Offshore Video Streaming Hosting: Do You Really Need It?

[johny899]

Have you ever heard about offshore video streaming hosting and thought to yourself "What is that and do I really need that?" Don't sweat it, you're not alone. I thought the same thing the first time I came across it. Let's do a deeper dive.

What is Offshore Video Streaming Hosting?​

It's really just that your videos are hosted and streamed from other countries and not just your country. Sounds odd? Here are a few reasons I can tell you about why some people do it:

• More freedom - Some countries have more strict guidelines on streamable content. Offshore video hosting can sometimes lead to less worry about restrictions.

• Faster worldwide video experience - If you have viewers all over the world, there could be faster video loading on an offshore server.

• Cheaper sometimes - Some offshore video hosting providers have large storage and bandwidth caps, for a cheaper price.

Think about this: have you ever been annoyed at how long a video buffers? Your hope is offshore hosting will eliminate this as it is placing your videos closer to your audience.

Do You Need It?​

Now for the big question. To be frank, not all of you will need offshore hosting. If you are just simply uploading videos to Youtube or sharing family videos, ordinary hosting will be fine.

But if you are fully operating a video website, using a paid membership site, or using sensitive/copyrighted material, offshore hosting may save you headache after headache.

If your audience is globally based, then it is even more logical than having everything on one local server.

The Good and The Bad​

Let's make this super clear:

The good:

• Much more freedoms...virtually no streaming restrictions.
• Faster speeds for viewers globally.
• Potential savings with cheaper plans.

The not-so-good:

• Trust issues - some offshore hosts aren't legit
• Support issues - time zones and language barrier creates delays and confusion as to what is being said
• Legal issues - Depending on what you are streaming you could putting yourself at risk.

So you have to ask yourself...do you want bandwidth freedom, or do you want easy and safe hosting?

My True Thoughts​

I used offshore hosting for a project once. It was fast for my friends in Europe to use because videos loaded quickly. But for easy projects, it just felt like too much work. For the projects I do, I choose hosting in Canada—for the simplicity and no stress. Offshore only works for large projects that have global reach.