen no activity still, I closed Azureus. I've opened it again, and this time, it looks a wee bit different, with Peers and Seeds for the files both saying "0 (1)"; that (1) wasn't there before, so maybe it'll work be working now.

[edit]I should add, if you're having some problems with Azureus, one of the things that I had a hard time figuring out, but finally did figure out, was how to get the Advanced mode to actually show anything. To get it to show properly, you need to go to the View menu, and choose Advanced, and then go to the View menu again, and choose My Torrents. Then you can see specific info on each item, how much has downloaded, and so forth.[/edit]

What is the best way to get the .iso file out? I only have a cable connection, so limited upload speed. I could drop a few of these in the mail to the right people to get them out.

I'm having difficulty getting the data out, too. I'm trying BitTorrent right now, but I've never used it, so I don't know if I'm doing something wrong. If it's all correct, though, it simply appears that very few are trying to download it. If you get a few people to get your iso, then you no longer really have to worry about your speed, and I'd suspect even with cable, you'd be able to upload it to another person in only a fraction of a day. I don't know how slow cable upload is, but I would be surprised if it was *really* bad.

[Lauxa]

You should send this to the RonPaul2008 webmaster. I think there should be a Ron Paul videos segment on that website and you've made a nice layout for that.

[Lauxa]

Just tried downloading, but I guess there's no torrents out there right now. Maybe a torrent isn't the way to go for this, since there will be a relatively small distribution. Torrents seem to work best when there are 20+ seeds.

I did a google search for "distribute large files online reliable" and came up with this:
http://www.freefilehosting.ws/

I haven't tried it, but it seems to be the type of thing that is needed...