Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a new host/server and I'm hoping you guys will have some tips for me.

My forum's database is quite small (less than 10 GB) however we have about 150 video files on another server (Xdrive) and we would like both the database and the videos to be hosted on a single server.

I don't think the host/server that we have right now can handle it. Would you know of a good (and cheap) one that would fit our needs?

Thanks in advance.

What kind of traffic do you get?

Also, with this videos, are you just needing a lot of space, or do they take up a lot of resources also? I'm trying to figure out what kind of server you need (shared, VPS, or dedicated)

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I don't consider less than 10GB quite small. Mine is less than 200MB... I have 3GB in attachments though so I guess if you are storing attachments in the database that could make up for it.

Like Ryan, the traffic is the most important spot.

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I'd like to have a Multimedia section on my forum where members can watch the videos without having to download the file or a player (like on youtube). I have no idea what I need to set this up. Traffic is not too high at the moment.

Like Bama said, traffic is the most important factor...I can't figure out how your database got so big (10gb) with little traffic.

Regardless, if you do have little traffic, then shared hosting is probably good for you. A Small Orange has been reliable for me in the past...but, they are a little bit more pricey and probably don't have the storage space and bandwidth that you're looking for with your videos. For that, I'd go with HostGator . There you're going to get a ton of space and transfer, and the reliability is still going to be very good. If you do go with HostGator, enter the coupon code "hgc25" on the order page to get $9.94 off your first month

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Oooops, sorry guys, I meant 10 MB. Not the same, eh?
The videos make about 20 GB but they're on a separate server.

Thanks Ryan for the discount code
Someone sent me this, and I was wondering what was your take on it: TOP 10 WEB HOSTING SITES - Find cheap web host providers - Free Wordpress Themes

It looks like HostGator is the most expensive of the 10 hosts, and they charge $15 for domain registration/transfer.

What should I be looking for in terms of audio/video streaming?

You should be good with a shared host then

I haven't used many of the hosts listed on that page, so I can't tell you which is best...I would recommend staying away from GoDaddy, Yahoo, and LunarPages simply because I've seen bad reviews of them.

If your domain is currently registered through a major registrar (ie: namecheap or godaddy), the $15 domain transfer/registration fee is irrelevant because you can leave your domain where it currently is, you just need to change the nameservers to point to your new host. If your domain is currently registered with your host, then you may need to transfer it to your new host or to a registrar - which you're going to have to pay for anyways...Not only if you go with HostGator

Dunno, never done that myself, but that's something you definitely need to figure out before deciding on a host. Not long ago, somebody here was looking for something called "ffmpeg" to stream videos. This might be what you're looking for, and most hosts do not offer it on shared plans.

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I just switched to Host Gator a couple weeks ago. I have been extremely happy. Their server seems faster than my old one. They also moved my site over for no charge.

I think they are great, although they are only the second server I have ever used.

Since we've decided to rename the forum for marketing and SEO reasons, I'm looking for the whole package. Both InMotion and Glob@t offer free anonymous domain registration, which is a plus. But really for me the most important part is the audio/video streaming. Does anyone know how youtube is set-up? I tried to google it, but being a technophobe, I couldn't understand a thing. Can someone explain all that to me in layman's terms?

Personally, I'd strongly recommend that you register your domain with an actual domain registrar (ie GoDaddy or Namecheap) and buy your hosting from a host. This makes transferring your site much easier later on down the road and helps you avoid domain transfer fees like you may be running in to here.

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