YouTube if you want to

September 27, 2011 12:56 PM

Decent video hosting for budget minded company?

The company I work for uses YouTube to host 3 minute promo videos.

I hate YouTube. It compresses videos to mushy buggery.

What good alternatives are there? I like the sound of Vimeo but I'd rather avoid it as, on most computers I've used, videos rarely play past the first 15 seconds without trouble.

posted by run"monty to computers & internet (5 answers total)

Vimeo also (technically) doesn't allow hosting of videos "for commercial purposes".

One problem with using something other than the big hosts like YouTube and Vimeo is that compatibility with iPhone and iPad gets trickier.
posted by The Lamplighter at 12:59 PM on September 27, 2011

Vimeo recently launched Vimeo Pro specifically for commercial purposes. I haven't experienced serious problems with playback which in my experience are usually due to either connection speed or processor speed on the playback computer.
posted by gravelshoes at 1:13 PM on September 27, 2011

Viddler. They have a paid srevice, but for 3 short videos the consumer free service will probably be just fine.
posted by COD at 1:33 PM on September 27, 2011

There is the HD option with YouTube, which is pretty fantastic. Also, by using YouTube, you know you'll be able to reach a broad range of people, as YouTube has the most user-selectable video size options I've seen.

Example of YouTube HD, with options ranging from 240 to 1080p. It might not be as crisp as you'd like, but are you selling something based on the crisp appearance, or a product whose general function you're trying to convey? I'm not intending to overlook your dislike for YouTube, but point out there are options to improve what you host there, should you choose YT.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:35 PM on September 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

A small company that I know (our own) likes blip.tv. They also do Ads that earn you money, but you don't have to go that route.
posted by minx at 3:36 PM on September 27, 2011