Client reviews via FTP etc…

[Grinner Hester]

I like vimeo. I can password protect it so it’s private and the quality is always good.

[Ryan Mast]

I cobbled together my own PHP script for this. I upload via FTP, then a backend page shows me links for all the files on the server with a link to my player page for each video. It looks like this:

https://meteortower.com/proofs/tgv/?video=TGV-wb%20promo%20edit%204-proofs%20VGA%20AVC%20TCR.m4v

It’s not pretty, but it works. And it auto-detects WebKit to show iPhone/iPad/Safari the HTML5 version instead of Flash, since several of my clients are heavy iPhone users.

I had a password protected version for a while, but it confused people. A long, annoying URL is enough security to keep people from poking around.

—
Meteor Tower Films
We make music videos, design video for live theater, and build interesting contraptions.

[Bill Davis]

From my Final Cut Pro timeline I export an encode of the video in iPhone quality and drop it into my iDisk then send the client an email link. If it’s a long video (like 30-60 minutes – the encoding might take a while – but it’s background encoding so it’s never any real hassle.

Nobody – not even my corporate PC clients have had any problem viewing the results – it’s a very modern H-264 encoding which holds up really well at the paltry iPhone bitrate. They can blow it up if they like to larger sizes for projection and while certainly not perfect, it’s darn good.

Usually plays on their box via quicktime for PC, Windows Media Player or Silverlight – any modern player that can parse a stream in H-264 — which is pretty much any video playback software from the last couple of years.

If you’re an FCP editor – and have a .mac account, it’s all there as a turnkey system. Just add dot-Mac and set up an iDisk on the Apple cloud and you’re totally good to go.

YMMV.

[Bob Pierce]

I use a service called Provdn that has a nifty client review feature. It allows the client to actually stop the video, type notes, even draw on the damn thing. Like most of these services, you can try it for free.
https://www.provdn.com/
Bob Pierce

http://www.lightstreamassociates.com

Mac Pro 2.66 – 8GB memory –
Mac Book Pro 2.33 Duo –
FC Studio 2 – Kona Lhe
Adobe Production Suite CS4 –
Sony Multiformat 14″ – Panasonic 42″ Plasma –
Ikegami HLDV7 – PVW EX-1

[David Johnson]

I just stumbled into this forum for what might be my first time even though I’ve been on the COW for years and just thought I’d mention that there are also a number of related options mentioned in the new Digital Delivery forum, although most are more about delivering finals rather than roughs.

[Lucy Moon]

I use Wistia which is excellent. https://wistia.com/

Best bits for me are

– Project organisation (top level project name – make your own subsections – all flexible)

– multiple client login with tracking of sessions (did they watch it? All of it? .. etc)

– url links to access videos for clients who can’t handle login/password (!)

– Commenting made easy (auto adds the timecode where they want to make a comment “remove this shot” etc)

– Viewable online or downloadable

It’s a pay-for service, but has a free trial.
Otherwise Vimeo gets the free thumbs up.

Cheers
~Astrid

[Erik Freid]

If you are interested MediaSilo was designed for client review and approval. Check out our website https://www.mediasilo.com, and try a free demo account.

If you are interested in talking more please feel free to call me at any time.

Erik

Erik Freid | MediaSilo, Inc
207 South Street | Third Floor | Boston, MA 02111
t. 617.423.6200, m. 617.306.8632, f. 617.507.8577
http://www.mediaSilo.com

[Ross Daly]

I’ve got three options for you!

One that we use at work is called Interdubs. They have all kinds of features, I haven’t really scratched the surface yet, but it has a web interface, delivery receipt, secure login. all kind of stuff. It is paid though. https://interdubs.com

Secondly, if it is realtime then the ichat theater is always a cool feature. It is very often overlooked.

Lastly I have a post up on how to create a secure podcast. You could have them configure their itunes to auto download new updates and have a password protected directory o your webserver. It’s a few steps, but it’s free provided you already have a server!
Check that out here. https://blog.youdownwithfcp.com/2010/02/22/ipod-dailies-secure-podcast-how-to/

Good luck! You have a lot of options, hopefully one fits your needs.

Oh! BONUS ANSWER!
Turn directory browsing off on your server and give it a long directory name, it’s not 1000% safe, but someone would have to try very very hard to guess every possible filename combination to find

_______________________
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