[m-Que]

I was wondering - what is the best format for a video, when doing an animation for a client/school/contest etc.?
It pretty easy with school and contests - it's usually specified in the rules. But what about the clients? If someone wants a digital version of a project, I'd use PDF for all the blueprints stuff, but what about animations?
Many people don't even have an alternative video player installed in Windows. And I remember how Windows Media Player couldn't open a single video and tried to connect to the Internet (probably just to show off how smart it is) to 'check for codecs', but never found a thing...
The point is: how to guarantee the best compatibility, to make sure the client has no problem playing the video?

Thanks.

[Bubbaloo]

Burn it to DVD. Or better yet, Blueray if available.

[glebe digital]

Most of my work is business-to-business animation.....90% of the time the final edit goes out as a .wmv, this keeps most clients happy.......failing that, mp4.......if they really REALLY want a .mov there's a $400 surcharge.
btw, ff it's going to an edit house, I send raw frames & not movies.

[m-Que]

I guess I'll just stick to .WMV and perhaps make an .MP4 mirror.

Thank you, guys.

[johann.dugge]

Burn it to DVD. Or better yet, Blueray if available.

Why would you go for Blueray if the objective is maximum compatibility? I doubt a 3 minute animation takes more than 4GB

[tom]

The point is: how to guarantee the best compatibility, to make sure the client has no problem playing the video?

In that case, A DVD Video (MPEG2) is the best.

[Bubbaloo]

Burn it to DVD. Or better yet, Blueray if available.

Why would you go for Blueray if the objective is maximum compatibility? I doubt a 3 minute animation takes more than 4GB

1080p resolution on a player that doesn't depend on a client's computer hardware being adequate enough to play a high resolution .wmv.

[johann.dugge]

Burn it to DVD. Or better yet, Blueray if available.

Why would you go for Blueray if the objective is maximum compatibility? I doubt a 3 minute animation takes more than 4GB

1080p resolution on a player that doesn't depend on a client's computer hardware being adequate enough to play a high resolution .wmv.

Ok I kinda get you, but now you depend on the client having a Blueray player. Isn't it still a bit early to assume your client has access to one of those? Maybe the best thing is to ask if the client prefers DVD or Blueray, telling them that Blueray will offer better quality - if they are happy to pay for longer rendering times!