A Cost-Effective Signiant Media Shuttle Alternative
MASV intelligent MFT is an easy-to-use alternative to Signiant Media Shuttle, providing teams with an accelerated, relentlessly reliable, and secure file transfer solution that improves cloud efficiency while reducing cost and complexity.
A Simple-To-Use App
Get started in minutes—all you need is a browser. No hardware or IT setup is required. Build custom workflows as needed with seamless cloud and on-prem integrations.
Robust Cloud Security
Our secure file transfer platform uses the encrypted AWS content delivery network & holds TPN/ISO certifications for top data protection.
Affordability
Our pricing lets you choose from pay-as-you-go or save even more with an annual subscription. There are zero added costs—no integration fees or per-user seat fees.
Looking for a Signiant Media Shuttle Alternative? We Get It.
If you’re in search of an alternative to Signiant Media Shuttle, you’re not alone. While Signiant may be a popular choice for large file transfers compared to traditional FTP servers, it can’t keep up with the demands of modern media workflows in the cloud.
As a Media Shuttle customer, you may have experienced limitations and frustrations that have made it clear—it’s time for a more flexible and accessible alternative.
Why Choose MASV Over Signiant?
Teams seeking file transfer software have turned to MASV as a reliable alternative to Signiant solutions. For better file sharing performance, sign up with MASV for free today and experience the difference.
No Active User Fees
Signiant penalizes you for growth by charging for additional users and portals. With MASV, you get unlimited users and portals for free.
Zero Software Installs
Software installs causing technical issues? MASV’s browser-based, cloud-native service lets you send large files without the Signiant App.
No Double Egress Bills
Stop paying for Signiant licenses and cloud egress. MASV bundles bandwidth and egress into one rate, eliminating surprise costs.
No More Connecting Errors
Users often get stuck trying to connect after being forced to install the Signiant App. MASV doesn’t require software installations and uses global cloud infrastructure and reliability features to ensure delivery.
No More Bandwidth Battles
Signiant often consumes all available local bandwidth, slowing the rest of your network to a crawl. MASV manages delivery channels to maximize transfer speeds and reliability without being a bandwidth hog.
No More Waiting to Edit
With MASV Express and Growing Files, editors can start downloading and working on files while uploads are still in progress. MASV provides immediate access with no extra steps, cutting turnaround times and keeping creative teams moving at full speed.
Upgrade Your Transfer Workflow Without the Complexity
Our team will review your current setup and show you how MASV can simplify, speed up, and modernize it.
MASV vs. Signiant: Cloud-Native Intelligent MFT vs. Legacy UDP
| Feature | MASV (Cloud‑Native Intelligent MFT) | Signiant Media Shuttle (Hybrid) |
|---|---|---|
| User Experience | ✅ Zero install with browser‑based drag & drop tools. | ❌ Requires Signiant App install, which users report frequently gets stuck on "Connecting" or fails to initialize transfers. |
| Licensing | ✅ Invite unlimited internal or external users for free. | ⚠️ User fees mean costs scale along with team size or logins. |
| Network Performance | ✅ Uses minimal system resources; does not halt or throttle the local network. | ⚠️ Bandwidth Hogging: Known to throttle the entire local internet connection during transfers. |
| Firewall Config | ✅ Web-based transfer using open standard Protocol (port 443); no IT allow-listing needed. | ⚠️ Proprietary UDP protocol (port 49221); requires specific outbound UDP configurations. |
| Cloud Storage Cost | ✅ Egress included: With MASV you pay one rate, because we always handle the cloud fees. | ⚠️ You pay cloud egress fees on top of licensing and hardware costs. |
| Onboarding Time | ✅ Sign up and start sending or receiving files immediately, with no learning curve or complicated setup. 100% cloud-native. | ❌ Requires days, weeks, or even months of contract negotiations & a dedicated hardware or VM for SDCX server. Adding hidden maintenance and IT resource costs. |
Don’t Take Our Word
Sign-up for a free MASV account and test our capabilities for yourself.
