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To convert and send a video file in one step, upload it to a transfer tool with built-in conversion: upload once, pick the output format (usually MP4), and share a single link. The conversion runs on the server, and your client downloads the format that actually plays. No converter site, no re-uploading. Here's the workflow, the format call, and what it costs.
The two-tool juggle
The usual routine when a client can't open your MOV: hunt down a converter site, upload the file, wait, dodge the fake download buttons, download the result, check it isn't mangled, then upload it all over again to a transfer tool and finally send the link. For a big export that's two full uploads and a download of the same file, plus a quiet worry about what some free converter just did to your bitrate, and where your client's footage now lives.
Converter sites don't send files. Transfer tools don't convert them. So the gap between "I have a MOV" and "my client has an MP4" gets filled with tabs, waiting, and sketchy ads. The fix is doing both in the same place: convert as part of the send, one upload, one link.
What format to send a client
Plainly:
- MP4 (H.264) is the safe default. It plays on every phone, browser, TV, and platform without anyone installing codecs. If the client just needs to watch, review, or post the video, send MP4 and nobody emails you "it won't open".
- ProRes and camera masters are for editors. Huge, gorgeous, and useless to a client who double-clicks it on a Windows laptop. Only send a master to someone who asked for it by name.
- WebM for web embeds. If the file is going into a website build, the developer may want WebM. Ask; otherwise MP4.
- GIF only for tiny clips. A few seconds, small frame, no sound. Anything longer becomes an enormous file that looks worse than the MP4 it came from.
More on the format trade-offs on the video conversion page.
The one-step workflow
Here's the whole thing on FileFlippers:
- Upload the file you actually have. MOV, MKV, AVI, whatever your editor spat out. One upload, chunked and resumable.
- Toggle Convert and pick the output. Choose MP4 (or WebM, or any supported pair, MOV to MP4 and MKV to MP4 are the two classics). The conversion runs server-side, so you're not waiting on your own machine.
- Hit Transfer. You get one link with your expiry, password, and branding settings applied, same as any other transfer.
- The client downloads the converted file. The format that plays, first try. Your original stays untouched on your machine, the conversion never overwrites it.
Conversion covers far more than video, images, documents, fonts, 3D, the lot, see file conversion. And because it's a proper transfer underneath, big exports go in one link too, up to 50 GB, see large file transfer.
Quality and credits, honestly
Two things worth knowing before you hit Convert:
- Quality. Any transcode re-encodes the video, that's what converting is. Done once, at delivery settings, the difference from the master is invisible for watching and reviewing. The quality killer is chaining conversions through three different tools, each one re-compressing the last one's output. Converting in the same step as sending means it happens exactly once.
- Cost. Video-to-video conversion is billed by duration: 1 credit per minute, rounded up, minimum 1 credit. Most other conversions are 1 credit flat. Pro includes 100 credits a month, which is a lot of client deliveries; free accounts use credit packs (from £3.99 for 100). No credit is burned until you actually run the job.
When you should NOT convert
Sometimes the right move is sending the file exactly as it is:
- The client asked for the master. An editor, colourist, or agency wanting the ProRes or camera original wants those exact bytes. Send the file untouched, that's what a transfer does by default when Convert stays off.
- It's going into an archive. Archive the highest-quality version you have, not a delivery encode. You can always make an MP4 from a master later; you can't make a master from an MP4.
For the sending half on its own, expiry, size limits, getting paid on delivery, see how to send large video files to clients.
FAQ
What's the best video format to send to a client?
MP4 with H.264 is the safe default. It plays on every phone, browser, TV, and platform without the client installing anything. Keep ProRes or camera masters for editors who specifically asked for them, WebM for web embeds, and GIF only for tiny clips. If in doubt, MP4.
How do I convert MOV to MP4 and send it?
Upload the MOV to FileFlippers, toggle Convert on, pick MP4 as the output, and hit Transfer. The conversion runs server-side while the link is generated, and your client downloads the MP4 from the same link. No separate converter site, no downloading and re-uploading.
Will converting reduce quality?
Transcoding always re-encodes, so it's never byte-identical to the master. Done properly (one conversion, at a sensible bitrate) the difference is invisible for review and delivery. What actually wrecks quality is converting repeatedly through different tools. Convert once, send that.
Can I send both the original and the converted file?
The converted file replaces the original in what the recipient downloads, so the client gets the format that plays. Your uploaded original isn't touched by the conversion. If a client genuinely needs the master too, send it as its own transfer, or skip conversion for that file.
What does conversion cost?
Video-to-video conversion costs 1 credit per minute of video, rounded up, minimum 1 credit. Pulling the audio out of a video, or converting images, documents, fonts, and the rest, is 1 credit flat. Pro includes 100 credits a month; free accounts buy a credit pack from £3.99.
One upload. One link. The format that plays.
Convert the video while you send it, and your client downloads an MP4 that opens first try. No converter tabs, no re-uploading, no "it won't play" replies.