g5 Best Free Video Streaming Sites
Online web streaming is one of
the most popular Internet activities. Whether you want to watch video from across
the world, news recaps, TV shows, tutorials, or funny videos, you're guaranteed
to find something you like at one of the top five video streaming websites.
The most popular video
streaming website, YouTube, has thousands of videos on nearly every topic
imaginable, all user submitted and free to watch. The videos are currently
offered in widescreen format, though most videos uploaded retain the original
4:3 aspect ratio. In addition to widescreen, videos can now be uploaded and
viewed in high quality.
Videos on Youtube are often
short homemade movies, but many record labels are now releasing low-quality
versions of their most popular music videos on the website. If you're looking
for a recap of the latest sports game, news cast, or speech, Youtube is your
best option.
Pros: Youtube offers: 16:9 aspect
ratio; high quality video playback; support for nearly every video format; a
large audience for your videos; the ability to embed videos on a blog or
website; video reply feature; customizable personal video page; and the ability
to limit video access.
Cons: While the website is wildly
popular, it does have a few problems. There is an excess of spam comments; a
video limit of 100MB; and only standard-quality videos can be embedded on blogs
or websites.
The Pros of YouTube
for Hosting Video for your Website
The following features are available to all users,
i.e., account holders on YouTube:
- Free hosting for a huge # of videos.
- Top quality for both video and audio for a free site. Resolution and data rate top all other free sites. Resolution can be has high as 1080p, perhaps even higher.
- Decent length. Users can upload a video at least 15 minutes long to YouTube, and partner accounts can upload longer videos.
- File size for uploading – maximum size for general users is 2GB, though some accounts can go as high as 20GB.
- Batch uploading – you can upload multiple videos at the same time.
- Multiple encoding – produces videos at multiple resolutions. An uploaded 720p video will encode at 240p, 360p, 480p, and 720p
- Popular codecs – HD videos are encoded in both H.264 and WebM format, which is handy for HTML5 delivery; and they do have HTML5 Embeds for mobile compatibility.
- Embedding – YouTube comes with multiple embedding options (including iFrame); you can customize the player dimensions for your Website, and specify whether the embedded video is SD or HD resolution. You can also embed YouTube playlists or entire channels.
- API - for those that want to integrate YouTube dynamically into their CMS and site.
Let’s look at some of the
statistics from the YouTube press page that convey just how much of a
powerhouse the site is for video sharing.
- More than 1 billion unique users visit YouTube each month
- Over 6 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube
- 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minuteVimeo is a sophisticated, free video sharing website. Basic users are allowed to upload up to 500MB of video content per week, or pay for an account to upload more. Vimeo attracts a wide array of video artists, and is often used to upload short movies, skits, and portfolios.The website supports full HD streaming and widescreen format, as well as a wide array of video codec support, making it the ideal location to watch and share high-quality and HD personal videos.Pros: Vimeo has an easy-to-navigate interface; the ability to create and moderate video groups; high definition video support; up to 1GB video uploads for premium accounts; community forums; and an artistic user base.Cons: Because Vimeo is so frequently used to upload large movie files, it can take over an hour to convert a single video.No Video AdvertisementsYou didn’t read that headline wrong; Vimeo doesn’t run advertisements on any of the videos that you upload. This is probably the biggest advantage of hosting your videos on Vimeo instead of YouTube. There is a much better chance of a user watching your entire video if they don’t have to watch ads or deal with banners popping up during the process.The Pros of Vimeo for BusinessNo Video AdvertisementsYou didn’t read that headline wrong; Vimeo doesn’t run advertisements on any of the videos that you upload. This is probably the biggest advantage of hosting your videos on Vimeo instead of YouTube. There is a much better chance of a user watching your entire video if they don’t have to watch ads or deal with banners popping up during the process.
