For my video shooting needs on Road Trip 2008, I used Qik's software on a Nokia N95 phone and a Flip Video Mino.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)CLARKSDALE, Miss.--As I've worked my way through the South on Road Trip 2008 throughout June, I've been a one-man multimedia production team. That means that I've been writing stories, taking pictures, Twittering, shooting video, and even doing a little podcasting.
Since I'm on my own, and can only carry a backpack with me as I move from story to story, carrying a notebook, a digital SLR, and several lenses--since text and photos are the major part of this project--it's crucial that for video I have something small and light, yet flexible and somewhat powerful.
And most important of all, it's got to be easy to take video and then easily embed it in blogs.
That's what led me to Qik's streaming video service and to Flip Video's Mino.
These are entirely different products, the former a software package that runs on a series of smart phones and the latter a small, low-fi, but low-cost camcorder.
With Qik, the special sauce is its ability to take video and stream it instantly--when there's a 3G cellular or accessible Wi-Fi signal available--and live, onto a Web-based Qik channel and, if you set one up, to an embedded video player that can be put on almost any site.
Even better, if you're using it to stream live, viewers can send you instant messages that appear in your viewfinder while you're shooting. That makes the service ideal for things like one-on-one interviews, since it means that viewers can effectively interact with you while you're working, sending you questions to pass on to the interviewee.
If you happen to find yourself shooting when there's no available signal, the Qik software on the phone--in my case, a Nokia N95--archives the video until you're back in range, then sends it. That means no interactivity, but the video still posts automatically on the Internet, on your Qik channel.
So how useful is Qik?
During the first couple of weeks of Road Trip 2008, I used it frequently. I found it to be a great way to quickly grab a little piece of video from, say, a demonstration of a prototype heat shield for the Orion crew exploration vehicle at the Kennedy Space Center (see video below) or when watching Corvettes come off the end of their assembly line.
And once you've shot your video, embedding it is as easy as going to your Qik page, grabbing the embed code and pasting that into a blog entry. For a generation weaned on putting YouTube videos in their blogs, this is second nature.
Is it perfect? Absolutely not. The sound quality is far from ideal, and if you move the smart phone around much, there's an audible whooshing sound as a result. Further, you have to be sure of what you're shooting before you hit record because the very first frame is what viewers see when they visit your Qik page. So if the camera's pointing at the ground, that's what they'll see in the still frame preview. That's not a very compelling image, believe me.
But all in all, Qik is great. The camera is small and light, and the service is extremely easy to use, requiring just a few intuitive button pushes to get going.
And again and again, as I explained to people what it was, that I had just streamed live to the Internet, I'd hear people say, "that's awesome."
Not only that, but Qik is still only in alpha. So when it launches properly, I suspect it will be even better.
Many more people, meanwhile, are familiar with Flip Video and its line of small, dedicated camcorders. And just before I left on this trip, a package arrived with the just-off-the-production-line Flip Mino.
Like its predecessors, this little device plugs into your computer via USB, but it's smaller, and instead of using AA batteries, it powers up via that USB connection. It's also more streamlined and just a little niftier.
And does it work?
Well, as with Qik, it's very easy to use, perhaps even easier. You turn it on, and it's ready to go. It shoots up to 60 minutes of video and has a tool for simply zooming in and out.
And as with Qik, I was able, several times, to keep the camera in my shirt pocket when visiting someplace, pull it out and easily shoot video of, say, UPS' gigantic Worldport air-distribution center in Louisville (see video below) or of space shuttle training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Uploading the video is a fairly simple matter of plugging the camera in, running the Flip software, and then sending it to your chosen online video-sharing site, which in my case was YouTube. Then, embedding the video in a blog is done using the same process as Qik, simply copying the embed code into a post.
But it's got problems, too. When you're shooting the video, it looks really crisp on the camera's viewfinder. But on playback, the quality is far lower, particularly the sound. Several times, I found that I had real trouble hearing what someone standing right next to the camera was saying.
Perhaps the bigger problem, though, is how long it takes to upload. It is very slow, especially when you're on the road, dealing with less than ideal Internet connections. I would say that a 3-minute video would take more than 30 or 40 minutes to upload.
And that is truly frustrating, watching the upload progress status bar inching along, moving extremely slow, particularly when you're in a hurry.
And I think, ultimately, that's why, if I had to choose between Qik and Flip, I would take the former: There's literally no waiting. If you've got a signal, Qik video posts immediately. If not, it posts as soon as you're back in range. With Flip, you have to manually upload the video and as I said above, it's slow.
Still, either is a good choice for easy video, despite their problems.
To be sure, neither of these products is very high-fidelity. This is not professional video. But if what you need is a way to grab video on the run, in my case, sometimes literally, I think you would do fine with either of these.
And to see what I'm up to on Road Trip 2008, please stay tuned to this blog, to my Twitter feed, my Qik channel, or my YouTube channel of Flip videos.
