Upload Your Camera Phone Movies to a Video-Sharing Site

 

CNET Do-It-Yourself Camera and Music Phones Projects

Chapter 13. Excerpt from the book published by McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0071485643

 

 

Step 2: Share Your Videos via E-mail

 

In this project, I will show you how to use e-mail for posting videos on blip.tv (its Internet address is the same: blip.tv). There are other video-sharing sites that accept videos via e-mail, and the e-mail upload process is pretty much the same for all of them. For example, YouTube can also receive videos via MMS or from the Shozu application.

 

1. Make Sure You Have a Working E-mail Account on Your Phone

 

If you have successfully sent e-mail messages (with attachments) from your phone, you are all set for this project. Take a look at Project 10 [in the book] if you need help setting up and troubleshooting e-mail access on your phone.

 

2. Write Down the E-mail Address blip.tv Has Reserved for You

 

If you haven’t registered with a video-sharing service yet, now it is time to do so.

 

Log on to your blip.tv account on your computer. Go to your blip.tv home page and click Publish | Upload | Mobile Upload. Type a code word that will become part of your upload e-mail address. Then, you will get the full address where you can send your videos. Write it down.

 

If you use some other video-sharing site than blip.tv, you should look for the e-mail address from your profile or account settings.

 

3. Add the E-mail Address to Your Phone Contacts

 

You will need the e-mail address many times when uploading videos, so it’s worth saving on the phone.

 

Symbian OS/S60 Phone

Go to the main menu and select Contacts | Options | New Contact. Type blip.tv (or whatever you believe describes your video album) into the First Name field. Scroll down until you find E-mail. Enter the address blip.tv reserved for you.

 

Windows Mobile Phone

In the Home screen, press CONTACTS. Open the menu and select New Contact. Type, for instance, blip.tv into the First Name field. Scroll down until you find E-mail. Enter the address that was reserved for you by blip.tv.

 

Other Phones

Add the upload e-mail address to the phone’s contacts or address book.

 

4. Send the Video

 

After you have recorded your movie, and perhaps watched it to make sure it qualifies, you are ready to post the clip on your online video album.

 

Caution:

Before sharing your home movies on the Internet, keep in mind that anything posted on a public web page may begin a life of its own. A funny video of a friend posted on your album may pop up years later in another context when, for example, your friend’s children are surfing on the Internet.

 

Symbian OS/S60 Phone

If you want to post a video right after you have recorded it, you can do it while the camera is still active. Select Options | Send | Via E-mail (or Via MMS/multimedia, if you are posting to a service that only accepts MMS messages).

 

Alternatively, you can send a video you have recorded earlier. In the main menu, open Gallery (or open the Media folder and then, Gallery). Select Video Clips and find the movie you want to send. Select Options | Send | Via E-mail (or Via MMS/multimedia).

 

You should see a form for composing a message (see Figure 13-5). Open Options and select Add Recipient. Pick up the address you saved in Contacts for your video uploads. Open Options and choose Send.

 

Windows Mobile Phone

Go to the Home screen and press START. Open Pictures & Videos (or Video Player) and find the video you want to send. Highlight it and open the menu. Choose Send and select your e-mail account (or MMS/Multimedia if you are not using e-mail) from the list. You should see a screen for composing a message (see Figure 13-6).