Should I stream media from my hosting plan?

[mushget]

I'm running out of space on my hosting plan, so I either have to upgrade to a more expensive plan, move hosts, or else delete a bunch of files. Most of my space is being taken up by media files (obviously).

Are there any compelling advantages to continue hosting media (video/audio) with my host? The only thing I can think of is reliability. I can be reasonably sure that my host will not delete my files or go out of business, but I can't be as sure about other services online (especially if they are offering free space). But I'm pretty sure youtube isn't going anywhere, so I'm comfortable using them for most of my video needs (or vimeo when I need to upload something longer). I also just read that archive.org will allow me to upload all my audio, and will even allow me to stream from their space. The obvious advantage of letting them host my files is that it saves me space and bandwidth.

Am I not thinking through this from all angles? What am I missing? The choice seems pretty obvious to me.

[klampG]

There are plenty of places that offer free space, but if you have large media files and want to store them online, then you are going to have to pay at least something. Most freebie sites aren't going to let you upload large files - if you were really desperate you could always chop them up into lots of .rars, but that could mean a LOT of .rars.

If you use other services such as youtube or archive, you are going to be *publishing* your data - that can be a little bit different and if you are working for a client then its a little insensitive, or if its your own personal stuff then I would be worried about it vanishing overnight from an overzealous mod. Your other options are megavideo and such, and they are bundled with loads of ads which are pretty annoying. If you are desperate to save cash, then my suggestion would be to go headhunting and find a more competitive hosting plan for yourself.

[adiian]

From my experience a shared hosting to good provider is good enough if you don't try to build an youtube.