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Getting approvals without fedex
How do you folks handle getting editing approvals from clients without sending them a DVD disk via fedex.? I’ve tried YouSendIt.com, but it seems to take a long time to upload. Any other sources that you would recommend?
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16 Replies
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Well if they are close enough then you just have them come over and view it. Places like yousendit.com are good, but you should compress it so that the file size is smaller. And depending on them length of the video sending them a DVD may be the best option.
Give us more details and we can give better suggestions.
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They are in California…I’m in Florida. I’m a small biz with no FTP site.
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[Greg] “They are in California…I’m in Florida. I’m a small biz with no FTP site.”
I used a dot Mac account for a while an iDisk. But I had my web host set up an FTP site for a very low cost, they’re not expensive at all any more.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
https://www.biscardicreative.com
HD Editorial & Animation for Food Network’s “Good Eats”
HD Editorial for “Assignment Earth”Read my blog! https://blogs.creativecow.net/WalterBiscardi
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Again how long are the videos that you need to send them?
If the length is long enough then file sizes may be to large. If it takes you a long time to upload the file and it tales the client a long time to download the file it may be best to just send a DVD.
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Check out these guys:
The website explains how it works.
The other option I’ve tried, and like, is:
A one month subscription to either service is less than the cost of one FedEx package.
Tom M
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I LOVE YouSendit (and I think I have to thank Tim Kolb for the recommendation). Most of the stuff I send are TV spots, and I usually send Windows Media files. A 640 x 480 file (1024K Download preset in Premiere Pro) is less than 5MB and the quality is more than sufficient for a client to take a critical look. But I’ve also sent files of about 80-100 MB (12-14 min corp video) and it’s always worked great. I have never found the upload to be slow – you should check with your internet provider to see what your upload speed is. It’s usually slower than your download speed, but it may be upgradeable. I assume you’re already sending lower-res files like Windows Media or MPEG-4, and not full-res files of hundreds of MB – of course that would take a while to upload. In my experience, I can render the file of a :30 TV spot from my timeline and have it completely uploaded in about five minutes.
Also, just wondering if you’re using the free version or if you’re enrolled in a pay version? I’m on the $4.99/month plan, and maybe they provide faster connections for the paying customers. Just a thought.
I’ve had several conversations lately with people about how this kind of technology is really changing our industry, removing geography from the equation. I know that FTP use is very popular and has been around for a while, but I’m a very small business as well and this really democratizes the process. And it could not be easier for the client, not to mention the savings over FedEx.
Larry Melton
Grand Rapids MI -
We’ve tried sending video files through Telestream Clipmail, delivered them through a cheap FTP site, Fed-Ex on CDs and DVDs, and using an MPEG-2 C-band signal via satellite to our client’s MPEG-2 Integrated Receiver Decoder (IRD).
Each method has advantages and disadvantages. Some of the methods are speedier and can have higher quality images, but they cost more.
If I were a small company sending files to a client across the country and timely (but not immediate) delivery was necessary, I’d still try YouSendIt first.
I generally try not to spend money unless I can prove a solid return on the investment, but sometimes the “return on investment” is not just in direct dollars, but in the goodwill and return business generated by good customer service.
That said, if you count the money that you don’t have to spend on VHS tapes or blank DVD media, some of those methods for delivering client approvals pay for themselves fairly quickly. (Maybe not the digital satellite method, but in our case I think we were paying for the bandwidth headroom anyway.)
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Timothy
Look no further. We use this device alot. It hooks up to our player in California and anyone in the world can view their disc over a net connection. They have to install the software from thier computer. Has an on screen dvd remote as well..very cool stuff!
E
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That last post was for Greg..sorry
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