Video hosting websites are growing in popularity for a number of reasons. One is due to the fact that video hosting websites like YouTube and Metacafe allow you to host your videos for free. There are no payments made to host these videos on sites other than what is being charged for a domain name. So, what are some of the pros and cons of video hosting?
The most obvious proof using one of these platforms is that it allows you to put up any kind of video you want on the site. You can post videos on your personal website or blog, create corporate training courses or seminars, or make quick videos with some commercial effects. However, there are some limitations to this feature. Most free video hosting platforms limit the number of videos you can upload at one time, and they may not allow you to embed videos from YouTube or other online video platforms.
Some free video hosting websites limit the amount of bandwidth you can use for uploading. This might limit the amount of video clips that can be uploaded, as well as the length of videos that can be stored on the system. You are also limited in the number of embedded codes (this is used for things like Google Analytics). If you do not want to risk using up all the bandwidth on the system by embedding a lot of code on your website, then this may not be a great way to go.
Paid hosting can be a great way to get unlimited bandwidth and video formats. When you sign up for paid video hosting services, such as YouTube or Vimeo, you can choose from a variety of video formats that are supported on most web browsers. Many people prefer to use High Definition (HD) video formats because they tend to look the best when viewed on a wide screen. Many hosting companies also offer these types of formats, so you should not have any difficulty getting upload your videos and watching them on a variety of computer and TV monitor screens.
Streaming is another option that many people use with online video hosting sites. Basically, this means that instead of downloading the video to your computer first, you watch it directly on the host’s server. Most hosting providers will allow you to download the video at any time, so you can start streaming almost immediately. However, streaming can cause buffering problems, so if you watch a video that is buffering, it won’t be very clear or accessible to you until the buffering process is complete.
Online video hosting services also offer ovps (Online Video Playback Protocol). Ovps allows users to stream videos using proprietary software rather than the built in software used for local video hosting services. In addition, the software allows the user-generated streams to be archived in the user’s web browser. The downside to using ovps is that it does not provide as many features as a local server offering live streaming, but this type of technology has been available for some time and is rapidly becoming more common.