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FlipShare 5.0 and FlipShare TV Are Here. Why You Want Them and Where to Get Them

TV Connections  Sharing videos  FlipShare TV  FlipShare   Video editing & effects software  Camcorders & Accessories  Video Sharing  

The lastest version of FlipShare has just been released.  FlipShare and FlipShare TV put Flip video into a whole new class from the competition. If you want to easily share and watch your Flip videos and movies on TV, it can't get any easier than this. If you are a Flip camcorder user, there are many reasons to download and install it, with or without FlipShare TV

  • Optimized video quality when you share with Facebook, MySpace and YouTube using FlipShare

    One of my pet peeves about FlipShare has been that when you use it to share your videos via a video sharing service like YouTube, the video is compressed to a lower resolution. That might have been understandable when these services didn't support HD, but now they do. And now FlipShare takes advantage by uploading to these services in full 1280x720 (720p) resolution. Facebook is now one of the services directly supported by FlipShare.

  • Watching your content on FlipShare TV

    FlipShare TV is a new piece of hardware that has just become available. The basic idea is that you plug in a small device into a USB port on your computer, plug another smoke-alarm-size device into your TV, and you can watch anything that's in FlipShare's library on your TV. Look, Mom! No wires! For $149.95 you can directly watch your Flip clips and movies in High Definition on your TV, complete with a remote control. You will need FlipShare 5.0 to make this available.

  • Import non-FlipShare content

    This is really cool for several reasons: You can use footage taken with other cameras and camcorders in your movies, providing they meet certain content restrictions (don't worry, FlipInFocus will show members how to get past the restrictions), and you can watch all of your videos and photos on your TV.

  • Making movies is even easier

    If you really want to get quick and simple-minded, select a bunch of clips from a party, give it a title, and FlipShare will automatically select random segments from your clips and make a movie out of it. This is a little too random for me, but not too simple for some folks I run into.

  • You can share your video instantly with anyone else who has FlipShare TV

    You can give a private "key" to your FlipShare Channel to friends or family, and and if they have FlipShare TV, they can watch whatever content you put in your channel.

Flip camcorders became popular because they are as simple to use as simple can be - taking high quality videos, editing them into movies, and sharing them with whomever you please in just minutes - all at an extremely affordable price.  Now, we're beginning to see why the "Share" in "FlipShare" will become the real  selling point.  Trust me:  This isn't the end of the story.  In the months ahead, Flip is going to blow your mind, even as it bowls over the competition.

Where to Get FlipShare 5.0

Click on this link to download the latest version of FlipShare.  If you're currently running FlipShare, close it.  Run the program, follow the simple directions on the screen, and you're done.

Update the Software on your Camcorder

Once you have installed the new version of FlipShare, your Flip will want to update itself.  Plug it into a USB port, as you would if you were offloading video.  If your FlipShare settings aren't set to automatically start FlipShare when you plug your Flip into your computer, start FlipShare.  Soon you will see a message in the upper left corner of your screen that says, "Do not unplug."  While this message displays, the software on your camcorder will be updating itself from your computer.  After a minute or two, it goes away, and you're done.

Where to Get FlipShare TV


FlipShare TV FlipShare TV is currently selling for $149.99, with free shipping.

Click the ad on the left to buy FlipShare TV from theFlip.com now, or you can pre-order from Amazon. If you follow either of these links, you will get the best price and get us a small commission, which will help support this site.



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RickBurton's picture
RickBurton on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:15
Title: Update on my question - FlipShare 5.0 ok for UK

Spoke to Flip support yesterday and they assured me that FlipShare v5.0 was safe to install on UK systems. Asked why the 'US download only' warning all they would say was that 'some services' included in v5.0 were US-centric. No further details were given so feel free to speculate.

Darrell Icenogle's picture
Darrell Icenogle on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:23
Title: I'm guessing that 'some services' is FlipShare TV

FlipShare TV is a network-based service, with Cisco servers. It's likely that it will be a while before the service is patched together in other countries. FlipShare TV is one (but not the only) compelling reason to get 5.0. Flip Channels are already available in 4.5.

Tim Burgess's picture
Tim Burgess on Sun, 12/06/2009 - 12:51
Title: Still having problems

I thought I would give this a try... the only problem is that when I follow your links to the download and start the download I seem to only get version 4.5? I have done this a few times now. Its shows up as a download of 88.5mb..

