some video clips i can watch - some I can't says that I am missing a quicktime component - I just bought this computer = any advice?

Some of the video clips on this website are over 7 years old. The earliest clips were produced using a format known as "AVI", which is rarely used anymore as a web format. Since it's a PC-based format, one would expect to play it in the Windows Media Player. But as it turns out, the particular "codec" we used is no longer supported by the Windows Media Player. So we chose to use the Quicktime Player to pay these files insetad.

It's interesting, but not all that surprising to learn that the Quicktime Player won't play these files on the Mac OS. They do still play on Quicktime for PC. If you were computer savvy enough, you might be able to locate and download the right "codecs" to play the files on your Mac, but I don't think it's worth the effort. For one, they're really old and they kinda suck. And secondly, we filmed all new video last year, and I'm in the process of editing it now. The new video will replace the old clips, and every single clip will be available in Quicktime (actual Quicktime, not AVI) and Windows Media formats, in low, medium and high quality.

The new clips will start to become availble throughout 2006. Look for the first set, American style Cha Cha, to appear very soon... probably within the next couple of weeks or so.

Regards,
Jonathan Atkinson
www.ballroomdancers.com

thanks Jonathon, and btw - this site has become one of my "must check sites" every morning. I am still a new dancer (a little more than a year) and I learn from the message boards and the Learning Center. Thanks for all the work you obviously put into this.....

I also have a Mac and have found the same problems with the clips. Thanks Jonathan for giving me the "tech" info on the issue. I'll await the new video when you get it all ready and uploaded.

G--

You don't have to wait. Check out the American style Cha Cha and Lindy clips. These are the first in our new series.

When you view the list of video clips for any figure in these two dances, you'll notice that instead of a Windows or Quicktime icon, there's a generic video clip icon. That's because every clip is available in both formats, plus 3 levels of quality (low for dial-up, high for broadband, and medium for a compromise between quality and download speed). When you watch your first video, you'll choose your preferred format and quality settings, and then all subsequent video viewings will use the same settings.

Regards,
Jonathan