A gorilla does his best to ignore everyone around as a Monday afternoon crowd at Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Fla., looks on.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)ANIMAL KINGDOM, Fla.--And so it begins.
For the third year in a row, I've set out for a lengthy journey through one of the United States' major geographic regions. It's time for Road Trip 2008, several thousand miles of traveling the American South.
Last year it was the Southwest, and in 2006 it was the Pacific Northwest.
And since I've started this trip in Orlando, there's only one way to really begin: total immersion in Disney World.
That's why at about 9 p.m. Sunday--after checking into my hotel and getting situated, I jumped on a shuttle and headed on over to Magic Kingdom, where I was able to stay--standing up most of the time, mind you--until nearly 2 a.m. Monday.
But more on that later.
A meerkat looks for danger at Animal Kingdom. Most likely, it is safe from the hordes of 9-year-olds who come to stare at it intently each day.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)Today, after taking care of a few Road Trip practicalities, such as buying a USB hub and getting all my camera gear taken care of, I hopped another shuttle and made it here, to this family-packed, animal-theme wonderland.
Fortunately, since I'm staying at one of Disney World's resort hotels, I'm able to stay late at some of the parks. That's why I was able to play around in Magic Kingdom so late last night and why I'll be able to patrol Animal Kingdom until 11 tonight.
Which is good, because I haven't gotten to see that much.
Mainly, I wanted to orient myself and take this first opportunity to share some of what I've been doing.
One of the first things I did was wander into the domain of a rather paranoid meerkat. But, despite its cuddly visage, it's actually quite the nervous animal, so it being hyper-aware of everything around it wasn't surprising.
Nearby was the gorilla enclosure, and sure enough, an adult male and adult female ape were happy to indulge the oh-so-eager masses wanting to see them. Whether they were willing to express their happiness at our presence is another matter. Their faces were more the picture of pensive solo thought.
I myself have spent much of my time here, and at Magic Kingdom last night, wondering about these places and what they mean in our society. And while this might not be the place for my philosophical ramblings on the matter, I will say one thing: if you have some choice of when to come to Disney World, I'd suggest maybe staying away when the world's kids aren't in school--it is a madhouse here.
But, there's still fun to be had if you're willing to wait, or to try the ride less traveled.
For instance, last night--I guess more accurately, early this morning--after walking around for hours and being rather exhausted and unable to deal with the still imposing after-midnight crowds--I alighted on Alladin's magic carpet ride in Magic Kingdom.
There were no lines, and it was possible to get on and stay on as long as you liked. So, needing a little peaceful solitude, that's just what I did, staying put for six full go-rounds, rising up as high as I could each time and enjoying the lovely breeze and sense of being alone that came from riding above everyone else.
Back here at Animal Kingdom, I was struck by the One Tree. This is a masterpiece of man-made detail, a phenomenal faux-tree with endless animal life carved into its synthetic trunk and roots.
The One Tree, the centerpiece of Animal Kingdom. Though from afar it looks real, its actually man-made on top of an old oil platform.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)From what I gather, the "tree" was actually built on top of the structure of an old oil platform, and looking at it from below, it's easy to see why they needed to use something that big: this is one mammoth plant.
Speaking of things man-made, that leads me to technology, one of the things that will feature prominently throughout Road Trip. I'm testing out a number of devices, and I had one of them on-hand with me today: a smartphone loaded with Qik's live streaming media service. This is a device that allows you to live-broadcast low-fi video to the Internet. I encourage you to stay tuned to my Qik channel throughout Road Trip, as I'll be incorporating this a lot.
For the time being, though, I am still in learning mode with this thing. So if you do peruse my channel, I beg a little bit of indulgence as I master this thing. Rocky video, poor timing, and even the wrong orientation are things that may frustrate you today but which I promise you will get better as I go.
Lastly, I had with me a Pal Mickey, a little toy Mickey Mouse that senses where it is in any one of four Disney World parks and blurts out little pieces of trivia or jokes about the parks' many features.
This is definitely for kids, as the information really doesn't lead to much actual understanding of what's going on, but it does serve to alert you to what you're walking around, as, for example, I neared the gorilla enclosure, Mickey vibrated and laughed and prompted me to squeeze his belly to tell me a bad joke about the gorillas.
And, well, I'm an adult, but if I was a kid, I'd probably really have enjoyed that.
But since Mickey is a little bit age-inappropriate for me, and since I've already gotten the idea of what this interactive toy does, I'm going to give my Pal Mickey away sometime in the next couple of days.
If you're in Disney World right now, and are reading this, and you're the first person to Twitter me (my ID is GreeterDan) the name of the animal that shares space with the meerkats, Pal Mickey is yours. But only until the end of business Wednesday. After that, I won't be here to make the hand-off.
And since you'll be heading on over to Twitter anyway, please consider following me there, as I'll be posting updates there about Road Trip constantly.
And that's because there's still a long way to go now that I'm on the road. Please stay tuned. I promise a fun ride.
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