The Real Cost of Signiant: Why “Unlimited Transfers” Is a Myth
Signiant’s pricing is opaque, forcing you into grueling and time-consuming sales cycles with unknown variables. The promised benefit of unlimited transfers quickly vanishes when you realize the scale of Signiant’s hidden costs. That’s why customers turn to MASV after being blindsided by the hidden costs of the Signiant Media Shuttle subscription model:
- Pricing Opacity: Signiant doesn’t publish its prices, which means time-consuming contract negotiation with starting base rates of $7,500 to $50,000+ USD – wasting valuable time just to learn if you can afford the platform.
- Hidden Server Tax: Signiant requires the provisioning and maintainance of a dedicated SDCX server (or VM), adding significant IT overhead and hardware costs that aren’t included in the initial quote.
- Per-Seat Penalty: Unlike MASV, Signiant charges per-user fees for everyone who touches the system. As projects and teams grow, your annual bill increases dramatically and unpredictably.
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Mandatory Storage: Signiant requires you to manage your own storage endpoints (on-prem or cloud). This means paying for and maintaining the storage itself, along with mandatory SDCX server infrastructure.
- Cloud Egress: Along with licensing fees, you’re billed separately for cloud egress (fees to retrieve files from storage), resulting in double billing and surprise overages that can demolish your cloud budget.
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Proprietary Protocol Complexity: Signiant’s proprietary UDP protocol (often using port 49221) requires complex firewall configuration and IT approval, leading to stability issues and frequent connection failures.
The Real Cost Comparison
Scenario when considering the hidden costs of Signiant's subscription model
| Cost Category | Signiant | MASV |
|---|---|---|
| Base Annual License | ~$25,000 | $0 (Usage-based model) |
| Data Transfer Cost | Included (Within limits) |
$2,500 (10TB @ $0.25/GB) |
| User/Portal Fees | ~$8,500 (Limited to active users and contract) |
$0 (Unlimited) |
| Cloud Storage | Customer Managed (Paid by customer. No free period) |
5 Days Free ($0.07/GB/month thereafter) |
| Cloud Egress Overage | ~$12,000 | Included |
| SDCX Server Hardware/Maintenance | ~$4,500 | Not Required (Cloud-native) |
| Transfer Acceleration Protocol | Propietary UDP (Requieres IT setup/ports) |
Web-Based (Zero firewall configuration) |
| Total Annual Real Cost (Cost if you send 10TB a year) |
~$50,000 (Unpredictable) |
$2,500 (Predictable) |
You Don’t Have to Rip and Replace
Locked into a Signiant contract? No problem. Simply sign up for MASV intelligent MFT and start sending files in minutes with zero installs or configuration, and use MASV for situations where Media Shuttle fails:
- Reduce Freelancer Pain: Don’t force them to install the Signiant App or babysit failed transfers. Send them a MASV Portal link and let our relentless reliability handle the rest.
- Easier One-Off Projects: Avoid paying for extra Signiant seats or other overage charges during short-term engagements.
- Reliable Urgent Ingest: Reconfiguring ports when UDP firewalls inevitably block Signiant traffic isn’t productive. MASV’s cloud-based transfer doesn’t require firewall tweaks.
Get Started For Free.
Receive free monthly benefits, forever.
Accelerate Workflows with Near-Real-Time Access
Both MASV and Signiant support Growing Files, allowing you to transfer a file while it is still being written – a crucial capability for live production.
However, there are important differences. Signiant often requires complex setup using its Agent/Manager infrastructure. And its solution for accessing file segments early, Partial File Restore (PFR), is a manual feature that requires clipping and selecting specific in/out points, adding workflow steps.
MASV doesn’t require any of that because it’s built for productivity:
- Zero Workflow Latency: With MASV Express, recipients can begin downloading individual files from a package while the upload is still in progress. This means teams can start working almost instantly, dramatically shortening turnaround times.
- No-Code Automation: Easy-to-configure Watch Folders handle the continuous, reliable upload of growing files with minimal setup, eliminating the need for complex SDCX server configuration.
- True Near-Real-Time: While Signiant lets you start the upload sooner, the combination of Growing Files and MASV Express ensures you can start working sooner – empowering teams to get more done and meet tight deadlines.
