Hosting videos on your own website gives you more control over your content and optionality than streaming platforms like YouTube and Vimeo. However, it also requires more resources than most standard web hosting plans offer.
If you are creating a website specifically for videos, there are a few essential things you need, including significant storage, bandwidth, and computation power, as well as a secure datacenter, and top-of-the-line CDN.
Below are our picks for the best video hosting sites, based on expert and customer reviews, as well as an overview of what makes video hosting unique and worth your money.
We looked at hundreds of the top hosts to find the ones with cloud, VPS, and dedicated server plans that offer generous resource allocation. Then we chose the hosts that offered easy CDN integration.
We combined these with our expert reviews and the thousands of customer reviews we’ve accumulated to create our top-10 video hosting options.
Brightcove
Brightcove offers three types of video hosting plans: Marketing, Enterprise Comms, and Monetization.
The Marketing plan includes features such as interactive video, social sharing, viewership analytics, and CRM integrations.
With the Enterprise Comms plan, you get features that team members can use to collaborate with each other, including secure video playback, secure live streaming, internal video portals, and internal viewer analytics.
And the Monetization plan, as you may have been able to tell from the name, is designed for users who intend to generate revenue from their videos. It’s capable of high-volume streaming and includes features for server-side ad insertion and ad server integrations.
Price
Money-Back Guarantee
Features
Custom quote
No
>Interactive video >Ad insertion >24/7 live chat and phone support available for a fee >More features at Brightcove
Pros & Cons of BrightcoveVideo Hosting
Brightcove can meet the needs of many different video hosting users. But you’ll need to pay for a separate add-on to get live chat and phone support, and it’ll cost you even more to make that support available 24/7.
Pros
Cons
>Wide variety of video hosting plans and features
>Need to pay extra for support
What Customers Are Saying
Video hosting users find that Brightcove provides all the features they need. “Brightcove is a one-stop solution for everything video-related,” wrote one customer. “You can host the video clips and have all the analytics delivered about its performance and engagement.”
Cincopa
Cincopa’s video hosting plans are Startup, Plus, Corporate, and Agency. In addition to video hosting, these plans also have features for image galleries and audio hosting.
With the Startup plan, you get a customizable video player and customizable image/audio gallery templates. But this plan limits you to five videos, 50 audio files, and 500 images.
By upgrading to one of the more premium plans, you’ll be able to access features such as unlimited storage, marketing tools, video analytics, password protection, and screen recording.
>Video analytics >Password protection >Email support >More features at Cincopa
Pros & Cons of CincopaVideo Hosting
There are feature-rich video hosting plans available at affordable prices with this provider, but one drawback is that they don’t offer live support.
Pros
Cons
>Low starting prices
>No live support
What Customers Are Saying
Cincopa’s low price points are often praised in customer reviews. “Cincopa provides a lot of flexibility in the number of videos you can have and how they are displayed,” wrote one user. “The functionality is broad and easy to use while also being affordable.”
Dacast
Dacast has three plans available: Developer, Event, and Scale.
The Developer plan includes 20 GB of storage, 100 GB of bandwidth, and features such as video player customization, live streaming, live recording, 30-minute rewind, and real-time analytics.
The Event plan offers the same features, plus 24/7 phone support and 6,000 GB of upfront bandwidth. It only has 10 GB of storage, though.
With the Scale plan, you get 2,000 GB of monthly bandwidth and a whole terabyte of storage. If your hosting needs are still too demanding for that solution, you can contact Dacast and arrange custom pricing for a personalized plan.
>30-minute rewind >Real-time analytics >24/7 phone support available >More features at Dacast
Pros & Cons of DacastVideo Hosting
Dacast offers all the features you need for video hosting, and they have plans for everyone from single users to enterprise businesses.
Pros
Cons
>Wide variety of video hosting plans and features
>Need to pay extra for 24/7 support
What Customers Are Saying
Dacast is apparently very user-friendly. “I had no idea how to live stream,” wrote one customer. “All I knew was that the church could not meet, and we had to find a tool to use to live stream our services. We signed up for the free trial and have been streaming ever since. The technical support made this novice feel like an expert.”
