A director on location in Goa needs to send 80 GB of 4K dailies to a post-production house in Andheri before 9 AM. A Brand Film is due for broadcast on Monday — the agency needs to send the final ProRes master to the network. A television commercial wrap requires the editor in Bandra to transfer 40 GB of cut footage to the colorist in Lower Parel.
Mumbai's content industry runs on deadlines measured in hours. The file transfer tools used by US and European post-production houses were built for their broadband infrastructure and their markets — gigabit fibre everywhere, billing in dollars. Mumbai's reality is different: broadband speeds that vary wildly by building and locality, billing in rupees, and clients who are often on phones rather than workstations.
Here is how Mumbai's content industry is solving file delivery in 2026.
The Reality of Post-Production File Sizes in Mumbai
File sizes in film and advertising production are not comparable to any other industry:
| Content type | Typical file size |
|---|---|
| 4K ProRes 422 (1 hour) | 200–300 GB |
| 4K ProRes 4444 (feature) | 500 GB–2 TB |
| Broadcast TVC masters (30 sec, 4K) | 2–10 GB |
| Radio spot (broadcast master) | 100–500 MB |
| Print campaign assets (tiff, layered) | 500 MB–5 GB |
| DCP (Digital Cinema Package) | 50–500 GB |
| Social media cut-downs (H.264) | 500 MB–5 GB each |
Standard file transfer tools were not built for these volumes. Aspera and similar professional tools cost enterprise prices and require both parties to have the software. FTP requires technical setup on the receiving end. WeTransfer's 200 GB limit covers a TVC but not a feature film.
What Mumbai's Content Industry Uses Today
Currently, most Mumbai production houses use some combination of:
- Hard drives by courier — physical delivery within Mumbai takes 4–12 hours. Intercity requires a day minimum. Drives get lost. Encryption is rarely applied.
- Google Drive — free plan filled within days on active productions. Enterprise pricing in USD. Upload speeds from Mumbai can be slow for very large files.
- WeTransfer Pro — USD pricing. 200 GB transfer limit is adequate for TVCs but not episodic content.
- Aspera — professional but expensive, requires installation on both ends. Not practical for clients who are not in the broadcast industry.
- Shared drives — VPN access to a production company's internal drive. Cumbersome for external parties.
There is a clear gap: a fast, large-file-capable, India-hosted transfer service that does not require the recipient to install anything.
The Daily Agency File Delivery Problem
For Mumbai advertising agencies, the daily delivery workflow involves:
- Final film masters to broadcast channels (Star, Sony, Zee, Colors)
- Cut-down versions for digital platforms (Instagram, YouTube, OTT)
- Print artwork to newspapers, outdoor vendors, and printers
- Audio masters to radio stations
- Campaign assets to regional partners (in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali)
Each of these destinations may have different technical specifications and receiving capabilities. Some accept large uploads through an in-house FTP. Some have a "content delivery portal" that is difficult to navigate. Some just say "send it on WhatsApp" — which is unusable for a 4 GB broadcast master.
A clean short link that any recipient can click and download, without special software, is the pragmatic solution for the majority of these deliveries.
Protecting Unreleased Content
This is critical in Mumbai's content industry. An unreleased film, an unaired television commercial, a music video before the drop date — these have commercial and contractual value tied to the release timeline.
When you send content through a standard file share:
- The link is permanent unless you manually revoke it
- You have no visibility into who downloaded it
- Anyone with the link can access it
A transfer with:
- Password protection — only the intended recipient can access it
- Download limit — set to 2 or 3, preventing wide circulation
- Automatic expiry — the link deactivates after 24–48 hours
This is not ironclad content protection, but it is significantly better than an open Google Drive link sent via email.
Upload Reliability: The Mumbai Broadband Reality
Mumbai internet speeds vary enormously — from 1 Gbps fibre in new commercial buildings to shared 50 Mbps broadband in older buildings, to 4G-only on location.
For large file uploads, connection drops are the enemy. A 40 GB upload that fails at 95% and must restart is a 6-hour delay.
QikDrive automatically retries failed parts of an upload. A connection drop picks up from where it left off — not from the beginning. On variable Mumbai broadband, this makes the difference between a reliable overnight upload and a failed morning delivery.
Plans for Mumbai Production Companies
| Size | Plan | Best use case |
|---|---|---|
| Freelance director / editor | Pro — ₹99/month | TVC and short film delivery, up to 20 GB per transfer |
| Mid-size production house | Business — ₹299/month | Episodic content, feature film segments, up to 100 GB per transfer |
| Ad agency (daily delivery volume) | Business — ₹299/month | Multiple daily deliveries of 5–30 GB each, 300 GB storage pool |
For very large deliveries — feature film masters above 100 GB — split by reel or act and share multiple links. This is standard practice in post-production regardless of the transfer tool.
See pricing for full plan details including storage pools.
Collecting Footage and Assets from Teams on Location
Production coordinators often need to collect footage, photos, and documents from crew members on location across India or internationally. A file request link handles this without requiring crew to have accounts:
- DOP on location in Rajasthan uploads day's rushes from a mobile hotspot
- Costume department sends reference photos from the wardrobe room
- Location scouts submit photos of prospective sites across multiple cities
One request link per shoot, clearly labelled. All uploads land in one place. No FTP, no shared drives, no managing 20 WhatsApp conversations.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Mumbai production houses send 4K footage to post-production partners in 2026?
Most use a combination of hard drives for the largest volumes and file transfer links for day-to-day deliveries. For segments up to 100 GB, QikDrive Business (₹299/month) handles the transfer as a simple link — no software required on the receiving end.
Can I send a 20 GB TVC master to a broadcast channel without an FTP?
Yes. Upload the file to QikDrive and share the download link. The channel's team clicks it and downloads directly from their browser. No account, no special software required. Password-protect it and set a 48-hour expiry.
Is QikDrive fast enough for large uploads from Mumbai broadband?
QikDrive uses chunked upload with automatic retry. Connection drops do not restart the entire upload — only the failed portion retries. Upload speed is constrained by your broadband, but the transfer completes reliably even on variable connections.
How do I protect an unreleased film or commercial from leaking during transfer?
Set a password on the transfer, limit downloads to 2–3, and set a 24–48 hour expiry. After that window, the link is deactivated automatically. This does not prevent the recipient from copying the downloaded file, but it limits casual sharing of the link.
What is the maximum file size I can send with QikDrive?
100 GB per transfer on the Business plan (₹299/month). For files larger than this — feature film masters, DCPs — split by reel or segment and share multiple links.
Does QikDrive require the recipient to install anything?
No. Recipients click the link in any browser on any device and download directly. No client software, no account, no plugin.
Last updated: May 2026