May 14, 2013 - 15:15
Client commented on how "soft" the DVD of their commissioned video looked compared to the version on Vimeo (720p). She said how, at a recent networking event, she'd been given a thumb drive with video on by one person where everyone else was handing out DVDs. She's going to send it to me to have a look at. I've just asked my replicator for pricing for USB drives, but I was wondering if anyone here's been doing this, and what the pros and cons are.
I am wondering:
- If I can put files on a memory stick and still have a menu driven structure like a DVD
- What encoded bitrate would play without stuttering over the USB connection
- If there's any reason not to use H264 .mp4 files, which seem to work OK cross platform.
Cheers
Mark
Adobe Certified Professional Premiere Pro CS6, Premiere Pro CC
May 15, 2013 - 11:43
#1
Re: Distribution VIA Memory Stick?
I'm interested in the too,
I've never rented/downloaded a "box set" or what would be deliverd as a DVD.
I've always wondered what they look like as a customer interface?
May 15, 2013 - 20:28
#2
Re: Distribution VIA Memory Stick?
The real beauty of a DVD is that everybody knows where they are with it. It has to be authored in a certain way - but that means if you put it in a DVD player, it'll play it. End of story. Yes, mp4s on something like a memory stick may look sharper - but can you guarantee the recipient will be able to play them back?
May 15, 2013 - 22:19
#3
Re: Distribution VIA Memory Stick?
infocus2 wrote:
but can you guarantee the recipient will be able to play them back?
Indeed, that's the issue. It's a question that takes me back to the days of the interactive CD-ROM.
However, .mp4 files play cross-platform on the level of hardware that my client expects her clients to have.
It's a question of guiding users to the files on the USB stick. And finding out what bitrate will play smoothly from a USB stick.
I'm having real problems finding people who are doing this, yet my replicators tell me it's a fast growing part of their business and no-one is getting Blu-ray discs duplicated.
Time for some experimentation.
Adobe Encore will let me output a DVD or Blu-ray project as a SWF complete with all interactivity. Flash is pretty cross-platform, so I'm going to have a play with that idea and see what the quality is like.
Adobe Certified Professional Premiere Pro CS6, Premiere Pro CC
May 17, 2013 - 17:57
#4
Re: Distribution VIA Memory Stick?
OK, this may or may not help. I used to make training videos and tried out Techsmiths Camtasia What this did was to capture the screen as a video and then in their own video editing system you could create a menu and assign the captured videos to it. It may well be that you can assign your own video rather that the screen capture, it may be worth a download of the trial version and a play around Y ou could then create the file which could then be burned onto a CD/DVD or on a memory stick. The CD/DVD would autoplay and present the menu where you simply clicked on what you wanted to view The beauty of it is that it had its own inbuilt media player and so compatibility was not an issue I still have these files playing the SD format video and they work on my present Win8 and Win7 PC's
May 17, 2013 - 18:23
#5
Re: Distribution VIA Memory Stick?
Thanks Col. That's very interesting. I'll check it out.
Adobe Certified Professional Premiere Pro CS6, Premiere Pro CC