Electronic hard drive delivery at DVinfo.net

Chad Whelan · June 2nd, 2014, 09:30 PM

For those of you that deliver a final product on a hard drive what is the best format? I edit in pro res on a mac so it would be easy to produce a high quality pro res .MOV file but I think that would not be the most compatible with most clients. I have been delivering finals on blu-rays for years but want to offer a high quality digital version on a hard drive in conjunction with disc copies. Thanks.

Adrian Tan · June 2nd, 2014, 09:47 PM

Hey Chad, I don't know the best format, but I guess it partly depends on what you think the clients are going to do with it.

When I supply USB copies, it's generally MP4, and this seems to be a good format either for uploading to YouTube or to iPad.

In terms of plugging a USB stick directly into TV set or BluRay player or whatever... I've sometimes had trouble with MP4, but usually it works fine. AVI and MPG formats are probably going to work pretty much anywhere. MOV -- not sure it's as widely supported.

Edit: So I'm using h.264 in a mp4 container. Average bitrate 8, max bitrate 9. N frames 72 (you'll get noise if you try to lower it to 1). Everything else to taste -- I'm normally 1080p25 and tick the various boxes on render that say, "This will give you higher quality, but will take a buttload more time."

Jeff Harper · June 2nd, 2014, 10:26 PM

I'm not a fan of mp4's, but like Adrian it's my choice for USB stick delivery. No customers have reported issues using them.

Chip Thome · June 4th, 2014, 05:13 AM

SOOC for a Nikon DSLR is .MOV files, so I would guess it's pretty well supported.

Leon Bailey · June 8th, 2014, 05:40 PM

I just do a h264 format. I give them encodes for Apple TV.

Kyle Root · June 8th, 2014, 07:33 PM

I put all the RAW footage on hard drives in what ever format it was recorded in. So it's usually a mish mash of AVCHD, MXF, MOV, HDV, and WAV/MP3 files from the audio recorders. I also put an ISO Image of the entire project as well as any jpgs of graphics I've created. I also include the Premiere Project Files. A final edited version in mp4 format is included as well as it seems to be the most widely supported format for web/mobile.

Chad Whelan · June 8th, 2014, 07:52 PM

Kyle - I was actually thinking of including the native and project files also as a bonus along with an easy play version like MP4. I am sure most clients will never do anything with it but it seems to me like this would be a great sales tool for archival purposes as well as another way of backing yourself up.

Chris Harding · June 8th, 2014, 08:24 PM

Hi Guys

Most brides would not have the software to edit stuff like AVCHD ...At my age I have to realise too that when the 25 year old bride is 50 and needs her footage because her grandchildren destroyed the disks, I will probably be 6' under so providing raw files purely as a backup is a good idea and it's unlikely they will attempt to create a better edit than yours!!

In the old days I used to give them the MiniDV tapes but nowdays if they ask, I provide the AVCHD files only if they supply the media but don't give them any music files or project files though!!

Chris

June 2nd, 2014, 09:30 PM	#1
Chad Whelan Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Deep River, Connecticut Posts: 261	Electronic hard drive delivery For those of you that deliver a final product on a hard drive what is the best format? I edit in pro res on a mac so it would be easy to produce a high quality pro res .MOV file but I think that would not be the most compatible with most clients. I have been delivering finals on blu-rays for years but want to offer a high quality digital version on a hard drive in conjunction with disc copies. Thanks. __________________ ___________________________ www.ChadWhelan.com

June 2nd, 2014, 09:47 PM	#2
Adrian Tan Trustee Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 1,149	Re: Electronic hard drive delivery Hey Chad, I don't know the best format, but I guess it partly depends on what you think the clients are going to do with it. When I supply USB copies, it's generally MP4, and this seems to be a good format either for uploading to YouTube or to iPad. In terms of plugging a USB stick directly into TV set or BluRay player or whatever... I've sometimes had trouble with MP4, but usually it works fine. AVI and MPG formats are probably going to work pretty much anywhere. MOV -- not sure it's as widely supported. Edit: So I'm using h.264 in a mp4 container. Average bitrate 8, max bitrate 9. N frames 72 (you'll get noise if you try to lower it to 1). Everything else to taste -- I'm normally 1080p25 and tick the various boxes on render that say, "This will give you higher quality, but will take a buttload more time." Last edited by Adrian Tan; June 2nd, 2014 at 11:37 PM.

June 2nd, 2014, 10:26 PM	#3
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Electronic hard drive delivery I'm not a fan of mp4's, but like Adrian it's my choice for USB stick delivery. No customers have reported issues using them. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

June 4th, 2014, 05:13 AM	#4
Chip Thome Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Green Bay Wisconsin Posts: 553	Re: Electronic hard drive delivery SOOC for a Nikon DSLR is .MOV files, so I would guess it's pretty well supported.

June 8th, 2014, 05:40 PM	#5
Leon Bailey Regular Crew Join Date: May 2013 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 126	Re: Electronic hard drive delivery I just do a h264 format. I give them encodes for Apple TV.

June 8th, 2014, 07:33 PM	#6
Kyle Root Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Decatur, AL Posts: 883	Re: Electronic hard drive delivery I put all the RAW footage on hard drives in what ever format it was recorded in. So it's usually a mish mash of AVCHD, MXF, MOV, HDV, and WAV/MP3 files from the audio recorders. I also put an ISO Image of the entire project as well as any jpgs of graphics I've created. I also include the Premiere Project Files. A final edited version in mp4 format is included as well as it seems to be the most widely supported format for web/mobile. __________________ Kyle KR Productions; www.kyleroot.com

June 8th, 2014, 07:52 PM	#7
Chad Whelan Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Deep River, Connecticut Posts: 261	Re: Electronic hard drive delivery Kyle - I was actually thinking of including the native and project files also as a bonus along with an easy play version like MP4. I am sure most clients will never do anything with it but it seems to me like this would be a great sales tool for archival purposes as well as another way of backing yourself up. __________________ ___________________________ www.ChadWhelan.com

June 8th, 2014, 08:24 PM	#8
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Electronic hard drive delivery Hi Guys Most brides would not have the software to edit stuff like AVCHD ...At my age I have to realise too that when the 25 year old bride is 50 and needs her footage because her grandchildren destroyed the disks, I will probably be 6' under so providing raw files purely as a backup is a good idea and it's unlikely they will attempt to create a better edit than yours!! In the old days I used to give them the MiniDV tapes but nowdays if they ask, I provide the AVCHD files only if they supply the media but don't give them any music files or project files though!! Chris