Sareesh wrote. "I have not used FTP for years please use Usendit"
Actually I managed to pull up Filezilla - and then my mind went blank. I knew how it worked, but for the life of me I couldn't remember!
How do people here host and send large files.
-secure to individual clients, ideally without them having to 'join' the service
-open to download (eg show reel)
-non expiring (or at least not too quickly - maybe set able eg 6 months for a client)
Id be prepared to pay, but obviously not too much!
I mentioned Yousendit because you can send a 50MB file for free (15 seconds @60fps!). But I'm not a fan of it as a paid account.
For small files, less than 5 GB, take a look at Google Drive. It used to be Google Docs, they've just changed the name and added some new software, but it works great. It's free.
For greater data than that, take a look at Backblaze - $5per month
unlimited data with no restriction on file size (they claim one person sent a single file 500 GB long) - Of all the companies I've seen they seem to be most honest, down to earth and dedicated. Also, they have a cool 'find my computer' feature that lets you track it if it gets stolen. For an additional fee they will send a DVD or USB drive to whomever you want. And they have a super cool blog.
For web projects and showreels, nothing beats Youtube. Vimeo is great, but Youtube has improved their quality and allows any size or duration (once you're in 'good standing'). It can be made private on a video or channel basis, and is the second most used search engine in the world after google. And if you have sufficient views, you start making money.
Having said all this, my favorite way to transfer files is via a hard disk/DVD/USB over Fedex. If you pack it well, nothing will go wrong. HDD manufacturers ship their drives all around the earth, through many sweaty palms. X-ray scanners and filthy warehouses - and still their drives have a failure rate of only 3% (Google estimate of their SATA drives - you did know that Google runs on cheap SATA drives, didn't you?).
See? You don't have to spend a lot of money. Hope this helps.