Streaming Video Hosting

The popularity of streaming video hosting is growing as technological advances improve the quality of both the picture and sound of these types of files. Anyone who has surfed the internet has probably stumbled across a web video. For some surfers, this type of media is an annoyance; others enjoy watching creative clips. Surfers may not be interested in such details as streaming media hosting methods, bandwidths, and file formats. But a novice website owner or designer who wants to develop a creative, innovative site that attracts both new and repeat visitors will want to learn as much as possible about the different options for including an informative and entertaining video. For example, an online store that sells rosebushes may include a short video clip demonstrating the proper way to prepare the soil, plant a rosebush, and care for it. A nonprofit group advocating teen driving safety might create an animated clip that will appeal to its target audience of sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds. The designers of both types of websites will need to make decisions regarding how these clips will be formatted and delivered to the end user.

At one time, and not that long ago, internet media consisted primarily of text and graphics. The user would enter an internet address and a web page would pop up on the computer screen that contained words and/or pictures. The user could take as much time as needed to read the information and look at the graphics or surf to another site without spending much time at all on the first one. Videos are becoming more popular, however, as website managers look for competitive advantages to entice visitors to the site. Additionally, innovative technology for streaming media hosting has improved the final viewing experience. Competition among hosting companies means that the quality of the video clip and the accompanying sound will continue to improve.

For now, there are three basic streaming video hosting methods. The least expensive and easiest to create uses HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) to create a downloadable file. When the user downloads this type of file, it is copied to a temporary folder on the user's hard drive. The entire file has to completely download before it can be opened and viewed by the internet surfer. Besides the low cost and simplicity, another benefit of the HTTP download is that the webmaster doesn't need dedicated software or special hosting mechanisms in place to add the video to the website. However, the downside of this method is that it takes time for a file to download and the larger the file, the more time it takes. By its very nature, a video file is going to take much longer to download than one that is made up primarily of graphics and text. The person who is waiting for the downloading to complete may get annoyed or frustrated if the file takes too long to transfer to the temporary folder. This frustration may lead to giving up on the file and an unhappy consumer. When this type of delay occurs, it's a good idea to remember the wise words of King Solomon: "Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools" (Ecclesiastes 7:8-9). Patience is a virtue in all things, including slow internet downloads.

Another streaming video hosting method, which is considered true streaming, allows the internet surfer to watch the clip as it "streams" or plays on the website being viewed. No waiting is involved and the file is not saved to a temporary folder. This type of method allows webcasting. That means that events can be broadcast on the internet as they actually occur. The third method is a kind of hybrid which is sometimes called progressive downloading. As soon as a portion of the file has been received by the end user's computer, the video will begin to stream. The entire file does not have to be downloaded to the temporary folder before the internet surfer can view it. This last option is also relatively inexpensive and easy to set up.

The most expensive option, generally speaking, is the genuine streaming media hosting method. There are several different popular file formats that have become common and each one has pros and cons. Webmasters usually have a favorite or two and so do internet consumers. When selecting a file format, the webmaster will want to consider which file format might be preferred by the website's target audience. Though customer satisfaction can be ensured by creating a file for each format, this is not a realistic solution. But a file can be created for more than one format and technology allows the streaming video hosting to match files to the individual user's connection speed. That customer-friendly feature will help increase consumer satisfaction.

Webmasters and designers also need to think about the traffic load and bandwidth costs when considering streaming video hosting. The more traffic that a website receives, the more bandwidth that site requires. A webmaster may find that the current ISP (Internet Service Provider) provides the appropriate bandwidth for the traffic. For this reason, the website owner should check with the ISP before spending additional money for a service that may not be needed. If more bandwidth is needed, then the webmaster may need to find a specialized ISP. For extensive streaming media hosting, the website owner can contract with a network of server locations. However, this is a very expensive option and will most likely only be utilized by large corporations or national organizations. Each website owner and webmaster will need to take into consideration such factors as the purpose of streaming video, the website's target audience, the bandwidth required to handle the site's traffic, and the most appropriate and cost effective method of video hosting.

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