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How do I put our TV commercial on our Website?

Q: Dear Chris, I've got a question please. We just made a television commercial for our store, and we would like to put it on our website. We would like to have a link on the home page that people can click on and watch the video. Can you convert our commercial to web video, and how much does it cost to do that? Thanks in advance for your help. Marc

 

A: Dear Marc, What you want to do should be no problem; here are a few things to keep in mind as you proceed.

 

First, you will need to provide a high quality version of the commercial –make sure you have the master (in BetaSP, DigiBeta, etc.) A VHS copy of the commercial will look terrible when compressed to web format, so it is best to use the original Master tape of the commercial, if possible.

 

Second, the production company who is doing the conversion will need to know the correct format and internet bandwidth specifications that your IT department requires. It's probably easiest to have the production company contact your IT department directly.

 

You will find that the conversion costs are quite low, and depend on the length of your commercial and the number of formats your IT department requires. One thing to bear in mind when looking at the cost of a videotape to web conversion...after the video is up on your website, an unlimited number of people can watch your commercial at no additional cost to you.

 

Q: Yikes, winter just came on with a vengeance! Do you have any good warm-me-up drinks?

 

A: How about a traditional Hot Buttered Rum? When done correctly there really is no substitute. This recipe is the real thing - an authentic Colonial recipe except today you use a slow cooker instead of hot coals to simmer it. It needs to simmer for 6 hours, so start the cooker in the morning if you have friends coming over for dinner.

 

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 pinch salt
2 quarts hot water
3 cinnamon sticks
6 whole cloves
2 cups rum
1 cup sweetened whipped cream
ground nutmeg to taste

Combine the brown sugar, butter, salt and hot water in a 5 quart slow cooker. Add cinnamon sticks and cloves. Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours. Stir in rum.

 

Ladle from the slow cooker into mugs, and top with whipped cream and a dusting of nutmeg.

 

Makes 8 Servings