Sending footage to Korea for post-production means transferring large media files across the Pacific. Your camera originals might be 5TB, 15TB, or more. Consumer tools like Dropbox and Google Drive won't cut it. You need an enterprise file transfer solution that's fast, reliable, and secure. Here's how the major options compare for international post-production.
The Contenders
Aspera (IBM) has been the film industry's default enterprise transfer tool for over a decade. It uses a proprietary FASP protocol that achieves near-theoretical maximum bandwidth regardless of network latency or distance. Aspera is the tool that Netflix, Disney, and major studios use for content delivery. If your project involves a major studio or streaming platform, there's a good chance Aspera is already in the pipeline.
MASV is a newer entrant built specifically for media professionals who need to move large files without the enterprise contract overhead. It runs in a browser — no desktop software required — and charges on a pay-per-use model based on data volume. MASV has gained rapid adoption in the indie film and commercial production space because of its simplicity.
Signiant Media Shuttle sits between Aspera and MASV in terms of enterprise positioning. It offers a web-based interface with faster-than-browser transfer speeds using its proprietary acceleration technology. Signiant is commonly used by broadcast networks, post-production facilities, and content distributors.
Speed Comparison
For a typical indie feature's camera originals (10TB) over a 100 Mbps upload connection:
Aspera: Approximately 24–28 hours. Aspera's FASP protocol achieves the highest throughput of the three options, typically reaching 90–95% of available bandwidth regardless of the physical distance between transfer points.
Signiant: Approximately 26–32 hours. Signiant's acceleration technology is effective but typically achieves slightly lower throughput than Aspera on long-distance transfers. The difference is marginal for most practical purposes.
MASV: Approximately 28–36 hours. MASV uses optimized cloud infrastructure rather than a proprietary transfer protocol. It's fast, but on very long-distance transfers (LA to Seoul), it may not achieve quite the same throughput as the dedicated protocols. For most indie productions, the difference is negligible.
For comparison: standard HTTPS upload (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox) would take 50+ hours for the same 10TB transfer, with a high risk of interruption, no resume capability, and significant speed degradation over distance.
Cost Comparison
Aspera: Enterprise licensing model. Annual contracts typically start at several thousand dollars per year depending on usage volume. Some Korean facilities already have Aspera infrastructure and can receive incoming transfers at no cost to you — check with your post facility before purchasing your own license.
MASV: Pay-per-use at $0.25/GB for each download (charges apply per download, not upload). A single 10TB download costs approximately $2,500. No contracts, no minimum commitment. You can also set up MASV Portals where your post facility downloads at their cost, depending on your arrangement.
Signiant: Enterprise licensing, similar to Aspera. Pricing is typically negotiated based on volume and use case. Some Signiant plans offer a cloud-based option with more accessible pricing for smaller operations.
Security
All three tools offer enterprise-grade security suitable for pre-release content:
Aspera uses AES-256 encryption in transit and at rest, with SSH key authentication. It's the security standard that major studios require.
MASV is SOC 2 Type II certified, uses TLS 1.2 encryption in transit and AES-256 at rest, and offers password-protected transfers with download limits. For indie productions, MASV's security is more than adequate.
Signiant offers comparable encryption and authentication, with additional enterprise features like audit logging and access controls.
Our Recommendation
For indie productions ($0–$50K post budget): Use MASV. The pay-per-use model means you only pay for what you transfer, the browser-based interface requires no IT setup, and the security is more than sufficient for independent content. Budget $500–$2,500 for file transfer costs depending on your media volume.
For mid-budget productions with studio relationships: Check whether your post facility or studio partner already has Aspera or Signiant infrastructure. If so, use their existing system — the speed advantage is meaningful at high transfer volumes, and the cost is already covered.
For any production: Ask your Korean post facility what they use and what they can receive. Most Korean facilities maintain Aspera and MASV capability. Matching their preferred tool eliminates setup friction and ensures the fastest possible transfer.
For a complete overview of the remote post-production workflow — from file transfer through final delivery — read our Remote Post-Production Workflow Guide.
Understanding File Transfer Costs at Production Scale
File transfer is rarely the largest line item in a post-production budget, but it is one of the most variable and most easily mismanaged. A production that moves 10TB of material several times can easily spend $5,000-$15,000 on transfer alone.
Understanding the cost math helps you choose the right tools and avoid surprises:
MASV pay-per-use: $0.25 per GB downloaded. A 10TB package (10,000 GB) costs $2,500 per complete download. If multiple people download the same package, costs multiply. Three people downloading the same 10TB package costs $7,500.
Aspera subscription: Starts around $300-500/month for basic tier. Typically $1,500-3,000/month for production-scale accounts with multi-TB capacity. Unlimited transfer volume within plan limits. Fixed cost regardless of transfer volume.
Signiant subscription: Similar pricing to Aspera. Enterprise focus. Custom pricing for production accounts.
Cloud storage with direct transfer: Upload to AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, or similar at storage cost ($0.023/GB/month on AWS S3 standard tier). Transfer costs vary by egress rules — can be cheap or expensive depending on configuration.
