FAQs

What audio and video formats do you accept?

If you host your media with SiteOrganic, then you will use the following formats:

• Audio: MP3
• Video: MP4, FLV or F4V (codec can be H.264, Sorenson, or any standard codec used by your video encoder).
• Mobile Compatibility note: If HTML5 and iPhone/iPad compatibility is important, then we recommend using MP4 with H.264 compression. Be sure to use the Baseline profile when encoding (Main and High are not supported by iOS)

You may also use video hosted elsewhere, like Vimeo or YouTube.

Will SiteOrganic automatically encode my video for me?

Not yet, but we're working on it. Most standard video editing platforms (FinalCut Pro, Premiere Pro) will easily encode Flash video format. If you aren't able to do this, then you might want to check out Vimeo. Since we integrate with them now, you can use their video encoding/hosting but still have all the benefits of SiteOrganic Media Suite 2.0.

Can I place audio and video in the same program?

Yes! We now support the use of mixed-media in the same message. Here's an example.

Can I add my own categories, or do I have to use the ones shown in the example?

We built an entirely-new category management system inside the SiteOrganic mCMS admin. You have full control over adding categories, sub-categories and items. Not only do your categories travel globally with your media archive items, but in the future we'll be applying these to other areas of your site, such as the search engine.

Can people still find my programs by date?

Sure! Every Media Library page has a dedicated Date tab, allowing visitors to view your programs chronologically. You can also publish program names in advance, to give people advanced notice of what will be coming on your site.

What if we don't use series names?

SiteOrganic fully supports the use of individual programs, which are not part of any series. The landing pages for your programs will automatically adjust themselves if you categorize your media this way. You can also use mixed programs, meaning that some are in series, and some aren't.

What if we don't create graphics for our programs?

If none of your programs have graphics or logos, then the Media Suite 2.0 pages will automatically adjust themselves to fill the space. We designed them so you won't have any big holes or empty spots.

We create fancy-pants videos to promote our series. Can we put these on the site?

Yes! Each of your series has a dedicated landing page like this, which allows you to show a big image or a video about the series. This page shows a list of all the programs in the series (past and future), along with the ability to subscribe to a feed and share with social sites.

How does the new system integrate with social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter?

We support the use of the sharethis.com service to cleanly integrate with a huge number of social sites. This could include Facebook, Google Buzz, Twitter, Digg, MySpace, and many more. We will give you steps to set up your "ShareThis" button for your site. It's completely free.

Do I have to host my video with SiteOrganic?

No. Although it's convenient to have all of your stuff in one place, we have now built our media system to work well with all of the major video platforms. If you already use Vimeo or YouTube, then just grab your embed codes for your videos and paste them into SiteOrganic. You still get all of the great tagging and indexing capabilities of our system, but the video is hosted by your third-party service.

Do you support HTML5 for the iPhone and iPad?

Yes. Our new Media Suite gets rid of Flash media players and popups, which is great news for mobile device users. Our embedded video player is built with Flash, or you can embed your video files with simple HTML5 tags. These videos will play on the iPhone 3GS, iPhone4, and the iPad. We can give you some quick coaching on how to do this (it's easy!). Keep in mind that you may want to have us help you bring the rest of your site up to snuff too, so that the whole thing looks great on mobile devices too!

For existing clients with audio/video on your site

Do I have to upgrade?

No. We still support the earlier versions of our Media Archives tools, and there is absolutely no requirement for you to change anything.

How long does it take to upgrade my current site?

We are processing upgrade requests on a first-come, first-served basis. When you make your request, we'll give you our best ETA at that time.

Is there a fee to upgrade?

Only if you have an existing, custom-designed site. This is because our designers will need to spend about 3 hours to retrofit your site with the new tools. If you have an Express site, or if you purchase a new site, then the Media Suite 2.0 tools are free.

Can I try out the Media Suite 2.0 without disrupting my current media archive?

Yes. We can install it on your site, on a hidden page, and you can play around with the tools without affecting your current archives or media player. You'll need to do this anyway because you will need to go back through and assign categories to your existing programs. We assume this will take you some time, so we built the new system in a way that doesn't conflict with the old one.

Will I have to do any work to get my media archives upgraded to the new system?

Probably. Once we install the new tools, you'll need to spend a little time creating some categories, then you'll want to go through your program library and tag each audio/video with the right categories. You also might want to re-encode your videos at the new, larger size. These steps can be time-consuming, but they're well worth it! We'll give you a guide to walk you through it.

What happens to my current Flash media player(s)?