Videoblogging With WordPress?

Just put the video on your server somewhere and then make a post linking to it or with the necessary “embed” tag to show it.

Some tips:
-Even if you embed the video using the <embed …> tag, include a normal anchor tag linking to the video itself. Why? Because WordPress should pick up these links and realize that they are videos, and thus put them in enclosures in your RSS feed. This makes your RSS feed compatible with vidcast reading software (iTunes, for example, if you use m4v video).

-Make sure that your server sends the correct MIME headers for your video files. This may mean screwing with .htaccess files to set the correct types. They should be of the type “video/something”. This saves you a lot of trouble if you get it right ahead of time.

-Keep the videos small, and if you embed them, don’t turn on autoplay. Better yet, look for a plugin that will let you show a thumbnail and only loads the whole video when the user clicks on the video to play it.

Thanks Otto but I’m not exactly brilliant with coding or computing in general come to think of it. I have no idea what most of that meant!

[Edit : Just to expand]

I understand uploading the video onto my own server and using the embed tag. The rest is a bit of a mystery. I plan to use Windows Movie Maker to create the movies. Any other programs out there that would do a better job for free?

What format you use is up to you. Doesn’t much matter to me, although I would avoid WMV personally. M4V or MP4 is much better, as it allows video iPods and PSP’s to possibly be able to display your movie. There’s free software to make these formats out there.

Rephrased version of my suggestions:

1. Include anchor tags. This means that if you embed the video into a post, include a normal link to the video file in the same post as well. Trust me, it’s useful to do this for a lot of reasons.

2. MIME Types: Make a text file in the directory where you decide to store your video files. Name it “.htaccess”. Insert this code into it:
AddType audio/mpeg mp3
AddType audio/x-mpegurl m3u
AddType audio/x-mpegurl pls
AddType audio/ogg ogg
AddType audio/x-m4b m4b
AddType audio/x-m4a m4a
AddType video/mpg mpeg
AddType video/mpg mpg
AddType video/mp4 mp4
AddType video/m4v m4v
AddType video/quicktime mov
AddType video/x-msvideo avi
AddType video/x-msvideo wmv
If you use a host that gives you CPanel access, you should be able to set the MIME types from there. Do that instead.

3. When you use the embed tag, do everybody a favor and set autoplay=”0″, or use a wordpress plugin that lets you turn off autoplay.

Not really complicated stuff, just tips.

Another idea might be to download the plugin “Podpress.” It allows you to insert movies into your posts.

Cheers for your help, Otto. Much appreciated.

I’ll also look into that x9trip. Ta.