Welcome to the JCMDI Stock Footage eStore!
High-resolution time lapse video sequences
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FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) and Information
Using this site:
Use the individual video thumbnails to view the sample videos on YouTube. The full-length video sample will play (in a separate browser window) in YouTube's reduced resolution and quality for the purpose of auditioning the content of the clip. The clip you receive will be the original high quality full resolution version of the clip. Any soundtrack that plays in the YouTube video sample is NOT included with the clip unless specifically noted. The clip you receive may have an original soundtrack or no audio at all.
Use the "Add To Cart" buttons to select the video clips for which you wish to purchase a usage license. Your selections will be added to JCM Digital Imaging's secure PayPal Shopping Cart (which is hosted on PayPal's website, which will automatically add any applicable tax and shipping/transfer charges to the order. Special orders (file conversions, custom work, etc.) will need to be handled seperately by us - just eMail JCMDI customer service (customerservice @ JCMDI.COM) to discuss your needs.
Commercial Use Licences:
The prices shown are for a Commercial Use License, which grants its owner the royalty-free right to use the selected material (henceforth referred to as "material") in ONE film, video or other project (henceforth referred to as the "finished work"). The material, in whole or in part, may occur more than once in the finished work, and may be modified as needed. The finished work may be monetized, replicated, broadcast, sold, and otherwise distributed on a global scale, for an unlimited period of time, without further payment to JCM Digital Imaging. The material MUST be incorporated into a larger finished work in order to be distributed or monetized in any way. The license does NOT grant permission to use the material in additional finished works or projects, with the exception that the material, or a portion thereof, may appear in a trailer or advertisement for the finished work, and, if the finished work is one episode of a series of related shows, the material may also appear in the opening titles and/or closing credits of the other shows in the series. In no event may the material be distributed, broadcast, sold or monetized as-is (i.e. as stock material for sale or any other use) so as to avoid competition with JCM Digital Imaging's on-going licensing of the material to other customers. The license grants ONLY the right to incorporate the material into a finished work. The material itself remains the sole intellectual and real property of JCM Digital Imaging. Under no circumstances shall JCM Digital Imaging, its owner(s), or affiliates be liable for any damages or losses whether incidental or consequential, resulting from the use or misuse of any material obtained from, licensed by, or created by us. The license is intended to accompany the finished work in which the licensed material is used, and should be transferred to the new owner(s) of the finished work, should any such sale or transfer of ownership of the finished work occur.
Delivery:
Unless otherwise arranged in advance, the full-resolution, non-watermarked video clips(s) you order will be sent to you as high quality video data files on recordable DVD media via United State Postal Service Media Mail. For small orders, direct digital transfer (download) instead of physical data disc delivery may be arranged by special request, however, the shipping/transfer charge will still apply, as the aggregate time/labor/materials/postage for both methods is roughly the same. Some of the long-running HD files are so large that direct download is not possible. Delivery methods and options can be worked out in advance of purchase if needed.
CODECs and Formats:
The video clips available on this site were recorded on a variety of equipment types, and are being offered here in their original, native format for highest quality. Due to the wide range of compression and file formats in the world today, compatability is sometimes an issue. CODECs for all of the formats used here are available for the PC. JCM Digital Imaging does not sell or support CODECs but downloads of free CODEC packages are available on the Internet if needed. One such package we installed, tested and found to be useful is here: PC CODEC Pack: ffdshow (note - this is not a JCMDI product - download and use at your own risk). Please contact us in advance if you are concerned about CODEC and format issues not covered here.
MAC OS X:
Most of our time lapse sequences are now compressed in standard high bitrate MOTION JPEG compression (compatible with MAC OS X). For files in other native formats; .MTS(AVCHD), WMV(Windows Media), H.264(MPEG4), etc.), A limited selection of format conversions are also available at extra charge ($5 per clip). Please let us know your needs before ordering. Indeo CODECs for MAC OS 9 classic (if needed), are available from Apple's Website here:
MAC Indeo 3.2
MAC Indeo 4.4
MAC Indeo 5.0
Video File Test Samples:
To check for compatability of our clips with your equipment and software in advance of purchase, you may download these short, low quiality test sample clips for the following formats (right-click the link and select "Save target as" to save the sample file to your computer):
Motion JPEG (SD in a .AVI container)
AVCHD H.264 (HD in a .MTS container)
Windows Media 9 (SD in a .WMV container)
Casio EX-F1 H.264 Quicktime (in a .MOV container)
(More samples to come...)
Free Usage Policy:
We receive many requests for permission to use JCMDI's finished videos and stock footage clips for non-profit purposes such as YouTube "home" videos, music videos and educational instruction without purchasing a usage license. Our general policy is to allow such use for personal entertainment and educational purposes, provided that the JCMDI material (or material that it is incorporated into or bundled with) is not sold, commercially distributed, used for sales, recovery of operating expenses, or profit of any kind. Viewers must not be charged for access to the video, website or physical location where the JCMDI material will be shown, nor may the JCMDI material be shown or otherwise distributed "free" in conjuction with any sale, paid service or access fee. Credit and link to the source of the video should also be provided to viewers; something as simple as "Video footage courtesy of JCM Digital Imaging HTTP://JCMDI.COM" will do (link to the YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/jcmegabyte in place of JCMDI.COM is okay, too). Note that for free use, we cannot afford the time or expense to ship or otherwise deliver the commercial or YouTube versions - you will need to download the HQ/HD .FLV or .MP4 files directly from YouTube. Note that the more recent material has smaller, virtually invisible watermarks.
