I cannot send my Video Files via Email because they are too Big.  What
are the Video Sharing Services on the Internet and Which Do You
Recommend??

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Request for Question Clarification by lot-ga on 07 Dec 2002 20:56 PST

Hello kaelen-ga
a few clarification points,
1. Typically how big are your video files? 
- some online storage have maximum file sizes / quotas
2. what is the file format of the videos you will you be uploading?
- the sharing facility I use supports .mov, .mpg but not .avi for
example.
3. Free service is obviously best, but what sort of price are you
willing to pay each month?
- typically storage and bandwidth used to serve large video files is
not cheap and subscriptions are normally charged
4. Do you require webcam support?
- for live video transmission to a webpage URL
5. Would you consider normal web hosting space as they are often
better value, but lack the 'gloss' and automation of a dedicated video
service (no webcam service either)
kind regards
lot-ga

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Clarification of Question by kaelen-ga on 08 Dec 2002 10:08 PST

No Webcam needed and I am willing to pay. I prefer a fully functioning
"service" rather than just web hosting space.

I will need to store online and share over a gigabyte of video.  I am
not sure what the format is (I am using a Sony Digital Camcorder (the
small one).

I am not sure how big the Video File is but they average 2-5 minutes
each.

thx!

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Request for Question Clarification by lot-ga on 08 Dec 2002 19:15 PST

Hello kaelen-ga
OK, I am starting the research, I will let you know what I find.
kind regards
lot-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by lot-ga on 09 Dec 2002 06:37 PST

Hello kaelen-ga
I couldn't locate any dedicated service which caters for over 1gb of
storage, apart from one subscription based semi dedicated  video
service that was very slow in uploading (like 7.5mb in around 1 hour
10 mins), I would expect to upload around 200mb in that time on
broadband.

The other service I found was entirely free for about 15 minutes of
video. The max file size for individual video files is 40mb up to the
quota of 15 mins. Not sure how they measure the 15 mins limit (which
is quite vague).
This service is very polished, the video is a subset of it's offering.
It's a shame they don't have a subscription based service to increase
the amount of storage.

Maybe another researcher can locate something better.

Kind regards
lot-ga

Hi! Thanks for the question.

I have found the following online services which provide over 1 gb
online file storage and back-up. I also included snippets from their
service description.

"Any type of files you can keep on your hard drive can be kept on your
StoragePoint virtual disk."

Storage Point
http://storagepoint.net/pricing.stm (pricing)
http://storagepoint.net/frequentlyasked.stm#q6

-----------
"The service is available as part of the SwapDrive Corporate Web at no
extra charge. Costs for the Corporate Web service range from $50 to
$200 per gigabyte per month depending on specific storage needs."

Swap Drive
http://www.swapdrive.com/pr16.asp

--------
"Pricing:

$29.95 per month or $249.95 per year (SAVE $109.45!) 
Additional Data Vault storage is $40.00 per gigabyte per month"

Wherever Ware
http://www.roverusa.com/WW/ServMain.asp

Search terms used: 
online storage service gigabyte

I hope these links would help you in your research. Before rating this
answer, please ask for a clarification if you have a question or if
you would need further information.

Thanks for visiting us.

Regards,
Easterangel-ga
Google Answers Researcher

Another point to consider is the target audience.  If you are sharing
home movies with friends and family, you can re-compress them to Real
Media, Windows Media or Quicktime low-bitrate format.  Hosting for
these file formats can be found at a variety of providers.

However, if your target audience is broadcast professionals, you will
want the footage to be of much higher quality, and that will require a
more advanced hosting solution.  Generally, even broadcast video over
the internet is re-compressed using Quicktime, albeit at a much higher
bitrate and framesize.

Also, distribution of video files can be accomplished by sending the
videos on CD-R discs or DVD-R discs to your customers.  Even in this
broadband economy, this is often the best solution.  With a little
re-processing of the video, you can create Video CDs that will play on
many consumer DVD players.  With a DVD-R drive and authoring software,
you can create DVD video discs that will play on many consumer DVD
players.

Assuming your Sony camcorder is the same as mine, it records in the DV
format, which runs about 3.5 Megabits of data per second.  Good
quality video can be compressed to as little as 750 kilobits per
second, and viewable video can be as small as 128 kilobits per second,
given a reduction in frame size and framerate.  However, you'll need
to determine your target audience before you start resizing and
re-compressing the video.

One site that gives some tips on creating Video CDs and DVDs is:

http://www.vcdhelp.com/

Good luck!

If you have a Mac, you can stream video over the Internet for free
using Apple's QuickTime Streaming Server, available here:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/products/qtss/

Something you might want to consider using, depending on the
connection both you and the receiver have, is a file sharing program
like Kazaa or WinMx, i know there are issues about these types of
programs but they where designed for the purpose of sharing self made
file's across the internet. You can both set up account's on either
one and share the file out and give it a unique name known only to the
two of you and when the other person has downloaded it you unshare it.

Hope this help's.