The Panasonic TA-1: Its an HD Pocket Camcorder, a Skype webcam and has an LED light.

Just saw this new Panasonic TA-1 Ultra-thin HD Pocket Camcorder Enabled with Skype and iFrame on Amazon.com.



This is interesting.

1080p Video with Image Stabilization
The TA-1 shoots 1080p FULL HD video with Electronic Image Stabilization. It also has a built in built in LED light. I'll be interested to see how that compares to the entry level external Sima LED light.

iFrame
The camera uses iFrame format. This is the first camera I've seen that uses this new format.

Wikipedia has some info on iFrame:

iFrame is a constraint of the H.264 codec specified by Apple to ensure ease of consumer video editing.

It provides a square-pixel 16:9 image format of 960 horizontal by 540 vertical pixels, with progressive scanning at 30 frames per second and can be identified as the format "540p30". These parameters are one-half the spatial resolution of 1080p in each direction, one-quarter the total number of pixels. iFrame has 1.5 times the number of pixels in standard definition 4:3 720×480 CCIR 601 NTSC video. However, its progressive scanning increases the approximate perceived resolution advantage over 480i to roughly a factor of 2.

The 30 fps frame rate used for iFrame may result in increased "judder" with moving images, when compared to the nominal frame rate of 60 fields per second (30 fps interlaced with even and odd lines) used in North America for professional video.

More on iFrame from Apple: iMovie '09: About the iFrame video format:

The iFrame Video format is designed by Apple to speed up importing and editing by keeping the content in its native recorded format while editing. Setting a camcorder to record in the iFrame video format can result in optimized performance in iMovie ’09.

Webcam and Microphone
The TA-1 also works as a Web camera and microphone. I've never seen this feature on a pocket HD video camera. People always ask if their pocket HD video cameras can also be used as webcams. This is a great idea, since I'm starting to see standalone HD webcams. Can't wait to test this feature out. Note that The LED light does not go on when operating as a Web camera.

USB Cable Warning
Panasonic also notes in the product specs:

Do not use any USB extension cord other than the supplied one (Operation is not guaranteed with any other USB extension cord.).

That's troubling since I use 100 different USB cables, ususaly the one I have with me. Having to use a specific cable is problematic.

Don't we have a USB 2.0 standard?

Availability
According to Panasonic, the HM-TA1 will be available in three different color options, purple, dark grey and red in August 2010 with a suggested retail price of $169.95.

3 tips for getting better quality videos out of the Flip video camera

1. Lighting
More light is better. If you're in a dark area, move towards a window or outside. There's a very inexpensive LED light that you can get from SIMA that's great for adding more light.

Check it out at http://stevegarfield.com/store

2. Sound
Getting better sound with a camera that doesn't support an external microphone is easy if you are aware of your location. Keep YOUR ears open when recording. I've seen way too many interviews conducted in the middle of a noisy show floor. Move to a quieter place, like a hallway or an empty room. You can always use an audio recorder in addition to the Flip and merge the video and audio later in an editing program. Plural Eyes helps do that automatically.

3. Editing
I love FlipShare. Makes it very easy to edit your videos. If you are on a Mac and want to move up to something with more features, try iMovie 09. It allows you to overlay video so that, for example, if you are conducting an interview, you can show the viewer interesting shots of what the speaker is talking about.

These tips and more are in my book Get Seen.

An edited version of these tips was published at My Life Scoop in the article, 6 Tips to Make Your Flip Videos Rock by Linsey Knerl.

Thanks to Jeff Esposito for sending me this HARO request.

Ford Reveals 2011 Ford Explorer on Facebook

Jennifer Van Grove has the details at Mashable, Inside the 2011 Ford Explorer Facebook Reveal:

...for the first time ever, Ford is bucking with tradition and turning to the web — with Facebook as the platform — to reveal its latest vehicle.

Ford has been using the Ford Explorer Facebook Page to drum up excitement in anticipation of the all-day Facebook event. They’ve already far surpassed their goal of 30,000 fans prior to the reveal, which means the car maker will be giving away an Explorer to one random fan.

Visit the 2011 Ford Explorer Facebook Reveal page.


2011 Ford Explorer Image courtesy Ford

Watch the 2011 Ford Explorer Reveal video:

Nice job using social media sites Facebook and YouTube.

