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Inserting Videos into Windows Live Writer RRS feed

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     The question that I want to know the answer to is why oh why can't the user add a video into Windows Live Writer straight from their computer? Why do you have to use Soapbox or some other video hosting site? If I create a video I would naturally save it onto my computer, so why can't I miss out all of the hassle of uploading to a hosting site and just inbed/include it straight from a video file? How much easier this would be not only for a user who might create a video using MovieMaker or some other onboard program, but also for users with CineCamera's or even a Webcam?
    Please Windows Live Writer team, I love your program to bits, but this is the only feature that I find is missing. I don't want to have to post my videos up on a hosting site, no matter what/which site that is, so can we have this feature added please?

    TG
    Sunday, October 5, 2008 6:17 AM

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    Sure, 

    To explain some of the magic, everything that is in your blog post actualy is on a server somewhere.  The text for a blog is on the server in the form of html, the pictures within the blog post get uploaded to either that server in a special place, or another one and then linked to your blog.  The same holds true for Videos.  All media has to live on a machine that is foward faceing to the internet, a server.  Writer cannot make your machine a server.   

    Live Mesh is interesting because, behind the scenes it basically creates server room and uploads files there so that your files exist everywhere at once.   Not everyone has acces to it so that wouldn't really work for hosting videos, music, and pictures since people need to be able to access them without providing credentials.  But again it is still on a server.

    Everything that Writer displays is HTML.  So viewing a video as a video file is just not possible without it being translated into HTML, and the only way to do that is to upload it to a service to host.  We have worked hard to ensure that if you drag and drop a video to writer we shortcut the work to upload it to a service that will host the video for you. We add a lot of information and all a user has to do is add a category and acknowlege permsission settings. 

    However after uploading the video the work involved in hosting the video includes:

    1. Converting the video into a video type that is approporiate for viewing on the web
    2. Setting permissions around the video so that it is accessible to who it should be
    3. Creating a wrapper to play/pause/fast foward/re-wind and such
    4. Embed code so that people can place the video on thier, e-mail, blog, webpage.
      1. This is most important because Writer displays HTML, and so it needs some code to point to a video as an embed and then it can display the video.  Otherwise it cannot.

    I hope that you found this helpfull, and I do agree that it would be nice if we could just magically hide the upload-to-a-server-step for video as we do with images.  Perhaps in the future we will but for now all I can do is put the request on our back list of things to concider moving foward.

    • Marked as answer by Becky Pezely Wednesday, October 29, 2008 1:34 AM
    Tuesday, October 7, 2008 9:16 PM
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    Hi TG,

    Music is similarly hard as video--actually harder, because there are not really music hosting sites that are widely used like Soapbox and YouTube. Not to say that it's impossible, just hard...

    Flickr integration is something we definitely want to do in the future--stay tuned :)

    Thanks for the feedback!
    • Marked as answer by Becky Pezely Wednesday, October 29, 2008 1:34 AM
    Thursday, October 9, 2008 5:18 PM
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    HI Technogranma

    I am not sure that I fully understand the request.  If I read you correctly you would like to create a video possibly using Movie Maker, and host it on the net somewhere but not on a video site, and then post it to your blog.   Thanks for the feedback and I will bring it up.  Strictly speeking this falls outside of Writer's depth but it's a great logical end to Insert Video I will bring it up to my team!

    I would also like to point out that when you insert a video from file within Writer to soapbox or youtube then the default is automatically private/hidden respectively.  This means that while people who visit the blog can see the video and poeple that you give the link to can see the video, it doesn't show up in search results.  This means that people won't randomly come across it except by your blog. 

    Monday, October 6, 2008 5:33 PM
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    No you have misunderstood my question and request.  I don't want to use a website at all, that is the whole point.  Say I create a video using Movie Maker or even Community Clips for example, and/or even have a video saved on my computer, perhaps a Windows Media Player file for example, why do I have to partake of any hosting site at all?  Why can't I just place the video straight from my Video folder into Windows Live Writer? It doesn't really matter how the video was created or which program the user used, why can't the file video be inserted directly into Writer without involving placing it first on a hosting video site?  Is it because of copyright or is it that WLWriter cannot accept such files? 
    If I am being thick/stupid/requesting something that is impossible, then I would really like an explanation why this can't be done.  After all, I can see/have videos in Windows Live Photo Gallery that are on my computer, so why can't this also be incorporated into Writer? 

