Automatic transcoding
A platform may create a viewing rendition with different bitrate, resolution, frame rate, color handling, or audio settings.
How to send large video files without compression
Send the original video and related sidecars through Photon Transfer. Choose Live Relay together or temporary Cloud backing for pickup later. Both deliver your selected files without creating a smaller viewing rendition.
Use a File Pass when the video transfer is an occasional oversized send. One File Pass covers one transfer containing one or multiple files and, for the Live Relay transfer, is consumed only after successful completion.
Live Relay: Both you and your recipients must remain online until the transfer completes. Keep your browser tab or desktop app running until all downloads finish.
Cloud Transfer: Recipients can begin downloading while you upload. Keep your browser tab or desktop app running until your upload finishes. After that, you can close it or go offline, and recipients can still download your files using the shared link. Cloud Transfer allows one confirmed delivery. Once the complete transfer is confirmed saved, new downloads stop and automatic deletion begins. Use Vault for repeated downloads.
Cloud transfers default to seven days from upload completion. Choose one to seven days with Free or File Pass funding, or up to the server maximum with Relay subscription funding. Use Photon Vault to keep, share, and sync files over time.
A preview is not a master.
Messaging, social, and review platforms may create lower-bitrate or lower-resolution viewing copies. Keep the camera original, mezzanine master, or approved export as a file and deliver that file through a transfer workflow.
Why large video delivery goes wrong
The biggest risk is often not the upload itself. It is choosing a platform that treats the video as content to stream, preview, or optimize instead of a file whose original encoding must arrive intact.
Wrong deliverable
A review proxy, camera original, graded master, and distribution export serve different jobs. Sending the wrong one wastes time even if the transfer succeeds.
Missing sidecars
Captions, audio stems, LUTs, project files, XML or EDL data, and checksums may be required alongside the main video.
Recipient constraints
The recipient still needs enough disk space, a stable connection, compatible software, and time to download and verify the file.
Compare video delivery methods
Use a file-transfer path when the original encoding matters. A streaming or messaging platform can still be useful for review, but it should not replace delivery of the approved master.
| Method | When it works | Limitation | How PhotonFile fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| PhotonFile Relay | The recipient is ready now for the original video file | Both sides must keep the live handoff active until completion | Moves the selected files through one purpose-built live transfer rather than creating a viewing rendition. Use a File Pass on this same path for an occasional oversized one-off. |
| PhotonFile Vault | The recipient needs to download the original video later | The video uses retained Vault capacity and the share lifecycle must be managed | Upload the original video without compression, wait for completion, then create a scoped Vault share for downloads |
| Messaging or social platform | Quick review, comments, and low-friction playback | The platform may transcode, resize, or optimize the uploaded media | Send a proxy for review, then deliver the approved master through Relay |
| Video review platform | Frame-accurate review and approval workflows | The viewing copy may not be the same as the source master | Keep review and final file delivery as separate steps |
| Email attachment | A short, small proxy | Attachment limits are unsuitable for production masters | Use the message for context and a live Relay link for the file |
| Cloud-drive link | The recipient needs later downloads or ongoing access | The file becomes retained storage and link management is a separate task | Use Vault when later access is actually required. Otherwise, use Relay. |
| FTP or SFTP | Established automated media pipelines | Accounts, clients, and server operations add overhead for human handoff | Use PhotonFile for human-driven delivery while keeping protocol automation where it is needed |
Prepare the video before transfer
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1. Choose the exact deliverable
Label the camera original, mezzanine master, graded master, review proxy, or distribution export so the recipient knows what the file represents.
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2. Preserve the original container and codec
Do not re-export merely to fit a messaging limit. Keep the approved MOV, MXF, MP4, WAV, or other production file as delivered by the workflow.
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3. Collect any sidecars
Include captions, audio stems, LUTs, project interchange files, thumbnails, and a manifest in the same transfer when the recipient needs them.
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4. Check size and destination space
Tell the recipient the approximate file size and confirm that the target disk has enough free space for the download and any extraction.
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5. Record a checksum when required
Use a checksum for masters, broadcast deliverables, archives, or any workflow that needs exact-byte evidence.
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6. Confirm availability
Relay is live. Agree on the handoff window before creating the link, especially for very large files.
Master, proxy, and project package are different jobs
Review proxy
A smaller file may be appropriate for comments and approval. Name it clearly so nobody mistakes it for the final master.
Approved master
When it is time to deliver the approved master, send the full-quality export, not a smaller re-encode made to fit a platform limit.
Project package
One transfer can include the video with sidecars or source assets. Package the folder when preserving hierarchy or creating one bundled deliverable matters.
Relay workflow
Send the original video in a live session
- 1. Open PhotonFile Relay. Use the web or desktop client that fits the file size and working environment.
