How to Send a Video to a Client: Which File, Which Link
Updated
At 1080p, a finished video passes Gmail’s 25 MB attachment limit in under half a minute, so you’ll usually send a link. What you decide is which file goes behind it, and which kind of link fits what your client does next: watch it, post it, put it on their website, or keep the master.
Export H.264 for anything your client will play in a browser or on a phone. Keep the ProRes or other editing master out of that link, and send it separately only if your agreement includes it.
Work out the size first
Your export’s bitrate sets its size: megabits per second, times seconds, divided by 8, gives megabytes. YouTube recommends 8 Mbps for 1080p at 24 to 30 frames per second, 5 Mbps for 720p, and 35 to 45 Mbps for 4K. Apple lists ProRes 422 at 1080p, 30 fps, at 147 Mbps.
| Your export | About |
|---|---|
| 30-second vertical cut, 1080p, 8 Mbps | 30 MB |
| 75-second promo, 1080p, 8 Mbps | 75 MB |
| 75-second promo, 4K, 40 Mbps | 375 MB |
| 3-minute film, 1080p, 8 Mbps | 180 MB |
| 75-second promo as a ProRes 422 master | 1.4 GB |
A personal Gmail account takes 25 MB per email, so none of these fits in one email. A 30-second cut at 720p (about 19 MB) would.
Export the copy your client will watch
Use H.264. Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari all play it, on phones and computers. Premiere Pro and Media Encoder write it as an .mp4. Final Cut Pro writes H.264 as a .mov, and DaVinci Resolve does too unless you set the format to MP4. What matters is the H.264 inside, but an .mov is worth one extra test in Chrome before you send it.
Two other exports can leave your client with a player that loads and never starts:
- ProRes. It’s an editing and mastering format. It plays on your Mac and fails in Chrome on your client’s laptop.
- HEVC (H.265). Smaller files, but browser support depends on the device. On Windows, Chrome plays it only on computers with hardware support, and Edge also needs an extension from the Microsoft Store.
Match the link to what your client does next
| Your client will… | Send | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Watch it and forward it to their team | A link that plays in the browser | It must open signed out, on a phone |
| Post it on social media | The file itself, in the right shape: 9:16 for Reels and TikTok, 4:5 or 1:1 for feed posts, 16:9 for YouTube and LinkedIn | A streaming link isn’t enough; they need the file on their phone or computer |
| Put it on their website | The file for their web designer, or an unlisted YouTube or Vimeo link if the site embeds from there | Ask the web designer which one they want |
| Keep the master for future edits | The master, through a transfer service or a drive, if your agreement includes it | Your client doesn’t need it to watch the video |
If one delivery needs the first two rows, use a link that plays in the browser and has a download, or send two links and say which is which. If the video will be posted, agree whether captions are burned in or sent as an .srt file.
What each common option does
- Google Drive. Plays shared videos in the browser, up to 1080p, and lets viewers download them by default. Right after uploading, the video can still be processing for other people, so wait and check it signed out. Share the file, not the folder, and set General access to “Anyone with the link”.
- WeTransfer. Good for one large download, such as a master. Free transfers stay up for up to 3 days, and the free plan allows 10 transfers or 3 GB in any 30 days, which rules out a 3-minute ProRes master (about 3.3 GB).
- YouTube (unlisted) or Vimeo. Good for watching and for embedding on a website. YouTube doesn’t give your client your file, so send the file as well if they need to post it anywhere else.
- A link to the finished video on its own, outside your working drive. That’s what Litehost does; see the end of this page.
Open it the way your client will
- Open the link in a private window, signed out, in Chrome.
- Open it on your phone, over mobile data if you can.
- Press play and skip to the end. If the player loads and never starts, check whether the file is ProRes or HEVC.
- Download it, and check the downloaded file plays and has a sensible name.
Example: a clinic promo and a vertical cut
An illustrative example.
Sam, a freelance video editor, has finished a promo for a two-location dental clinic. The owner, Laura, watches everything on her phone. She’ll forward the video to her office manager, who posts on Instagram, and to the web designer rebuilding the clinic’s homepage.
Sam exports two H.264 MP4s: Clinic-Promo-16x9-v1.mp4 (75 seconds, 1080p,
about 75 MB) and Clinic-Promo-9x16-v1.mp4 (30 seconds, vertical, captions
burned in, about 30 MB). The ProRes master stays on Sam’s drive; the agreement
says he keeps it for a year.
If he shares the two files from Drive: each plays in Laura’s browser once processing has finished, and the office manager and the web designer can download them. That works, as long as the sharing stays set to “Anyone with the link” and Sam doesn’t move or delete the files when he tidies his Drive after the project.
If he sends two links outside his Drive: each video gets its own link that plays in the browser and has a Download button. His message:
Here’s the final promo: [link 1]. It plays in your browser, and the Download button gives your web designer the MP4 for the homepage.
The vertical version for Instagram, with captions, is here: [link 2]. Your office manager can download it on her phone and post it.
His choice: separate links, because his Drive is where he works and he reorganizes it after every project. The cost: a second service to pay for, and two links to keep track of. If Laura only needed to watch the promo once, the Drive link would do.
Where Litehost fits
Litehost gives you a link to the finished video that is separate from your working drive.
- A single video opens in a player, with a Download button, and your client doesn’t need an account to open a public link. Put each video in its own project so each one gets its own player.
- Litehost serves the file as you uploaded it and doesn’t convert it, so export H.264 first.
- The Download button names the file after the project, so give the
project the name you want the file to have, such as
Clinic-Promo-16x9-v1. - Plans: a new account gets Pro free for 7 days, with no card. After that, the Free plan holds one project of up to 5 MB, which is too small for almost any finished video. Starter, currently $8 a month, holds 500 MB across up to 5 projects. Sam’s two videos (about 105 MB, two projects) need Starter to stay up after the trial. A 4K promo at 375 MB would take most of Starter’s space; Pro, $19 a month, holds 5 GB.
- Try it first: the box at the end of this page takes files up to 2 MB, which is a couple of seconds of 1080p video, so export a short test clip to see what your client sees. That quick link lasts about 15 minutes unless you sign in to keep it.
You don’t need Litehost if your Drive link already plays signed out on a phone and you’re happy delivering from there, if your client only needs a one-time download of a large master, or if the video will live on YouTube or Vimeo anyway. It’s also not a review tool: if your client still needs to leave comments on the cut, use a video review tool until the edit is final.
Before you send
- The watch copy is H.264, and you know its size.
- Each video has its own link, and it plays signed out, on a phone, to the end.
- Whoever needs the file to post or embed can download it, in the right shape.
- Captions are burned in or sent as an .srt, as agreed.
- The master goes separately, only if the agreement includes it.
- Your message says which link is which, and who each one is for.