The Bamboo SharePoint Video Library is just bursting at the seams with useful features: Yes, it can automatically generate thumbnails; Yes, you can view videos without requiring Silverlight (unlike the SharePoint Server 2010 Asset Library); and yes, it’s compatible with WSS v3, MOSS 2007 and SharePoint Foundation 2010. It even provides a selection of storage options for video and audio files.  We’re all well aware of just how large these files can get, reaching and surpassing the 1 GB threshold very quickly, but don’t worry, SharePoint Video Library has your back!

SharePoint Video Library provides a variety of options for you to manage the physical video and audio files. The most obvious option is uploading the video or audio file directly into SharePoint.  You see, SharePoint Video Library is based on a standard SharePoint Library.  Simply select Upload Media File and browse to the location of the physical file. Like SharePoint Document Libraries, the media file will then be stored in the SharePoint content database as a BLOB (BLOB is just a whole different topic ). 

The problem with this is that the SharePoint content database might not be prepared for what can be massive files, assuming that SharePoint has been properly configured to allow such large size files to be uploaded (SharePoint default has a 50 MB limit per file). So onto Plan B.

Plan B is hosting the media files in a different location, relieving the pressure on your database server. A great feature provided SharePoint Video Library is the ability to enter a “Link” to a video or audio file. Simply select New Media File Link and provide the URL to the media file.

You might be wondering what types of media links are currently supported.  LOTS!

• YouTube: Upload your videos to YouTube and then provide the full YouTube URL to the SharePoint Video Library.  Not only will SharePoint Video Library stream the video from YouTube, it will also pull the thumbnail and video details, including the video description.
• Windows Media Service: Do you already have your videos hosted on a Windows Server running the Windows Media Service?  With SharePoint Video Library, you can now integrate those videos into SharePoint providing the MMS URL.  Similar to YouTube, SharePoint Video Library will also retrieve the thumbnail and video details from the Windows Media Service.

Last but not least, any server running IIS can also store the video and/or audio files.  Here’s how:

NOTE: The following instructions describe just one method of configuring this storage configuration. Refer to your IT Administrator for the optimal solution to meet your particular business needs. Also, the following configuration is for operating system Windows 2008, but you can achieve similar results with Windows 2003.

1. Create a folder you want to store the media files in. In this example, we will create a new folder in the C:Inetpub directory and call it Videos.
2. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager found in Administrative Tools.
3. Create a new Application Pool expanding the server node, then right-click on Application Pools and select Add new Application Pool:
   
4. Provide a Name (for simplicity’s sake, I called mine Videos). Select .Net Framework v2.0…. for the .Net Framework version.  Please note, however, that this number could vary depending on the currently installed service pack.  Finally, set Managed pipeline mode to Integrated and click OK:
   
5. Next we will create a new site.  Right-click on Sites and select Add Web Site…
   
6. Fill in the following details: For Site Name, enter a descriptive name for your site, again for this scenario, I used the name Videos. Click the Select button next to Application pool and select the newly created Application Pool Videos. For Content Directory, enter the path to the new Videos directory (C:InetpubVideos). So that this new site won’t conflict with others, in this scenario I will be setting the Port to 85 for the Binding section, and then click OK.
   
7. Now we have to allow people to access the site through the Windows Firewall. Open Windows Firewall with Advanced Security in Administrative Tools.
8. Select Inbound Rules in the left frame then New Rule… in the left frame.
   
9. Within the New Inbound Rule Wizard follow these steps.
   1. For Rule Type select Port and select Next.
      
   2. For Protocol and Ports, enter the newly created IIS port, in this case 85, and select Next.
      
   3. For Action, leave it at Allow the connection and click Next.
      
   4. For Profile, leave all profiles selected and click Next.
      
   5. Finally for Name, provide a descriptive name and optional description for the newly created rule and click Finish.
      
10. Now we just have to add media files to the new Videos directory and you are ready to go. I took the Windows 7-provided Sample Video Wildlife.wmv and added it to the directory.
11. Now go to your SharePoint Video Library and select New Media File Link and enter the URL of the newly added video.  My example is http://jksp2010:85/wildlife.wmv.  Click OK not once, but TWICE!  NOTE: Currently SharePoint Video Library thinks this is not a valid URL. This will be resolved in a future patch release. As a workaround in the meantime, please click OK two times to add the video.
12. You have now attached a new video to your SharePoint Video Library without increasing the size of the content database.

There is one limitation to using the method above.  Unlike using YouTube or Windows Media Service, at present, automatic thumbnail generating is not available.  To display an image, define an image in the Custom Thumbnail column.

Ready to give SharePoint Video Library a try? Luckily it’s available for a fully-functional 30-day trial going to the product page and clicking  button found in the Product Banner.  Follow the checkout process and download the server-side installation package, and you’ll be uploading videos in no time.