Anaconda_ Posted December 4, 2020 Share Posted December 4, 2020 Hey, I'm currently producing a feature length documentary and need to send it to a few people, but keep it very private, disable downloads and disable link sharing beyond my control etc. I was hoping to use Google Drive, as that lets me do all of those things. Disable downloads, viewers will need to request access to the video, and I can take access away from individual people as and when it's necessary. Sounds perfect, but unfortunately, I've got the cursed 'We're processing this video. Check back later or download the video now.' A message that's shown for 3 days now on an .MP4 created in Premiere using the YouTube preset. It's only 1.5gb, so shouldn't be taking this long to process. In the search of an alternative, I thought of using Vimeo. I could change the password every couple days and only let the necessary people know the new one, but they've removed the password option unless you pay, and I have enough subscriptions as it is. Also, 500mb weekly limit on the free account... what's the point? YouTube's private links are ok, but I fear I'll have to keep deleting and reuploading to keep track of exactly who can view it. Dropbox also forces you to pay $199 a year to unlock the 'disable downloads' function. Shirley there's something out there that fits the bill... Or even batter, a way to get around Google Drive's ludicrous processing? I have a Plex server - is there a way I can utilise that to host it privately, with the necessary restricted access described above? kaylee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omega1978 Posted December 4, 2020 Share Posted December 4, 2020 33 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said: Hey, I'm currently producing a feature length documentary and need to send it to a few people, but keep it very private, disable downloads and disable link sharing beyond my control etc. I was hoping to use Google Drive, as that lets me do all of those things. Disable downloads, viewers will need to request access to the video, and I can take access away from individual people as and when it's necessary. Sounds perfect, but unfortunately, I've got the cursed 'We're processing this video. Check back later or download the video now.' A message that's shown for 3 days now on an .MP4 created in Premiere using the YouTube preset. It's only 1.5gb, so shouldn't be taking this long to process. In the search of an alternative, I thought of using Vimeo. I could change the password every couple days and only let the necessary people know the new one, but they've removed the password option unless you pay, and I have enough subscriptions as it is. Also, 500mb weekly limit on the free account... what's the point? YouTube's private links are ok, but I fear I'll have to keep deleting and reuploading to keep track of exactly who can view it. Dropbox also forces you to pay $199 a year to unlock the 'disable downloads' function. Shirley there's something out there that fits the bill... Or even batter, a way to get around Google Drive's ludicrous processing? I have a Plex server - is there a way I can utilise that to host it privately, with the necessary restricted access described above? https://mega.nz/ first 15gb are free with crypted access Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anaconda_ Posted December 4, 2020 Author Share Posted December 4, 2020 Ah dang, I got my hopes up then. Even with the crypted stuff, people can still download. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronFilm Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 5 hours ago, Anaconda_ said: Ah dang, I got my hopes up then. Even with the crypted stuff, people can still download. Once it is watchable on the internet, ANYWHERE on the internet, encrypted or not, then it will be possible for it to be copied and shared elsewhere. It's a simple fact of life. KnightsFan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emanuel Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 11 hours ago, omega1978 said: https://mega.nz/ first 15gb are free with crypted access 10 hours ago, Anaconda_ said: Ah dang, I got my hopes up then. Even with the crypted stuff, people can still download. Be careful with them. Aside who their founding father is : X they promise you for free and try to charge you some time later on with the threat they will delete your content if you won't upgrade (?!) towards the premium rate. Looks like pretty fishy to my book. They did it with their previous 50GB offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omega1978 Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 6 minutes ago, Emanuel said: Be careful with them. Aside who their founding father is : X they promise you for free and try to charge you some time later on with the threat they will delete your content if you won't upgrade (?!) towards the premium rate. Looks like pretty fishy to my book. They did it with their previous 50GB offer. Ok , good to know! I use only the free 15gb to transfer files when wetransfer is to small.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anaconda_ Posted December 5, 2020 Author Share Posted December 5, 2020 6 hours ago, IronFilm said: Once it is watchable on the internet, ANYWHERE on the internet, encrypted or not, then it will be possible for it to be copied and shared elsewhere. It's a simple fact of life. Well, of course. But with Google Drive, anyone clicking the link needs to log into google and request access to the file. Then while watching I can hide any download buttons and they'll need to jump through hoops to actually download it. Even the usual sites that say they can download from YouTube or anywhere else, are unable to, because they wouldn't have permission to view the file. They wouldn't be logged into the viewer's account. The only way I can imagine doing it, is screen recording or showing the page's code. But even then, it's hard to find the actual video link and download it from there... It really seems like a perfect system for securely sharing films for review. But it's all ruined by how unreliable the processing part is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Members BTM_Pix Posted December 5, 2020 Super Members Share Posted December 5, 2020 Might be worth looking at this service as it seems to tick the boxes for what you need. https://screenlight.tv/ The free account seems like it will suffice as you only have a single project. Anaconda_ and kaylee 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anaconda_ Posted