Tech Advice: Flip video recorder allows more options for publishing on the Web

by Jonathan Sessions

September 5,2008

A few months ago, I read about the Flip: the number one selling video camera on Amazon.com. I was skeptical, but in a month’s time, Oprah had the creator on her show; Mac compatibility was announced; and the one millionth Flip was sold. So I figured I needed one. I got the Flip Mino expecting it to be another tech toy for the office, but I quickly found uses for it beyond the expected.

Jonathan's beagle, Clarence, is notorious for escaping the fenced yard.

The Flip is a very basic, pocket-sized video camera designed to be “everywhereable,” according to the company’s marketing campaign. I keep it in a pocket in my bag for easy access and pull it out for all the expected video camera reasons: when I see something funny, good times with friends, etc. During my brief time with the Flip, I have already created and posted more personal video to the Web than I ever thought I would.

Smaller than an iPod, the Flip is remarkably easy to use. It has a lens on one side and a 1.5-inch LCD screen on the other, where the recording and zoom buttons are located just underneath. Once you have your recording, you can browse and play clips on the Flip or a TV with the composite-stereo cable included with the camera.

The Flip is not a high-end video camera, costing only $149. The resolution is 640×480 pixels, which is comparable to a standard 4:3 television. It won’t look great on a high definition TV, but is fine if you’re uploading video to the Web. I have posted some sample clips online at www.jonathansessions.com/home/video.

Getting video onto your computer is just as simple. All the necessary software comes loaded on the Flip. Slide the switch on the side, and a hidden USB connector pops out the top. Once you plug the Flip into a computer, install the video codec, and launch the included application. Within minutes of doing this, I had the Flip working on both my Mac and Windows computers.

I am able to edit my videos, save them to my computer and post them online without any additional software. Because the Flip installs a basic video codec, videos work outside of the Flip Software. By using Internet Explorer on Windows or iPhoto on Mac, I can import, manage and watch videos from the Flip on my machine. Then I edit the videos with Movie Maker on my Windows machine and iMovie on my Mac, giving me more control and features than what I get with Flip’s native software.

While the Flip is not the best camera on the market, it is made for the Web, where content is king. I recently worked on a video project with employees from an experienced Web video production company. They streamed the Grammys and Live 8, a series of concerts around the world whose goal was to end poverty, and then studied viewer tendencies on the Web. The company has found quality does not matter to viewers. Companies that publish higher quality video to the Web do not necessarily see higher viewership, only higher bills for bandwidth.

I have also found myself using the Flip often for business reasons. Most commonly, I pull out my Flip when I run into problems I cannot explain. When working with proprietary products and software, I’ve found with errors coming up that shouldn’t happen, tech support is often far too skeptical of the user. It’s easier to provide tech support with a video, than try to explain the issue in an e-mail. It’s amazing how quickly problems are solved when the tech can watch the problem. Once the tech watches, I usually hear, “that shouldn’t happen,” and that’s when support becomes helpful.

When the company I work for upgrades, we often sell the old equipment online. Since we got the Flip, we’ve started posting video to our auctions and have received increased interest because bidders feel confident. Although it means showing a machine boot in our world, this would be a great product for anyone competing for online or out-of-area sales.

As a service company, we have found several ways to use the Flip to help promote our business beyond eBay. On our new site, we used the Flip to create a tech tip video blog, which we then post on Facebook and YouTube. We also are editing clips of our work to post online: before and after clips of projects, odd challenges we have faced and other problems solved.

As video becomes the new medium of Internet communication, the Flip will become a necessary tool of business, quality video to compliment a well-designed Web site and marketing plan. The Flip, with its convenient size, simple interface and low price, is a great entry point for many businesses to get video content on the Web. ϖ

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To see sample video clips made with the Flip, visit Jonathan Sessions’ Web site, www.jonathansessions.com/home/video.

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