Customers Experience Greater Efficiency With MASV Over Signiant Media Shuttle
With Signiant, I have to create a login for every user and project. Just managing that took hours.
 |
Paul Long Systems Engineer Smart Post Atlanta |
We previously used Signiant. It was slow, unreliable, and difficult for staff and recipients.
 |
Mery Villanueva Post-Production Head Avalon |
Let us use the MASV Portal, it’s performing about six times faster than the Signiant Portal.
 |
Julia Pilzer Account Executive MPE |
Get Started For Free.
Receive free monthly benefits, forever.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best Media Shuttle alternative?
The best Media Shuttle alternative is MASV, especially if the team requires agility in the cloud.
With MASV, teams can easily and quickly send large files and media content to clients, collaborators, or team members, regardless of their location. This agility is primarily due to the following features and capabilities:
- Cloud-Based Solution: MASV operates entirely in the cloud and can handle file transfers of any size without requiring additional hardware or software installations.
- Fast Transfer Speeds: MASV leverages the power of the cloud to provide speed for your transfers. By utilizing multiple parallel connections and optimizing network resources, MASV maximizes transfer speeds, saving valuable time for users.
- Global Accessibility: MASV enables users to access and transfer files from anywhere in the world, as long as they have an internet connection. They are not required to download and implement complex software.
- User-Friendly Interface: MASV offers a user-friendly interface that simplifies the file transfer process. Users can easily upload and share files with just a few clicks, eliminating the need for complex configurations or technical expertise.
- Usage-Based Model: MASV operates on a usage-based pricing model, which means that teams only pay for the data they transfer. This flexibility allows organizations to scale their usage up or down as needed, providing cost-effective solutions for projects of any size.
By offering a cloud-native, fast, and user-friendly file transfer solution, MASV brings agility to the cloud. It empowers teams to collaborate seamlessly, transfer files quickly, and adapt their workflows efficiently, ultimately enhancing productivity and enabling businesses to stay agile.
How does Signiant Media Shuttle pricing differ from MASV pricing?
Signiant Media Shuttle pricing differs from MASV pricing in that MASV offers a free tier, usage-based pricing, and subscriptions. MASV also doesn’t charge per seat. On the other hand, Signiant has a starting rate of $8000 for a single user and additional costs for more seats, storage egress, and more.
How much does Signiant Media Shuttle cost?
Unlike MASV, Signiant does not publish its prices, forcing customers into lengthy contract negotiations and a sales cycle, with base annual costs starting at $8,000 for a single user and $50,000 for enterprise use. However, it’s important to note that additional costs will apply for new users, seats, storage egress, servers, and other factors. These hidden fees can increase the overall cost depending on the specific needs and requirements of a customer.
Is MASV faster than Media Shuttle?
There’s more meat here. You can take advantage of the best possible speeds with MASV regardless of where you are. Not true of Media Shuttle where fast speeds rely on enterprise-grade bandwidth connections to their hardware to optimize speed. If you’re in the field, or using a residential connection, Media Shuttle doesn’t have the same web and cloud-based delivery capabilities as MASV and doesn’t offer Mulitconnect channel bonding.
Furthermore, the performance of the Signiant client is heavily dependent on a local, dedicated SDCX server, which is an enormous burden MASV’s cloud-native architecture avoids.
Is MASV more secure than Signiant Media Shuttle?
MASV is more secure than Signiant Media Shuttle. MASV runs on the secure AWS cloud, which is known for being the most secure infrastructure available. For on-premises connected storage, MASV doesn’t require any port forwarding-or the opening of any ports at all. Users can collect files from collaborators using a MASV Portal secure web uploaded without granting direct storage or network access.
How much does MASV charge per seat?
MASV doesn’t charge per seat. Users are free to invite as many team members and clients as needed at no extra charge.
How long will it take to get started with MASV vs Media Shuttle?
Getting started with MASV takes just a few minutes, while Media Shuttle can take a few weeks to begin using.
A Fast, Easy & Secure Media Shuttle Alternative
Introduce MASV to your workflow. Contact us below and test our platform for free.