Dailymotion
There are only two video hosting plans available with Dailymotion: Standard and Advanced.
The Standard plan offers an HTML5 video player, 4K 60fps encoding, watermarking, a content management system, and performance analytics.
While anyone can register for the Standard plan, you’ll need to contact Dailymotion and apply for the Advanced plan. It includes extra features such as live streaming with unlimited viewers, publication on social media platforms, and mobile upload.
Price
Money-Back Guarantee
Features
Free
No
>Watermarking >Performance analytics >Email support >More features at Dailymotion
Pros & Cons of DailymotionVideo Hosting
Dailymotion earns their revenue through ads, so you don’t need to pay to use their services. But unfortunately, there’s no live support.
Pros
Cons
>Free video hosting
>No live support
What Customers Are Saying
Users like Dailymotion’s streamlined, intuitive interface. “Dailymotion is very straightforward,” wrote one user. “The design is clean, and it’s simple to upload and share your content.”
Facebook
Over 500 million people watch video on Facebook every day. If you were already planning to post your videos on Facebook anyway, this solution certainly provides a more seamless experience for your viewers.
Facebook also makes it easy to monetize your videos with features such as in-stream ads and branded content.
To upload a video file on Facebook, it must be smaller than 10 GB and shorter than 240 minutes. They also recommend that you use the MP4 format and keep the resolution under 1080p.
Price
Money-Back Guarantee
Features
Free
No
>In-stream ads >Branded content >Email support >More features at Facebook
Pros & Cons of FacebookVideo Hosting
While you can’t beat the price of Facebook video hosting, the features and support are rather limited.
Pros
Cons
>Free video hosting >Monetization features
>No live support
What Customers Are Saying
The design of the Facebook video player has received rave reviews. “I was pleasantly surprised by the quality,” wrote one user. “The player itself is compact and classy.”
Jetpack
Jetpack offers a variety of security, performance, and marketing tools for WordPress users.
Video hosting with Jetpack allows you to take advantage of their high-speed content delivery network, and they also allow you to review rich stats for individual and overall video plays.
While there is a free version of Jetpack available, for unlimited video hosting you’ll need to upgrade to at least the Jetpack Security (Daily) plan. This plan also includes daily backups, brute force attack protection, and SEO tools.
>CDN >Rich stats >Email support >More features at Jetpack
Pros & Cons of JetpackVideo Hosting
Jetpack offers many helpful features for managing a WordPress site, but there are relatively few features specifically for video hosting (for example, there are no monetization or interactive video features). Also, there’s no live support.
Pros
Cons
>Security, performance, and marketing features
>Relatively few video hosting features
What Customers Are Saying
According to this customer, Jetpack is an excellent all-around solution for WordPress users: “What I like most about Jetpack are the extensive features it has to manage a WordPress website, for example, it has modules for themes, website statistics tools, tools for social networks, ads, backups, and more. It is very easy to install and use. I also like their price, since they have different plans and even a free version. Also, their customer service is very good.”
JW Player
JW Player’s prices start at $10 per month for the Starter plan, which includes an HTML5 video player, password protected sharing, and engagement analytics. There’s also a 150 GB storage limit on hosting and a 500 GB bandwidth limit on streaming.
The Developer plan allows you to test out all of JW Player’s capabilities for one month. Extra features include social media sharing, a video recommendations engine, and advertising tools. Full API and SDK access is provided as well.
If you need more storage/bandwidth or you like some of the extra features that come with the Developer plan, you should upgrade to the Enterprise plan. You’ll need to contact JW Player for a quote, as the pricing will be customized according to your specific needs.
>Password protected sharing >Engagement analytics >Email support >More features at JW Player
Pros & Cons of JW Player Video Hosting
JW Player gives non-technical users everything they need for video hosting, and it also provides developers with access for customization and integrations.
Pros
Cons
>Feature-rich video hosting plans >Developer tools
>No live support
What Customers Are Saying
Few video hosting solutions are as easy to use as JW Player. “I really like it a lot,” wrote one customer. “It has a very clean and nice interface, it adapts perfectly to your HTML5 sites, and it allows almost any type of video file. It also has a video converter. You can edit the resolutions, sizes, formats, the server where the videos are hosted, etc. It’s very good.”
