When we get asked why won't my video files play on my Amazon S3 account, we check the video file size and and the filetype used for the Video, Camtasia Screencast or GotoMeeting recording.

Here's some tips to help save your time

1. Only use AVI files if you want to save or back-up your video on your S3 account

AVI files are raw video footage - you will need this filetype to create DVDs and other versions of your material. But you don't want to upload AVI to your Amazon S3 account for general viewing. They're too big and cumbersome to upload, download and they will take forever to play!

2. WMV files are not for 'instant playback'

Although the Windows Media Player is popular and has the benefit of being on nearly every Windows PC, it has a major drawback to your viewers (especially when you remember that you are footing the bill!) - the whole video has to download before it will play. As you will never know the download speed of your viewers.. you want to err on the side of caution, so only use WMV when the video is short (3 mins or less)

3 Big Files = Big headaches. Break them down.

If your recording of a seminar or workshop or an online meeting, you want to be editing it back to bite-sized pieces for your online audience. If it's an hour long (or more!), it is now a big file. Big to upload, big to download and big to watch.

Consider the training your viewers have had over the years - TV. 15 minute segments with a break for ads. Why would they sit infront of their PC to watch an hour long segment? (They won't.. they'll get distracted... web viewers are notorious for having short attention spans...)

Break your presentation into smaller pieces and render in FLASH (FLV)

(You can still offer the original recording on DVD or as a download.. but edit the online playback version into segments of 5 minutes or less!)

4 More files = more breaks = more opportunities

By breaking up your material you create more opportunities to add a series of pages to your web-site and this offers additional benefits - besides the improved download and viewing ex[erience:

* You increase the opportunities to use headlines and teaser description to allow SEO match

* You help your viewer drill to the segment they are interested in

* You provide a handy resource for your viewer to go back to a particular segment should they wish

* You can offer segments to your partners for promotional purposes

* You can still sell / offer the original recording on DVD (or as a download for viewing later)

I hope these tips will help you prepare your material to get the most out of your material for online viewing

TomC