December 5, 2020 Author Share Posted December 5, 2020 28 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said: Might be worth looking at this service as it seems to tick the boxes for what you need. https://screenlight.tv/ The free account seems like it will suffice as you only have a single project. That is perfect! Can even set different expiry times for different viewers! Great find! Signed up, created account, uploaded a clip and it's already processed and ready for watching. BTM_Pix and kaylee 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emanuel Posted December 5, 2020 Share Posted December 5, 2020 3 hours ago, omega1978 said: Ok , good to know! I use only the free 15gb to transfer files when wetransfer is to small.. Indeed, temporary links for download purposes fulfill the cup up to 2GB and 15GB free of charge, that is, if you don't intend to keep them longer. I am aware of links used along several steps in a trail, for example, I wouldn't recommend such unreliable third party for the subject matter then. Other than that, you risk to end just fine :- ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronFilm Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 21 hours ago, Anaconda_ said: The only way I can imagine doing it, is screen recording or showing the page's code. But even then, it's hard to find the actual video link and download it from there... It really seems like a perfect system for securely sharing films for review. But it's all ruined by how unreliable the processing part is. Screen recording is easy to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurtlandPhoto Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 I think the free requirement is what will make this difficult. You're looking for a solution that uses systems to ensure only the people you send the link to will be able to view. To make the tracking coding work so that only John Doe at JDoe@Email.com is the only person to open that link means that some sort of web service is going to have to house that data to check against; something that you'll be hard pressed to find for free. Not to mention the need to maintain good video quality, which many free services just can't do. I think it's either be flexible with the free tools, or pay for the functionality you seek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anaconda_ Posted December 7, 2020 Author Share Posted December 7, 2020 7 hours ago, MurtlandPhoto said: I think the free requirement is what will make this difficult Google drive has it built in, for free. But the processing is ludicrous. Over a week now and still 'processing'. I also uploaded 2 other videos in the same codec and only 1 is actually viewable right now. Such a shame. Anyway, the screenlight tip is perfect. Great quality, individual links and passwords for each recipient and even custom expiry times for each link. There's even an option to overlay the viewer's IP address and time of day over the video to deter screen recording. The search is over, the result is better than expected and free for 1 project at a time. 23 hours ago, IronFilm said: Screen recording is easy to do See above about screen recording. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurtlandPhoto Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 9 hours ago, Anaconda_ said: Google drive has it built in, for free. But the processing is ludicrous. Over a week now and still 'processing'. I also uploaded 2 other videos in the same codec and only 1 is actually viewable right now. Such a shame. Anyway, the screenlight tip is perfect. Great quality, individual links and passwords for each recipient and even custom expiry times for each link. There's even an option to overlay the viewer's IP address and time of day over the video to deter screen recording. The search is over, the result is better than expected and free for 1 project at a time. See above about screen recording. Awesome! I'm glad you found the solution you need. Anaconda_ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herein2020 Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 On 12/5/2020 at 4:05 AM, Anaconda_ said: Well, of course. But with Google Drive, anyone clicking the link needs to log into google and request access to the file. Then while watching I can hide any download buttons and they'll need to jump through hoops to actually download it. Even the usual sites that say they can download from YouTube or anywhere else, are unable to, because they wouldn't have permission to view the file. They wouldn't be logged into the viewer's account. The only way I can imagine doing it, is screen recording or showing the page's code. But even then, it's hard to find the actual video link and download it from there... It really seems like a perfect system for securely sharing films for review. But it's all ruined by how unreliable the processing part is. Like @IronFilm said, the minute you can view it, you can download it. All you need is an MP4 downloader plugin in your browser. The better ones will download ANY video that you have playing in your browser, no matter where it is playing from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anaconda_ Posted December 8, 2020 Author Share Posted December 8, 2020 Yes, that's the jumping through hoops to download that I'm talking about. The people I'm sending this to are unlikely to have those installed as standard. In my case I'm sending to a few select people and my main concern giving the illusion of security. If I send them a link they have to log in with their email address to see. Or a password that is their name, there's less chance they'll be willing to share it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anaconda_ Posted December 31, 2020 Author Share Posted December 31, 2020 For anyone else looking for something like this, I also found Wistia. You can have password protection, and people need to type in an email address before they can view the video. Granted, it doesn't have to be a real one, but it's another step. You can also embed the video into your own website, so it looks quite professional. Then on the backend, you can see how long each email address watched the video. This seems to be more secure and gives a better impression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A. L. Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 Take a look at this watermarked online screener. https://indee.tv/ Anaconda_ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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