RetouchPRO LIVE on YouTube (beta)

[fgueho]

I think I could be patient with a schedule. But there is none !
We don' t even know when it will be avalaible to other countries.

Can't youtube told you that ?

[Doug Nelson]

Trust me, if they'd told me anything I'd certainly have told you.

[Nmarques]

But is so bad that this feature is not available outside Us. There is a lot of videos I would like to watch...

[Doug Nelson]

As soon as they finish writing and testing it, you'll be able to. It's not a question of enabling the feature, it doesn't exist yet and they're having to invent it.

[kmtheman]

Do you guys have the before and after pic of the retouching, i just want to see which one if beneficial for my viewing...

[Doug Nelson]

Depends. Check out the forum thread for the show you're interested in. If it's the most recent show for that presenter, the before/after should still be up (for those shows that had one). Either way, you can read the feedback there, to help you make up your mind.

[diamondx123]

Originally Posted by Doug Nelson

YouTube has accepted RetouchPRO into its "YouTube Rentals" beta program. This is a very early and still rough beta, but it could provide the "on-demand" option I get several requests for per day. As a test, I've uploaded a selection of RetouchPRO LIVE shows for anyone that wants to "rent" them.

This is only a test.

They're all available in HD (if your broadband is fast enough), and you can pause, skip forward and backwards, and watch however many times you like over the 3 day period. However, even at 1080p it's not quite as sharp as the live shows or even the rebroadcasts, but that is due to transcoding and generational loss and will be the same for any on-demand solution (the live shows are actually higher than HD). But they still look very good at 1080p, and are perfectly legible even at 480.

YouTube is more expensive than I'd like, but that's a function of scale (as I've mentioned in many posts already). If this proves to be as popular as the rebroadcasts I can move to another streaming provider and cut the price by a few dollars.

Since it is a beta program, it's currently limited to US viewers (that is expected to be lifted after it leaves beta). Since this is only a test, it will not interfere with the regular rebroadcasts.

Also, YouTube is handling all the streaming and billing, I have no control over any of that part. So use their technical support if you have streaming or billing problems. There is absolutely no crossover between this and the live shows. Different server companies, different billing companies. Please do not ask me for credits or refunds, that's out of my hands.

This is only a test, so do not assume the rest of the shows will appear anytime soon (it takes nearly 3 days just to post one, assuming nothing goes wrong, and during much of that time my computer is pretty much useless for anything else, especially RP LIVE shows). Once I get some feedback and can see how much interest there is, I'll decide whether or not to upload more shows.

This is only a test, so please do not request specific shows for "next". It is still very much open as to whether there will even be a next.

Ok, as long as it is perfectly clear that this is only a test, I invite you to check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/retouchpro

You are welcome to tell others about this (even encouraged), but please give them the link to this post (so they can read the above) and not the direct YouTube link.

Did I mention this is only a test?

hi why can i not see the videos it says videos not availeble in your country
i live i belguim is that it

[Doug Nelson]

Re-read the post you just quoted.

"Since it is a beta program, it's currently limited to US viewers"

[diamondx123]

ok thks gues we stay dom in europe

[ApWizard]

Originally Posted by diamondx123

ok thks gues we stay dom in europe

I hope this will be fast, I'm waiting and waiting but nothing happens...

[diamondx123]

yes is sad cause the videos are really beautifull and you can learn alot

[Doug Nelson]

I am with you all. I bug YouTube weekly about this.

In the meantime, I'll continue the rebroadcasts, which are viewable by everyone.

[Doug Nelson]

I just added Amy Dresser's "Silver Fox" show and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ_-h2zUPlM.

[diamondx123]

Originally Posted by Doug Nelson

I just added Amy Dresser's "Silver Fox" show and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ_-h2zUPlM.

hi i wil sugest you something so u can tell anyone of the
instructers mostly of them behind every explinacion they
have a story for example if they gone teach u how to use
levels to add exposurere to an image. they wil start with i was on a trip in africa
and i took this photo with a canon number bla bla we was high in the mountains
there were no houses around it was a tribel aerea and so to mention. al that to
and the end of 4 minites to tell u how to use the function i think if a video less 2 hrs
good 45 min wil be joking and telling stories i think: that just make you dissie and
and sleepy, i think they should keep it simple and explain the video .sorry not tryng to be rude hugs diamond

[Hollis]

