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universal codec for emailing approvals?
I have been looking for a universally accepted file format that will allow me to send a 20 second approval copy of an ad, via email (so under 5mb) and that will work on both macs and pc’s without the need for downloading extras drivers….is there such a thing or am i just daydreaming?
Because most of our salesforce use pc’s, i have been using Popwires wmv9 codec which works great – i can make wmvs on the mac, i can watch them back in wmplayer and the pcs read them without issue. I found out yesterday thatother macs that do not have the popwire codec cannot read the file!
I would like to use Quicktime, but i am amazed at how many people have not got it and won’t install it (usually because they don’t have any tech apptitude).
Anyway – is there such a codec and if so, what do you find the best settings to use (i’m in the pal 16:9 domain)??
thanks
AdamEditor/Mixer
Character Options Ltd
Oldham, UK -
7 Replies
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Said to say but MPEG1 is the most universal
We use a html wrapped file and we offer a HIGH/LOW qt and WM9 – flash is also a good option …
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see if they will install itunes that will install quick time
of post them on a websight in flash format and send them a link
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[lightning ad] “i’m in the pal 16:9 domain”
Adam, be aware that not all applications that make MPEG-1 files can/will allow 16:9 MPEG-1 files, forcing you to use 16:9 Letterbox, which you may not want.
Plus, it ads another step, which can be time consuming.I can’t check right now, but I THINK Compressor was one such application…
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good point, postman.
zrb123 – asi have no control over who or where the emailed versions end up, to say get them to install itunes is not a very helpful idea….sorry!
Editor/Mixer
Character Options Ltd
Oldham, UK -
All I said was that you could ask, if you dont want to ask then don’t.
A flash based solution would be the most universal and you said that that is what you are looking for.
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I’ve had great results using Flip4Mac both creating and playing WMV files. There are pricing options for playback only as well as versions that have the encoding features so not all macs would need the full version.
The best part is that it just adds the capability to quicktime and so you can export directly from FCP, and you can watch wmv’s right inside the quicktime player with no goofy microsoft players.
Lastly, I use http://www.yousendit.com to send files to multiple people rather than email. Its basically a free ftp site but very very simple to use. You just put in the email address(es), browse to and upload the file. Oh and its free up to a crazy file-size too.
Emailing clients screeners is really cumbersome. I’ve actually delivered entire full-res show opens and graphic sequences with yousendit.
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flip4mac and popwire are the same thing, and yes it works great.
The problem i have found was not with pc users but with other macs – even one that had windows media player – it could not play back the popwire created windows file.
As for sending the files out…i wish it were as simple as sending them to a select few. We create a lot of tv ads each year and our sales team often need to send specific ads to customers, so i have created a monthly dvd which contains all the ads in full dvd image quality, and it also has a dvd-rom content which has those same ads compressed to a size that the sales guys can use to email to customers. From past experience, if it doesn’t play first time its never the fault of their computers needing updating – its mine for not knowing what they are going to use, even though i have asked what format they would like and the answers are always inaccurate!
I bet you all know exactly what i’m talking about there!
Its for this reason that I have no control over the final viewing machine and its capabilities, hence my looking for a universal playback codec.
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.
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