VIDIZMO's Blog

I have already spoken about the utility of VIDIZMO for SharePoint add on. So without waiting any further let me show you the steps
to install it on SharePoint 2010 environment. The difference between installing
for SharePoint 2010 and MOSS 2007, is only minor. So most of the steps apply
for both the environments.

Pre-requisites

First and foremost, you need following before you can even think about installing VIDIZMO for SharePoint…

1. SharePoint 2010/MOSS 2007 Standard/Enterprise version installed on machine
2. In case of MOSS 2007, you additionally need Service Pack 2 installed
3. SharePoint 2010 should have latest windows updates and should be configured with following services up and running:
   • Microsoft Office Server 2010
   • Search Service (Federated Search)
   • Timer Service
4. Since VIDIZMO for SharePoint interacts with instance of SharePoint installed, it further needs ‘Windows SharePoint Services Administration’ service running on the server. Go to Administrative Tools > Services and make sure its running before you run setup
5. You’ll need to run setup under a user that has administrative level access to SharePoint configured and he must have local system administrator rights. He should be added in local system ‘Administrators’ group
6. And finally, you’ll need a Channel created at VIDIZMO before you begin installing. VIDIZMO for SharePoint utilizes your existing VIDIZMO Channel information and content using your Login credentials. If you do not already have VIDIZMO Channel, you can sign up a FREE 30 Day trial by clicking here
7. Once your channel is set up, you need to add your SharePoint domain to trusted domains on channel
   Select “Update Channel” page from “Settings” Tab then Channel details drop down
   1. Select “Update Channel” page from “Settings” Tab then Channel details drop down
      
   2. Under “Security” tab there is an text box field name “Trusted Domains”
   3. Add your SharePoint site in trusted domain, as shown in snapshot below

   

Let the setup begin…

After making sure everything stated above is in place, let’s start the installation procedure.

1. Run the main setup.exe by right click and Run as administrator.
   
2. Provide the administrator Login Id and Password for your Channel at VIDIZMO and click ‘Verify Credentials’
   
3. If there are more than one Channel associated with the login id, a drop down showing all the Channels will appear. Select appropriate Channel from the drop down and Click ‘Next’
   
4. In the ‘Site Settings’ tab, provide your SharePoint Site URL and click verify button
   
   Next, on same screen, y0u can Install VIDIZMO for SharePoint as Top Level site or as a Sub-site:
   a- When setting up as Top Level Site select Top Level Site as shown below:

   

   b- Or choose sub-site option and provide name and title as you like:

   Note: Setup will create a new site within SharePoint Site Collection based on the information provided at this step. For example, in the screenshot above, setup will create a site on http://moss2007.pdomain.com/VIDEO_PORTAL. The new site will automatically be configured with VIDIZMO Channel information provided earlier

   	Site Settings
   SharePoint   Absolute URL	Type   your valid SharePoint absolute URL. Setup will check this URL before   proceeding to next step. For Example: http://MySharePoint.MyCompany.com. Please   note that this URL should must exist in Alternate Access Mapping
   Site   Name	Provide   the Sub site Name (optional – when choosing sub-site). Setup will create a   sub site in your SharePoint Site. We recommend using “VIDIZMO’ as your site   name. For Example: Your sub site address will look like: http://MySharePoint/VIDIZMO or http://vtlssp2010dev.softech.us/VIDIZMO
   Site   Title	Provide   sub site title for your sub-site
   After   deployment your VIDIZMO for SharePoint URL will be	Once   the setup is completed successfully. Your channel users will use this link   and enjoy VIDIZMO in your SharePoint.

5. Go to ‘Site Template’ and select an appropriate Site Template from the list available by clicking on it. Setup shows all the Templates available in the SharePoint environment you chose at the first tab. Once the information has been provided, click on checkbox
   below to enable NEXT button. Pressing NEXT will take you to the next step.
   
   Note: Though VIDIZMO doesn’t stop you from choosing any template, there are some that have been approved by VIDIZMO for use and hence are recommended.

