So I do all my editing and compressing on a Mac, obviously, but a lot of the time I need to transfer video files to someone's PC so they can show the video at corporate presentations and such. Problem I keep running into is that the videos get all screwy on their machines (I hate to be a Mac zombie but man do I hate Windows machines).

Today we tried a .mov file and an mp4, using Quicktime on a PC. The mov wouldn't play because quicktime needed a third party something and I didn't know what it even needed (I'm completely in the dark when it comes to codecs and stuff like that. Sorry to be such a n00b, also sorry for using the term n00b). The mp4 played okay but the aspect ratio was wrong. It looks fine on my machine but it's not right on the PC. I couldn't even find a setting that would allow me to change it on the PC.

There's got to be an easier, more reliable way to do this. What is your workflow like when going between Macs and PCs?

Thanks!

What versions of Windows and Quicktime are on your PC? What version of MAC OS and Quicktime are on your mac?

There is a way to fix this, I just need to know your system specs.

All I can say is that you will ALWAYS be safe if you stick with an MPEG-4, h.264 codec. It plays rock solid on both Mac and PC's (unless the PC is ancient). For simplicity, in compressor use the Apple Devices presets. 320x240, 640x480 or Apple TV for 720p HD. Always worked for me. If you have issues, go into Quicktime and export as MPEG-4 using h.264 codec and manually set the size, don't use one of the presets. So physically type in 640x480 or whatever. Cranky up the bitrate to a good 1500 and it'll look good.

I also heard that Windows Media player 12 on Windows 7 now supports H.264. I created a .wmv using Squeeze 6 and it would only play 53 seconds of my video. It would stop and say I did not have the right codec. It was on XP with the latest WMP for XP. I told them to download Quicktime player and I would give them a H.264 and it played fine. I hate WMP for several reasons. I could go on but I won't.