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Originally we were going to use TechTV as the place our videos lived, but we had technical problems that delayed our ability to put them up (and so embedded them on . html pages on our own site). Camtasia doesn't just produce a single Flash file, it produces multiple Flash files (for tables of contents, the controllers, etc.). Camtasia 5 has an option to produce single Flash file, so we are putting them all up now.
Costs
No IT staff directly involved in project, outside of purchasing and installing software.
Software fairly intuitive but lots of details, so hard to use if not a regular tool. We designated certain staff for training - if others want a video made, they write scripts and work with trained staff. Gave several training sessions and run monthly drop-in sessions to work on projects and get advice.
Purchased though connect.gov at bulk discount ($?)
have upgraded software once @ cost of $?
MIT Libraries Video Tutorial Guidelines
We have resolved these problems and are now starting to upload them.
MIT Libraries Collection in TechTV
Advantages in uploading to TechTV:
- getting our videos in MIT space (rather than libraries space), integrated with other videos of interest to the MIT community
- automatic stats collection
- ability for users to comment
- easy to create Creative Commons licenses
- can add metadata to the files that helps with Google indexing
- simple user interface to upload videos
- can upload multiple formats of the video to the same page
- provides code for embedding videos on other web sites (both inline and pop-ups)
Costs
Camtasia licenses:
We purchased Camtasia licenses though GovConnection in a bulk purchase for ~$150/each. Our latest upgrade to v.5 cost ~$85/each. Captivate was just slightly more when we purchased it over a year ago.
Headsets:
We bought low-end headsets with built in mics for $10-20 which were sufficient. Some staff Headsets: had intermittent problems with USB headsets, ended up recommending those with direct audio plug-ins, $?? headsets seem to do fine /headset plugs.