I posted this over at DVXuser but haven't heard a peep from anyone there yet so I thought I'd try here.
I did a short film with my XL2 and designed a website for it.
I'm currently streaming a low rez version of a clip from my film but am contemplating having a higher rez, cleaner version available for download.
My question to anyone willing to answer is this:
Are people more likely to wait several minutes for the download of a bigger file but cleaner with less compression artifacts.
or is an artifact-y, highly compressed, but watchable type video good enough with instant streaming?
Whoever has the time, please check the quality of the video and let me know what you think.
I know people's patience levels vary but was wondering what you guys thought.
The site is optimized for Mac's and PC's sporting newer browsers and running Quicktime 7.
Thanks to all who answer.
The clip can be found on the "media" page
www.themourner.com

let me answer your question first:

IMHO i think the majority of people who troll this forum and actually click on links to few footage from the XL2 are doing so to see what kind of video is possible to get out of the camer (because they are considering purchasing the camera). this is why i'm here, and let me tell you, if i wasn't already sold i would be after visiting your site. gorgeous shots. simply gorgeous. so to answer your question, i think both sizes are more than adequate as preview clips, especially for how short they are. no one would want to watch a 30min movie at such a small size, but we're talking clips. as long as the quality is better than say youtube or google video, i would much prefer streaming than download.

as far as the movie itself?

very interesting; the trailer did a good job of hooking my jaw into the plot. i love how the clip you picked focused on the weapons, indicating a "punisher" type plot.

and the other guy (not john) was well acted and an intriguing character. i always love the idea of the "hero" of the story having some sort of mavenish mentor (ala liam neeson in batman begins) who sort of hones the hero's passions/brutality/etc. into an asset.

best line: "don't just think about killing him John, that's the easy part. You think about how your going to kill him. You think about what scares him the most."

brilliant! consider yourself +1 fan!

peace.
-Jonathan

whoa! just looked at the bios and realized that the guy in the tie is "dozer" from the matrix! i was wondering where i had seen him before. he's a great actor. such a powerful voice. "It's a single-cell protein combined with synthetic aminos vitamins and minerals. Everything the body needs."

Hey Eric - I watched both versions of the clip. Of course I prefer the larger one, which not only showed off the XL2 (not to mention your talents), but it loaded and played immediately. The only glitch I noticed was a "blink" every few seconds – dropped frames, maybe? I was on an iMac G4 1.25 GHz running OS X 10.4.9, and watching via Firefox 2.0.0.3.

I think the clips versions are both fine, since there were no compression deficits, and ran just fine on my modest rig. Truth be told, I wish the clip had been longer, or perhaps more of a mini-trailer showing some other conditions – exteriors, brighter interiors, etc., though I can't believe that this was the interior of someone's garage!

Your web site deserves some praise as well. Clean graphics, straight-forward navigation, and looks like it was designed on a Mac. ;-) One way or another, I will pay to see this film. Great job.

Thanks, guys, I really appreciate you taking the time to check out the clips and for your great feedback and comments.