Ad:
Learn how to use video on your business with my book, Get Seen: Online Video Secrets to Building Your Business. In Get Seen I interview Scott Monty head of social media for Ford and show you step-by-step guides how to get your video online on sites like YouTube and Facebook.

How To: Use FaceTime on the iPhone 4 for Video Calls

My friend Wayne Sutton was in town and we met up at HubSpot TV on Friday. It was the last episode of Hubspot TV from One Broadway. The next episode will be from the new HubSpot offices at 25 First Street, 2nd Floor, Cambridge, MA.


@karenrubin and @mvolpe Hubspot TV | RentACrate Episode

After the show, I told Wayne that I hadn't used FaceTime on my new iPhone 4 yet.

He likes to grab screen shots of people when they make their first FaceTime call, so he called me.

No FaceTime.

Then he called again, no FaceTime.

Then he asked if I had turned on FaceTime in the Settings. Turn on FaceTime? No, I hadn't.

So that's the first step, Turn on FaceTime in Settings:


FaceTime Settings ON

Step 2, make sure you also have WiFi enabled.

FaceTime only works over WiFi at this time.

Step 3, click the FaceTime button in the Contact Info of the person you'd like to call, or if someone is calling you, click accept to start the FaceTime call.


FaceTime Decline/Accept Screen

Note:
Dial 1-888-FACETIME and an Apple employee will be there to show you the basics and a few advanced tips. The line is open from 8AM to 8PM CDT.

Here's a screen shot of me talking with Wayne:


FaceTime Call Screenshot.

You can drag the image window of yourself around the screen to reposition it.

Here's a screen shot of me talking with Wayne and we are both using our front facing cameras, pointing at each other in the same room:


Using the Front Facing Cameras

I can't wait for this to be available on other platforms like Android.

More:

FacePlant brings quick FaceTime chats and video voice mail to the iPhone 4

YouTube: Content ID Matches, An Easier Dispute Process

I got an email from YouTube that said that my video WBZ Hawaii Five-0 Behind the Scenes, may have content that is owned or licensed by rumblefish.

I read that and thought, "I don't know a band called rumblefish, and I'm not using music from a band called rubmblefish, so some computer program must have misidentified the music."

I was wrong. rumblefish is a music licensing store.

Note:
According to the Dallas Observer, Rumblefish is "One of the area's best cover bands." LOL!

YouTube did a good job of finding the music track I used in this video, Secrets in Stereo, Not Today.

Josh Ryan of Secrets in Stereo has given me permission to use his music in my videos. He even sent me instrumental tracks to use.

Here's the email I got from YouTube:

help center | e-mail options | report spam

Dear stevegarfield,
Your video, WBZ Hawaii Five-0 Behind the Scenes, may have content that is owned or licensed by rumblefish.
No action is required on your part; however, if you are interested in learning how this affects your video, please visit the Content ID Matches section of your account for more information.
Sincerely,
- The YouTube Team

I clicked on the Content ID Matches section of your account to learn more.

You then see a page with all your disputed videos, here's what one of mine looks like.



Click 'View Copyright Info'.

You're then presented with this page:



I filled it out, checking off box #1, still thinking that I was using music that wasn't a match, and entering an electronic signature.

When I hit CONTINUE, I got the same screen back that said "All Fields Required."



So even though I thought the wording wasn't exactly right, I changed my check off to #3 from #1 because it seems that the programmer requires the text field: "Please explain briefly:" to be filled out. Here's what I wrote to explain it:

3. This video uses the copyrighted material at issue, but with the appropriate authorization from the copyright owner.
I have permission from Josh Ryan of Secrets in Stereo to use this music. It is NOT Rumblefish.
Signature
Steve Garfield

At this point I still thought rumblefish was a band name. ;-)

Then the form says to type this text into the 'Statement of Good Faith' box:

"I have a good faith belief that the material was disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification, and that I am not intentionally abusing this dispute process."

Then you are presented with Dispute Claim (Step 2 of 2) - Confirmation:



I clicked Submit Dispute.

You then get a page back that says: Dispute Status: Submitted.



Your video is then removed from your COntent ID Matches page.

This is a lot easier than getting involved in a whole Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown process.

I'd suggest that YouTube make 'rumblefish' a clickable link so that content creators could click over and search for the music they are using to determine if they are using it in error or not.

