Video downloads
We have had a number of requests from people asking if they can download the tutorial videos. This is something we have been looking into for a while so that we can find a solution that is not going to cost a fortune. The amount of bandwidth downloading the videos needs can end up being expensive.
We think we have found a cost effective solution using Amazon S3 and CloudFront. S3 will be used for the storage and CloudFront used to deliver the content when people download it. The benefit of CloudFront is that when you download content, it will deliver it from a POP as physically close to you as possible, which results in much better download speeds etc.
We are currently uploading the videos and setting this up. As soon as the downloads are ready we’ll post about it.
We hope people will find this useful and allow them to enjoy the tutorials whilst on the move :o)
Mike
18 Comments
mike on February 14th, 2010
There is a limited window when you can download them. A link is provided on the vimeo site if you visit the site directly. Once a few downloads have been made then the download button disappears :o(
Mike
Dave M. on February 14th, 2010
There are a few utility applications for the Mac that allow you to download and convert web video to videos playable in iTunes. Videobox is one, and CosmoPod is another. My favorite is xVideoServiceTheif. It’s free and does a great job of pulling videos from just about every video service out there.
This is what I use to grab the videos from the tutorial site.
Dave M. on February 14th, 2010
I should add that the drawback to this method is that the video quality is as good as that of the video service like Vimeo.
Mike, are you going to be putting up less compressed versions of these tutorial videos up on this new site?
mike on February 14th, 2010
Thanks for the comments Dave. The videos being uploaded are all MOV format which is the native format they are recorded in, so they are high quality.
Mike
Dave M. on February 14th, 2010
It’s a pity the video services need to compress so much, they would be a perfect storage/bandwidth system otherwise.
I’m looking forward to the new storage location. I follow these tutorials like clockwork. Every little bit helps. :)
glen on February 14th, 2010
Hi mike
Would it be possible to offer a paid download service. I myself would pay as I’m sure others would aswell. These tutorials are great! Also any news on when the book will be released?
Simon on February 15th, 2010
Have you considered a live tutorial? Perhaps with a Q&A at the end or a live guided discussion?
If not now, perhaps something to coinside with the book launch :).
Would I be right in thinking the blog will be getting a revamp & tutorials once the book is closer to completitiom?
Regarding the videos I’ve been using clipgrabber.com works on almost every type of video site ;).
Tony on February 15th, 2010
Hey!
I’ve downloaded every tutorial from Vimeo using RealPlayer Downloader, which comes with RealPlayer. Didn’t cost a cent and the quality is like the originals.
Cheers
Tony on February 15th, 2010
To add to my previous post. RealPlayer can be downloaded from http://www.real.com. It IS available for the Mac, Linux and that other so-called OS.
Only one caveat – it gives the videos the name of the window they are playing in, so you’ll have to rename the videos. For example, all the tutorials were saved as “71^2 – The ramblings of two 30-something developers.flv” I simply renamed them before downloading the next one. Considering the worth of these tutorials, it’s a small price to pay.
Enjoy
keithpitt on February 15th, 2010
I’d be very happy to pay for the download – a couple of bucks to cover the cost.
mike on February 15th, 2010
Thanks for the comments guys, there are some good suggestions. I like the idea of a live webcast when the book is launched, that is something I’m sure I could setup :o)
I’ve always wanted to keep the blog tutorials free so as to remove any barriers to people starting to develop games on the iPhone. At the moment the advertising is just about covering the hosting costs of the blog and the videos. If the downloads become too expensive to handle then I’ll have to look at some kind of paid service to just cover the costs of the downloads.
The book is coming along well. I have taken this week off work to work full time on the book. I’m writing Chapter 13 at the moment and there are going to be around 18 chapters, so not too many to get done, but my milestone for all chapters complete is the end of this month.
The book is planned to be released in Spring before WWDC, so that is the timeline I’m working towards.
I’ll keep you all up to date.
Mike
Simon on February 15th, 2010
Hi Mike,
Glad you liked the idea of a live webcast, let me know if you’d like any help getting it all setup.
Simon
keithpitt on February 15th, 2010
Is there a way to give you guys a donation?
I understand that you dont want to charge for anything, but I’d like to show my appreciation for your hard work by giving you some money to buy a beer (or 2) :D
mike on February 15th, 2010
Thanks Keith, while we don’t want to charge for anything, donations are always welcome. If you you look at the top of this post you will see a coffee mug on the left with “buy Mike a coffee” written under it. Pressing that allows you to make a donation :o)
Mike
gary on February 28th, 2010
Or perhaps Mike put them onto DVD and sell it via amazon/ebay etc. I’d pay for it (I know your’re busy enough as it is though :))
Ive got a LiveDrive account which offers unlimited storage and I’d be happy to put them on that and share them.
Cheers
Gary
caylem on May 7th, 2010
JDownloader can rip the videos quite easily from vimeo.
What about a filesharing site like Rapidshare or Hotfile to upload the videos in better quality.
sefiroths on December 16th, 2010
megaupload too os very good
Thomas on February 14th, 2010
Can’t the videos be downloaded from Vimeo’s site?