website recommendation?

Jackelberry wrote on 6/30/2004, 12:33 PM
hi im looking into making my own website, mainly so I can put videos (WMV) on there to share with others. Any suggestions on where to make it? I looked at yahoo web hosting but I'm not sure if WMV is even a supported file type. I'd need a good amount of space for videos, at a fairly low cost. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.

Comments

MUTTLEY wrote on 6/30/2004, 12:41 PM

I use Red Check Hosting . Works good for me. If ya watch the vids on my site you know that streaming shouldnt be much of a problem.

Best of luck.

- Ray

www.undergroundplanet.com
RexA wrote on 6/30/2004, 12:56 PM
I have been thinking about this myself. I hope to hear some informed ideas.

In my searching so far I found a few that sound interesting, but I have no first-hand knowledge. Here are links I'm considering:

http://www.ipowerweb.com/
http://www.startlogic.com/index.html
http://www.vervehosting.com/
http://www.godaddy.com/

GoDaddy seems a bit more expensive but has a good rep for being spammer unfriendly. Staying away from spammers and sleaze is probably a good idea but I'm not sure how you tell.

If your main idea is to host video, the monthly bandwidth limit may be a factor in deciding.
cosmo wrote on 6/30/2004, 12:58 PM
Streaming WMV is free and built in on any Windows based server. I'm not sure about UNIX. When aquiring web hosting, UNIX servers are usually a little cheaper than Windows, but Winodows servers will definately stream.

Also of much importance if you're wanting to stream video, is WHERE the hosting company is. I use Interland.com from out of Atlanta. Been with them for years. They're tied into one of the fastest Internet backbones in the country so everything comes off of their servers FAST. Even if someone has DSL or Cable internet speeds, if the hosting computer isn't on a very fast connection it won't matter.

Hope that helps a little.
Jay Gladwell wrote on 6/30/2004, 1:14 PM
Rex, I've been using StartLogic and they're great! I especially like being able to talk to a real person in tech support if and when the need arises!

Jay
Jackelberry wrote on 6/30/2004, 1:16 PM
Is "streaming" the same thing as uploading a video file and having a link to it?
Jay Gladwell wrote on 6/30/2004, 1:20 PM
Yes, the files "streams" from the server to the viewer's browser. However, there are two types--true streaming Requires special server and stream software (Windows Media or Real) and progressive streaming. Most sites now use the progressive method--it's mucho el cheapo!

Jay
Jackelberry wrote on 6/30/2004, 1:24 PM
k, just making sure. Jay, I have another question...I looked at the startlogic, and I was just wondering, does it support WMV?? I didn't see that file type under it's multimedia files. Thanks for the help.
Jay Gladwell wrote on 6/30/2004, 1:33 PM
Yes, it does!

Go to my site and see.

Jay
BillyBoy wrote on 6/30/2004, 1:36 PM
My new web site is going to be on Lunarpages. They're responsive, cheap and allow lots of bandwidth and transfer. I don't know if they still have the same deal or not I paid $80 in advance for a whole year and get 800MB of storage and 40 GB transfer at the basic price. All the common file types are already set up, plus lots of gooides like PHP and ASP, my SQL, etc., others charge extra for.

http://www.lunarpages.com/index.htm
epirb wrote on 6/30/2004, 3:00 PM
which of these are best for an extremly" web page building","html launguage" deficient person such as myself.
I need the "hold you by the hand " instruction on web page construction.
PHP,SQL ??? I think i tried those back in my highschool days and passed out cuz I mixed em with alcohol. :O (
Jay Gladwell wrote on 6/30/2004, 3:39 PM
Eric. . . Again, StartLogic can/will walk you through it using templates. You simply type in the specifics.

If you need/want some help, let me know.

Jay
BillyBoy wrote on 6/30/2004, 5:13 PM
What application if any are using to create your Web pages? You can make HTML with something as simple as Microsoft's built-in Notepad, get something fancy along the lines of WYSIWYG like Dreamweaver or Cold Fussion. That still around?

I should have explained more, CGI support is for server side scripts like if you want to have forms on your web site. MySQL is a fairly easy datebase, ASP is active server pages (a little deep) and so on.

If you're using FrontPage many offer their extensions on their servers to make things easy for newbies. Other like Jay said have ready to go templates, (you can also find many on the web) where you fill in the blanks and in a few minutes you have a basic web site which you can dress up later.

The market has gotten extremely competative so almost everyone is giving low prices and far more storage then they use to. The thing to look for is "service" and downtime which you don't really find out until after the fact. I've gone through about a dozen ISP's. While I haven't had very much time to really use my new site yet it seems Luna stays on top of things. I've got a bunch of emails when they add new features, they say when they have a problem, compared to some of my past ISP that I only heard from when it was time to renew.

In fact one ISP I had years ago took down a very extensive site I had over a billing dispute they brought to my attention 18 months after the fact and didn't even give me a chance to prove I paid what they claim I didn't.. So you never know who you're dealing with.
TomE wrote on 6/30/2004, 5:34 PM
Uplinkearth is my host of choice

www.uplinkearth.com

good for asp asp.net or php and mysql

also has Coldfusion and for a little extra Coldfusion MX.

This is especially good if you are hosting mulitple sites they have a great plain for multi-domain hosting.

They do not currently have streaming but I put WM-9 files up there and they load up fairly quickly and it is almost as good as streaming. The visitors also have the option of right-clicking and downloading the file. This is something you can't do with true streaming video (some prefer it that way)

-Tom
Jay Gladwell wrote on 6/30/2004, 5:41 PM
The visitors also have the option of right-clicking and downloading the file. This is something you can't do with true streaming video...

Tom, that's not entirely accurate. My site, for example, does not have "true streaming" capability. Yet, the way my video is set up, the visitor cannot right-click and download (save) the video to their hard drive.

Jay
TimTyler wrote on 7/1/2004, 10:37 AM
I recommend building your site somewhere cheap, and then hosting your media files elsewhere. PlayStream specializes in hosting media files. http://playstream.com/services/ondemand.aspx

Been using them for 7 months without a hitch. Great automated system. All media formats supported. As little as $10/month, and they have a free trial.
Summersond wrote on 7/1/2004, 10:41 AM
Check out 1and1.com. I use them for one of my websites. They have many features at a very attractive price. You can choose the size of the package / features you want at different price ranges.

dave
Jackelberry wrote on 7/1/2004, 11:04 AM
thanks for all the suggestions. I think i'm gonna go with startlogic, due to their customer service and great prices. also, like cosmo said, its server is located close to me. thanks again.
TomE wrote on 7/1/2004, 2:38 PM
"that's not entirely accurate. My site, for example, does not have "true streaming" capability. Yet, the way my video is set up, the visitor cannot right-click and download (save) the video to their hard drive."

Thanks for that clarification Jay. I guess my point is that you can't do that inherently with the true streaming files. There are a variety of ways of eliminating right-click and preventing the download of images or files if that is your preference. So you wouldn't choose "true streaming" for this purpose only.

Depending on your usage there seem to be some great streaming plans out there. The trick seems to be in pedicting how many users or viewers you will have in a fiven period. Some of the plans however are set-up on a per-use situation so it can be a good way to start. Then again sometimes its nice to know how much something is going to cost. The plans that work on a given bandwitdth /permonth basis will charge you if you exceed that. So if you think you will average below that minimum then look for a plan that is on a per use basis or has a lower bandwidth minimum.

Anyway, that is related to streaming video (or audio) through one of the providers like PlayStream or Vital Stream. I am not sure if the original post was interested in this feature or not. But I think it is of interest to Vegas users.

-Tom