Spotlightr
Spotlightr, formerly known as vooPlayer, does have a free plan, but it only includes 1 GB of storage.
Upgrading to the Startup plan would get you 25 GB of storage, 50 GB per month of turbo CDN bandwidth, video recording, A/B testing, and audience segmentation.
And upgrading once more to the Enterprise plan would provide you with 100 GB of storage, 200 GB per month of turbo CDN bandwidth, and pay per view.
>A/B testing >Pay per view >Live chat and phone support >More features at Spotlightr
Pros & Cons of Spotlightr Video Hosting
Even the premium Spotlightr plans don’t offer much in the way of storage. This is a solid option if you don’t need to store more than 100 GB of video, but otherwise you’ll need to look elsewhere.
Pros
Cons
>Free video hosting
>Limited storage options
What Customers Are Saying
Users report that the A/B testing feature is especially useful. “I love the A/B testing feature, which helps me determine when is the best time to show an opt-in box to capture leads (or use any other CTA buttons),” wrote one customer.
SproutVideo
SproutVideo offers the following video hosting plans: Seed, Sprout, Tree, and Forest.
The Seed plan includes custom video players and embeds, a marketing suite, privacy tools, and engagement data. Extra features that come with the more premium plans include geo restriction, IP address restriction, and single sign-on.
For all plans, storage and bandwidth are capped at 500 GB each. You can purchase more bandwidth/storage on a per GB basis, with the more premium plans offering a reduced rate — it’s $0.25 per GB with the Seed plan, $0.10 per GB with the Sprout and Tree plans, and $0.08 per GB with the Forest plan.
>Geo/IP restriction >Single sign-on >Live chat and phone support >More features at SproutVideo
Pros & Cons of SproutVideoVideo Hosting
SproutVideo’s plans offer plenty of useful features. But while they do also offer live chat and phone support, it’s not available 24/7.
Pros
Cons
>Feature-rich video hosting plans
>Live support not available 24/7
What Customers Are Saying
SproutVideo also has a very intuitive user interface. “I enjoy the interface of the software,” wrote one customer. “It’s fairly easy to use, and I’m not tech savvy at all.”
Uscreen
Uscreen is a video hosting solution designed specifically for monetization.
Their prices start at $49.99 (plus an additional $0.50 per subscriber) for the Basic plan, which includes a high-quality secure player, unlimited bandwidth, 3,000 minutes of video storage, global CDN delivery, video encryption, payment processing, and subscriptions.
Upgrading to the Amplify or Enterprise plan would provide you with extra features such as live streaming, live chat with viewers, and more storage.
>Payment processing >Subscriptions >Email support >More features at Uscreen
Pros & Cons of UscreenVideo Hosting
This solution is a great fit for users who are interested in monetizing their videos. Otherwise, you’ll likely be better off with one of your more affordable options.
Pros
Cons
>Monetization features
>Relatively high prices >No live support
What Customers Are Saying
Uscreen may not have live support, but their email support appears to be quite effective. “Uscreen has fantastic customer service and has been a huge support to me for the entire duration of my business launch as a solopreneur,” wrote one customer. “When I was designing my membership site and not yet a customer, they made themselves available to answer all my questions as I planned how I would use the platform. We established a relationship, and they always make sure to understand exactly what I’m trying to do and provide the best advice.”
Vidyard
Vidyard allows you to upload unlimited videos at no cost, although this does require you to use Vidyard branding. The free plan also includes features such as video editing, custom thumbnails, and SEO tools.
Upgrading to the Pro plan only costs $15 per month, and it comes with password protection, on-page replies, and video performance insights. It removes the Vidyard branding elements, too.
And if you need a video hosting solution with collaboration tools, check out the Teams and Business plans. They include features such as the ability to manage users as teams, folder organization, an analytics dashboard, and a viewer contacts center.
>Password protection >On-page replies >Email support >More features at Vidyard
Pros & Cons of VidyardVideo Hosting
From their surprisingly robust Free plan to their particularly feature-rich Business plan, Vidyard has something to offer for everyone. The only downside is that there’s no live support.
