VideoANT

Hello all! I have been working on a new version of VideoANT! I thought I would take a moment to outline a few of the new changes coming to the tool and let you know where I am at in the update.

I am updating the interface to be a bit easier to interact with. Additionally, I have increased the timelines width to allow for more room to include markers with less overlapping! The time code on the entries are now in minutes:seconds format, and I have added a currentTime/totalTime feature underneath the video. I have also improved the timeline so that you can click anywhere on it to jump directly to that portion of the video clip.

The most exciting addition to VideoANT is the support for h.264 video file types which include Quicktime MOV’s, mpeg-4, and 3GP file types! It does not support other video types currently. I will post a testing component to VideoANT soon so that you can test to see if your video link is valid prior to starting an ANT session, but that feature will have to wait until after this new version goes live. VideoANT will also support Youtube links!!!! While this sounds like great news, it comes with a bit of complications to your user experience. Youtube super compresses its videos, and does not add many keyframes during the encoding process. What this means for you is that the marker on the time will not be very accurate to where the video can jump to for playback. In short, the more keyframes in a second, the more accurate VideoANT’s markers will be. Youtube is pretty much the extreme opposite end of the ideal keyframe count per second so functionality will be clunky. I have done everything on my end to optimize the situation, but it is subpar from what I would prefer to deliver to you all.

I will be posting a screenshot of the new interface later today. I will also be explaining the process for launching it as a beta in greater detail so check back soon!

Posted by Bradford Hosack at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Because VideoANT is not hosting your video content, and due to its beta state, I want to remind you that anything you post is considered public domain. Academic Technology Services, the University of Minnesota, and I will
not be held responsible for any material you might post. If you would like to keep your content private, VideoANT may not be the system for you. We also reserve the right to edit content if requested to do so. If this issue should arise, we will contact you prior to making any edits. Make sure you have permission before using video content.

Posted by Bradford Hosack at 10:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Over the weekend we will be posting a new Website for VideoANT! We will be including a FAQ's page, getting started guide, a link to this blog, and instructions to watch the new sample video which gives you a real time walk-through of the VideoANT interface. Simply set up a new annotation project at http://ant.umn.edu, add a project title and valid email address, leave the Video URL field as "sample.flv", grab a bag of popcorn, and ENJOY!

Posted by Bradford Hosack at 04:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thanks for coming to find out more about VideoANT, a rich internet application that synchronizes a web-based video with an author’s timeline-based text annotations. In the coming weeks I will be frequently posting changes and updates to the interface, features we have planned for the next public beta release, the structure and logic behind the tool, and video best practices. I will also be tracking current bugs to the system. If you have any ideas, complaints, or feedback, please don't hesitate to leave a comment or contact me at ant@umn.edu.

Posted by Bradford Hosack at 01:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)