In 2007 Vimeo added the HD option, even before than YouTube. And in 2008 it offers the Plus version, increasing the storage capacity from 500 megas to 5 gigas. The price is 7,95 euros/month and it also offers ads-free and the possibility to create unlimited channels (the free version only entails one), plus the possibility of uploading as many HD videos as you want. More features are advanced customization of the video player and a complete statistics panel.Should you be interested in selling your content, you may want to use the On Demand option, that allows online selling of your videos. Vimeo charges a 10% commission on the price chosen by the user. The launch of this option included the film Hijos de las nubes, made by Alvaro Longoria.Strengths of VimeoIts attractive colourful design and packed with cool fonts, Vimeo is defined as the “social network to share videos”. Born in 2004, since then it has been struggling to offer additional features that make it different from the giant alternative YouTube. The choice has been to focus on creativity. Starting with the name, “Me”, is an important part of the show. It only accepts videos that have been fully created by the account owner. No more tv shows capture, not even with the permission of the rights owner. And not only that: commercial content is not allowed unless you upgrade to a Pro account that costs 159 euros per year.Metacafe rocketed to popularity with their page view money earning system. Many videos on the website are duplicates from YouTube, but in addition to that content, there is a wide array of video tutorials on many subjects, including: DIY hacks; magic; and science experiments. If you're interested in making money off your video's page views, Metacafe is the ideal website to use.Pros: Metacafe has a popular page view payment system, which allows users to be renumerated for their videos. In addition, videos can be downloaded with a link under the video or embedded on blogs or websites. The website has many high-quality tutorials.Cons: Metacafe increased its video resolution, and many of the videos are now pixelated due to up-sampling. Many videos are clones from Youtube.Pros and cons of metacafeMetacafe producer rewards program seems pretty straightforward and the rewards seem very attractive. For only 20,000 views you are paid $100, and the amount goes up from there. is almost impossible to get 20,000 views on Metacafe. [ Metacafe is a small community. Even the most watched videos of the week have around 100,000 views. ]The first website to legally offer a wide array of free TV shows, Hulu was founded by NBC and offers dozens of free TV series - both current and off-air broadcasts. Some of the TV shows offered includes: The Simpsons, Family Guy, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Bones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Office. Unfortunately, Fox and some other broadcasters have pulled some free shows from the list forcing you to upgrade to a paid version.In addition to offering TV shows, Hulu also has a catalog of movies available to watch, including such popular shows as: Spy Game, Liar Liar, Ghostbusters, Men in Black, and The Karate Kid.Pros: Hulu videos can be viewed in 360p for slower Internet connections. Popular clips are available for recent and popular TV shows and movies. New series are available, with new episodes appearing up to a week after being aired on cable. The website is completely free. Videos can be purchased and downloaded. A personal queue can be created for favorite content.Cons: Videos can no longer be embedded in blogs and on websites; high definition video streaming is not available for most videos; and ads are displayed three or more times per video. Website is available to US residents only.On Wednesday, Hulu, the free video streaming video service, announced that they are moving to a subscription based system where visitors to the site will have to pay a $9.95 a month starting May 24th. The site will still offer the five latest episodes of a series for free to everyone, most notably casual viewers who just missed one or two episodes of a series. But the most interesting thing out of the whole switch has been the split divide between the masses on where they stand on the subject. There are those who are willing to fork over ten bucks, which I have dubbed “the Don’t Care” group, and those who feel violated enough to scream “boycott!!”, who I simply call “the Boycotters.” The point of the matter is that both sides have voiced valid points on the argument at hand, and I decided to make a list of pros and cons based on the comments I have seen across the web since the announcement. Before I begin though, I want to just say that this is not some sort of expert rundown or a biased view of the new service that Hulu will offer come May 24th. It is a platform for people to look at what’s on the table, in terms of what we can expect, and to discuss them in a civilized manner. If there are other aspects or new features that I might have left out, please list them and they will be added to the list immediately.On Wednesday, Hulu, the free video streaming video service, announced that they are moving to a subscription based system where visitors to the site will have to pay a $9.95 a month starting May 24th. The site will still offer the five latest episodes of a series for free to everyone, most notably casual viewers who just missed one or two episodes of a series. But the most interesting thing out of the whole switch has been the split divide between the masses on where they stand on the subject. There are those who are willing to fork over ten bucks, which I have dubbed “the Don’t Care” group, and those who feel violated enough to scream “boycott!!”, who I simply call “the Boycotters.” The point of the matter is that both sides have voiced valid points on the argument at hand, and I decided to make a list of pros and cons based on the comments I have seen across the web since the announcement. Before I begin though, I want to just say that this is not some sort of expert rundown or a biased view of the new service that Hulu will offer come May 24th. It is a platform for people to look at what’s on the table, in terms of what we can expect, and to discuss them in a civilized manner. If there are other aspects or new features that I might have left out, please list them and they will be added to the list immediately.In addition to a large supply of free TV shows, Veoh also offers user submitted content, including animations, home videos, and funny clips.Pros: Videos stream in higher quality resolution. The original video files can be downloaded and saved to a hard drive for later viewing. User submitted content can be embedded in blogs and websites, shared directly with friends, and saved to a personal favorites list.To take advantage of this template’s design, use the Styles gallery on the Home tab. You can format your headings by using heading styles, or highlight important text using other styles, like Emphasis and Intense Quote. These styles come in formatted to look great and work together to help communicate your ideas.
Read more at http://www.tvovermind.com/tv-news/the-pros-and-cons-for-the-new-hulu-plus-22560#c5CoJhRZiXXGBJgA.99
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