Hi guys! I'm a new webmaster and I'm looking for additional hosting to what I already have and use. I apoligize in advance if this doesn't go here or whatnot, but I really need some help here.

There are countless web hosting sites out there and right now I have several that I'm considering. The thing is I haven't found much in the way of reviews for many of them, and the few that I have found, they barely meet what I need. I've broken down into two seperate groups who I'm considering at the moment. I want to ask if you guys have heard, used, or perhaps have any input on these companies:

Considering:

http://www.arvixe.com/
http://www.chatcircuit.net/
http://www.burtonhosting.com/
https://www.sitelutions.com/
http://www.soulhosts.net/
http://www.vnpixel.com/
http://www.lunarpages.com/
http://www.webmasters.com/
http://www.vuehost.com/
http://www.northwindwebhost.com/index.html

maybes:

http://www.amizu.com/
http://beamhost.co.uk/
http://www.anydotdomain.com/
http://www.alpha1hosting.com/
http://globalhost.com/
http://www.hostgator.com/
http://www.powweb.com/
http://www.pro-net-hosting.com/

I'm not trying to advertise any of these sites... I'm just completely overwhelmed with the amount of options out there and I pretty much don't know where I'm beginning and where I will end when it comes to actually picking a host. I tried out using webhostratings.com but they only listed a few of these names.

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions on any of these companies? or do any of you have any suggestions on a good host? Any input is appreciated.

~Otacon

maybe you can start by telling us what kind of hosting you need.

HostLead

well basically what I'm looking for is a host that I can upload my bigger files (such as movie files, sound files, etc) then link them to my current site.

I would also like to place a forum on the host depending on who I go through.

I'm pretty much looking for (and I've had a ton of offers already....) is:

no less then 500 MB web space
25 GB or higher BW
message board a plus
customer support (at least via email) 24/7
price range: under 16 dollars a month (monthly or quarterly billing perferred/30 day money back a plus)

I want to keep them seperate because this way, those that download the bigger files will go through a seperate bandwidth instead of using the main site bandwidth.

~Otacon

You would need to carefully read teh AUP/TOS of the companies before signing up. Movies/Sound files in many cases are violation of rules. You don't want to be hosting with such a company. They might just yank your account one fine day and point out the clause in the AUP.

So read carefully and ask around before taking the plunge.

Regards,

you mean as far as allowing people do download those kinds of things through their server? Why would they not allow that? Is it because they are afraid of sites maxing out their servers?

I'll be reading through the TOSs of those sites today. What would you recommend if they don't list that particular thing in there? Should I ask and hope they don't go back on their word?

~Otacon

It mostly has to do with the breaking of copyright laws. Many site owners start out saying that they will only be serving up their own home movies or mp3s, but then will slide a commercial one in there. So, hosts are very cautious when it comes to those formats.

wait wait... these movies are nothing more then game previews that can be found at almost any gaming site... they are all released to the public for public viewing.

There are sites that charge a membership fee in order to download from dedicated servers and offer quicker download time, however most places nowadays don't even bother because once the trailer is out, you can get it anywhere...

I'm not in the business of running a site that transmits or makes movie movie downloads available and the only mp3s/wav files I do have are voice acting clips and a few audio rips from the respective games for use on a computer for computer sounds...

does what you say still apply or am I just going to have to try my luck and hope I can find one that won't shut me down within a few weeks/months... ?

~Otacon

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Ok, there are 2 reasons it may be in the AUP/TOS. Firstly movies, sound clips can rack up huge downloads and bandwidth usage in record time. Now MOST of the webhosting companies oversell their bandwidth. i.e they don't expect you to use all the bandwidth they provide you with.

The second reason as it was pointed out is due to legal reasons. Since its almost impossible to verify the content of such files across all servers, its better to have such a clause.

I simply didn't want your website to be yanked off one fine day due to such an issue. Also it is better to talk to the host before proceeding. They might just add such a clause after you sign up


Warm Regards,

Also, just because they are available to the public, doesn't mean the studios don't still own the rights to these video clips. They may offer it to the public for free from their servers, but don't want you do re-distribute the files that are *legally* theirs.