Following on from the long thread on alternative delivery to clients, I thought I would relate a very recent experience.

I filmed a wedding recently in 3d and 2d, and the client requested USB delivery in addition to DVD. USB was essential for the 3d as they didn't have BluRay facilities. They also wanted the 2d version on USB and ordered 14 USBs in total. I first experimented with formats that would work on their Sony TV in 3d and for the 2d and they tested some short samples. I then spent a lot of time converting the different 2d and 3d stills and video to the appropriate MP4 formats , each one being broken down into 5 files to keep within the file size limits. I also checked them on my own Samsung TV and on the PC. All worked fine in 3d and 2d so I sent them off to the couple.

I received a call today to say that they were having problems playing the files as two of each of the five segment files were playing with no audio on both 2d and 3d. Further questions established that they were playing the files on an Apple computer, so I asked them to check them on their TV. They played fine on the TV, so the conclusion is that different systems need different formats, something that is likely to be a major pain if clients are expecting to let their friends see it.

Are others experiencing the same problem and if so are you supplying different formats or how are you getting round the problem?

Roger

Roger, both DVD and bluray have had reported issues, the former where dual layer disks won't play and the latter with some playstations.

I suggest the couple try downloading vlc to their mac. As video playback software goes, it seems more reliable than most and at the University i use to work at, it was our default for video playback.

Thanks for that Steve, I'll suggest it to the, and see how they get on.

Roger

I have found that VLC works well on both Macs and PCs as well