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Pixwel uses IBM Aspera to move large media files quickly and reliably. Aspera’s high-speed protocol (FASP) transfers big trailers and masters far faster than an ordinary browser download, and lets you pause and resume without starting over. Aspera needs a piece of software running on your computer to do the transfer. Today that’s the Aspera Connect browser plugin; later in 2026 it moves to the standalone Aspera Desktop app.

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How it works today: Aspera Connect

Right now, Pixwel transfers run through Aspera Connect — a small client and browser plugin installed on your machine. When you download a file:
  • The transfer runs through Aspera Connect and appears under Active Transfers on the Downloads page, with pause, resume, and cancel controls.
  • If Connect isn’t installed or running, Pixwel falls back to a standard browser download. That still works, but it’s slower for large files and can’t pause or resume.
If you’ve ever been prompted to “install Aspera Connect” or to allow a browser extension when downloading, that’s this client.

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What’s changing

Aspera Connect depends on a browser plugin mechanism that modern browsers have deprecated, so IBM is retiring Connect in favor of a standalone app. Later in 2026, Pixwel will move from Aspera Connect to Aspera Desktop.
When the switch happens, you’ll need to install Aspera Desktop to keep getting high-speed transfers. Without it, downloads will fall back to slower standard browser downloads.

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What Aspera Desktop is

Aspera Desktop is IBM’s standalone, high-speed transfer application. Instead of a browser plugin, it’s a normal desktop app that runs in the background. When you start a transfer in Pixwel, the web app hands it off to Aspera Desktop, which does the actual high-speed transfer — no browser extension required. It’s a free IBM transfer client, available for Windows and macOS — see IBM’s system requirements for the current supported versions.

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Installing Aspera Desktop

1

Get the app

When Pixwel switches to Aspera Desktop, starting a transfer will prompt you to open or download the app. You can also get it directly from IBM’s Aspera downloads page (look for IBM Aspera for desktop).
2

Install and launch it

Run the installer and open the app. Allow it to run in the background so Pixwel can hand transfers to it.
3

Return to Pixwel

Back in Pixwel, start a download as usual. Pixwel detects the running app and routes the transfer through it.

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Using it

Once Aspera Desktop is installed, the experience is the same as today: start a transfer from Pixwel, and track it under Active Transfers with pause, resume, and cancel. The difference is that the work is done by the standalone app rather than a browser plugin.
Don’t want to install it? You can still download files — Pixwel falls back to a standard browser download. This is fine for smaller files, but large media transfers much faster, and resumably, through Aspera Desktop.

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See also

  • Downloads — where transfers appear and how download permissions work.