Last Updated: May 23, 2012

November 16, 2011

Local Video Streaming Versus Cloud-Based Services: The Straight Skinny On Both

If you’re in the market for streaming high quality video, first of all we’d simply like to congratulate you. Adding dynamic web content to your site is a big step, and we applaud your efforts! However, you’ve likely just been inundated with a whole host of providers, features, and potential services: Most noticeably, you’re facing a decision between local, storage-based video streaming versus a more cloud-oriented approach. It’s a rough patch, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the territory. To help you along in your decision making process, we’d like to take you by the hand and discuss some of the pros and cons of both. If that sounds like a grand day out, then keep reading, Pilgrim! You’re journey is almost at an end.

1.  The Basics: First of all, when we talk about streaming video from your own, local storage, what we mean is supplying your media through your own hardware. Maybe you have a dedicated server on which you’ve stored your website, and if you wished, you could easily rig that hardware to stream your films. However, you also have another option: There are plenty of companies out there that will gladly add your content to their cloud network for a small fee. Doing so removes the need for physical hardware on your end, and can potentially cut some costs.

2.  Are You A Control Freak? If you’re looking to preserve as much control as possible, however, you’ll very likely want to stick to local storage. Doing so ensures the maximum amount of flexibility as far as filetypes and streaming services are concerned. With a cloud-based third-party, you’ll have fewer options, and likely a preformed set of rules to adhere to. Keeping everything homegrown removes the need for any adjustments on your part, potentially saving you time.

How Much Are You Willing to Worry? However, keeping everything on your side of the server potentially increases your headaches. You’ll be responsible for both maintenance and performance errors, whereas a cloud-based option puts all of those efforts off onto a third-party that’s trained to manage such items. So in this sense, saving your videos to a cloud provider could relieve some of your workplace stress. However, it could also increase that stress should something go wrong, and you need to make a concerned call to technical support.Popular Links


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