31Mbps (31,000kbps) is getting into Blu-ray playback quality, but I agree with Ed, in that just about any semi-modern, decently-maintained computer should be able to play that back without dropping frames. When I send videos to clients for approval, I usually send them a “smaller” file. By that I mean they’ll get a medium-quality 720p video, maybe in stereo, but usually mono (most of our videos are spoken word anyway), and at a data rate of about 5Mbps. I usually send the link via Dropbox, so I explain that they might want to download the file to their computer by clicking on the arrow icon, and watch it locally, because Dropbox compresses adds additional compression for their viewer. I also try to find out what service or playback system they’ll be using and explain that they’ll get a high-quality video file upon approval. They understand everything and are happy to be able to easily view and pass the file to others along with my boilerplate explanation. If I can’t find out what their playback system is going to be, the final video I send them will look good, but also not be so big that I think their corporate hand-out laptops won’t be able to play it. Sometimes a bit of trial and error may be needed to find that balance between playback-ability and image quality – it looks a better than “good enough”, but still plays back smoothly.
Chris Sebes
Senior Video Editor
http://www.MediaMixStudios.com
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