- 2. Select the approved video file. Confirm the filename, extension, size, and version before starting.
- 3. Choose transfer options. Enable optional client-side encryption when the supported recipient environment can use it.
- 4. Start the transfer and create the link. Choose Live Relay for an active session, or Cloud transfer with funding and policy acceptance before upload.
- 5. Send the link to the recipient. They can receive the Relay transfer without creating a PhotonFile account.
- 6. Keep the transfer available. For Live Relay, both sides must remain online with their browser tabs or desktop apps running until all downloads finish. For Cloud Transfer, keep the sender running until the upload finishes. After that, recipients can download using the shared link even when the sender is offline. Use eligible resume or Retry behavior after an interruption.
- 7. Verify the file. Compare size, duration, metadata, or checksum and test playback from the downloaded file.
File Pass
Use a completion-gated Live Relay pass for an occasional oversized send
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1. One File Pass. One transfer.
The transfer may contain one or multiple files, such as the video plus captions or other sidecars. It uses the same live Relay architecture.
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2. Only consumed after completion
An incomplete Live Relay transfer does not consume the pass, so it can return to an available state for retry.
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3. Works alongside subscriptions
Use a File Pass for a transfer that needs the one-off option without changing the regular subscription workflow.
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4. Complete the live transfer
The recipient still needs to complete the live transfer. Use Vault when the video must remain available later.
Original file
Deliver the selected master
Relay is a file transfer, not a video hosting or streaming pipeline that creates a viewing rendition.
Completion gated
Failed attempts do not consume a File Pass
For the Live Relay transfer, the pass is marked consumed only after the required bytes finish moving.
Integrity check
Verify more than playback
A file can play and still be the wrong export. Compare the name, size, duration, codec details, and checksum when required.
ZIP rarely shrinks production video
Common video codecs already use substantial compression. Putting a single master inside ZIP may change the packaging but often saves little space and adds an extraction step.
Archive only when it helps keep related sidecars together.
Keep the local master until acceptance
Do not delete the source merely because the transfer says complete. Wait for the recipient to verify playback, audio, captions, color, and checksum from the downloaded copy.
Delivery confirmation is part of the workflow.
Use Vault when the recipient cannot be present.
Use Cloud transfer for temporary pickup after upload, including when the sender is offline. Put the approved video in Vault when it needs ongoing access, versions, or a managed share.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Does PhotonFile compress or transcode my video?
Relay is a file-transfer workflow, not a video publishing or streaming workflow. Send the original file you select, and compare file size or a checksum after download when exact-byte verification matters.
Should I ZIP a large video before sending it?
Usually not for size reduction. Most production video formats are already compressed, so ZIP often saves little. One transfer can include the video and related sidecars as separate files. Use an archive only when bundling them together is useful.
What is the difference between Relay and a File Pass?
Choose Live Relay when both you and your recipients can remain online until the transfer completes. Keep your browser tab or desktop app running until all downloads finish. Choose Cloud Transfer so recipients can begin downloading while you upload or download later. Keep your browser tab or desktop app running until your upload finishes. After that, you can close it or go offline, and recipients can still download using the shared link. One File Pass covers one transfer containing one or multiple files. Live Relay consumes it after completed delivery. Cloud transfer consumes it at complete encrypted upload, even if nobody downloads. Cloud Transfer allows one confirmed delivery. Once the complete transfer is confirmed saved, new downloads stop and automatic deletion begins. Use Vault for repeated downloads.
Can the recipient download the video later?
Yes, with Cloud transfer after the encrypted upload completes. Recipients can also download during upload. Live Relay requires both sides to stay active. Use Vault for persistent access and managed sharing. Cloud Transfer allows one confirmed delivery. Once the complete transfer is confirmed saved, new downloads stop and automatic deletion begins. Use Vault for repeated downloads.
Does the recipient need a PhotonFile account?
No. The recipient can receive a Relay transfer without creating a PhotonFile account.
Can an interrupted video transfer resume?
Eligible transfers can resume after some interruptions, depending on the plan, client, browser, transfer state, and recipient session. Keep the source file and use Retry when resume is not available.
Keep going
Related guides
Send an entire folder online
Keep video, audio, captions, LUTs, and project sidecars together.
Send encrypted files without a cloud-drive folder
Use optional client-side encryption in a live Relay session.
Share files without requiring an account
Choose Live + Cloud delivery or a Vault share for ongoing access.
Product and technical references: Relay guide Ephemeral transfer model File Pass pricing Relay technology Desktop app
Send the master, not a smaller copy.
Choose the approved video and related files, then use Photon Transfer for Live + Cloud delivery. An eligible File Pass can cover an occasional oversized send.