    It would be then just an easy step to incorporate any video's that the user has on board. It would be as easy as inserting a picture from your Picture folder is at present!  It could be any video as well, Windows Media Player, or Movie Maker files, or even downloaded videos, it should be limitless in my opinion.  After all, I can place these videos in folders in Live Mesh etc, I honestly don't see a problem/ reason why this could not be implemented.  The same applies to music files on my computer as well. 

    TG 
    Monday, October 6, 2008 7:29 PM
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    Sure, 

    To explain some of the magic, everything that is in your blog post actualy is on a server somewhere.  The text for a blog is on the server in the form of html, the pictures within the blog post get uploaded to either that server in a special place, or another one and then linked to your blog.  The same holds true for Videos.  All media has to live on a machine that is foward faceing to the internet, a server.  Writer cannot make your machine a server.   

    Live Mesh is interesting because, behind the scenes it basically creates server room and uploads files there so that your files exist everywhere at once.   Not everyone has acces to it so that wouldn't really work for hosting videos, music, and pictures since people need to be able to access them without providing credentials.  But again it is still on a server.

    Everything that Writer displays is HTML.  So viewing a video as a video file is just not possible without it being translated into HTML, and the only way to do that is to upload it to a service to host.  We have worked hard to ensure that if you drag and drop a video to writer we shortcut the work to upload it to a service that will host the video for you. We add a lot of information and all a user has to do is add a category and acknowlege permsission settings. 

    However after uploading the video the work involved in hosting the video includes:

    1. Converting the video into a video type that is approporiate for viewing on the web
    2. Setting permissions around the video so that it is accessible to who it should be
    3. Creating a wrapper to play/pause/fast foward/re-wind and such
    4. Embed code so that people can place the video on thier, e-mail, blog, webpage.
      1. This is most important because Writer displays HTML, and so it needs some code to point to a video as an embed and then it can display the video.  Otherwise it cannot.

    I hope that you found this helpfull, and I do agree that it would be nice if we could just magically hide the upload-to-a-server-step for video as we do with images.  Perhaps in the future we will but for now all I can do is put the request on our back list of things to concider moving foward.

    • Marked as answer by Becky Pezely Wednesday, October 29, 2008 1:34 AM
    Tuesday, October 7, 2008 9:16 PM
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    Ah I see!  I didn't realise how complicated it all is!  I was invisaging it being as easy as placing a picture inside your post!  Hmm, near impossible wish then!  Are there any plans to also include Flickr as a hosting site in future?  I ask this really because it is closely included with Windows Live Photo Gallery and I do use Flickr for my pictures/videos.  Of course if not then I will have to use Soapbox.  Thanks for explaining all of it (way above this Granny's head but I did grasp the gist of it.) and the complications that are present.  Of course, my dream would be that it becomes as simple as including a picture . Maybe for the future eh?  And does the same problem exist for music files?  It would be really cool if again you could just grab those and place a music file straight into your blog from your computer.  Don't want much do I?
    But its all about making life (and blogging!) easier for the user to create a really interesting post full of rich and varied content, and what's better than using what they already have on their computer?
    Anyway, thanks Ronald for your explanation.

    TG
    Wednesday, October 8, 2008 4:53 AM
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    Hi TG,

    Music is similarly hard as video--actually harder, because there are not really music hosting sites that are widely used like Soapbox and YouTube. Not to say that it's impossible, just hard...

    Flickr integration is something we definitely want to do in the future--stay tuned :)

    Thanks for the feedback!
    • Marked as answer by Becky Pezely Wednesday, October 29, 2008 1:34 AM
    Thursday, October 9, 2008 5:18 PM
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    Thanks for that reply, and I shall certainly keep a watch out for the inclusion of Flickr! (And continue with the dreaming of simple adding of video and music files!) :)
    Thursday, October 9, 2008 9:33 PM
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    Thank you Windows Live Writer team for making it much easier to incorporate a video into my blogs straight from my computer! Yes I still have to publish it to Soapbox, but even so this is a much easier method!  And also thanks for the 'plug in' for Flickr!  You guys are the best.  You really do listen to your users!
    If I could vote for the best programming team working at Microsoft, it would definately be you guys!  Well done!

    TG
    Tuesday, December 16, 2008 5:04 AM