Can I watch a video if I don't have a UH username?
Due to copyright restrictions, access to most streaming videos is limited to UH students, faculty, and staff. Non-UH researchers who need access to Hawaiian Collection or Pacific Collection videos should contact the Hawaiian and Pacific Collections (email hawnpac@hawaii.edu, phone (808) 956-8264, or fax (808) 956-5968).
Do I have to be on campus to watch a video?
No, you don't need to be on campus. You can watch a streaming video from any computer with an Internet connection, as long as you have a valid UH username and password.
Are there any software requirements?
Our streaming videos work in all major browsers. QuickTime (available for free at http://www.quicktime.com) must be installed on your computer, though, so the browser can play the video. If your browser asks about blocking/unblocking content when you try to play a video, select "unblock". If your browser tells you that you're missing a plugin, or prompts you to save the video, or tries to open it using Windows Media Player, this probably means that QuickTime is not installed yet.
Why are there problems with the quality of the video I'm watching?
Video quality depends on a number of factors. Videos are streamed rather than downloaded, so your internet connection must be able to handle the rate of data transfer. Most of our videos stream at around 750 kbps, so they should work over most broadband connections, but not dial-up connections. Your internet connection and computer speed may also affect video quality. Closing other programs and physically connecting your computer to the network (rather than using a wireless connection) may improve video quality.
Why is the video small? Can I resize it?
Earlier in the project, we were creating smaller versions of the videos for streaming - around 320x240 - so if you find one of these that you would like to see available in a larger size, please contact us. Unfortunately, videos cannot be independently resized or changed to fullscreen while you're watching them.
How do you decide which videos to convert? Can I suggest videos for you to convert?
Decisions are based on a combination of the video's age, format, condition, and the importance of the content. Please contact us if you would like to suggest videos for conversion that are important to your research or class.
Do you have statistics?
Visit Monthly statistics for reformatted video viewing statistics.
Is this legal?
Yes. U.S. Copyright Law Section 108(c) permits libraries to reformat materials that are deteriorating or in obsolete formats for preservation purposes.
examples of copyright permission forms/letters
copyright form
Dear _________________________,
The Hawaiian Collection at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Library would like to have a copy of the television program Program Title, which aired on Month ___ Year____ on television station_____. We have recorded a copy of this program and have identified you as the copyright holder. I am writing to ask you to allow us to keep this recording in our collection and to make it available to our students and faculty. Alternately, if the program is available commercially, please let me know how to acquire copies.
For your information, the following describes the Hawaiian Collection's media program, as it applies to your program.
Hawaiian Collection Media Program
The Hawaiian Collection acquires materials about Hawai'i in all formats, including television programs which we record off-air. This material is used primarily for educational and research purposes.
Use of the programs
Media holdings of the Hawaiian Collection are maintained at the Wong Audiovisual Center in Hamilton Library and are available for use by UH Mānoa, UH System and East-West Center faculty, students and staff. Programs may be viewed in the Center, or on a library user's computer via the Center's secured streaming server. If the program is kept on physical media, it may be checked out for a loan period of four days.
Technical environment
The Wong Audiovisual Center acquires and maintains visual media in various formats--videocassettes (including U-Matic, Beta and VHS), disks (various DVD formats) and MPEG4. Videocassettes and disks are held and made available to users as physical pieces. MPEG4s are held as digital files on library hard drives and are made available to users over the web via a secured streaming server.
