ant-d
Smash Lord
As all you videographers know, it is important for people to see your videos. However, the main problem is usually the distribution ie. the speed of file hosting sites (aka "upload sites").
I have faced this problem many times since I have a fast internet connection.
I thought the DC hub could be used as a good method of distribution. This has been proven not so true when it comes to big files (100Mb and over) or extremely popular files, where only one person has the file to start with.
So, below is a small guide containing info on well-known and not so well-known upload web sites.
How the tests were done:
I tested each website using my 10Mbit line (1MB/s Up and Down), using Internet Explorer. I used IE because most of the sites listed were designed to use it.
I timed the upload speed by uploading a .wmv file made up of 12.4MB. I used a stopwatch type program to start and stop the time when the file was finished uploading. I stopped the clock when the website gave me the appropriate download link, or when the website displayed "Upload finished". I then made the necessary calculations to determine how fast the file was sent to me AND how fast I can upload to them.
I timed the download speed of each site by download the same file (12.4MB .wmv) WITHOUT using a download manager ie. using Internet Explorers default download window. I didn't use a download manager because I want the true speed of the sites in question, and many of the sites listed will not accept the use of download managers.
I tested each website twice at different times of the day to make sure my result was the true result.
Terminology
Next to each website URL will be the following:
UL Rate:- The max rate in KB/s of the upload
DL rate:- The max rate in KB/s of the download
Size Limit:- The maximum size of a file you can upload
Time Limit:- The maximum time and/or bandwidth a file can consume before it is deleted
Comments:- My opinion of the site.
-Please remember the FASTEST a site can upload to me is @ 1,457KB/s or roughly 1.3MB/s
-The fastest I can upload is @ 1,257KB/s or roughly 1.1MB/s
A speed test of my connection is shown here:
http://www.adslguide.org.uk/tools/speedchart.asp?id=9a2d445e1092a69ec58fcc63145
(it shows lower than actual speeds)
The List of sites:
File Front
--UL rate: 30KB/s
--DL rate: 30-170KB/s
--Size Limit: 1GB
--Time Limit: Unlimited
--Comments: Requires registration. Reasonably fast upload for people with slow upload rates, download speed is poor =(. The people who downloaded ECvsWC crews remember this.
One of FileFronts main advantages, is that files can be stored for an 'unlimited' amount of time. Therefore, if you need a long term storage solution, FileFront is a definite (if not the best) option. I must mention, the download rate of this website is very unstable, on one download I got 30KB/s and on another I got 170KB/s.
Big Upload
--UL rate: 1.2MB/s
--DL rate: 80-100KB/s
--Size Limit: 2GB
--Time Limit: 30 days no download
--Comments: This site has excellent upload speed. The download speed is not as fast, however, a good site to upload big files. It has the standard '30 days no download' which means if after every 30 days your file has not been downloaded it will be deleted from the server.
File Cache
--UL rate: 650-800KB/s
--DL rate: 45KB/s
--Size Limit: 250MB
--Time Limit: 30 days no download
--Comments: Registration required. Nice upload speed, the download speed is something to laugh at. I wouldn't go here again, bigupload is much better.
Mega Upload
--UL rate: 360KB/s
--DL rate: 80-100KB/s
--Size Limit: 250MB
--Time Limit: 30 days no download
--Comments: Reasonable up and down. There is a timer when you request a download link. An ok site.
Rapidshare
--UL rate: 500KB/s
--DL rate: 750KB/s
--Size Limit: 100MB
--Time Limit: 30 days no download
--Comments: Despite the stigma surrounding it, rapidshare is a good site for video distribution. The up and down speeds are solid. Just don't DL too many vids because there's a download limit of 30MB per hour.
Spread It
--UL rate: 330KB/s
--DL rate: 40KB/s
--Size Limit: 500MB
--Time Limit: 14 days, regardless of downloads
--Comments: I dont recommend this site, it takes too long to download a file. Your file will be deleted after 14 days, even if many people download it.
YouSendIt
--UL rate: 30KB/s
--DL rate: 300KB/s or *1MB/s *when using getright
--Size Limit: 1GB
--Time Limit: 7 days or 'limited downloads'
--Comments: I sometimes get faster uploads on yousendit, I don't know why it was so slow today. This site is good if you have a download manager which creates multiple connections. When using getright, (A download manager program) you can set it to find 3 other mirrors, this results in a maximum download speed of 1MB/s.
I recommend this site as the download speed is best by far. The upload speed is pretty poor but it's worth the wait, as you can give the link to somebody with a fast connection and let people leech from them in the DC hub =)
Update:- 11mbit.de has increased its files size to 40MB
For files of 40MB in size and smaller the fastest site is 11Mbit Server you can upload and download at 1MB/s. Too bad you can't upload over 30MB.
