I would test jumping to several positions in a long review export before sending it to collaborators. A file that plays smoothly from the start can still be awkward in the recipient’s player. Choose a delivery format and encoding structure for the actual review route, not only the smallest file.
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Our recommendation
I favour a review file that is easy to access, seek and identify at acceptable quality. Keep a high-quality master separately when required, and test the smaller review route as its own deliverable.
Separate editing and review requirements
Apple’s ProRes documentation describes an intraframe codec family, while common delivery encodings can use interframe dependencies. That distinction helps explain why file size, decode cost and random access differ. It does not mean a large intermediate is automatically the best web review file.
Ask what the recipient will use: a browser platform, a desktop player or an editing system. Keep the expected codec, container, resolution and audio layout in the delivery brief. An unsupported combination can look like a seeking problem when the real issue is compatibility.
Test representative jumps
Open the completed file in the intended environment and jump near the beginning, middle and end, including a cut and a dense motion section. Check how quickly picture and sound resume and whether sync remains correct. Test after a complete transfer rather than only while the file is still being copied.
If the route performs poorly, compare a supported export with a different appropriate encoding structure or platform transcode. Keep the comparison at a similar visual requirement and inspect quality. Avoid prescribing one universal keyframe interval for every upload service and offline player.
A client-review proof
A sixty-minute file plays correctly from zero, but a reviewer needs to inspect comments around minute forty. Test that jump and a return to an earlier frame in the actual review player. If seeking is unreliable, resolve the delivery route before asking the client to review hundreds of timecoded notes against it.
Before you act
- Match codec and container to the recipient.
- Test several jumps after the full transfer.
- Compare seeking and quality together.
Use the Delivery workbook to apply the guide to your own setup.
Keep exploring
- ProRes vs H.264: when an intermediate is useful
- Make review feedback point to the same frame on every system
Sources and research notes
Research checked on 21 October 2026. Product specifications are manufacturer statements; examples and buying judgements are our analysis. No hands-on product test is implied.
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