Secure large file distribution

[chris () horizonsolutions tv]

Hi,

We run a service of PPV videos, live and recorded.   One of the issues
we’re having at the moment is making our large files (700mb – 1.5gb)
available for download.

The issue is dealing with people who disconnect and wish to resume.  Our
current situation of not wanting to allow files to the casual browser and
the more savvy user means we provide a unique link to the file each time,
which causes problems with the various downloading applications out there.

We’ve been toying with the idea of using a Torrent server to keep the
distribution up and to shift some of the bandwidth off our servers, but I
can’t find out if there’s a reliable way of limiting which users can
download which torrents.  I know of trackers that allow only registered /
signed in users to access the tracker, but not if it’s possible to limit
individual torrents.

If anyone’s had experience with this, or have another suggestion of large
file distribution (we’ve already split the files up, provided the MD5’s,
and we’re posting them out on DVD!) I would be very grateful.

C -.