Conclusions
Rapidshare is good because it has high download and upload rates, this site is best suited with people who can upload fast. The file will last the standard 30 days with no download, so a popular file should stay on this for quite a while. The size limit is 100MB, this is satisfactory for most 1v1 matches but large "BACH-style" crew matches are too much for rapidshare.
FileFront, I previously over-looked FileFronts biggest attraction. It can store massive files for an unlimited amount of time. This is perfect for large files or for files that you wish to stay 'active' on the net. Users with relatively slow internet connections should use FileFront to upload. The trade-off between time/size and speed is most apparent here, the UL/DL rate is low yet the time/size is massive.
Yousendit is a 'mixed bag', it has excellent download speeds but comes with download limits. So a popular file will quickly die here. This means of course, that an uploader will need to keep re-uploading the file to keep it fresh on the server. This site is recommended for files which need to be distributed between few people, maybe then for them to upload to other sites. Also, yousendit is suited to uploaders who use moderately fast internet connections, around 3Mbit.
Bigupload is great because of the high upload, and reasonable download speeds. It is basically rapdishare, only with higher size limits and slower download speeds. If your on a 8Mbit connection or higher use this host to upload, you will get max speed.
In conclusion, you can see that there is a trade-off between UL/DL speed and the size/time limits. This is mainly because servers and bandwidth are rather expensive. I can only recommend the best sites to use. It is for you to decide which host is best for your file. Just bear in mind; the size of your file, the longevity, the speed of your internet connection and the other factors I have pointed out.
Recommended sites - Rapidshare, Filefront, YouSendIt and Bigupload
Fastest download speed (1MB/s) - YouSendIt WITH GetRight to find other mirrors
Fastest upload speed (1MB/s) - Bigupload
Biggest file size (2GB) - Bigupload
Longest amount of time (Unlimited) - Filefront
I hope someone has found this useful, I know I did =). Ask questions, comment... whatever you feel =D
Don't complain that I listed the UL/DL speeds wrongly, these were the results I got on this day. I tested the web sites twice to make sure it was the true speed. Of course, the server could've been bad that day or another reason I had no control over. Again, remember the limits of the connection I used to conduct the tests.
View this thread as an overview of what sites I recommend. If anybody wants me to test any other sites which I left out then just state the url. ^_^
I have faced this problem many times since I have a fast internet connection.
I thought the DC hub could be used as a good method of distribution. This has been proven not so true when it comes to big files (100Mb and over) or extremely popular files, where only one person has the file to start with.
So, below is a small guide containing info on well-known and not so well-known upload web sites.
How the tests were done:
I tested each website using my 10Mbit line (1MB/s Up and Down), using Internet Explorer. I used IE because most of the sites listed were designed to use it.
I timed the upload speed by uploading a .wmv file made up of 12.4MB. I used a stopwatch type program to start and stop the time when the file was finished uploading. I stopped the clock when the website gave me the appropriate download link, or when the website displayed "Upload finished". I then made the necessary calculations to determine how fast the file was sent to me AND how fast I can upload to them.
I timed the download speed of each site by download the same file (12.4MB .wmv) WITHOUT using a download manager ie. using Internet Explorers default download window. I didn't use a download manager because I want the true speed of the sites in question, and many of the sites listed will not accept the use of download managers.
I tested each website twice at different times of the day to make sure my result was the true result.
Terminology
Next to each website URL will be the following:
UL Rate:- The max rate in KB/s of the upload
DL rate:- The max rate in KB/s of the download
Size Limit:- The maximum size of a file you can upload
Time Limit:- The maximum time and/or bandwidth a file can consume before it is deleted
Comments:- My opinion of the site.
-Please remember the FASTEST a site can upload to me is @ 1,457KB/s or roughly 1.3MB/s
-The fastest I can upload is @ 1,257KB/s or roughly 1.1MB/s
A speed test of my connection is shown here:
http://www.adslguide.org.uk/tools/speedchart.asp?id=9a2d445e1092a69ec58fcc63145
(it shows lower than actual speeds)
The List of sites:
File Front
--UL rate: 30KB/s
--DL rate: 30-170KB/s
--Size Limit: 1GB
--Time Limit: Unlimited
--Comments: Requires registration. Reasonably fast upload for people with slow upload rates, download speed is poor =(. The people who downloaded ECvsWC crews remember this.
