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Flying Llama

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 4, 2004
737
0
Los Angeles
Hi,

I'm took my timed Keynote presentation and sent it to an uncompressed .mov file. I then added a .aiff soundtrack through Quicktime Pro.

I then exported and now have a compressed H.264 .m4v file. It's perfect: the sound and video are great and everything is good. The file size is reasonable.

However this will be burned to a CD and sent to an office. I don't know what computers they're running.

What container format should I use? I could probably find software to transfer the video to something like .avi or .wmv, but I don't know what is the best way to go. The Mac and PC compatibility of this video should be as standard as is reasonable in today's time.

Any help would be great, thanks.
 
Nov 28, 2010
22,670
30
located
.avi might not be recognised too, if it uses some codec that has not been installed on the target computer. Why not include the QuickTime Player installer for Windows on the CD?
I have seen that often, when the video came in .mov format, even in the 90s.
 

Flying Llama

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 4, 2004
737
0
Los Angeles
Well that's a good idea, I guess... but there isn't a common format I can use? How about Flash (embedded into a .html file)? What about .wmv? Would that play on any Mac?

I'm assuming they're using mostly Windows computers, so it wouldn't make sense to send a Mac format by default and then expect everyone to install software.
 

dukebound85

macrumors Core
Jul 17, 2005
19,123
4,099
5045 feet above sea level
Could you link it to your website and merely direct people there to see it and give an option to download if they want a non-flash version

Just my initial thoughts

As far as file type, I think .mp4 is pretty common place
 
Nov 28, 2010
22,670
30
located
Well that's a good idea, I guess... but there isn't a common format I can use? How about Flash (embedded into a .html file)? What about .wmv? Would that play on any Mac?

I'm assuming they're using mostly Windows computers, so it wouldn't make sense to send a Mac format by default and then expect everyone to install software.

You need extra software to play .wmv files on Mac OS X.
Why not include one .mp4 or .mov file combined with a .wmv file on the CD/DVD?
 

Flying Llama

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 4, 2004
737
0
Los Angeles
Well, the info in this presentation is sensitive. I can't have it publicly available and setting up authentication sounds like a nightmare.

I took my wonderful .m4v file and changed the extension to .mp4. It uses H.264 video and AAC audio. It's only 32MB. It opens just fine in Quicktime, but now I'm going to test it on a Windows using only default programs. Hopefully it works fine.
 

Flying Llama

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 4, 2004
737
0
Los Angeles
simsaladimbamba, that's a good idea. If the .mp4 doesn't open through default Windows programs, I'll include a .wmv file and call it the "Windows version".
 

Small White Car

macrumors G4
Aug 29, 2006
10,966
1,463
Washington DC
This is the Million Dollar question that everyone would love to solve. Plenty of companies will tell you it's their format, but the fact is that none of them are 100% foolproof.

I currently say that h.264 is your best bet. I tend to re-name them from m4v or mp4 to 'file.mov,' though, so that more computers will know what to do with them. (I've run into Windows-machines that have software that can play h.264 but don't know what to open when they see an .m4v extention.)

Including a WMV version is probably your 2nd best bet. Having those 2 versions will take you from "most" to "mostly all."
 

KeithPratt

macrumors 6502a
Mar 6, 2007
804
3
MPEG-1 might actually be most compatible, but of the codecs from this century, H.264 in MP4 container and WMV should cover just about everyone. The HTML file idea would cover just about everyone too, but there are several caveats that make it more hassle than it's probably worth.

I tend to re-name them from m4v or mp4 to 'file.mov,' though, so that more computers will know what to do with them.

Not a good idea to go changing file extension willy nilly.
 

Darth.Titan

macrumors 68030
Oct 31, 2007
2,905
753
Austin, TX
If you're sending it on a disc anyway, why not just make it a video DVD? That seems to be the most compatible solution. I don't know of many computers that can't play video DVDs.
 

lostless

macrumors 6502
Oct 22, 2005
479
96
That's pretty much my point. You can't just alter the file extension and expect the container to change as if by magic.

.M4V is just an .MP4 container with extra info that apple put in that itunes supports like chapter markers, 5.1 AC3 track ect. If its just a h.264 video with AAC audio. Changing it to .mp4 does not harm the output. Just the extra info will get ignored if imported through itunes, or ignored by any other app.
 

PenguinMac

macrumors member
May 21, 2010
96
0
FWIW Windows 7 includes the H.264 & AAC codecs, so Windows Media Player will play any .MP4 file with H.264 video & AAC audio. Previous versions of Windows will require a .WMV file.
 
Nov 28, 2010
22,670
30
located
I always export to .mov from compressor. Obviously all Macs can read it, all modern PCs with windows media player can play .mov too. I would just keep it at .mov.

.mov is only the container, the codec is important too. What if you would use ProRes? One has to download drivers for playback on Windows machines.

Anyway, the best codec would be H.264, as already mentioned once or twice.
 

martinX

macrumors 6502a
Aug 11, 2009
928
162
Australia
Anyway, the best codec would be H.264, as already mentioned once or twice.

I wish. Standard PC at work runs XP, so no MP4 for us. They can't even play DVDs unless IT installs PowerDVD, and VLC was banned. :rolleyes:

I distribute WMVs for local playback and dropping into PPTs, burn DVDs for outsiders and the lucky few internals that can play them back and have decent speakers, and make MP4s for the intranet.

The latter is my preferred option.

Before I got Flip4Mac for my Mac and JW Player on the intranet, I used to make MPEG1s. That's as universal as you can get. Don't look so great and the file sizes are big, but universal is universal.
 

Small White Car

macrumors G4
Aug 29, 2006
10,966
1,463
Washington DC
That's pretty much my point. You can't just alter the file extension and expect the container to change as if by magic.

It's not like changing JPG to TIF. Yeah, that wouldn't work because those are the actual file type.

But .mov isn't a file type. It basically means "hey, I have something in here that could be one of a hundred different things."

Changing away from .mov can be a very bad idea. Changing to it is ok in a lot of situations. This is one of them. It's going from 'more specific' to 'less specific.'
 
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