Hopefully this easy way of submitting information will be improved in page 1 form entry and continue to make it easier for content creators to dispute claims that have been placed against videos in error.

Elsewhere on the web:
[Video] How to Dispute YouTube Copyright Notices (Content ID System)
Fair Use Tube.org

Welcome to Fair Use Tube.org! This is a site for user-generated video creators to learn how to protect their "fair use" rights under U.S. copyright law on video sharing sites such as YouTube, Vimeo, Blip.tv, Metacafe, and Dailymotion.

EFF

Moving Your Community Site from NING to Facebook

Steve Woolf at EpicFu asks a question on the EpicFu community site MIX, what would epic fu be if it launched in 2010 and not 2006?

I answered and wanted to share my thoughts here too:

Hey Steve and Zadi,

When I started a site for my book, Get Seen: Online Video Secrets to Building Your Business, last year, I had to decide what it would be. Would it be a SPLASH PAGE to show people where to buy the book, or would it be a community where people could interact with me and other readers?

I put the question out to twitter and posted two examples, one was a standard splash page, the other was a NING community site. People liked the community site because they could instantly see that the site wasn't static. The new content was being posted AND that they could interact.


Get Seen NING Site

So I went with NING. On all may blog posts, tweets and emails I published "http://stevegarfield.com/getseen" as the site for my book. That redirected to http://getseen.ning.com. I did it that way so I could change the redirect at any time and keep the same URL.

Last was SO last year. Now NING has decided to charge everyone.

That made me take a look at NING again. I would have been happy to pay for their service, but I took the opportunity to look at some options. At the same time I was running the NING site, I also had a FACEBOOK Get SEEN PAGE up.

I didn't have it as my main site, just as a a place for people who were already on Facebook to go to see content. Without any promotion, I had more fans on Facebook for the book than I had on NING.

So I made the decision to switch from NING to FACEBOOK. To make the change I just changed the redirect from NING to FACEBOOK.


Get Seen Community Site on Facebook

BOOM!

All of a sudden I had people commenting, posting questions, uploading videos and interacting like I never had on NING.

I think I saw all the increased activity because Facebook is where people are. It's a familiar user interface and EASY to participate.

The best way to encourage user submissions is to let people use the tools that they know, and tag the content so you'll see it. Post videos to YouTube, upload photos to Flickr, tweet on twitter with the #EpicFu hashtag. Remove the barriers to sharing.

One more thing I did was use Facebook Markup Language (FBML) to create a Facebook landing page. What this does is serve as a splash page for people new to the book site and encourages them to click the LIKE button to join the community.


Facebook Landing Page

Once you've visited the splash page and clicked LIKE the first time, you never see the splash page again and are sent to the main Facebook wall.

It's the solution I didn't have last year when I was designing the site. It's so easy.

One more thing. I think that there are too many community sites. Back in the early days of the internet, we had a handful of commercial communities like Prodigy, Compuserve and Delphi.

You'd log into these sites and were presented with a number of groups that you could join. Then when you'd revisit the site, you's see new messages and be able to participate in groups that you were interested in.

These sites were huge bulletin board systems.

I liked knowing where the conversation was. Everything is so disjointed now with many new sites requiring you to join yet another community.

For EpicFu, you've already built a robust community here, so the barrier to joining might not be an issue, but I think being where the people are and lowering the bar to entry is something to consider.

In fact, I saw that you had posted here, not via email or the EpicFu site, but via twitter.

RT @epicfu: what would epic fu be if it launched in 2010 and not 2006? we have ideas, but need your feedback. http://epicfu.com/fmSat Jul 24 07:42:39 via Tweetie for MacSteve Woolf
stevewoolf

Good luck.


Join the Community:

Visit Get Seen on Facebook



Buy the book:

Mason and his Bottle

336, originally uploaded by Donna Wright1. CC BY-NC-SA

Carol and Mason

326, originally uploaded by Donna Wright1. CC BY-NC-SA

Walkers: Saving parking places OR Parked and having a tea party inside?

Walkers: Saving parking places OR Parked and having a tea party inside?, originally uploaded by stevegarfield. CC BY-NC-SA

[Video] Boston Media Makers at Night @TheLansdowne 7/20/10

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Thanks everyone for a great Boston Media Makers Tweetup Tuesday at The Lansdowne.