Pros
Cons
>Free video hosting >Feature-rich video hosting plans
>No live support
What Customers Are Saying
Customers like that Vidyard is versatile. “I love Vidyard because there are so many use cases,” wrote one customer. “We use it for creating social media promo videos prior to webinars or events, sales people create videos to personalize prospect communications, internally we create brief ‘how to’ videos, and the list goes on. All the videos are stored in a central repository and can be shared and re-shared conveniently. Best of all, the technology is super easy to use, so gaining adoption across the organization was simple.”
Vimeo
Vimeo’s prices start at $7 per month for the Plus plan. It includes 250 GB of storage, player customization, privacy control, password protection, social sharing, and an analytics dashboard for one user.
Upgrading to one of the more premium plans can get you features such as custom branding, live Q&A, audience chat, version history, more users, and more storage.
All of these plans also include unlimited bandwidth, 4K/HDR support, and no ads before, after, or on your videos.
>Password protection >Live Q&A >Email support >More features at Vimeo
Pros & Cons of Vimeo Video Hosting
Vimeo is one of the biggest names in video hosting, and that’s no surprise given that their high-quality service is available at such affordable prices
Pros
Cons
>Low starting price >Feature-rich video hosting plans
>No live support
What Customers Are Saying
This provider is already ahead of most of their competitors, and they are still continuing to improve their service. “Vimeo gives users an extremely affordable way to store and share videos,” wrote one customer. “Over the last few years, I have seen the company make continuous improvements to functionality and interface, keeping it ahead of other video services.”
Wistia
The free version of Wistia allows you to have one channel, three free videos to embed anywhere, and up to 250 subscribers. All your videos will have Wistia branding, and it includes a fully customizable player, interactive video tools, advanced video analytics, and A/B testing.
The Advanced version removes the Wistia branding, and it offers email notifications for your subscribers. This plan also gives you 10 free videos to embed anywhere — after that, each extra video will cost you $0.25 per month.
For multiple channels and more than 250 subscribers, you’ll need to contact Wistia and upgrade to the Pro plan.
Price
Money-Back Guarantee
Features
Free: Free Advanced: $99/month Pro: Custom quote
No
>Interactive video >Advanced analytics >Chat support >More features at Wistia
Pros & Cons of WistiaVideo Hosting
Wistia is a solid video hosting option, although if you plan on uploading a large number of videos you may want to look for a provider with a different pricing structure.
Pros
Cons
>Free video hosting
>Support not available 24/7
What Customers Are Saying
Business users should strongly consider using Wistia for their video hosting needs. “Wistia is a great video platform for businesses,” wrote one customer. “I have been using it for years now and the video display customization, the integrations with CMS tools, and the quick customer service makes it a no-brainer for companies that want to use video for marketing, landing page designs, and more.”
Wix Video
The Wix Video app makes it easy to upload, stream, and add video from an external source (YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, etc.) to your Wix site. It also includes features for a video gallery and selling products/subscriptions through your videos.
If you’re using the minimum-priced Combo Wix plan, this app allows you to upload up to 30 minutes of video and stream up to 10 minutes of video.
More premium Wix plans allow you to upload more video. For example, the Unlimited plan gives you up to one hour of video, while the VIP plan gives you up to two hours of video.
Price
Money-Back Guarantee
Features
Free app available to Wix subscribers
No
>Live streaming >Video gallery >Callback phone support >More features at Wix
Pros & Cons of Wix Video Hosting
This solution provides Wix users with video hosting capabilities. But if you’re not using Wix, there’s nothing for you here.
Pros
Cons
>Free video hosting >Monetization features
>Limited to the Wix platform
What Customers Are Saying
Wix users are quite fond of this app. “I’m so happy to have access to an app like this one,” wrote one user. “It opens up a lot of possibilities for my website and business!”
YouTube
It’s easy to see why this YouTube’s platform is so popular. As an ad-supported service, it’s completely free for both video uploaders and viewers.
