Delivering raw footage from Mac to PC client
 

I need to deliver raw footage (for viewing purposes only) to a client with a PC.

In the past I've been lucky that all my clients were Mac users so all I needed to do was throw all the raw clips in a FCP timeline and export as a large Quicktime file.

I realize this would be a can of worms for a PC client because the Quicktime files probably wouldn't open.

Any suggestions?

I would prefer not to deliver the raw files straight off the cameras... for this wedding I used 3 different flavors... EX1 (XDCAM) FX1000 (HDV) and 7D (H.264). All the footage has been transcoded to ProRes.

I think I read somewhere that VLC player for the PC will open just about any type of file. Is this true?

Re: Delivering raw footage from Mac to PC client
 

If it is for viewing purposes only why not just throw it to a timeline, export and compress to burn to a dvd.

Re: Delivering raw footage from Mac to PC client
 

If you want these viewed "in all their glory" you are going to have to render out to a format he can open and view. If you start shipping off ProRes and are expecting a pc program to look like your Mac, I am afraid the end result might not go as planned. When I have rendered out my own .mts files on my PC as mpeg2 and then H.264, even that variation makes a difference in what I see. Of the two, mpeg2 seems to keep the images cleaner when viewed in windows media player, which is what most PCs use. If the client wishes to view individual files and be able to skip forward and back, I would render to mpeg2 if you can and then burn them as data files for transfer.

Re: Delivering raw footage from Mac to PC client
 

All the client needs to do is dl quicktime player on their pc, and you can do as you've been doing all this time.

Re: Delivering raw footage from Mac to PC client
 

Send him a view short test files first. Find out what he can view and what he can't before you spend a lot of time preparing the entire footage.

Re: Delivering raw footage from Mac to PC client
 

I work on a PC and recently received video from a camera that was transcoded when downloaded to a Mac. Not VLC not anything in this world opened those files. I did research it and there was no solution, it was a quicktime .mov container but the codec used (cant remember the name now) does not exist for PC. So... careful there.

Re: Delivering raw footage from Mac to PC client
 

If your client simply needs to view the files and not do anything with them then the best bet is a high bit rate h.264 export. It saves space over the original files (which our client probably can't view anyway) and pretty much guarantees compatibility. If you export correctly you shouldn't be able to see any difference from the original unless you come at it with a microscope.

Re: Delivering raw footage from Mac to PC client
 

I agree with Kurt. Export them from a timeline and run it thru Compressor using the Apple TV preset or a QuickTime mov file with h.264. Restrict to 5000k bandwidth and you'll have a nice image yet smaller file size.

Re: Delivering raw footage from Mac to PC client
 

Thanks everyone for the feedback! I agree H.264 would be the sure bet way to go, but my god... we're talking about 6 + hours of footage here. Transcoding to H.264 would probably take 6 - 7 days of 24/7 machine time... Not a very practical solution. I was hoping there was some speedier method.

Re: Delivering raw footage from Mac to PC client
 

This won't be a free solution BUT it does work.

IF you have a component or composite out on your MAC you can feed it into one of these and make a real time H.264 recording.

HD PVR Product Description

You will need a PC to record onto (the box isn't MAC friendly). A decent windows laptop will do it. Borrow one from a friend for a weekend if you have to.

When you are done you have a reasonable quality file with no rendering. More than good enough for a client preview.

Edit:

Looks like I spoke too soon. There is a 3rd party application that works with the hardware above on a MAC.

http://www.hdpvrcapture.com/cms/?q=node/1

Re: Delivering raw footage from Mac to PC client
 

Your client should be able to view ProRes files if he downloads the Apple ProRes QuickTime Decoder 1.0 for Windows & then views them in QuickTime Player.

VLC has its own internal decoders & while it is true that it plays video using almost any CODEC known to man the one notable exception is ProRes.