Tweets from Last Night.

.@stevegarfield wins for awesome hors d'oeuvres and advanced nametag technology at #bmmnightWed Jul 21 00:18:21 via UberTwitterGeorgy Cohen
radiofreegeorgy

Fab time tonight at Boston Media Makers #BMMNIGHT What a great (and large) group of people. Way to go @stevegarfield you're a rockstar!Wed Jul 21 04:44:17 via TweetCasterCait Downey
marketCait

Fun time at #BMMNIGHT. Thanks to @stevegarfield for a great event! :)Wed Jul 21 01:34:12 via TweetDeckGradon Tripp
gradontripp

See more Tweets from Last Night on twitter.

Also, check out this cool transcript of #bmmnight tweets.

Photos from Last Night.


The Lansdowne


Panorama of the crowd. Great group!


Sam, Joselin and Cait


Best appetizers ever!

Posts from Last Night.

See more Photos from Last Night on flickr.

Video from Last Night.


Video by Bruce K. Garber. Music by Thank You Forever.

Tag your photos and posts on flickr with the tag BMMNIGHT so people can see them.

If you have a post, photo or video that you'd like to share, add a link in the comments!

Visit Boston Media Makers to learn more about our monthly meetings on the first Sunday of every month at 10:00 AM in JP at Doyle's.

iPhone 4 Antenna Fix: Moshi Moshi Handset

i

Boston Media Makers at Night 07/20/10

Boston Media Makers at Night 07/20/10, originally uploaded by stevegarfield. CC BY-NC-SA

Register: bostonmediamakersatnight.eventbrite.com/

Boston Media Makers, Steve Garfield and The Lansdowne Pub are hosting 'Boston Media Makers at NIGHT' here in Boston on July 20th at The Lansdowne Pub!

Join us for a night of mingling and fun. NO COVER. 21+

DRESS CODE: Shoes are required, other than that, doesn't matter! Flip Flops are OK! Woo Hoo!

Twisted Tea will be giving away an extreme sports "Twisted Event" during the evening.

There will be a local acoustic band playing all of your favorite hits. Meet local marketers, socialites, Twitterati, and friends for drinks and complimentary hors d'oeuvres.

Visit www.bostonmediamakers.com for the latest information about Boston Media Makers and past meeting reports. Boston Media Makers meets on the first Sunday of every month at Doyle's Cafe in Jamaica Plain.

Use the hashtag #BMMNIGHT at the event
Be sure to check into the venue on Foursquare. foursquare.com/venue/48550

Host:
@stevegarfield

Venue:
@TheLansdowne

Open casting calls for extras in the Facebook movie, The Social Network

If they were holding open casting calls for extras in the Facebook movie, The Social Network, and you were going to be featured, what famous person, dead or alive, would play you in the movie?

Scott Monty has some fun over on his blog with the post, Social Network: The Movie, and starts us off.

Author & NML President Chris Brogan / Jeff Bridges

Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore / Orlando Bloom

Boston media maven C.C. Chapman / Simon Cowell

Author & PR expert Brian Solis / Johnny Depp

Read more: http://www.scottmonty.com/2010/07/social-network-movie.html#ixzz0u7snZemG

Wait until you see who he cast me with. It wouldn't have been my first pick, but I can see the thinking behind it.  I'd go with Jerry Seinfeld. :-)


Scott didn't want to use women as subjects. He didn't want to get into trouble, but he obviously left off these friends of mine who should be in the movie and don't need actors to portray them. ;-)

A PR Girl Trying To Change The World Jessica Randazza


Technology and social media blogger for Mashable Jolie O'Dell


Senior Manager of New Media at Coach, Inc., digital influencer and internet lover Julia Roy


Executive Producer at Life In Perpetual Beta Movie Melissa Pierce


Brand and content strategist Margot Bloomstein


Marcom Mgr for @Awarenessinc, PR Veteran, Serial Networker & Connector Christine Major


Web Personality Shira Lazar


New media producer, director and host Zadi Diaz


Social Media Marketer Cait Downey


Freelance writer specializing in social media Sarah Wallace


Actress, host and new media producer Lindsay Campbell


Wiley Social Media Editor Shannon Vargo


Host of Know Your Meme Ellie Rountree


My mom, elderblogger, Millie Garfield


Who would you cast in the movie?