I'm trying to figure out the best way to host around 300 1080p mp4 videos. My current hosting account has the following monthly limits: 100GB space, 5TB traffic, and 500,000 inodes. Each video is about 30MB. Do you think this is enough for self-hosting, or should I consider using a CDN instead? I plan to use a framework like Laravel or Symfony. Also, any recommendations for CDNs?
4 Answers
If you're worried about costs, YouTube is a good option for hosting. You can set the videos to hidden to avoid messing with your site's appearance. But remember, there could still be ads and that annoying related videos section.
I totally recommend using a CDN instead of self-hosting. Self-hosting can eat up a lot of bandwidth, which is a hassle. Services like Vimeo or Cloudflare's video stream are super efficient and affordable. They automatically optimize the video quality for different devices too.
Your hosting space seems sufficient for the amount of videos, but the big concern is traffic. If these videos get popular, you might end up using all your 5TB bandwidth pretty quickly. Using a CDN like Bunny.net is a solid choice, especially since it works well with Laravel and Symfony, and helps prevent your server from getting overwhelmed.
It really depends on how many viewers you expect. If you think you'll have a lot of traffic, definitely go for a CDN. They handle high volumes better than a standard web server. Also, converting videos to formats like WebM might help with storage and bandwidth if you self-host.
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