Alternatives to YouTube
 

I've just updated my Embed Comparisons site which offers side by side live comparisons of the currently available video hosts - meaning you don't have to go test out each one yourself.

I hope it's useful to you!

Video Embed Comparisons Site

Any tips or suggestions gratefully recieved.

I see a little mistake in the: comparing HD on the web host
youtube upload limit per file is not 1 gb but 2 gb.

Oh groan. These things change all the time. Not easy to put that one right since the info is in a graphic from elsewhere.

There, done it.

Hi Karel,

You've done us a great service.

Myself, I've been encoding to h264 for upload to Vimeo and people have been stunned with the quality of the reproduction. I guess they're used to YouTube.

Andrew

Thank you for that it is very useful.
Yes H264 is superb on vimeo it is also worth considering the vimeo plus as it adds extra upload capacity and removes banner advertising on your channels.

I use apple tv for HD encoding and it works great at 1280x720 at around 5mbs here is a sample shot on a panasonic 301 at avc intra 100 1920x1080i 25np then to pro res in FCP and out to apple tv:http://www.vimeo.com/5014764

The encode workflow to H264 is very fast too.

Great example embeds - thanks for doing this.

I hope this is something you can support for a while - my next streaming class starts in January, would love to be referring students to this site. Looking forward to the HD version.

Cheers!

Post any changes you may notice here, and I'll add them.

There won't be much to the HD site because not many hosts offer free HD embedding elsewhere. YouTube and ExposureRoom do, and Vimeo charges with bandwidth limitations. But maybe I could ask Vimeo if they'll remove limits for use on the site...


p.s I thought that DVinfo was thinking of starting something up...?

Caution: Vimeo just removed the ability for original file download for basic users. If your file is in 1080p and you want people to see it in 1080p, look elsewhere, Vimeo's no longer an option for that kind of stuff.

p.s I thought that DVinfo was thinking of starting something up...?

I am still waiting too. It would be nice to get a update as to when that might happen?


I just got the notification email from Vimeo. I'm not happy about the changes.

I see your point, but downloading the original file from a free site is a bit of a luxury isn't it? In terms of bandwidth you're using the site like YouSendIt, and I don't think YSI allows you to transfer such big files for free.

But it's still available to Vimeo+ users, and for a week for free users - if you are using it as a YSI substitute.

I'm pretty sure ExposureRoom allows viewers to download the original file. Not sure if that applies to 1080p though...

I've mirrored all my original file copies to Viddler. And I'm also in the future uploading lower quality to Vimeo as a result (only 720p24 or 720p30 MP4s).

I went to viddler and wasn't too impressed. It seemed like daytime TV with pop-up user comments. Am I missing something? I take it they allow downloads of original files?

ExposureRoom does that, and is more geared towards professionals. Allows HD embedding too.

Yup, they allow downloads of the original files between registered users. (Just like Vimeo used to do)

Just a quick update, if anyone's curious.

Like anyone else with a website I'd like to increase my hits, so I've been researching a litle. I found this useful site giving tips: Search Engine Optimization some of which have caught me by surprise. I didn't know that crawlers head straight for what you've written after the <h1> tag - I don't have a <h1> tag! Or that the document title should be less than 64 characters. Or that I'd neglected my alt text tags. Damn.

Also The W3C Markup Validation Service tells me I have 192 errors on the page...

Hey, I think I'm 'going viral'. No, not swint flu! I had 300 hits on Saturday, 200 Sunday, 700 Monday, 800 yesterday.

Wow. I wish I was getting paid for this!

I started using Twitter a week ago, and it really works! A few big hitters have tweeted my link, like one with 30,000 followers on Monday, and it's made a huge difference. Of course the site has to be useful (which it is) to be recommended that way.

If you want to be kept informed of any updates you can follow them here YouTubeAlternatives on Twitter


Actually, my server stats are a real mystery to me. One fun site I put up several years ago about a ski-ing holiday in the Czech Republic called "Daisy and Karel's Big Snowy Adventure" gets several visitors every day. Who are they? How did they get there...?