By technical editor Matt Allard:
In 2011, 51 percent of all internet traffic was video. By 2016 that is set to be 86 percent. In today’s world it is more often than not the case that you will be asked to use programs like Drop Box or WeTransfer to send clients rushes or material for review. Not only are these programs often slow but the files then need to be downloaded at the other end before your client or collaborator can see them. They then need to email or call you to discuss or comment on what they liked or didn’t like. This is a time consuming and tedious process. Technology continues to move forward at a rapid rate but the review and sharing process seems to be stuck in the past. In the last year we have seen the emergence of companies that are making the whole process much easier, such as Frame.IO and New Zealand company Wipster.
Wipster is built around an idea of simplicity. Their philosophy is that the program and experience has to be just as easy for the client to use as it is for you. It is often the assumption that the clients and people you are dealing with are tech savvy, but a lot of times this is not the case. A sharing or collabaration platform needs to be both efficient as well as simple to use.
NAB 2015: News Shooter – Wipster from Teradek on Vimeo.
Wipster is very easy to use, and most importantly, I found that clients I invited to use it for reviewing material also found it simple to use. There is zero point using a sharing platform with a client if you have to spend an hour on a phone or send countless emails telling them what to do or how to use it. Most clients just want to see what you have come up with and make simple suggestions or comments on what they like or don’t like. Wipster has made this whole process very easy by keeping it simple.
It is very simple to get up and running using Wipster. The control layout is well thought out and not overly complicated. If a program takes you hours to work out how to use just imagine how long it may take your client.
Wipster has recently been upgraded and now features the ability to view 1080p in full screen mode which makes it a lot better for clients and collabarators to give feedback on a video. Unfortunately you cannot make a comment while it is in full screen mode which I did find to be a bit of a pain. I hope in future updates this is something that can be fixed.
Since I did this review I have been in contact with Wipster and they have told me that the tt is only in the Safari browser that you cannot comment in full screen, as they (Apple) decided it was a good idea to disable the keyboard when in fullscreen mode.
The player has also been updated to be more adaptive to whatever screen you happen to be using. Wipster doesn’t think it makes any sense to play huge video on tiny screens, so they have re-engineered the playback system to automatically detect the screen size. It does however makes sense to provide a canvas that’s in as high definition as possible. Across all the premium accounts they have improved the way they encode video to provide an optimised set of encodes that work as well for a Chromebook as a 5k iMac user. Although the system is smart enough to detect and display the right quality for each user’s screen they have been careful to make sure you have the ability to set it yourself.
New functionality and usability improvements have also been added to comments to make the system more intuitive and even more useful. Sometimes a comment is so simple it can be actioned there and then. To make this process even easier they have added the ability to complete an item on the to do list right on the relevant comment. ‘Liking’ has also been activated across the comment system.
The pricing is very reasonable and you can even use Wipster for free, but you will be limited to a single user and only be able to upload 15 mins per month. You can how ever do unlimited sharing and reviews. The full list of prices and features you get can be seen below.
All plans include:
Customer support, regular free updates, unlimited archiving anywhere anytime access, banking level encryption and no software to install
Wipster has a lot of new features to roll out in the coming months which should continue to enhance the user experience. I was very impressed with Wipster and my clients also liked using it. By keeping things simple and efficient they really have made a program that is a joy to use.
New in the current release:
Full screen playback and commenting
HD video for premium account holders (720p and 1080p)
Responsive video playback
Video playback stability improvements
‘Approved’ stamp for thumbnails
Push browser notifications for commenting
Improved onboarding for account holders
Improved onboarding for first time commenters
Unified help center
Support tickets can now be raised in app
Support center articles are now accessible inside the app
Comments react to their todo status
Comments can be edited
Comments can be liked
Comments are minimised during playback
Todos can be completed from the comment itself
Many many other bugs fixes and minor improvements.