And if you’re looking to monetize your videos, YouTube offers many millions of daily users that can be used to generate revenue. Once you’ve been accepted into the YouTube Partner Program, you can make money through advertising, channel subscriptions, and merchandise.
Price
Money-Back Guarantee
Features
Free
No
>Advertising >Channel subscriptions >Knowledge base support >More features at YouTube
Pros & Cons of YouTube Video Hosting
YouTube is free to use and arguably the best platform for video monetization. But if you ever run into an issue, you’ll need to look up how to fix it yourself.
Pros
Cons
>Free video hosting >Monetization features
>No way to contact YouTube for support
What Customers Are Saying
Many users find that YouTube performs better than other providers. “The videos usually start up quickly on YouTube compared to many other top video hosting websites,” wrote one user. “I like that YouTube has different versions that we can load for mobile and desktop. There are also great tagging features and video editing options that give us ways to customize the viewing experience and make it more interactive.”
Pros and Cons of Video Hosting
Hosting your own video is a process that you’ll need to spend time considering.
It isn’t as simple as choosing a host and uploading videos to your heart’s desire. This is mostly due to hosting bandwidth constraints and the storage space that most videos require.
If you’re still on the fence about using a video host or streaming your own videos, then hopefully the list below will give you a little clarity.
Pros
Complete control over the content in your videos and there are no rules or restrictions
Ability to offer your viewers various options to engage with your videos such as different formats
If you want to make changes to your video you’re free to do so having to take the video down and re-upload it.
Freedom to customize your features without leaning on a platform
Cons
Video hosting can be expensive
If traffic increases you have to make sure your host can scale with you
You’ll be responsible for video quality optimization, tagging, and other features
Compare Video Hosting
What is Video Hosting?
Video hosting has been around for years and online video is usually associated with big streaming platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo or Dailymotion.
However, streaming is not the only option — as some users may require downloads.
Some companies could also require an internal content sharing platform or a customized video player that matches a brand or service.
Creative professionals and enthusiasts can use hosted video in uncompressed form for previews or collaboration.
For example, an ad filmed in the Caymans could be uploaded in raw form, impossible to stream, then edited in Britain, post-processed in California and dubbed in Japan.
You’ll be able to choose between:
Dedicated streaming services
Content-driven video sites
Traditional hosts with video support
Video-specific hosting solutions
Video Hosting Requirements
Video is resource-intensive on more fronts than one. With the likes of 4k quality becoming a norm, average bandwidth requirements and resolutions for online video have gone through the roof in recent years.
Note: Most standard hosting plans lack the resources to cope with video content.
What to Look for in a Video Host
These are the most obvious video hosting considerations to keep in mind:
Sufficient bandwidth
Ample storage capacity
Support for different industry standards and codecs
Content policies and restrictions
Support for commercial content and monetization model
Flexibility and scalability
Reasons for Starting a Hosted Video Site
But why would you bother setting up your own video site with so much competition in the space, not to mention hardware requirements that are bound to raise an eyebrow or two at the next company meeting?
These reasons include the following:
Brand building
Avoiding content restrictions
Advertising revenues
Use of different codecs
Remote video production
Self-Hosted Video Hosting Options to Consider
If your goal is to host your videos with a typical hosting provider, then chances are using a simple shared hosting plan won’t be enough, as your bandwidth and store options will be limited.
Below we look at the types of hosting plans you should consider if you want to self-host your own videos:
Cloud hosting for video: multiple server clusters help transcend traditional server limits around performance and reliability.
VPS hosting for video: an adequate choice if you don’t have tons of video content.
Dedicated hosting for video: your own secure server, usually customizable to suit your bandwidth and storage needs.
Requirements for Video Hosting Depend on Project Type
The type of video host you end up using will depend upon the type of video site you’re building. Factors to consider are:
Desired features: if you want features similar to YouTube, you’ll need a video share script. The same goes for custom features you may want, like regular streaming events.
Cost and hardware: these will depend on the likes of content volume, quality, and traffic.
Extras: cloud storage and a content delivery network (CDN) may prove useful, not to mention extra RAM to handle the waves of traffic.
