"...the latest email special that I received was for the DVD for Sawdust Sessions vol_1...could you add a few words about this DVD...?"
The Sawdust Session DVDs are
"VBooks." You can actualy experience what a VBook is all about at
http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/VBook/Index.htm, but I'll give you short history and introduction here.
There is room on a DVD disc for a great deal more information than just the watch-it-on-television (ISO) variety videos. Disney, for example, has begun to include MP4 files of its videos on its DVD discs so that kids can view them on a television or as a podcast on an iPod. (I'm told that iPods with video capability -- MP4 players -- are now being called vPods, but I don't believe the term has caught on as of yet.) I have also seen a few how-to DVDs that include PDF (Acrobat) files of manuals and plans. The Hands Online! DVDs are among the first to offer all three types of files -- standard ISO videos, MP4 video podcasts, and printed information in PDF format.
VBooks go a step further and include HTML files (browser pages) as well. You can experience the Sawdust Session presentations three different ways. You can watch the ISO video files on television with a DVD player. You can watch the MP4 files on an iPod/vPod as podcasts. Or you can experience them on a computer with your browser in a "virtual classroom." The virtual classroom is an HTML page, much like a page on the Internet, that mixes videos, still photography, illustrations, plans, and printed instructions. This is an "active" experience (as opposed to passively watching the videos or podcasts) and you get a great deal more in-depth information for your efforts.
The virtual classroom has three seperate screens, much like the pages on which the Sawdust Sessions are webcast. One screen shows the video demonstration; another shows photos, illustrations, and relevant plans or articles; and a third shows an extensive printed outline of the demo. We call them the Lectern, Blackboard, and Notebook -- hence the name,
virtual classroom. You can watch and listen to the demo on the Lectern; view and enlarge photos, illustrations, and plans on the Blackboard; and follow the presentation on the Notebook outline -- or use the Notebook to jump forward or back to specific portions of the video.
The videos in the Sawdust Session #1 VBook is
not the same as the online streaming videos. They are on the same topics, but we have re-recorded the videos at a much high resolution and with much better sound equipment. We've also added or changed information, based on the questions you asked and comments you made after the original webcast. And there is additional photography, illustrations, "shop notes," and other materials that aren't available online.
So there you go. Take a look at the "Aligning the Mark V Table" VBook presentation at
http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/VBook/S ... gnment.htm and compare that to the online presentation at
http://www.shopsmithacademy.com/SS_Arch ... gnment.htm . That will give you a good idea of the differences between the two and help you decide if the DVD/VBook is worth your money.
There will be five more VBooks -- Sawdust Sessions 2 through 6 -- available soon, God willin' and the crick don't rise.
With all good wishes,
