How to back up your videos

Video is usually the first thing to fill a drive. A wedding shot in 4K, a year of family clips, client footage from a shoot, or a folder of screen recordings for a course can take more space than everything else on a laptop combined. Because the files are so large, they’re also the ones most often left without a second copy.

This guide looks at the common ways people back up video, the friction each one brings with big files, and how to keep your videos in Fabric so they’re stored off your devices, stream when you open them, and can be searched by what’s said in them.

How people usually back up videos

External hard drives and SSDs are the standard choice for anyone working with footage. They’re fast and cheap per terabyte. They also pile up: a drawer of drives labeled by year or by project, each one needing to be found and plugged in before you can check what’s on it, and each one a single copy unless you buy a second.

Consumer cloud storage such as Google Photos, iCloud or Dropbox handles phone clips well and syncs them across devices. Long files can take a while to upload on home broadband, and when the cloud copy is set to sync locally, a large video library starts eating into laptop storage again.

Editors often keep footage on a NAS or a shared server in the studio. That works well in the building and less well from a hotel or a client’s office. How to manage video project files goes into project structures for that kind of setup.

Step 1: Upload the videos you already have

Start with whatever is on your laptop and any external drives you can find. In the Fabric web or desktop app, drag the video files in or click Upload a file. Uploading handles large numbers of files at once, so a whole year’s folder can go across together. Leave the upload running on a good connection, since video files are big.

If the originals are on an external drive, copy rather than move. That leaves the drive as one copy and Fabric as another, in a different place. Common formats such as MP4, MOV and WebM all upload as normal files; video file formats explained covers the differences between them.

Step 2: Use the desktop drive so footage doesn’t fill your disk

The Fabric desktop app mounts Fabric as a virtual drive on Mac, Windows and Linux. Files on it take no space on your computer and stream when you open them, so a library much larger than your laptop’s SSD can sit in one folder in Finder or File Explorer.

Because the drive behaves like any other folder, you can export from your editing software straight into it, which backs up each finished cut as you make it. How to edit video straight from a cloud drive covers working on footage this way. A team can share the same drive, so each person opens the latest version of a project folder.

Step 3: Back up clips from your phone

On iOS or Android, the share sheet sends a video from the Photos app or any other app to Fabric. The mobile app can also back up your camera roll automatically, either everything or only the folders you choose, and sync the device’s Files section, so videos kept there are backed up without you doing anything. Both apps are listed on the mobile download page.

Once clips are in Fabric, they’re available on the web, the desktop apps and your other phone or tablet. Your personal cloud explains how files move between devices.

Step 4: Make your videos searchable by what’s said

A backed-up video is easier to use if you can find the moment you need. Transcription turns the speech in MP4, MOV and WebM files into text that search covers, and results jump to the exact timestamp. Transcripts can be edited, and the AI assistant can answer questions about a recording with timestamped references. Transcription needs a paid plan.

Click Search or press Cmd+F (Mac) / Ctrl+F (Windows) and type what someone said, such as “the bit where Dad talks about the farm”. Search matches by meaning and keyword across transcripts, filenames and the rest of your library, and filters narrow it to one folder or kind of item.

Step 5: Share footage for review from the backup

Videos in Fabric can be shared from where they’re stored, so there’s no need to send a separate copy through a transfer service. Share a file or folder with commenter permission and the other person can leave timestamped comments, including a drawing on the frame. Each comment can be marked completed once it’s handled.

Roles are viewer, commenter, editor and admin, and external people can open shared links without signing up. Collaboration in Fabric covers the rest of the sharing options.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the best way to back up large video files?

Keep at least two copies in different places, such as an external drive at home and a cloud copy. Fabric can hold the cloud copy and stream files back through the desktop drive, so they don’t take up space on your laptop.

Can I back up videos without filling my laptop’s storage?

Yes. Keep the footage on the Fabric desktop drive, where files stream on demand and use none of your computer’s storage.

How do I back up videos from my iPhone?

Share them to Fabric from the Photos app with the share sheet, or set up the mobile app’s automatic backup for the camera roll and the device’s Files section.

Which video formats can I transcribe?

Transcription works on MP4, MOV and WebM video, as well as YouTube and TikTok links. It needs a paid plan.

Can I search inside my backed-up videos?

Once a video is transcribed, search covers what was said in it and results open at the matching timestamp. You can also ask the AI assistant about a recording.

Can I edit video straight from Fabric’s drive?

The desktop drive mounts like any other folder and streams files when they’re opened, so editing software can open footage from it. A team can work from a shared drive this way.

Can clients comment on a video I’ve backed up?

Yes, if you share it with commenter permission. They can leave timestamped comments with drawings on the frame. Published links are view-only and don’t support comments.

Do I need a paid plan to back up videos?

File uploads are on the free plan, which has storage and file size caps, and a large video library can outgrow those caps. Transcription is paid only. See pricing for details.