Embedded YouTube players - You may embed YouTube video players showing any JCMDI video(s) anywhere on the Internet, provided that the usage complies with the above free usage policy. You may also link to any page on this site, and any JCMDI YouTube channel/video without further permission.
Downloading the video(s) from YouTube and displaying them independently of YouTube is also allowed provided that the use complies with the above free usage policy, the video is unmodified, and a credit note/link to the source of the video(s) is provided to viewers as described above.
Notes for YouTube video makers using JCMDI material
You may use as many clips and/or Technician soundtracks as you like from any of the JCMDI channels listed below, in your own YouTube videos, without payment or obligation to JCMDI, so long as they are not used for commercial purposes (The ads that YouTube places on videos/channels are OK). The complete free legal usage policy details are posted above. Audio and/or video (in whole or part) may be used from videos posted on any of these JCMDI YouTube channels:
JCMegabyte
JcmdiStockFootage
JcmdiWeirdStuff
JCMDInature
TechnicianMusic
TheNatureStation
HummingBirdChannel
As you probably noticed, JCMDI is a YouTube partner, and there are pros and cons to using partner material. The only real con is that YouTube is more likely to post ads on videos and pages containing partner material than those without. The YouTube CMS (Content Management System) automatically searches for JCMDI material in all uploaded videos, and may "claim" the JCMDI material in your video on JCMDI's behalf. It works much like the copyright system, EXCEPT that the system is set to ALLOW use of JCMDI material in other videos, so no harm (strikes or penalties) will come to you or your account because you used JCMDI material. The notice that the system posts on your video can be annoying, and looks a little scary if you're not familiar with how the copyright/claim system works, but again the notice is purely for informational purposes and no action is required on your part. To avoid false claim disputes, do not dispute the claim unless you have purchased the commercial usage rights for the JCMDI material in your video.
On the pro side, YouTube may promote videos containing partner material, so you may see increased traffic, featuring, more frequent appearence of your "CMS claimed" vids in the "related videos" sidebars/player windows and possibly higher placement in searches as well. JCMDI has experienced all of these positive side effects!
If you are using your own soundtrack, be sure and mute the JCMDI clip's soundtrack so it doesn't conflict with yours, and please edit-out the original text credits (if any) from intro and ending of the JCMDI clip(s) to avoid viewer confusion/mis-crediting the audio.
Enjoy the clips and good luck with your project(s)!
Downloading Videos from YouTube:(Windows/IE example)
There are a number of free utility programs available online to download videos from YouTube. However, many users download them directly by copying them from their browser's Internet cache folder after watching the video. Here's how it works: When you watch a video on YouTube, your browser (Windows Internet Explorer) downloads the entire file to a folder called "Temporary Internet Files" (TIF), which is usually a subfolder burried down deep in your user folder. Do a Windows (not Internet) search for "Temporary Internet Files" on your PC to help find it. The TIF folder will be located somewhere like:
Windows Vista: C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\4ZIVT31B
(replace USERNAME with your Windows logon user name) The TIF folder(s) may be "hidden" as a system file/folder so you may need to unhide protected system files in the Windows file manager TOOLS menu before you can see it. There may be several TIF folders and some with subfolders and random scrambled letters/numbers like "4ZIVT31B", so inspect the contents of each one for current dates to locate the active one(s), and make shortcuts for future use. In the TIF folder will be all sorts of bits and pieces (pictures, html, videos, etc.) from all the web pages that you've recently visited.
The cached filenames are fairly confusing, and will look something like this: "http://v8.cache5.c.youtube.com/videoplayback?ip=0.0.0.0&sparams=id%2Cexpire%2Cip%2Cipbits%2Citag%....." To get the whole video file from YT into your TIF folder, first watch the desired video all the way through. After you've watched the video, keep the YouTube player window open and go sort your TIF folder by size. The biggest files are usually videos. Drag the big ones to your desktop (or some other folder) and play them to see what you've got. Sometimes it takes a minute for freshly downloaded material to appear in the cache, and you may need to press F5 to refresh the folder's contents, or close and re-open it before new entries appear. After you drag the files out of the cache, they will look more like this: "videoCA9EGHRB.flv" or videoCASAAIY2.mp4. If the file(s) have no extension, you may need to add .MP4 or .FLV (depending on which you downloaded) before you can try playing them. You will of course need a player and installed CODECs for each of those formats as well.
YouTube's system generates a number of versions of each video uploaded, and their system normally chooses the Flash .FLV format for playback by default. However, you can usually "force" the system to play an HQ/HD .MP4 version by tacking on either &fmt=18 (for HQ) or &fmt=22 (for HD) to the end of the video URL. The MP4 may be easier to work with than the FLV. Video URL examples...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkCwE2GmO40 (Normal .FLV format)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkCwE2GmO40&fmt=18 (HQ .MP4 Format)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkCwE2GmO40&fmt=22 (HD .MP4 Format)
Note that all formats may not be available for all videos (depending on the original video's quality) and the &fmt=22 HD format won't be available for non-HD videos. Some countries other than the USA don't get the HD or HQ versions of the videos at all. You may need some file conversion utilities or additional CODECs for your machine if it has trouble playing/editing the .FLV or .MP4 formats.
Please contact us directly for questions, details, options, and special requests not covered above.
customerservice @ jcmdi . com -- Thank you for your interest!
