Using USB memory Sticks

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TimStannard
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Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:20 pm
Location: Surrey

Using USB memory Sticks

Post by TimStannard »

I thought I'd posted this earlier but cannot find it - my apologies if it's a duplicate.

I came across an interesting discussion about preparing movies for delivery on USB thumb drives (or, presumably, hard drives). I thought it was relevant as this is no doubt the way many here will be presenting their films at clubs and festivals. The whole discussion is here:

But the juicy bits are here: http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/for ... &Replies=9


Call For Caution

In fact, this is a warning call to all of those on this forum who keep recommending delivery on a thumb drive rather than on DVD or Blu-Ray. Those two are standards, and if you conform to those standards, you have virtually a 100% probability that the client will be happy with your work. By contrast, if you put video on a thumb drive, you have zero assurance that the client can play it. Maybe they can, and maybe they can't. You won't know until you get the call. If you have one client, you can work this out beforehand. However, if your work is being distributed to hundreds (as mine often is), then life is more complicated.

I have run into this many times because I usually include MP4 files on the data portion of my DVDs. Those MP4s are encoded to play on iPhones. However, as most of you know, the early iPhones only play low-res MP4s, and the encoding restrictions are significant. The newer iPhones can handle more advanced video, but are still restricted. So, which encoding standard do you include when there is only room on the disc to include just one?

Finally, just to further muddy the waters, if there are any answers or guidelines for doing this, those guidelines will have to include a LOT more than just bitrate. While it is true that the file size is completely determined by bitrate, and nothing else, this is not true of a given product's ability to play the file. Instead, this is determined by ALL of the following:

Average bitrate
Peak bitrate
Audio bitrate
Audio format (AC-3, MP3, PCM)
Resolution (e.g., 640x480, 1280x720, 1920x1080)
Framerate (24, 25, 30, 60)
Inerlaced
PAR (maybe ...)
Constant vs. Variable bitrate
Profile (Baseline, Main, High -- e.g., iPhone won't play High)
Codec
Format (AVC, Transport (m2ts), MP4)

There are probably more.


Anyone care to comment? What are your experiences?
Tim
Proud to be an amateur film maker - I do it for the love of it
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