Hi Doug, I tried to rent the All About Layers video through your link, but I get a message that I must "complete" my account to finish the transaction. However, I already have a "complete" account through YouTube (google checkout), which has my credit card info. I am as complete as I can be. I tried retyping my information, but then I get a message that there is an "error" with my account setup. I double checked to be sure that I was typing in the information exactly as it listed with my credit card, and indeed it is. Not sure what else I can do to complete the rental transaction. I emailed YouTube/Google checkout, so maybe they will clear this up. Thought you would want to know about this, in case it is a glitch with the beta program. Hope to rent some of your videos soon. Hollis Henning

[Doug Nelson]

Interesting, but I guess that's why it's still in beta. Let me know if/when they get you sorted out. Even with the long beta and their outrageous fees, the most frustrating part of working with YouTube is their reliance on email-only for support (but to their credit, they do get things done, if too slowly for 2010).

[Doug Nelson]

Just had a pretty major victory (IMHO) in my negotiations with YouTube, so I was able to drop the price again, even more than last time.

[ApWizard]

Thank you Doug
Hope to be able to watch as soon as it can be possible, that's start to get boring.

[Yu Fujimoto]

Amy Dresser's 2nd show (the first will need heavy editing)

I searched for Amy and Dresser on the channel but didn't see anything.

[longside1]

I don't suppose we can get an update on availability outside of the US? I appreciate that Rental programme is still Beta but any news?

A lot of very, very disappointed folk over here

Thanks

[Doug Nelson]

As of last week (the last time I bugged them) the status was still quo.

[longside1]

Thanks Doug, i appeciate that you are doing your best for us, so no worries. It's just so dissapointing not being able to access all those wonderful tutorials :-(

[fgueho]

Hi again,

Instead of having everything with Google videos, in the meantime (for non US resident), can't you let us download the video files (after the payment via Paypal for example) ?

Amazon S3 storage is pretty inexpensive for that. You can put on a dedicated storage space any videos you want. And let us download them.

Fred

[Tyjeco]

I also can't wait to rent these videos, since I am living in the Netherlands. So I didn't ;-)
I've downloaded NetShade (osx) to get an American IP, used my credit card but changed the country to US and used an Californian ZIP code (because of the sun ;-)) And this worked really well. I only have one problem and I'm sure it is not on my side. I have plenty of bandwith: 50Mb/s but the video's won't play any higher than 480. It's still worth it though, because I want to have the information anyway. The audio in these images are equally as important as the image but I would still love to see them in a higher resolution.
About the shows, themselves.. it's great to see some of the masters in action and get in to the mind of these artists and I know this is what Doug tries to accomplish. But sometimes I wish there would be less Doug and more artist ;-)
Sorry Doug, love you anyway :-) But you don't hear me complain about the price, I recently purchased a tutorial from Joel Grimes for $99.- just to see him do the double raw technique and see him use the quick selection tool, 25 min. total. haha. But still that is worth the money, just to see his workflow. So I gladly pay 10-20 dollar to see a 2 hour tutorial from a pro. So keep up the good work!

Thanks!

[Doug Nelson]

Streaming is ridiculously complex, and one of the biggest factors is the physical distance the packets have to travel (this is one of the reasons the beta is taking so long, as YouTube has to make it work instantly and transparently on hundreds of servers all over the world. You can see why it is currently limited to the US). Yours was an interesting experiment, and honestly I'm surprised it worked at all.

As for less of me, I wish I didn't have to talk at all, but my jabbering is a primary reason I'm able to get these non-professional presenters to agree to present. You try describing what you're doing to an empty room for 2 hours, it can get surreal very quickly. Plus there's the whole audience questions thing, which is the actual point of this whole program. I wish I had a budget to hire a professional host, or at least had a voice that was easier on the ears. But in the meantime, just be glad you don't also have to see my face

[Yu Fujimoto]

Yeah tried a proxy service too, but couldn't even get 480 quality. such a shame because it's really not that hard to sell the videos directly. I'm selling digital goods at White Rabbit Press. The shopping cart only cost $99 and includes a digital goods module. It integrates with PayPal. You can sell worldwide, making money while you sleep, and don't have to split the money with YouTube/Google.

[Karlington]

Hi Doug!
Thanks for all the great work you're doing for this community. Really appreciate it! Is there anything that we non-U.S. residents can do to speed things up over there at Youtube? Do you have a contact that maybe we as well could bug?

Kind regards,
Karl

[Doug Nelson]

I wish I did. Believe it or not, even I don't have a contact. I email their support address, and sometimes they reply (usually they don't).

Thanks for the kind words. Let me know if there is a specific show you're hoping to see and I'll try to work it into the rebroadcast queue.