Not exactly unbiased ...

I'm not exactly unbiased, so consider the source. However ...

I've spent a lot of fime comparing TrainMasters with Model Railroader Video plus, and here's what I've found.

1. MRVP prefers more titles, so the average video is shorter - three - six minutes is not uncommon, and almost no video goes over 15 minutes. A video that long on MRVP is rare. MRVP does not post the length of the video in the video description.

2. In a month, MRVP will post about 60 minutes of new video, many of them in the 3-6 minute range, About 20% of those videos will be house promotion (MR and Kalmbach infomercials, in other words). MRVP also has some "talk shows" where it's mostly talking heads and telling stories.

3. MRVP focuses on promoting their brand - in other words, here's what MR's staff can teach you about doing the hobby. About half the material is 101-level tutorial in nature, and those are generally the 3-6 minute videos. The rest will cover some more advanced topics, and those can run more into the 6-12 minute range.

By comparison, TMTV ...

1. TMTV has fewer titles, but has more depth. - 10-15 minutes is not uncommon, and some videos approach 30 minutes in length. TMTV posts the running time of our videos in our description.

2. In an month, TMTV posts 90 - 120 minutes of new video, many in the 10-15 minute range. TMTV does almost no house promotion (we might do a 20 second spot on our facebook page, for instance, but that's about it). TMTV isn't into talk shows or talking head videos. If we shoot studio video, the guest(s) are there to demonstrate things, not just talk about things. TMTV has 3 studio cameras running, so we can select the best video to illustrate the action.

3. TMTV is about what's going on in the hobby-at-large, and we're all about bringing in hobbyists or vendors as guests, or going on field trips to shoot layouts, prototype documentaries, or event reports. TMTV deliberately avoids using the videos to do MRH / house promotion. TMTV is about showing the cool things modelers are doing in the hobby, not about promoting the MRH staff as the guys with all the answers.

Hope that helps. Each approach is certainly a valid way to do a video channel for model railroaders, but they're quite different in their approach.

Again, I'm biased, but I happen to think Barry Silverthorn's background in network TV production shows in our production quality - our videos feel like something you could see on the Discovery Channel, for example. MRVP's videos feel more ad hoc and impromptu, with things like "follow me through the hallway" footage often used to move between the more meaty scenes. David Popp has a great camera presence, and he really carries MRVP, in my opinion.

I'll shut up now and let someone with a less biased opinion chime in.