Video Hosting Features
If you know that you’ll want to use a video host, then there are certain features you’ll want to look for.
Choose the wrong kind of video host and your videos will load slowly, or not at all, and you’ll be pushing the bandwidth and storage limits of your host rather quickly.
You’ll most likely want:
Rock-solid uptime: you don’t want downtime when an audience relies on your content.
Abundant and scalable server resources: decent SSD storage and ample RAM go a long way. Videos are big, and the last thing you want is to hit the file size limit of your server.
High-performing server: ideally a host with optimized servers for video content and other data-heavy media.
Video customization options: this will save you having to code, or worse, pay for a developer to create custom features like video streaming or the option to pre-download videos to watch offline.
Content delivery network (CDN): If your hosting provider doesn’t include a CDN or CDN integration, you can still use a third-party service. Ensure your CDN service allows video content and streaming.
FFmpeg: a free and open-source software that allows you to create, manage, convert, and stream video content.
How to Future-Proof Video Hosting
Video is going through a bit of a renaissance.
Just as users were becoming accustomed to 1080p video, the industry kicked into high gear, transitioning to 4K/UHD.
UHD hardware is coming fast, delivering a crisp 3840×2160, 8.3-megapixel resolution at an affordable price, for which hardware from companies like Nvidia, AMD, and Intel is ready for.
This quantum leap in resolution has to be matched by video hosting services, including your own.
While advanced compression codecs such as High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC or H.265) can to some extent compensate for the inevitable increase in bandwidth, they cannot solve the problem entirely.
For example, Netflix started experimenting with 15.6Mbps UHD streaming in April 2014, only to receive complaints about the poor quality of the stream. It’s now only available on specific devices.
Mobile Video Usage
For better or for worse, lack of UHD content is bound to keep the transition gradual as:
Traffic on more traditional platforms is stagnating while mobile video traffic is booming.
Therefore scalability and flexibility must be high on your list of priorities.
Your video host needs to not only allow for high-quality video streaming and performance, but this needs to extend to a user’s mobile device as well.
So, ensure you can offer videos in a compatible format.
Embedding Videos
Embedding videos into your own site might be an easier option for some users. All you have to do is upload your video to a video sharing site, get the embed code, and copy and paste the code into your site. Done.
The process is quite straightforward and will probably suit most users fine. So, yes overall the process can be simpler and will help you avoid the lengthy process of choosing the right video host.
However, this option might not be the best for every kind of user. Uploading to sharing sites can be simpler, but there are sacrifices like outsourcing the storage and display of your videos to a third-party platform you have little control over.
Video hosting is the process of storing videos on robust and resource-rich high-performance hosting servers, often with the intent to deliver those videos to audiences. Video hosting is used to present streamable or downloadable video material, as well as live streams.
Where can I host videos besides YouTube?
A lot of people like Vimeo because it is thought to have a more pleasant interface. But if you plan to use it a lot, you will need to use their paid service. Dailymotion is also popular and offers 4k video quality. Other services are limited in terms of video file support and bandwidth constraints. But like YouTube, most have similar disadvantages like advertising.
What is live video streaming?
Live streaming allows you to send video straight from a camera (or mixing board) to online viewers in real-time. It is used to present everything from streaming concerts to millions of people to stream a birthday party to far-flung family members. Most video hosting companies offer this service. It is a great way to engage with a larger live audience.
What is the best file format for streaming video?
The most popular video file formats include MP4, AVI, MOV, MKV, AVCHD, FLV, and SWF. As to which format is the best to stream your videos, it will depend entirely on your set up and requirements. Choosing the best format will depend on different factors like your video hosting service or streaming platform.
How much does video hosting cost?
If you want to self-host your videos, your options are cloud, VPS, or dedicated hosting, which tend to be more expensive. Cheaper options like shared hosting do not have the resources needed for video hosting.
However, there are affordable plans available that will still give you the speed and storage you need to successfully host your videos. The plans we recommend start as low as $4 per month, and can go as high as $59 per month.
What is video compression?
There are roughly two types of compression that are used: individual frame and video frame compression. Individual frame compression works much as it does with individual image files like jpg.
