Uploading Videos

IMPORTANT - Before you upload a video make sure that you own the video or have permission to upload it. Also make sure that the video contains no material that is inappropriate for or offensive to members of the Group.

Here are details for the steps outlined here.

Prepare the Video File

You can start with any type of video file (MOV, WMV, MPG, AVI, ...). If necessary edit the video so it's exactly what you want. At this stage the file should not be over 200MB, as after conversion (the next step) Directra will limit upload size to 250MB.Convert the Video to the Correct Format

Directra uses Adobe Flash which only plays video files that are encoded as Flash Video (.FLV) or H.264 (.MP4). If your video is already in one of these formats you can skip this step. If not, you'll need to do the following:

Get a program that will convert video to one of these two formats. There are a number of freeware products available.
You will probably want to use the default values provided by your conversion program, but if not, decide on the size, frame rate, bit rate and other factors that will affect video quality and size when converted.
Convert your video to the proper format. When done, check the file size to make sure it is no larger than 250MB.

Consult Encoding a Video File for additional details and help.

Upload the Video

Once the file is converted and ready to go, click Videos on the Features tab, then click the Upload button.

Click the Select & Upload button and specify the converted video file. Directra will display a progress indicator and let you know when the video has been successfully uploaded.

Notes - You can select multiple video files for uploading. Directra will process each file in order, indicating progress for each one until all files have been uploaded. Also, keep in mind that video files are often quite large so the files may take several minutes (or longer on a slow connection) to upload. Be patient. Directra will indicate clearly when the upload is complete.

Edit the Video File

If you want, you can now add more information to the video file, including a title and a description. You can also specify if the video can be viewed by anyone who comes to the Group web site or only by members of the Group. To make your changes:

Go to the Videos page, by clicking Videos on the Features tab.
Click the Edit to open the edit window. Make your changes, then click Save.