file sharing

The need for faster file sharing is bringing new challenges for today’s media companies. In media, file sharing (distributing digital data) mostly means files for television shows, films, music, books, and games.

The most well-known file share technologies are peer to peer (P2P) networks, BitTorrent and file hosting. In peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, users search for other computers connected to the network in order to find specific content and transfer that file from the original computer to their own across the internet. This type of file sharing was popularized by companies such as Napster, which ceased operations because of legal problems over copyright infringement.

BitTorrent is a specific protocol that supports peer-to-peer file sharing and focuses on transferring large files. Instead of downloading from a single source server, BitTorrent protocol joins a collection of hosts that download and upload simultaneously. With BitTorrent, a file is divided into small pieces and then reorganized after download. Pieces can be downloaded out of order depending on what is available, which makes downloading a whole file faster and allows users to easily start and stop the download. At its peak, BitTorrent was responsible for over a third of all internet traffic.

In file hosting or cloud storage, users upload and download content that is hosted by a remote service. One-click file hosting allows a user to upload a file then gives the user a URL so that user (or whoever they give the URL to) can download the content later.

Public file sharing hurts media sales, and some experts even suggest that file-sharing has forced media owners to make content more easily available on demand through the internet. Technology has brought sweeping changes to the media and entertainment industries. Media companies need to move data faster in order to keep up with the demands of their customers and keep it secure to protect and control their content. Security and encryption for file transfer is an absolute necessity for sensitive and proprietary content.

SkyDrop is a highly secure SaaS solution from Signiant that accelerates the movement of large files and data sets into and out of cloud storage. Find out what SkyDrop can do for you. Sign up for a free trial today!

Media Shuttle is Signiant’s hybrid SaaS solution that allows media professionals to quickly transfer any size file anywhere in the world. With Media Shuttle, you can consolidate and track all your file movement while enjoying speed, security and control in one elegant, easy to use, cloud-based solution.

Media companies must remain focused on delivering content safely and on time. Read through the articles below to learn more about Signiant’s file sharing technology and how we help media enterprises share their files safely and securely.

  • Several chains in a pulley system.
    | Press Releases

    Signiant Strengthens Board with Two Industry Leaders

    Signiant today announced that two of the media industry’s most prominent technology executives have joined its Board of Directors. The appointments come at a time when the company’s leadership position in cloud technology and innovative next-generation offerings are driving unprecedented growth in Signiant’s business. Joining the board are Lawrence R. Kaplan and John McCoskey, each bringing unique industry experience to the Signiant Board.
  • Many people standing in line with a rope behind them.
    | Press Releases

    Signiant’s Cloud Solutions drive 65 percent increase in customer base in 2013, position company for future growth with 46 percent increase in worldwide employment

    Signiant today disclosed key growth metrics for 2013 and offered further insight into the Company’s recent market momentum. Executives report a 65 percent increase in customer count and a 46 percent increase in worldwide employment, attributable to rapid adoption of Signiant’s next-generation hybrid SaaS solution and clear recognition of the Company’s leadership position in bringing the benefits of cloud technology to the media industry.
  • The Dallas skyline in silhoutte with the sun setting behind the buildings.
    | Press Releases

    MTI Film Selects Signiant Media Shuttle for Swift File Delivery of TNT Hit TV Show ‘Dallas’ and More

    MTI Film, a Hollywood-based full service post-production and film restoration facility, is using Signiant’s Media Shuttle™ to automate the daily exchange of some of TV’s most popular episodics with its global production partners.
  • | Press Releases

    Cisneros Media Overcomes Regional Bandwidth Challenges with Signiant’s Media Shuttle

    Signiant, the market leader in intelligent file movement software for media and entertainment, today announced that its customer Cisneros Media, the corporate division that encompasses the Cisneros’ global media and entertainment businesses, achieved dramatic time savings and productivity improvements by implementing Media Shuttle™ as its corporate-wide file transfer solution.
  • | Press Releases

    Envy Post Production Selects Signiant Media Shuttle for Rapid Delivery of High Res Long and Short Form Programming

    Leading post production house Envy Post Production has become yet another major UK broadcast content company to adopt Media Shuttle™ hybrid SaaS file transfer solution to move large files securely among its business partners and global customer base. Responding to its client needs, Envy Post has standardized on Media Shuttle because of its ease-of-use, the ability to be seamlessly branded and because it is today’s smartest way to move and share large files.
  • | Blog

    It’s 2:00 am. Do you know where your files are?

    The consumerization of IT has resulted in the proliferation of unmanaged, non-IT issued devices used to access and share corporate digital assets. We are all now 3+ device owning, information hungry, data consumers and sharers. And cloud storage redux (Dropbox et al. is arguably cloud storage 2.0 with companies such Storage Networks having pioneered the first phase in the 90’s) is making it amazingly easy to share files to/from these devices –often, too easy, in fact.
  • | Media Coverage

    Digital Media World | Film Festival Picks a Winner with Media Shuttle

    “For previous festivals, we relied on free file sharing sites for digital film submissions. With finished file sizes exceeding 2Gb, filmmakers often experienced long upload times – up to three hours – and if transfers were interrupted for any reason, time was lost and they had to start all over again,” said Festival President Kevin Burton. “With 60 days to make their films, every minute counts.” In addition to submission of lower resolution judging versions of entries, Media Shuttle will be used to submit the final ProRes digital film versions for screening, instead of relying on couriers or in-person deliveries.
  • | Media Coverage

    M&E Journal | Sharing High-Value Content in the Cloud: The Tale of Three Stakeholders

    In this game-changing era of multi-platform content delivery, media and entertainment professionals need convenient ways to exchange digital assets with people inside and outside of their organizations. In this article, we’ll describe a new breed of cloud systems that offer all of the ease, convenience and flexibility of the most popular file-sharing services, with the enterprise-level security and administration required to protect and manage high-value digital assets.
  • | Press Releases

    New Digital Technology to Resell Signiant File Transfer Solutions in Greater China

    Based in Hong Kong with offices throughout China, NDT offers a range of professional products and services for broadcast, digital media, wireless network and satellite communications. With a versatile engineering team, the company is highly specialized in HDTV, 3D, IPTV, and the Next-Generation Networks. Some of their customers include CCTV, China Telecom, China Unicom and many of the region’s top broadcasters.
  • | Press Releases

    Sohonet to Integrate Signiant Media Shuttle™ into New Sohonet Hub Customer Portal and File Exchange Solution

    Sohonet Hub enables Sohonet’s customers to network with each other more effectively and take full advantage of their membership in the world’s largest private media and entertainment network, whose members include the biggest names in TV, film and advertising. The addition of Sohonet FileRunner, the media transfer capability based on Signiant Media Shuttle, represents the next phase of development for the Sohonet Hub, which will also include a portal to Sohonet’s storage and render offerings, graphs and metrics on bandwidth usage and performance and access to Sohonet’s 24/7 support ticketing system.
  • | Press Releases

    Australian Telecom Company AAPT Selects Signiant for New End-to-End Media Connect Service

    The community media network – AAPT Media Connect – uses a hosted Signiant service, allowing private and public content exchange or a combination of both. The network will provide flexible models to the market, applicable to all levels and sizes of the media community, with low barriers to entry.
  • | Blog

    Signiant’s Media Shuttle Reaches Soho

    Thankfully the rain didn’t prevent friends from Deluxe, Sony, Loft London, Boxer and many others from coming along to hear Gavin Tweedie give an overview of Media Shuttle with a live demo of how to create a branded file sharing portal in a matter of minutes.