Review from a Rails Screencast Junkie

[cbmeeks]

I just purchased the first Envycast from, well, the Envycast
guys. :-)

I am a Ruby on Rails podcasting/screen casting junkie and have every
Railscast, many Peepcode, etc.

So I thought I would give a review if anyone is interested.

Let me get the cons out of the way.

CONS
===========
1) 37 minutes is a little short for a $9 video, IMO, but not too bad.
Even though Peepcode has some sub-60 minute vids, I think 60 minutes
is the sweet spot.

2) Video quality was a little poor. I did not test the ogg version
because I do not have the right codecs. I am about to make a platform
switch so I haven't really been concerned with ogg just yet.
Now, while it was poor, it was certainly watchable. In fact, the only
"poorness" is that you can see some artifacts on some of the black
screens and a few times, there was actually a vertical line that went
up the screen a little. But, NONE of this was bad enough to bother
me. Just wished it were a little better.

PROS
=============
1) Yet another company/person/people making good to great quality
Rails screen casts. This is a great thing!

2) Content is very useful. Gregg is an excellent presenter and not
too animated. Yet, not boring.

3) Chapters.

4) Funny niche on something that is already fun (programming). None
of the video surprised me in the humor department due to having seen
all of the "Rails vs" screen casts and their podcast. Their humor is
definitely inside Rails/Ruby and corny enough to actually enjoy. I
have actually chuckled a little listening to these guys.

5) Beautiful cheat sheet.


Suggestions for future EnvyCasts
==========================

1) Improve video encoding quality and shoot for HD (720) or at least a
great 480 version. I realize this means MUCH larger files and more
bandwidth. Also, I realize that since you had moving people vs text
for the PC and RC so compression is harder. Anyway, something to
think about. Maybe have a version for "Standard Def" and "HD" with HD
being $13 or so.

2) Try to shoot for at least 60 minutes if you can (once again, larger
files). Or, at least make 50 minutes a minimum.

3) Including code files would be great.

4) Get a sponsor. Yes, I know...I hate ads. But if you put them at
the end and be tasteful like in Ryan's Railscasts, I think that would
be OK. As long as they are relevant. IE, no PS3 game ads or
anything. You could put a "Partially sponsored by ABC" at the end of
the HD version to help pay for the increased file size.

5) I like the advanced theme. It's nice to see screen casts beyond
Rails 101. Other topics should be Advanced Ruby, Advanced
ActiveResource, etc.

6) Jason should speak up a little more. Gregg is a great presenter
and steals the show. But I've heard Jason speak before and I believe
he knows his stuff. Maybe shoot more for a 50/50 deal between you
two. I don't know you personal histories but I imagine a lot of us
see you two as a group and part of the "Rails Envy" team. I would
just hate to see Jason labeled as a comedic side-kick in your vids.

All-in-all, I am VERY pleased with my purchase and will definitely be
buying more in the future even if they are the same quality as the
first.

You guys have created an awesome product for learning Rails. I like
the weatherman approach. Something completely different.

Keep up the great work!

-cbmeeks

[Gregg Pollack]

cbmeeks,

I really appreciate the feedback cb, this is exactly what this google
group is for. If anyone else has anything to help us improve the
casts, please do let us know.

I have a few responses to your comments.

On Mon, Sep 1, 2008 at 11:06 PM, cbmeeks <cbm...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> CONS
> ===========
> 1) 37 minutes is a little short for a $9 video, IMO, but not too bad.
> Even though Peepcode has some sub-60 minute vids, I think 60 minutes
> is the sweet spot.

Yeah, I had no clue how long this was going to be. Since there is
more production work to put together a video like this, I was hoping
that people would be okay with a 37 minute video. Maybe even a 30
minute video.

For the quality of content, I'd like to hope it's a steal even if it
is 30 minutes.

I honestly think all of the screencasts out for Ruby / Rails are under
priced when you consider the value of the content. But that's just
me.

> 1) Improve video encoding quality and shoot for HD (720) or at least a
> great 480 version. I realize this means MUCH larger files and more
> bandwidth. Also, I realize that since you had moving people vs text
> for the PC and RC so compression is harder. Anyway, something to
> think about. Maybe have a version for "Standard Def" and "HD" with HD
> being $13 or so.

When you add live video, the size gets really huge, really quick. I
was really surprised I was able to get it as small as I did. However,
I think I will release a high def version next time, for those who
want it.

I like the idea of charging a little extra for the high def version..
not a bad idea.

> 3) Including code files would be great.

Yes.. next time I certainly will

> 4) Get a sponsor. Yes, I know...I hate ads.

Hmm... Sponsor... Not sure about this... When I purchase a video on
itunes, I don't want it to have commercials, but I'll keep it in mind.

> 6) Jason should speak up a little more.

I actually put together this presentation completely myself, and I
presented it twice before filming it. So having Jason was just to add
some flavor.

But yes, he is also a great speaker, and I do hope we hear more from
him in the next few envycasts ;-)

-Gregg

[cbmeeks]

> For the quality of content, I'd like to hope it's a steal even if it
> is 30 minutes.

Yes, the quality/content ratio was great. Maybe I'm just a little
selfish...I want more more more! haha

>
> > 4) Get a sponsor.  Yes, I know...I hate ads.
>
> Hmm... Sponsor... Not sure about this...  When I purchase a video on
> itunes, I don't want it to have commercials, but I'll keep it in mind.

Yeah, after I said it I realized that was a dumb idea...scratch
that. LOL

Keep up the great work.

~cbmeeks