how to download a video file from sony imagestation



i store all my recruiting videos in a free sony imagestation account. this is a quick guide on how to download a video to your hard drive so you can watch it whenever you want to.

this how to guide assumes you are using some sort of internet explorer on a PC. this guide is just a quick list of what to do and there are many different ways to do this. i am just describing one simple way to download the videos to your hard drive.
  • first off, surf to a page that contains some video clips that are hosted by sony imagestation.
  • next you need to sign in. sony only allows members to download the video files. the registration is free of charge and hassle free as well. they have not spammed me once.
  • after you have signed in you should be at the front page of the album.
  • the front page of the album typically shows one large thumbnail of the first file. typically that isn't the only file. you can access the other files by using the drop down box in the upper left corner OR clicking on the 'Index' link in the upper right corner. i prefer the index link since you can see a bunch of thumbnails of the videos before deciding to download the film.
  • when you find a video file you would like to download, left click on it.
  • after left clicking on the thumbnail, a window will pop up (if it doesn't try disabling the popup stopper or enabling javascript).
  • the pop up window will tell you that you can't stream the video. why it does this is beyond me. it is stupid programming by sony, but i digress.
  • in that useless pop up window, there is a blue box that says download in it. RIGHT CLICK that blue box and then select 'save target as' from the selections that pop up.
  • find a spot on your hard drive to save the video file. i would recommend creating a new folder if you want to keep them or just putting the videos on your desktop and cleaning up the desktop when you are done. once you have picked out where to store the file on your hard drive, press OK.
  • the video file will then start downloading. this may take a little while if you are using a telephone connection to the internet (maybe 15 minutes or so if it is a big file). if you have broadband access this will take something like maybe 15 seconds at best.
  • when the file is finished downloading, simply double click on the file wherever you saved it and it should start to play in your media player


that should do the trick for 99% of the computers out there. some people have problems though so i am going to include some random tips here for you 1%ers now.
  • KNOWN ISSUE: midway through the football season i started to compress my film using a different higher quality video codec. some people with older computers / media players / video codecs can not view some of the film as a result. as far as i can remember, this only impacts the video from the canton mckinley - warren harding game and the dayton c-j game. that would include videos of ryan brinson, anthony turner, javon ringer, mike phillips, and mario manningham. the rest of the videos should work no matter how crappy your computer is. i do plan on recompressing those videos i mentioned, but it isn't a high priority of mine either.
  • some people can't download the videos at work. this is most likely because you are behind a firewall and not allowed to be watching film at work. if you have a friend in the IT department, he can walk you through getting around the firewall perhaps. if you are behind a firewall at home and not able to download the videos, simply disable the firewall temporarily and then download the videos (easiest way) or you can change the set up of your firewall. for help with that consult the manual that came with the firewall and leave me out of it.