Choosing MASV vs Aspera vs Signiant
Choose MASV when: Single transfers or limited transfer volume. Indie production with clear total data budget. No existing subscription infrastructure. Need browser-based access without IT involvement.
Choose Aspera when: Production volume is high (20+ TB per project). Multiple ongoing projects at the same facility. IT infrastructure supports desktop app installation. Long-term subscription justified by volume.
Choose Signiant when: Enterprise studio environment. Integration with existing Signiant infrastructure. Specific technical requirements that Signiant handles better than alternatives.
For most independent and mid-budget productions, MASV is the right choice. The pay-per-use model matches the episodic nature of production — you pay when you transfer, nothing when you don't.
Optimizing File Transfer Strategy
Transfer once, use many times. If multiple parties need the same files, upload once and share access. Do not have each party download independently — this multiplies egress costs.
Compress losslessly when possible. Camera original MXF files do not compress meaningfully. Some other formats (DPX sequences, TIFF stills) can compress 30-50 percent with lossless codecs (LZMA, 7z). For non-image data (project files, documents), compression is always worthwhile.
Use cloud archive for reference. Archive original camera media to S3 or similar storage. When international facilities need specific material, they download from the archive rather than from an active transfer. This separates transfer cost from ongoing project costs.
Deliver proxies, not originals, for review. Editorial and review can happen on proxy files (1/4 resolution, compressed codec). Final resolution only needed at specific stages. Proxies are 10-20 percent of the size of originals and sufficient for most review purposes.
Strategic staging. For a VFX-heavy production, transfer VFX plates to Korea once, finished VFX back to the US once. Don't send intermediate versions back and forth — review them on Frame.io where transfer is minimal.
Security and IP Protection During Transfer
All modern file transfer platforms (MASV, Aspera, Signiant) use TLS encryption in transit. Files cannot be intercepted during transfer.
At-rest encryption varies. MASV and Aspera both use AES-256 encryption of files stored on their servers. Files stored on cloud storage (S3, GCS) can be encrypted at rest with customer-managed keys for additional security.
Access controls:
Password protection. All major transfer platforms support password-protected transfers. Recipients must enter the password to download.
Expiration dates. Set transfers to expire automatically after download or after a specific timeframe. Reduces exposure of sensitive content sitting on servers indefinitely.
Download limits. Limit the number of times a file can be downloaded. Prevents unauthorized sharing through link forwarding.
Watermarking. Some platforms support watermarking review copies with viewer identity. Deters leaks and provides traceability.
Access logs. Track who downloaded what and when. Useful for audit trails on sensitive content.
International Transfer Considerations
Bandwidth on both sides. A 10GB/s fiber connection in LA transfers to the internet quickly. If the Korean facility has 100Mbps download, they bottleneck. Confirm download bandwidth at the destination before large transfers.
Server geography. MASV and Aspera route traffic through servers optimized for speed between specific regions. Verify the service has good routing for US-Korea transfers.
Time zone transfer scheduling. Starting a 24-hour transfer at 5 PM Pacific means it completes during Korean business hours. Starting at 5 AM Pacific completes during US business hours. Schedule transfers to complete when the receiving team can process them.
Customs and physical media. For productions preferring physical hard drive shipment for very large volumes, international shipping adds 2-5 days and customs complications. Most productions have moved to network transfer entirely.
Common Transfer Mistakes
Sending files without receipt confirmation. Upload completes on your end does not mean download completes on the recipient end. Require download confirmation for critical files.
No file integrity verification. Large transfers can corrupt. Use checksums (MD5 or SHA256) to verify integrity. All major transfer platforms support automatic checksum verification.
Losing track of versions in transit. Transferring "edit_v3_final.mp4" when "edit_v4.mp4" exists locally creates confusion. Version discipline starts at the sender's end.
Not archiving transferred material. Files uploaded to MASV or Aspera do not stay indefinitely. Archive important material to permanent storage before transfer systems delete it.
Treating transfer as an afterthought. For productions with regular international collaboration, transfer strategy is infrastructure, not an ad-hoc cost. Plan it, budget it, systematize it.
Total Transfer Budget for a Feature Production
Representative transfer costs for a 90-minute feature going to Korea for finishing:
Camera originals to Korea (10-15 TB): $2,500-$3,750 via MASV, included in $1,500/month Aspera subscription.
Edit sequences and reference to Korea (500GB-1TB): $125-$250 MASV, included in Aspera.
VFX plates to Korea and back (2-4 TB round trip): $1,000-$2,000 MASV, included in Aspera.
Final masters and deliverables (500GB-2TB): $125-$500 MASV, included in Aspera.
Total transfer cost estimate: $3,750-$6,500 via MASV pay-per-use. $1,500/month x 3 months = $4,500 via Aspera subscription for same scope.
For productions with just one project in the pipeline, MASV's pay-per-use is usually more economical. For facilities running multiple international projects continuously, Aspera or Signiant subscriptions become cost-effective.