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Why do people use Amazon s3?

by Donimo
13 replies
I have seen a lot of marketers using Amazon S3 to host their files such as videos etc, and I really fair to see the purpose of it when you take into consideration the costs.

Most shared hosting offers unlimited bandwidth, and even if it is limited, having a 10mb file available for download for buyers is hardly going to cause any bandwidth problems.

Personally I always host my files within my own hosting, and it works perfectally. As a business, surely you should be looking to minimise costs by doing this?
#amazon #people
  • Profile picture of the author Willie Crawford
    Some people like me offer files that are sometimes hundreds
    of megabytes. I have dedicated servers, but serve up so
    much video and large graphics packages, that using Amazon
    S3 is cheaper, and doesn't bog down my servers.

    You need to look at you actual bandwidth usage, but for
    many of us Amazon S3 IS cheaper.

    Also, if you are on shared hosting, there really is no such
    thing as unlimited bandwidth. If you begin to use too many
    server resources, you will be asked to move off that shared
    server!

    Willie
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    • Profile picture of the author marketingoasis
      Originally Posted by Willie Crawford View Post

      Some people like me offer files that are sometimes hundreds of megabytes. I have dedicated servers, but serve up so much video and large graphics packages, that using Amazon S3 is cheaper, and doesn't bog down my servers.

      You need to look at you actual bandwidth usage, but for many of us Amazon S3 IS cheaper.

      Also, if you are on shared hosting, there really is no such thing as unlimited bandwidth. If you begin to use too many server resources, you will be asked to move off that shared server!
      Exactly, many people fail to realize this when they purchase a shared hosting package. The website will be taken offline as soon as it uses too much bandwidth and that can mean a lot of lost revenue. Amazon S3 is a great service if you have a large number of videos that receive a lot of views.
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      • Profile picture of the author curly sue
        i have always asked myself the same question. why not use youtube, and make the videos private. so they will only be seen by people you give the link or where you embed your video in your membership site.
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        • Profile picture of the author WillR
          Originally Posted by curly sue View Post

          i have always asked myself the same question. why not use youtube, and make the videos private. so they will only be seen by people you give the link or where you embed your video in your membership site.
          Bad idea because you leak traffic back to Youtube and it just cheapens your content when people see it is hosted on Youtube since they assume others can find this information for free that they have just paid for.

          If you are doing any type of paid videos then you should never be using a third party video site you should always be self hosting those videos and S3 is one of the most popular ways to do that.
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      • Profile picture of the author Willie Crawford
        Originally Posted by marketingoasis View Post

        Exactly, many people fail to realize this when they purchase a shared hosting package. The website will be taken offline as soon as it uses too much bandwidth and that can mean a lot of lost revenue. Amazon S3 is a great service if you have a large number of videos that receive a lot of views.
        I have run sales, with the product package (large download) or a
        video, hosted on my server where, in the middle of things my host
        either disabled a file download, or disabled my account for excessive
        bandwidth usage.

        So, I am sharing the voice of experience.

        It can be VERY embarrassing when your customers can't download AND
        your host throws up some page asking you to contact your host. To
        your customers, it probably appears that you didn't pay your hosting
        bill

        My S3 bills have all been very low, and I use a LOT of bandwidth with
        them!

        Willie
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  • Profile picture of the author Romeo90
    Amazon S3 has been amazing for me - I have about 4-5 hours of video on my membership site, about 450 members, and my most expensive monthly bill has been $2.50.

    Not only that, but the customer presses play on any of the video's, and the video starts playing almost immediately.
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    One very big misconception about Amazon S3 is it's price.

    It is very inexpensive for what it is and you only ever pay for what you use.

    If you offer any type of videos, downloads or members content then you definitely want to use an external host like S3. It takes a huge load off your server and also makes those downloads much quicker for all of your end users.
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  • Profile picture of the author techbul
    S3 is cheap, fast and screams "quality". Use it and you won't regret. I think that sums it up pretty nicely.
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  • Profile picture of the author RenardNET
    Amazon S3 is the best option to host any downloadable or streaming content. When you have low traffic you even not pay for that, so you start from no costs. Amazon S3 is also so cheap to use than it is the best way to host videos or big files for courses or premium products even when you have many customers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by curly sue View Post

    why not use youtube
    Because that brands them as much as you, and seriously loses credibility. It's kind of the same question as "Why not have a button at the bottom of your home page saying 'Build Your Own Free Website With Yola'." - it just doesn't convey the kind of professional impression one should and so easily can.

    Originally Posted by Donimo View Post

    Most shared hosting offers unlimited bandwidth
    The key word there is "offers". Not "actually supplies without any problems".

    Originally Posted by Donimo View Post

    having a 10mb file available for download for buyers is hardly going to cause any bandwidth problems.
    But how about a 300Mb file?
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  • Profile picture of the author gcbmark20
    AmazonS3 is safe, cheap & well worth the small
    investment for what you're getting.

    Peace of mind & reliability is only going to help you
    focus on what is important in YOUR business!

    You don't want to taking chances with things like this.

    Especially if you have customers who want to download
    their products etc.

    You can add a very easy to use plugin using Firefox that
    easily allows you access, upload and create new directories
    so that you can upload, files, videos & much more.

    No I'm not a AmazonS3 rep LOL but I know that it
    works because I use it for for many of my business needs.

    You want to run your business with reliable sources that's
    all.

    Hope you make the right choice.

    Regards
    Gavin
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  • Profile picture of the author OrangeBull
    I think Libsyn is a better bet if you have something with meganormous bandwidth and downloads, say 100K a day or something for a 500 MB video for example, but for the backend membership section of a website with a few hundred or thousand PAYING customers, clearly S3 is cheaper.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andrey Doichev
    As said above numerous times, S3 is a cheap and very fast service. You only pay for what you use and video streaming is instant - which is absolutely crucial for conversion rates.
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