Feastibilty study on setting up AMV hosting...

[AMVUserII]

I'm considering setting up a server to cater for AMV hosting (Which will come online at the end of this year IF this study proves satisfactory), which I believe there is none around. I was wondering whether you guys would like to give me some feedback.

The plan goes like this: I will have free AMV hosting and paid one, the difference is that for the free service, you will have maybe around 20MB to 35MB (I'm not decided on the size yet but rest assured, it will be enough for at least one ), the registration will be done MANUALLY and SELECTIVELY aka by e-mail, this is to prevent mulitiple account creation, using the storage space for other things besides AMVs, webhosting hogging and other reasons that causes every free webhoster's nightmare. The free service will have tighter rules than the paid hosting, rules such as the usual, no porn etc, etc and a few others (They will not be unreasonable, don't worry) but the only thing scary is the penaltly for breaking the rules, you will be banned from the service entirely free and paid ones and your name will be stuck our "I took advantage of this goodwill site and now I'm banned for life." Page. Of course, if you stick to the rules, we will not do anything to you, this penalty is only for the rotten eggs.

The paid hosting on the other hand will have you own FTP account, at least 40MB to 60MB (I'm still deciding!), possibly you own e-mail, the cost would be around USD$12 - $15 a year (Cheap considering the fact the most webhosting companies make you pay this price A MONTH), additional space will be charged at USD$4 - $5 for 10MB per year (10MB allows you to have one 4 minute AMV under Windows Movie Maker compression).

Oh yeah, one more thing, all accounts will have no file transfer limit, the wonders of unlimited internet connection

I will be thinking about more deals but this is the basis of them. If you have any comments whether you like it or can suggest a better raw deal (but it has to at least generate some cash so that I can keep the server running, I can't run the server if it inccurs huge losses, maintaining it will cost a bit but like I said, don't worry! I will try my best to give the lowest price ever possible) so paste up your comments!!!!

You guys should have a bit more apreciation for stuff like this.

Although personally this "free" plan would only be used for me as just a mirror.

And just so I understand this correctly we can only have one free account?

And as for the paid account can we have more than one? I've got the money to pay for more than one but it would kinda suck if we couldn't have more than one.

And i want a contract i'm not gonna pay and not get what I payed for. (even if it is just $15 still!!)

I want to be re-assured that i get what i payed for or else i'll have to resort to legal action.

Not that it would come to that......but still.....I'm a business man.

And one more thing we can only use the account for just AMVs?

What about VGMVs? Or Music Vids in general that use Animation other than Jap-Style Anime?

What about Anime oriented media? Like Anime Music.

Just thought i'd bring this to your attention.
_________________
-Antonio Zalles
-“To Each His Own”
-Next Generation Films Inc. - NGF -
-"We are the Next Generation in Anime Music Videos. We are Next Generation Films Inc."

[Melfina]

wow im only charging $4 a month for 100 megs of unlimited bandwidth....and im making a profit....Hmmmm

[Melfina]

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[Gottaname]

I'll consider what you said Antonio Zalles, and yes, I will give my assurances that my service will have all the paperwork and protocols involved in protecting the interests of my customers and Melfina, I'm running my own server, I really don't need to buy any of your space.

[afleetinghope]

Ever heard of compression? I build videos using DVDs as what you've mention, under high quality compression in windows movie maker, the file will never exceed 20MB unless you're doing a 10 minute or more AMW. And don't complain, I'm already charging peanuts for hosting, and as I said, the space will be under evalution, I have to check on the AMVs... and their creators...

Yes, I know about compression. That allows me to take my 3gb original video down to a managable 30-50mb file.

And you maybe charging peanuts, but there's still better packages out there (powweb) then this.

[ErMaC]

First off, this post will come off as very cynical, because when it comes to hosting plans like this I am a complete cynic, as are most people who've dealt with any hosting companies.

A few responses to things you've posted:

now scraping my 256k DSL connection for 512K ADSL

You are aware that ADSL means Asynchronous, i.e. NOT the same upload speed as download speed? When hosting AMVs your connection on the upstream is what will matter. I know people who have 1.5Mbit ADSL, but that's downstream - their upstream is capped at 128kbps. That's the first part I find suspect.

Secondly, I don't think I would send my money to someone running a server off their DSL. After hearing about people being jipped by large hosting companies and having no legal recourse, how do you think we would feel about sending our money to some guy running a server in his house who has only 12 forums posts?

Thirdly, you obviously have very little grasp of the whole video compression thing. Soul of an Angel's encode is almost 90MB, and that's for a less-than-6-minute video. Why? It's widescreen 480x360@29.97fps. You mention windows movie maker. I can assure you that, barring a few exceptions, the people who will be needing hosting and bandwidth the most do not use that program - they use real editing programs (no offense MexicanJackson ) like Premiere, Ulead, or Vegas. Windows Movie Maker's compression is crap, plain and simple. No beating around the bush there. Anyone who's gonna be distroing their videos with an eye on quality is either gonna be distroing in MPEG1, Quicktime MPEG4/Sorenson, or some form of DivX/XviD/MPEG4 simple profile. In order to maintain any sort of quality at a resolution greater than 352x240, the only videos which would fit in your filespace are 1) videos that are very low motion that have been filtered with temporal smoothers to cut down on filesize or 2) videos shorter than 2.5 minutes. And even then it takes a lot of work to get a video under 35MB - a lot of trial and error and knowledge about digital video which, again not to offend anyone, the vast majority of people at this site do not have and instead follow guides which, while they outline good procedures to help people get good encode, are no substitute for real experience and knowledge concerning digital video processing and video compression.

Finally, you said you are planning on making a profit. That more than anything else offends me. How dare you try to make a profit off my work, which is made on a purely non-for-profit basis? Sure, your average hosting company is going to make a profit off their customers, but they are not centered around content which is specifically made on a non-for-profit basis. I have serious moral issues with you coming in here and trying to make money of the not-for-profit works that people here spend time to produce to distribute to the public.

If I'm gonna get hosting, I'm either gonna do it myself (like I am now, running an FTPd off my crummy little laptop and my shared DSL connection) or I'm gonna get real hosting from a reputable company who isn't specifically trying to make money off AMV creators.

[NicholasDWolfwood]

I'm with Ermac here. Why the fuck should WE spend 15 bucks on hosting from some guy who has a 128kbps upstream ADSL line and this guy has 12 posts? Hell, I'm getting free hosting from a Swedish guy, unlimited space (He's got at least 100GB of space, I gotta get the specs on the HD from him..) and 1Mbit of bandwidth. More Than Toast doesn't use more than 1Mbit of bandwidth from this guy, so I know I wont. But anyways, back to the point. $15 USD for 60MB of space and an upstream line capped at most likely 128kbps a month? That's a fuckin rip-off, man.

[mexicanjunior]

I can assure you that, barring a few exceptions, the people who will be needing hosting and bandwidth the most do not use that program - they use real editing programs (no offense MexicanJackson ) like Premiere, Ulead, or Vegas. Windows Movie Maker's compression is crap, plain and simple.

Grrrrr!!! *shakes fist*

[§_Akuma_§]

lol doesnt really matter now does it MJ? hehe u now use premiere and your Service video turned out very well for a first try with it ^_^

[ErMaC]

Hey I heard you say it yourself, WMM plays hell with video quality. And as I said, there are exceptions to the rule. I was including you in that statement, consider it a compliment.