Video frame compression is accomplished by sending selected image frames and filling the missing frames with some parts of the image that changed, basically recycling repetitive data.
What are the most popular video sharing platforms?
As of 2020, the most popular video platforms include YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Hulu, Twitch, and Metacafe. There are many other video sharing platforms that specialize in live-streams, ones like Twitch. Many organizations are now hosting their own videos, one of these being TED.
What are my options for displaying videos on my site?
You can display videos on your website by using a third-party service who hosts your videos, alternatively, you can host your own videos with a video hosting solution. There are specialist third-party services for video hosting, just as there are specialist hosting solutions with generous resource allowances designed for purposes like video hosting.
What is the difference between hosting videos and embedding videos?
Hosting videos on your site involves having the video files on your server and distributing them to users in appropriate formats. When you embed a video, the content is stored on another server, and not your own.
Irrespective of hosting or embedding your videos, the user’s perspective of your website serving the video doesn’t change.
Why shouldn’t I host my own videos?
Unless you have a dedicated server, you simply won’t have the space to store your videos and you won’t have the bandwidth to stream them. If you do have a dedicated server, you are still going to have to deal with bandwidth, which may require purchasing more than you planned. There can be countless logistical problems with serving videos in various formats. It can be done, but it requires major physical and human resources.
Why wouldn’t I host my videos on YouTube?
One of the biggest downsides to hosting with YouTube is that it puts advertisements both before and on top of your videos. This could be a problem if you are showing off the functionality of your application to potential customers since YouTube’s advertisement of a competing company’s might overtake your video. Other potential problems include lack of branding, SEO limits, and the tendency to distract users away from your website.
Should I host my videos on YouTube?
There are many advantages to hosting with YouTube. According to Hootsuite, people upload 500 hours of video to YouTube every minute, while each visitor spends more than 11 minutes watching videos each day. It is easy to use. It is well resourced, rarely has streaming problems and its by far the most popular video hosting system. Having your videos on YouTube means they are much more likely to come up high on search engine results.
What are the benefits of paid video hosting?
Having a paid service allows you much greater control and eliminates pre-roll and popup-advertising. And generally, linking to your video gives your site more visibility rather than, for example, YouTube, which gets Google Page Rank boasts from the videos you post on it. Paid video hosting also removes many mass restrictions on what you can and can’t upload.
What about using videos to push traffic to my site?
This is probably the best reason to go with a paid video hosting service. The number of YouTube users who click from a video to the website the video represents is incredibly small: usually less than 1%. So if a user comes to your YouTube video via a search result, it is very unlikely to end with them visiting your website.
Is video hosting only used to stream video to customers?
Not at all. Wistia, for example, was started specifically to allow filmmakers to collaborate on projects. Video hosting can also be used to facilitate the development of video-related apps. There are also video hosting companies that stream audio, which can be very important to certain websites.
What is the difference between a video and a video stream?
A video is a series of images, each of which is displayed for a short period of time. But to send a video over the network like that would use far too much bandwidth. So a video codec is used to convert (compress and decompress) the original video into a video stream.
How does the video codec work?
The video codec is an encrypting and decrypting system. The codec encrypts the video to be streamed, and then the user’s system has its own codec that decrypts it into a lossy version of the original video. This minimizes the size of the data being transferred.
What are H.265 and H.264?
These are the names of different video coding formats. Different codecs use these standards to know how to encrypt and decrypt video files they are streaming. H.265 is also known as HEVC (High-efficiency video coding), while H.264 is known as AVC (Advanced video coding).
What is the difference between H.265 and H.264?
H.265 is far more efficient than H.264, hence it’s name HEVC (High-efficiency video coding). It reduces the file size more than H.264 and therefore requires less bandwidth for data transfer. H.265 processes information via Coding Tree Units (CTU) that allows the greater compression to take place.
Can I host videos on WordPress?
Yes, you can host videos on WordPress. Since it is a CMS, it allows you to store content, and that includes videos. WordPress also allows you to stream videos by installing and configuring the right plugins. However, the WordPress CMS is not designed for video-heavy content, in which case a CDN is a useful supporting feature.
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