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Social Media Sites (The “YouTube’s” of the world) Social media sites are incredibly prevalent on the internet today. These are basically free sites that allow you to upload a video that you have made and display it on their site. Now on the surface it would appear that this won’t do you much good on your site. However, these sites offer the option to embed your video into your web page. You simply copy a snippet of automatically generated code, paste it into your source code for the page you want it on and you are all set up. Pros:
Cons
How do I know if this is the right choice for my site? If you are only doing a couple videos and do not plan on adding more videos in the future then this is probably your best option. It allows you to get your videos on your site at no cost except your time. The downsides to this approach are offset by the fact that you will not be using a lot of videos on your site so the exposure is minimal.
Embedded Media Library and Player Embedded media player sounds an awful lot like the social media sites, doesn’t it? The reason for that is because it is indeed quite similar. The use of an embedded media player is just like embedding a player from a site like YouTube with a couple exceptions, most notably, the quality is whatever you want it to be. Unlike free hosted sites, you will be hosting the video on your site and playing it from there which means there are no restrictions on size or type. An additional perk of this method is that you can make an assortment of videos available in one player and enable people to download videos to their PC. This method is not without its drawbacks though. You will need to ensure that you have both the space and bandwidth on your site to handle the traffic that your videos will generate. Also, you will need software for the embedded media player to display your media library on the site. However, this does allow you to use a wider range of media. Pros:
How do I know if this is the right choice for my site? If your site contains a variety of videos and you would like to give your visitors different media options, then an embedded media player is a good solution. Also, if it is critical that you have complete control over your video availability and download/streaming speed then this is a must. You will be able to effectively take out the myriad of issues associated with free video sites (slow download, downtimes, heavy traffic and so on) by using an embedded media player. If your budget can support it and your video needs warrant, then this is an excellent solution that provides flexibility while still maintaining an extensive media library.
Flash Video Flash video is the last option I will cover in this blog. Flash video happens to be the most expensive alternative but offers up the widest array of options. By converting your videos to Flash you have complete control over how they will appear on your site. You can specify the size, quality, options (autoplay, loop, etc) and it has the highest level of browser compatibility. The downside is that you will need software to convert the video, create a player for the video and users will need a plugin. Once you factor in the cost of software and labor to convert your videos, this option can get rather expensive. As with the embedded media player, you will need to host your own videos and incur the bandwidth costs. Pros:
Cons:
How do I know if this is the right choice for my site? Flash video is the best option for you when you need to have standard videos in a variety of places around your site. If you will need videos in different shapes, sizes and quality then this is probably your best route.
Neoreef addresses the two biggest issues with websites: lack of control and lack of support. We enable easy control of your website, while a dedicated support team provides you with training, mentorship, and specialized skills.