How to send large video files to clients for review

The fastest way to send a large video file to a client for review is to send a link to a hosted, streamable copy — not the file itself. A link streams instantly, works on a phone, and keeps every comment attached to the exact version you shared. Emailing a 4 GB export, or dropping it in a shared folder, moves the bytes but leaves the feedback scattered across replies and chats.

If the goal is a review — notes, changes, a sign-off — the file transfer is only half the job.

Why file transfer alone falls short

WeTransfer, Google Drive, and Dropbox are built to move bytes, not to run a review. They all share the same problems for editing work:

The client downloads gigabytes before they can watch — slow, and painful on mobile.
Feedback comes back detached from the video. “The intro drags” in an email doesn’t tell you which frame. You end up translating vague notes back onto your timeline for free.
Versions pile up. “final_v3_ACTUAL_final.mp4” in a folder is how a client approves the wrong cut.
Nothing is recorded. There’s no clean, timestamped sign-off you can point to later.

The transfer worked. The review didn’t.

The better way: one streamable review link

Instead of shipping the file, upload it once to a review tool and send a single link. The client clicks, the video streams, and they leave frame-exact timestamped comments right on the player. You see every note pinned to the second it refers to.

This flips the three problems above: no download, feedback is anchored to the frame, and there’s one canonical version everyone is looking at.

Step by step

Export a review copy, not the master. A sensible H.264 (1080p, ~10–20 Mbps) is small enough to upload fast and more than good enough to judge the edit. Keep the master for delivery.
Upload once. A resumable uploader means a big file goes up in the background and survives a dropped connection — no restarting from zero.
Send one link. Create a share link and send it. Reviewers don’t need an account, and on Editlock they’re always free.
Ask for timestamped notes. Frame-exact comments beat “somewhere in the middle.” You get an actionable checklist instead of a paragraph to decode.
Get an explicit approval, then lock the version. That’s your signed-off reference — deliver against it.

Keep the file size (and your sanity) sane

You don’t need to send the 90 GB ProRes master for a review. That’s for finishing and delivery. For feedback, a compressed review copy uploads in a fraction of the time and streams cleanly on the client’s phone during their commute — which is where a lot of approvals actually happen.

Already have files in Google Drive? You can import straight from Drive instead of re-exporting.

The point isn’t the transfer — it’s the sign-off

Sending the file is easy. Getting clean feedback and a recorded approval is the part that saves you re-exports and revision spirals. A streamable review link does both at once — and because Editlock is priced on storage, not seats, adding every client and stakeholder to the review costs nothing extra.

Send the cut, collect frame-exact feedback, lock the final. See the plans — there’s a free tier to run a whole job before you pay a rupee.