[HSF] Video

[Mark Levinson]

On Aug 20, 2007, at 6:37 PM, Edward Bender wrote:

> This is for Jon.  Maybe we can revisit the issue of video for the  
> forum.  Perhaps limited storage of proscribed size/format.  Failing  
> that, how about a forum sponsored You Tube private group.  I think  
> we all want it.
>
Ed:

I could not agree more.    The issue is file size...upload time....  
and compression

Many home edited digital movie files are huge....200 megs or more.    
If you compress them before uploading, the compression may
not be ideal for re-broadcast on the Web.       When we process  
movies at the HSF, our production staff adjust the frame rate, bit rate,
and compression CODEC to get best preformance for web broadcast.

You Tube solves this by converting all uploads to Flash media, and  
there is open source code that can do this conversion.
Still, very large source files take a very long time to upload.     
Many of the You Tube videos were taken with pocket (point and shoot)
video cameras taking MPEG2 at 15 frames / second at 320 x 140  
resolution, and which are manageable in short sequences for file upload.
However, my Luxtex OR camera takes at 640 x 480 at 30 fps, which is  
more than 8 times the amount of data per second.

I have wanted for some time to be able to have any Forum member  
upload surgical videos to our site automatically.     I can
only say that it is a technical challenge to get the file uploaded to  
the server, convert it to a quality suitable for web broadcast, and then
post it.

We could set up a You Tube section, but I have not found it easy to  
get back in to see You Tube videos which people have
notified me about.   I posted a video there of my multiple  
metastatice resection technique...but I can't find it!.     There is  
a great deal of spam-like chatter on You-Tube as well.     So, its do- 
able, but messy IMHO.

I will ask again amoungst my staff if this can be done via the  
HSF.....it is definately a great suggestion..

Thanks,

Mark

Mark M. Levinson, MD
Founder, Editor-in-Chief,
The Heart Surgery Forum
WWW: <http://www.hsforum.com>
Email: <mmLevinson at hsforum.com>