Hopefully filp UK will open this up for us soon..

 

Darrell Icenogle's picture
Darrell Icenogle on Sun, 12/06/2009 - 13:15
Title: Maybe Rick got 4.5 after all?

Welcome aboard, Tim!

I downloaded both the Mac and Windows versions.

  • The size of the Mac version, Setup_FlipShare.dmg, is 123,936 KB
  • The size of the Windows version, Setup_FlipShare.exe, is 106,277 KB

Rick, how do these sizes stack up to what you were able to download?

Incidentally, you can tell the version of the FlipShare you have installed by selecting the 'About' option from the 'Help' menu.

RickBurton's picture
RickBurton on Sat, 12/05/2009 - 22:26
Title: FlipShare 5.0 - U.S. only?

Followed your link and was a bit confused by the 'US download only' tag next to the name. This also appeared when I switched to my local UK site. I downloaded it anyway. Any idea if there'd be problems installing this version onto UK cameras?

Darrell Icenogle's picture
Darrell Icenogle on Sat, 12/05/2009 - 23:03
Title: Yours is the third question I've received on this.

I have had three people ask me about this -- one from Australia, the other two from the UK.

I can only speculate about why they are restricting the downloads to the U.S. 

  • FlipShare 5.0 talks to (and the help file talks about) FlipShare TV.  Even Flip seems to be back-ordered on FlipShare TV.  Amazon is taking orders, but doesn't have any to ship.  Everyone seems to think they will have them in  time for the Christmas.  (People like me are having trouble getting review units. I ordered one with my credit card, and will give it to my father-in-law if/when my review unit arrives.  I have no idea when the one I ordered will arrive.)
  • There could be a bandwidth bottleneck to deal with.  It takes a lot of server resources to download 100-200mb of software to as many people as there are who own Flips.  This might be a reason to restrict its release until the bulk of U.S. users are served. 

I have no reason to believe that if you downloaded it successfully, you can't use it successfully.  We're not talking about different camcorders, here, as far as I know.  The Austrailian succeeded in downloading it, and it's working fine for him. If you want to try, do it this way:

  1. Backup your FlipShare Directory
  2. If you're on Windows, create a restore point and backup your registry.
  3. Install the software, but when it asks to update your camcorder's software, don't let it.  (You will still be able to download your videos.)
  4. Use FlipShare 5.0 to do other things -- editing, sharing, etc. -- and see if anything seems amiss.  Don't use the new feature that allows you to upload to your camcorder. My guess is that it will be fine.

I'll see if I can get an answer to the basic question -- why U.S. only -- from Flip, and I'll report back if/when I can get one. I'll also try to confirm that it's safe to let your camcorder be updated.  Until then, you can always uninstall 5.0 and reinstall 4.5 from your camcorder, should you run into any problems.

RickBurton's picture
RickBurton on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 16:26
Title: FlipShare 5.0 - Confusion reigns!

The saga of FlipShare 5.0 continues. Has anyone actually successfully downloaded this yet? I have attempted to download v5 from the UK and US websites three times only to find each time that the update file is for 4.5 and not 5.0. After being told yesterday that 5.0 was safe to run on UK systems I contacted Flip - or Cisco's - support people again today only to be told that 5.0 was not available and that I should not even be running 4.5 in the UK - only 4.1 was approved for this country! There is evidently a problem with the website where the link you give above, although it takes you to the download page for v5.0.5, results in you only getting 4.5! Needless to say I came off the 40-minute phone call more confused than ever and convinced that Cisco/Flip don't know what they are doing either. Despite repeated questioning about when 5.0 would be available for download no date was given. If you have managed to download 5.0 I applaud you and would love to know how you did it.

Darrell Icenogle's picture
Darrell Icenogle on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 16:38
Title: Aha! The mysterious V4.1...

Well, obviously I was able to download it because I'm in the U.S.

Perhaps you were the one who previously mentioned having 4.1.  Someone did, and I hadn't heard of it.

I believe our other Brit in this conversation had the same experience you did. They are probably looking at your IP address and determining what version to let you have from that.

I'll update if I find out any more about why Cisco is restricting it, and when the situation is likely to change.

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