   	Site Template
   Vidizmo   approved	Setup   requires you to select a sub site template from this list of Vidizmo approved   templates. This is the list of templates that work properly with VIDIZMO   based on its specific requirements. It is highly recommended to select a   template from among this list.
   All   templates	This is   the list of all site templates available for your selected SharePoint site   including custom templates. VIDIZMO for SharePoint is not guaranteed to work   with these templates, if you have a custom template that you’d like to use   VIDIZMO for SharePoint to work with, please contact VIDIZMO technical support   team at support@vidizmo.com for   any queries.

6. Click on the ‘I have verified all Settings’ check box and click ‘Next’
   
7. The setup will check for pre-requisites and ensure everything is in order before initiating the installation procedure. Here’s how the next step should look like before moving on to Next step. If setup clears everything, click ‘Next’
   Note: In case, setup detects anything missing, such as Search Service etc. it’ll show error icon in red next to the line item. In such case, you’ll have to resolve the problem and run the setup again.
8. Accept EULA by selecting ‘I accept the terms in the License Agreement’ and click ‘Next’
   
9. Setup lists all the available web application in the instance of your SharePoint Server whose URL was provided in second step. Further, Setup will detect the web application from the list to start solution installation and deployment. Click ‘Next’
   Note: SharePoint (MOSS 2007 and SharePoint 2010) both create Web Applications, with Site Collection under them, which contains the actual site. So at this step, setup will automatically choose appropriate Web Application. Normally it doesn’t make sense to deploy VIDIZMO for SharePoint on Administrator or SSP applications
10. Setup will start installation of VIDIZMO for SharePoint as shown below…
    
11. Finally click ‘Next’ after the setup is complete
12. Press Close button to exit the Installation Setup.
    
    After the installation is complete, go to the site URL provided in Site Settings tab in Fourth step above and start watching Rich Media Presentations published in VIDIZMO channel right from SharePoint environment.Facing problems in installation, check VIDIZMO for SharePoint troubleshooting sectionWant to see how the website will look like, visit VIDIZMO for SharePoint – a quick glance!

1. Camera
   Most cheap web cams have a fixed focal length and automatically adjust focus and exposure, resulting in a constantly changing image.  A proper camera should be capable of adjustable focus, zoom, and aperture.  The user needs to be able to set the right zoom range, and lock in the focus and iris so that the image doesn’t change while recording.  Typical consumer or “prosumer” cameras fit this bill.  Examples are the Sony Handycam series, Canon Vixia series, and Panasonic HC-V700 series camera.  Prices range from $300 to $700 typically.  These are all HD cameras, and can be used to feed a signal directly into a computer or encoder for live streaming.  Or they can be used to record footage, which is then edited and uploaded for VOD.  If they are being used for live streaming, and being fed directly into a computer, then usually a video capture device will be required.  Examples are Sabrent USB-AVCPT, BlackMagic Design UltraStudio, or Diamond VC500.  Prices range from $30 to $375.

2. Tripod
   One of the most causes of poor video quality is lack of a stable image.  The camera view wobbles around because somebody is trying to hand-hold the camera.  An inexpensive tripod will solve this problem.  The cameras I have recommended above are all lighter than a 35mm DSLR camera, so any lightweight photographic tripod will work.  Typical prices are $25 to $150.

3. Lighting
   No matter how good the camera is, poor lighting will cause a poor image.  Most people try to record in typical office lighting conditions.  This means all of the light comes from above, resulting in dark shadows in the talent’s eye sockets.  A couple of inexpensive lights positioned slightly above the talent, and at 45 degrees to each side of the talent make a big difference in the final result.  Even better results are obtained when using the industry standard 3-point lighting techniques.  A tutorial on 3-point lighting can be found in this clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcMX1RcNRYA

4. Audio
   Audio is usually the forgotten step-child of video.  Typically people use the poor quality microphones on laptops, or the camera mounted microphone.  The problem in these cases is that the microphone is far away from the talent, so it picks up all of the extraneous room noise, and the talent sounds very far away.  It is very important to have a close-coupled microphone on the talent in order to get professional audio results.  By close-coupled, I mean that the microphone is either clipped on to the talent (a lavaliere microphone,) or within 12 inches of their mouth (a boom microphone or a table microphone).  Decent quality microphones can be obtained from sources like Radio Shack for prices ranging from $30 to $300.  These microphones can be connected directly to a computer or encoder for live web casts, or connected to the cameras listed above for recording media to be used later in VOD presentations.