Using YouTube

It's all very well enjoying other people's videos on YouTube, but the real reason the site exists is so that you can share content. With that in mind, here's a starter guide to getting your footage up there for others to enjoy.

We'll start by assuming that you know what type of footage you want to upload. If you have this content already, that's a great start. If not, understand that various types of device actually allow you to shoot good quality video, so you don't necessarily have to splash out on a video camera costing hundreds of dollars to get started.

Of course, such a handycam will give you the highest resolution footage, but the video captured by your digital still camera (most such devices now include a ‘video' setting) is perfectly useable, and besides that most new web cameras (webcams) too can also now capture content.

(Of course, home webcams are not very mobile, so the content will likely be you sat in front of your computer. For some users however - depending
on the type of video in question - that will do just fine.)

As far as shooting great vids is concerned, you'll find a useful advice page full of video tutorials, on YouTube itself. Just click your way to www.youtube.com/video_toolbox. Your video content can, in truth, be as long or short as you like, but be aware that single long video files will take an age to upload. This is why most of the full-length TV programmes and concerts you see on YouTube are cut into separate part segments.

Should you have a long video, we suggest using one of the following programs to chop it into digestible chunks: Easy Video Editor 2.0 (www.honestech.com), or Ulead VideoStudio 11 Plus (www.ulead.com/vs/runme.htm).

This type of editing is important because you are, by default, limited to uploads of 100Mbytes and ten minutes in length. Your alternative is to use the YouTube Uploader software, of which more later.

Upload formats

Once you have your content, you'll be pleased to hear that YouTube is a flexible beast, as the site allows you to upload vids in any of the following formats: Windows Media Video (.wmv), Quicktime (.mov), Moving Pictures Expert Group (.mgp), and Audio Visual Interleave (.avi). YouTube then converts such videos into Adobe Flash Video (.flv) format, which the site uses for all its online videos. This is due to Flash's high compression ratios and its ability to be displayed within web pages (as an ‘applet').

Before you can upload your content however, you need to be a registered user. Follow these simple steps to sign-up: Log onto YouTube.com and click the Sign-Up link, which is situated at the top right of the page.


1. Fill in your basic details and your username (this is the name other YouTube users will see next to your vids).

2. Select the type of YouTube account you would like. The following types are available:

3. The Standard account, also known as the ‘YouTuber', allows you to upload videos, comment on and rate other vids, create a personal channel, subscribe to other members' vids and share videos.

A Director account also allows you to personalise your member channel and your channel might - just might - appear in the directors channel on the main YouTube channels page.

Comedian accounts are for users looking to upload funny material - either their own clips or other funny content.

Musician accounts are for audio creators.

Guru accounts are for experts, so would suit, say, a DIY expert who plans to offer videos on how to fix up your home.