One of FileFronts main advantages, is that files can be stored for an 'unlimited' amount of time. Therefore, if you need a long term storage solution, FileFront is a definite (if not the best) option. I must mention, the download rate of this website is very unstable, on one download I got 30KB/s and on another I got 170KB/s.Big Upload
--UL rate: 1.2MB/s
--DL rate: 80-100KB/s
--Size Limit: 2GB
--Time Limit: 30 days no download
--Comments: This site has excellent upload speed. The download speed is not as fast, however, a good site to upload big files. It has the standard '30 days no download' which means if after every 30 days your file has not been downloaded it will be deleted from the server.
File Cache
--UL rate: 650-800KB/s
--DL rate: 45KB/s
--Size Limit: 250MB
--Time Limit: 30 days no download
--Comments: Registration required. Nice upload speed, the download speed is something to laugh at. I wouldn't go here again, bigupload is much better.
Mega Upload
--UL rate: 360KB/s
--DL rate: 80-100KB/s
--Size Limit: 250MB
--Time Limit: 30 days no download
--Comments: Reasonable up and down. There is a timer when you request a download link. An ok site.
Rapidshare
--UL rate: 500KB/s
--DL rate: 750KB/s
--Size Limit: 100MB
--Time Limit: 30 days no download
--Comments: Despite the stigma surrounding it, rapidshare is a good site for video distribution. The up and down speeds are solid. Just don't DL too many vids because there's a download limit of 30MB per hour.
Spread It
--UL rate: 330KB/s
--DL rate: 40KB/s
--Size Limit: 500MB
--Time Limit: 14 days, regardless of downloads
--Comments: I dont recommend this site, it takes too long to download a file. Your file will be deleted after 14 days, even if many people download it.
YouSendIt
--UL rate: 30KB/s
--DL rate: 300KB/s or *1MB/s *when using getright
--Size Limit: 1GB
--Time Limit: 7 days or 'limited downloads'
--Comments: I sometimes get faster uploads on yousendit, I don't know why it was so slow today. This site is good if you have a download manager which creates multiple connections. When using getright, (A download manager program) you can set it to find 3 other mirrors, this results in a maximum download speed of 1MB/s.
I recommend this site as the download speed is best by far. The upload speed is pretty poor but it's worth the wait, as you can give the link to somebody with a fast connection and let people leech from them in the DC hub =)
Update:- 11mbit.de has increased its files size to 40MB
For files of 40MB in size and smaller the fastest site is 11Mbit Server you can upload and download at 1MB/s. Too bad you can't upload over 30MB.
Conclusions
Rapidshare is good because it has high download and upload rates, this site is best suited with people who can upload fast. The file will last the standard 30 days with no download, so a popular file should stay on this for quite a while. The size limit is 100MB, this is satisfactory for most 1v1 matches but large "BACH-style" crew matches are too much for rapidshare.
FileFront, I previously over-looked FileFronts biggest attraction. It can store massive files for an unlimited amount of time. This is perfect for large files or for files that you wish to stay 'active' on the net. Users with relatively slow internet connections should use FileFront to upload. The trade-off between time/size and speed is most apparent here, the UL/DL rate is low yet the time/size is massive.
Yousendit is a 'mixed bag', it has excellent download speeds but comes with download limits. So a popular file will quickly die here. This means of course, that an uploader will need to keep re-uploading the file to keep it fresh on the server. This site is recommended for files which need to be distributed between few people, maybe then for them to upload to other sites. Also, yousendit is suited to uploaders who use moderately fast internet connections, around 3Mbit.
Bigupload is great because of the high upload, and reasonable download speeds. It is basically rapdishare, only with higher size limits and slower download speeds. If your on a 8Mbit connection or higher use this host to upload, you will get max speed.
In conclusion, you can see that there is a trade-off between UL/DL speed and the size/time limits. This is mainly because servers and bandwidth are rather expensive. I can only recommend the best sites to use. It is for you to decide which host is best for your file. Just bear in mind; the size of your file, the longevity, the speed of your internet connection and the other factors I have pointed out.
Recommended sites - Rapidshare, Filefront, YouSendIt and Bigupload
Fastest download speed (1MB/s) - YouSendIt WITH GetRight to find other mirrors
Fastest upload speed (1MB/s) - Bigupload
Biggest file size (2GB) - Bigupload
Longest amount of time (Unlimited) - Filefront
I hope someone has found this useful, I know I did =). Ask questions, comment... whatever you feel =D
Don't complain that I listed the UL/DL speeds wrongly, these were the results I got on this day. I tested the web sites twice to make sure it was the true speed. Of course, the server could've been bad that day or another reason I had no control over. Again, remember the limits of the connection I used to conduct the tests.
View this thread as an overview of what sites I recommend. If anybody wants me to test any other sites which I left out then just state the url. ^_^
