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Media Library (VOD): Public URLs & Using Dropbox

Overview

What is a Public Url?

In order to use our Media Library tool, you must first upload your video to the web using one of the third party solutions listed below.  Once your video is uploaded to the web, you should be able to copy its public web address (URL).  To test whether or not your video's URL is public, paste the URL into a browser and see if it loads the video without asking you to login.

What third parties can i use to upload videos?

Virtually any third party will work, as long as the url of the video itself is public.  Dropbox, Amazon S3, and FTP are a few of the many third parties that will work.  Dropbox is our recommended choice, as it is **free and easy to use.  Unfortunately, videos on Google drive will not work with this tool.

dropbox instructions (our recommended choice)

Setup an account

  1. Go to http://www.dropbox.com and create an account if you do not already have one.
  2. Cancel the download, and click on the Dropbox logo at the top left of the screen.
  3. Click on the Dropbox logo again at the top left of the screen.
  4. You should arrive at a screen like this.  This is your dropbox where you can host any of your files on the web.

upload your videos to your dropbox account

  1. From your Dropbox home, navigate into the public folder.
  2. Click on the upload button to open the upload dialog.
  3. Select the video(s) from your computer and wait for the videos to upload.

copy the link and paste into the tool

  1. Right click on the video and select Share link.
  2. Select Get Link.  This copies the required link.  You do not have to enter information into the fields.
  3. In the Video Location Url input box in the Media Library tool paste the url.
  4. You now have a proper public url to use with the Media Library tool.

Uploading videos Using the Dropbox application

All files over 300MB must be uploaded to Dropbox using the Dropbox application installed on your computer or mobile device. If you are uploading full sermon videos, its likely they will be over 300MB. You may also decide you like the convenience of the application vs the browser-based method. Either way, to install the application, log into your Dropbox account, right click your username in the upper right corner of the screen, and then click "install." Then follow the prompts to install the application.



When you install the Dropbox application, it creates an identical set of folders on your local computer and then synchronizes these folders with your Dropbox account. If you add a file to one of these folders on your computer, it will automatically copy the file to the identical folder in your Dropbox account and vice-versa. It's a simple way to drag and drop your large video files into your public folder.

 

**Dropbox is free for 2GB of content. This will probably only accommodate 1 or 2 full-length sermon videos, but keep in mind that the originals can be deleted off Dropbox after they are encoded, so, you really only need one video on Dropbox at a time. You can also increase your free storage by inviting friends to use Dropbox (500MB per friend.) If you desire to keep all of your original videos online in Dropbox for storage purposes, you can upgrade to a paid account starting at $9.99/month for 100GB of storage.

 

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