Signiant vs. Frame.io
Frame.io is a great tool for review-and-approve workflows and many companies use both Frame.io and the Signiant Platform. As with many tools, there is some overlap and we get the question, do I need both? Often the answer is ‘yes’ as the two are very different things.
The core value proposition of the Signiant Platform
The core value proposition of the Signiant Platform is making content flow more efficiently between people, with partners, across systems, or to and from the cloud. You can send a file with Frame.io but only with assets uploaded into their storage. That’s a huge distinction. It would be highly unusual and very costly for any media company to store all their assets in Frame.io storage. Signiant makes it easy to access and move assets to and from any storage, on-prem or in the cloud.
Pricing
Pricing
Signiant offers straightforward, predictable subscriptions. We take pride in being easy to work with and help companies of all sizes. There are no file size restrictions and unlimited transfers when you connect Signiant to on-premises storage. A substantial amount of cloud payload is included with every subscription when using cloud storage. Frame.io is priced per GB storage and includes transfer fees, which can add-up quickly when working with large media assets and big projects.
Speed & Reliability
Speed and Reliability
The Signiant Platform rests on patented transport technology that offers lightning-fast, secure, and reliable file transfers across any IP network, regardless of file size. Checkpoint Restart resumes any halted transfer from the point of failure. Files are sent exactly byte for byte, without modification. Frame.io isn’t really built for transferring files and customers of Frame.io complain about slow speeds and the unreliability of moving big files into and out of Frame.io storage. A lot of businesses use frame.io for review and approve processes, but they depend on the Signiant Platform for all file transfers between users, systems, and the cloud.
Storage Independence
Storage Independence
Signiant is storage independent, meaning you can connect to storage of your choice and your assets are always entirely under your control. With Frame.io, files are uploaded into storage bundled and operated by them. Unlike Signiant, this won’t allow access to assets across storage locations, in addition to being a security risk. With Signiant, there is no added cost to connect additional storage locations. The Signiant Platform acts as an abstraction layer, making it easy, fast and secure to access assets across any of your storage.
The Signiant Platform by the Numbers
50,000
Connected Businesses
1,000,000
Global Users
200
Countries & Territories
50
PB Data Transferred per Month
Learn More About the Signiant Platform
The Signiant Platform builds on the foundation of our world-class fast file movement apps and adds workflow-centric production services that make working with media even more efficient.
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Why Signiant is the choice over Frame.io for large file transfers – but you may need both!
Before you compare Signiant and Frame.io, remember these are two very different things. Any company working with large media assets will need a solution to move and access assets.
Whether sending and sharing files between people, automating transfers between systems, exchanging content with partners, or moving content to, from and between clouds, the Signiant Platform has it covered. That is why more than 50,000 media companies and over 1 million professionals rely on the Signiant Platform to move their valuable content. On the other hand, Frame.io is a great review-and-approve tool. If your workflows involve frame accurate comments and collaboration, Frame.io is a great choice. Sure, you can send a file from Frame.io to a person but it would be very unlikely and very expensive for a company to keep all its assets in Frame.io – which is why many companies use Signiant for transfers alongside Frame.io.
A Comparison of Key Capabilities
The Signiant Platform | Frame.io | |
|---|---|---|
Proprietary transport technology that eliminates latency and packet loss, delivering speeds up to 100X faster than standard transfer tools | ||
No file size limits | ||
Rock-solid reliability with Checkpoint Restart | ||
Person-initiated and automated transfers | ||
Unlimited, custom-branded portals | ||
Delegated administration | ||
Search media assets across on-prem and cloud storage locations | ||
Frame accurate review and approve | ||
Preview media files | ||
Connects to any of your storage | ||
Pre-transfer spec validation with CloudSpeX | ||
Bandwidth management | ||
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Signiant’s speed and reliability compare to Frame.io?
The Signiant Platform is built on patented transport technology that can move any-size file over any IP network with speed, security and lights-out reliability. We were recently awarded a patent for a new intelligent transport architecture that uses machine learning to adapt to network conditions in real-time and is capable of multi-Gbps transfer speeds. Checkpoint Restart adds lights-out reliability and will automatically restart any interrupted transfer from the point of failure. Files are delivered unaltered with byte for byte accuracy. There is simply nothing faster or more reliable on the market when it comes to moving large files and data sets.
Frame.io can send a file but it’s really not what it was built for. At its core it is a review-and-approve tool and does that very well. Frame.io customers often complain about poor speeds and reliability issues when moving large files into and out of frame.io storage. That is why many companies use frame.io for review-and-approve but rely on the Signiant Platform for all their file movement between people, between systems and to and from the cloud.
How does Signiant approach storage as compared to Frame.io?
Unlike Frame.io, Signiant does not bundle or resell storage but rather we connect to your storage. With Signiant, assets always remain 100% in your control. In fact, there is no additional cost to connect to any number of storage locations and so the Signiant Platform acts as an abstraction layer, making it easy, fast and secure to access assets across any and all of your storage.
With Frame.io, files are uploaded into storage that is bundled and operated by them. This is not only a security concern, but it also means you can’t easily provide access to assets across storage locations. Most media companies have assets in multiple storage locations and want to keep assets in their storage under their control. That isn’t an option with Frame.io.
Is support included?
Every Signiant subscription includes our world-class customer support. Our support team works in the same location as the engineers who build the products, so they have direct contact with the teams if issues arise. Our awesome customer support is a key reason our customers renew and stay with us for years.
Does Signiant do more than file transfers?
Signiant is well known as the market leader in accelerated file transfers. After all, our software is used by thousands of companies to move petabytes of high-value content every single day. Further, when you purchase a subscription to any of our file transfer products, you join the Signiant Platform. That platform includes additional media management capabilities including multimedia search, preview of media assets and other actions such as transferring just a selected clip of a larger file.
Can we try Signiant before we buy?
Absolutely. We often do POCs with our customers before they buy so that your team can experience Signiant’s software in your environment with your datasets. Customers who do POCs often buy right away so let’s set up a quick call to get you started.
Testimonials
“Everybody gets notifications. It’s a lot more convenient for us and simplifies all communications. People are no longer asking us, ‘Has this file arrived?’”
Jóhannes Reykdal, Broadcast Technician
“Once others heard how well [Signiant Media Shuttle] it worked, everyone asked, ‘Hey, can I use it?’”
Dan Schott, Director, Post Technologies
“It’s the peace of mind you get with Signiant. You get reliability, and you get security because of the encryption.”
Matjaz Fajdiga, Head of TV Engineering
“We’ve been able to roll [Signiant portals] out in new ways and integrate them with our existing pipelines and tailor them to individual clients.“
DigitalFilm Tree and the Power of Belief
Customers
