Small groups based around a video series are good in a lot of ways.  They have a set of material that people can watch together as a group and then immediately discuss as a group.  This is in contrast to a sermon based group where people would have to be there to hear the sermon and then remember enough of it to discuss it several days later.  Although that is also a benefit to a sermon based group because it encourages people to show up at church and pay close attention and think critically about what they are hearing.

If someone misses a meeting they can borrow the video and catch up so everyone has been exposed to the same material.  On the other hand those people have still missed the discussion part which, in a good group, is where the real value tends to come in.

As with other discussion based groups, we suggest including relaxed social time along with the video or just doing something fun as a group outside the video series about once a month. 

We've gone through a video series or two, here are some recommendations:

The Truth Project:  The Truth Project is an interesting video series that goes through various aspects of life and looks at them from the Christian world view.  If I had to summarize the series, I'd say it tries to make you ask the question, "do you really believe what you beleive?"  The Truth Project seeks to help existing Christians work through and apply their faith in every aspect of life.  It can open up some good discussions and really make people think.

Truth Project videos are about an hour each and they are in the format of a college lecture.  Since they are so long, we have found that it helps to have each member of the group write down at least 1 thing that they found interesting and then go around the group at the end so everyone gets involved in the discussion.

One thing to keep in mind, the Truth Project is not an evangelical tool.  It's not geared toward convincing people to become Christians, it is geared toward Christians who are trying to grow and apply their faith in various aspects of life.

Nooma Videos:  Nooma video are much shorter and more "entertaining".  They carry a great message in a memorable way and are also good at making you think and generating some discussion.  They more illustrate a point rather than the Truth Project that goes through a lecture.