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After a long day at work as a professional moving planner, Bonnie Marks doesn't have the patience to sit through an hourly newscast on television to catch stories that matter to her.
Instead, the Toronto-based mother of two prefers to go online to news sources, such as Global National News at Canada.com and CNN.
"Watching news on TV just takes too long," explains Marks. "With the Internet, I have the freedom to pick and choose what I want to watch €” information that's relevant to me."
Marks says she also enjoys receiving humorous video clips e-mailed by friends and watches movie trailers online to make sure the content is appropriate for her kids. And she is not alone: millions of Web surfers have discovered an endless source of interesting videos on the Internet.
For Marks, it's news, jokes and movie trailers. But for you, it might be cooking shows, music videos and sports highlights.
Why web video?
Unlike television, online video lets you choose when the action starts and stops (or pauses); it's accessible wherever you have an Internet-connected computer; and you can watch personalized content (such as stand-up comedy during your lunch hour at work) from all over the world (even in your native tongue).
Some video-sharing sites, such as YouTube.com, are so popular that more than 65,000 clips are uploaded by users each day. One six-minute clip, called Evolution of Dance, was viewed nearly 35 million times in just six months!
Full-length movies and television shows are also making their debut on the Net — some in high-definition.
What you need
Watching video on the Web is fairly easy if you have the right setup.
On the hardware front, you should have a high-speed (broadband) Internet connection (rather than a telephone-based dial-up service) as video can be quite choppy to watch at slower speeds. Some Internet service providers provide "lite" services, which should also do the trick.
When it comes to software, you simply need a Web browser, such as Internet Explorer. Depending on the site that's hosting the video you've selected, you may also need a media player installed on your PC, such as Windows Media Player 11. If you clicked on a Windows Media file, the program will automatically open in a separate window for you (which you can then choose to watch full-screen if you like, by double-clicking the video).
Windows Media Player supports many popular video file types, such as those with the extensions .WMV, .AVI, .MPEG and DivX files (with a free plug-in), but some videos may require another program. For instance, .RV video files require RealPlayer, while .QT or .MOV require QuickTime.
You might also be asked to select a specific speed — such as 100K, 300K or 500K — which refers to the speed of the video as it streams to your PC. You can tell how fast your download speeds are with free online tools, such as the one provided at Speakeasy.net. It takes about twenty seconds to complete and your speed is shown as a measurement of kbps (kilobits per second). So, when you're faced with choices (such as 100K, etc.) and you have broadband, try to go with the fastest one first to see how smooth the video begins streaming.
If a video doesn't play, you will likely find a note on the site about what program you need to play the file. The site may also include a link to download it.
Sometimes you'll have the option of downloading a video and saving it to your hard drive instead of watching it in your browser. To play the clip offline, you'll need one of the media players mentioned above.
Did video kill the TV star?
It can be fun to scour the Internet to find videos or receive them in your e-mail inbox.
You can actually find videos through Windows Media Player by launching the program and clicking Media Guide. Here, you'll have many choices including (big breath here) Bugs Bunny cartoons, celebrity gossip and interviews, movie and video game trailers, stand-up comedy, instructional videos, music clips and much more.
Choose to watch these videos full-screen or in a small window while you work. You can even create a playlist with videos by queuing up clips to play in the order you choose.
Happy viewing
Here are a few recommended video sites to get you started:
You may have also noticed Microsoft Home Magazine has an interactive video section with helpful tips, tools and walkthroughs on using technology. Fun video how-tos include scrapbooking, downloading music, managing your e-mail, sharing digital photos and keeping your kids safe on the Net.
Updated July 2007
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Writer, Marc Saltzman
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