Direct Download (HTTPS) - Pixwel Platform

You don’t need any software to download from Pixwel. If you don’t have Aspera Desktop (or the Aspera Connect plugin) — or a mounted drive — Pixwel falls back to a plain HTTPS download through your browser, and the file still comes down. This is the universal option: it works in any modern browser, on any computer, with nothing to install.

When it’s used

It happens automatically. When you start a download and no Aspera client is running, Pixwel hands the file to your browser over HTTPS instead. You don’t have to choose it — it’s the fallback whenever the faster path isn’t available.

How to use it

Just download a file as usual — open the asset, pick your language and version, and click the file. It saves to your browser’s Downloads folder like any other web download.

How it compares

	Direct download (HTTPS)	Aspera Desktop
Install needed	None	Aspera app
Best for	Smaller files, quick one-offs, any machine	Large media — trailers, masters
Speed on big files	Standard browser speed	High-speed (FASP)
Pause / resume	No	Yes

Direct download is reliable and simple, but it’s a normal browser transfer: a very large master downloads more slowly and can’t be paused or resumed. For big media, Aspera Desktop is faster and resumable.

Same rules apply

A direct download is still a download — your permissions and any embargo apply exactly as they do through Aspera, and it’s recorded in your download history.