Is there a stand-alone YouTube?

[Jon Onstot]

This is a weird question, but I'm developing a series of short instructional videos for a client and I'd like to provide a YouTube-like environment for the user to play them. Here's the catch: the final product, including the videos and front end GUI, must be executable on a stand-alone PC - no internet access. Critical features would include thumbnails, short synopsis, and tag search for each video in the collection. Pretty much like YouTube (or Vimeo), only without the internet. Does such a product exist? I'm pretty sure I could use a generic database program and write code to do what I need, but I'd save a lot of time (and end up with a better looking product) if I could just buy a turnkey system. At the end of the project the collection will consist of about 30-40 video shorts (2-5 min each).

Thanks for any help! Jon

[Simon Wood]

I'm pretty sure you can just embed flash videos (or shockwave) in Power Point projects. Might be the simplest way to do it.

Otherwise you could just have someone who knows Flash to build you a flash project with embedded videos.

[Ron Little]

I would like to know an answer to this question also. I can think of many ways I could use it.

[Roger Van Duyn]

Originally Posted by Jon Onstot

This is a weird question, but I'm developing a series of short instructional videos for a client and I'd like to provide a YouTube-like environment for the user to play them. Here's the catch: the final product, including the videos and front end GUI, must be executable on a stand-alone PC - no internet access. Critical features would include thumbnails, short synopsis, and tag search for each video in the collection. Pretty much like YouTube (or Vimeo), only without the internet. Does such a product exist? I'm pretty sure I could use a generic database program and write code to do what I need, but I'd save a lot of time (and end up with a better looking product) if I could just buy a turnkey system. At the end of the project the collection will consist of about 30-40 video shorts (2-5 min each).

Thanks for any help! Jon

You can encode each of your videos in an HD wmv file and they play in Windows Media Player. Set the view properties for the folder on the PC to Thumbnail view. I often save videos as 720P wmv file and put a large number of them on a thumb drive.

I also often upload those very same videos to both Vimeo and YouTube in that very same codec. I see no visible difference with those that I upload in an H264 file. Both are just wrappers for MP4 anyway.

[Jordan Nash]

You can create HTML pages, and embed the player in them. Flash will play MP4 and FLV. Keep the video files (MP4 or FLV) in the same folder (or child folder, just so long as you can have a nice relative path).

HTML files will run just fine on the local computer; you aren't required to host them remotely.

[Ryan Douthit]

Get a script called ClipShare. I used it to build this: Roadflix.tv | Car Shows, Travel Shorts, Motorsports and More. in a weekend.

[Giroud Francois]

I also wrote some systems like this.
The problem is more to get the server and bandwith, than getting a bunch of webpages embedding a video player.
i think you can rewrite youtube in few hours.

[Giroud Francois]

you can also take a look on the numerous media center systems available.
soem are free, can run on an Xbox, some have many feature like integrating tuner card.
you can even include these little media player that are very simple, they just play everthing you throw at it.