Thread: What'd be the least expensive way to have a robust video platform functioning 24/7?

I'm searching for a solution to host videos for a YouTube-like platform I'm gonna implement. Not only host (for the VOD), but also something that serves them, so that they can be accessed by the viewers (in this particular case, I suppose that the maximum number of viewers will be 255). So I guess it will envolve some good amount of data traffic. The videos in general will have the following technical specs:

- Ratio: 16 x 9 (HD)

- Width: 1280

- Height: 720

- Frame rate: 30fps (TV/NTSC)

- Bit rate (video): 2107kbps

- Bit rate (audio): 128kbps

- Format: MP4

Based on this, I'd need at least 3TB of space (storage capacity). Maybe I'll need some CDN service on the side, too, to accelerate video loading/buffering via cache and reduce some bandwidth costs. For this, I'll maybe bringing Cloudflare. I also need to make live streamings from time to time and serve/stream those videos. There will be 96h of streaming every week (about 94.16GB/week or roughly 384h of streaming/mo). However, I'll need to record and store those live streams, too, once it has concluded. They will obviously consume the most. My biggest concern is not about storage, but about bandwidth costs, mainly outbound traffic. I foresee about 40h of video consumption per user every month, which would totalize up to 10TB of outbound traffic. Maybe initially, I'll need only 3TB of bandwidth limit per month. But actually, I'm thinking of expading it in the future up to 100TB/mo. In terms of "cost-efectiveness", I even made a costs sketch based on those companies I found (annual costs in Brazilian Real currency):

Bunny.net: R$ 4,236.91

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure: R$ 4,369.72, this includes their Media Streams service (also, they offer 10TB of outbound traffic for free every month in the free tier, but if that number is surpass, I can pay absurdly elevated costs)

Cloudflare R2: R$ 2,156.44

Backblaze B2: R$ 2,867.13

Sync.com: R$ 1,165.20 - Unlimited data transfer (But it's not a video hosting service. It's a backup and storage service with syncronization)

Those results are only from approximate calculations and I'm considering the limits I've pointed out so far. Maybe, it can vary broadly or maybe I can have unpleasable surprises, depending on the flow.

Also, I've been thinking of ordering a NAS + 2 Nvme (3TB each). The advantage here is that I wouldn't have to pay for the storage monthly. As for the streaming stuff, I'd just (maybe) install there Ant Media Server and would store the recorded streams directly there. The issue is that I don't have technical knowledge as for the bandwidth infrastructure (port and network) in order to support a huge amount of traffic. I think that's all and sorry for the long inquiry.

Hello,

What is the time frame that you have for hosting this project and what kind of reliability are you looking for? If you want to go ultra cheap you could host from your house (if your provider allows that) if you have a good upload speed and a reliable connection. Most isps offer enough xfer to cover the 96 hours* 4 weeks. If you want something more reliable I would recommend colocating your own server because of the storage requirements. It is a lot cheaper than renting your space. With a 2u supermicro chassis you can fit 24 drives in so your monthly fee would not but you can get a lot of storage space and add drives as you grow without increasing your monthly costs.

Are you going to have the actual site that the users interact with on the same site that is serving the content? If not you would separate things differently? Also how are you going to handle uploads and encoding? Uploads and encoding can become a bottle neck if you have lots of users.

If you go the oracle cloud infrastructure route and your traffic starts growing a lot you can look at load balancing between different providers so that you stay in their free tier.

Do you want redundant storage like raid or is just 1 copy enough because that will also affect your costs when purchasing hard drives? Most of the providers that sell services have redundant storage so you don't lose data if a hard drive goes out.

Good luck with your hosting platform!

You may have to spend a little bit to have a robust video platform functioning 24/7. Remember, the least expensive way might not be the best way, taking into consideration factors like scalability, security and customization.

If you're not very technical and don't have a team that knows how to build Over-The-Top (OTT) platform, creating it from the ground up can take a lot of time. This path might be good only if you want to learn and gain experience or to become OTT platform provider.

But, if you want to get your platform up and running quickly, it's a good idea to look at OTT platforms that are already made. These platforms come with everything you need, or almost everything. When you talk to their sales teams, they can set up a meeting with tech experts who will help you understand how much it will cost and what kind of hardware you need. These companies usually also offer to make the platform look the way you want it to, with your brand and style. And also provides application for different kind of platforms.

Vplayed (vplayed.com)
Dacast (dacast.com)
Vodlix (vodlix.com)
Webnexs (webnexs.com)
Flicknexs (flicknexs.com)
Muvi (muvi.com)

This isn't a full list, but these companies are recognized for offering complete services in the OTT field. Using one of these platforms can make things much easier and quicker for you, letting you focus more on creating content and finding your audience.

Least expencive would be to cast directly from server, without CDN. But you will get some disadvantages compared to CDN

Use a platform such as edg.io which has everything you need already built in, while many of the other CDN platforms will host video content most don't include encoding and uploading the video to the server etc, so you still need to run your own servers. Using edg.io you don't need to do anything.
Edio is what was originally Limelight networks and Edgecast they have joined together.