I need a host site! :(

[LilyMarie]

Hey,

I'm sorry I already posted this in the models only section, but I figured I should probably ask some members too because this is becoming more and more urgent.

I decided to give my first video away as a download, instead of uploading it to a tube site - someone I talked to had some killer arguments against streams and for downloadable files.

And now I'm desperately looking for a host.

I know mediafire only accepts files under 200 MB, mine is 904 MB big.
One guy told me about 4shared.com where another model apparently had her videos hosted, but their password protection system doesn't work correctly (you can still get to the download even if your folder is protected, + they don't let you protect individual files - just folders). On top of that, 4shared automatically enables streaming when you upload a video and I don't want that.

So if anyone knows a host, please please please tell me about it. I'm kind of running out of time, I was originally going to draw the winner for my raffle this weekend and now it's already Tuesday. I feel horrible about it.

The site needs to
1) be able to host a 904 MB file,
2) let me protect it with a password.
That is all.

Whoever can help me with this gets 2579248 virtual hugs. :help:

 

[Evvie]

If you're in need of emergency hosting I'd be happy to host your video on my site. I can help you password protect the file, no streaming obviously and no upload limit. I have high bandwidth so download should be speedy too!

Later on we can take the video off the server if you like. Ya'll let me know if you're interested.

Edit to say: I will be out of the country in about 15 hours so get back right soonish!

 

[LilyMarie]

I'll send you a PM.

 

[Kradek]

Users have been able to encrypt zip files for years; most zip utilities will do it easily. I like 7zip. Essentially, user downloads a zip file and needs to enter a password to unzip it. Your tech support questions may go up as most people generally are unaware of this capability, but, the main benefit is you can host your content anywhere.

Here is a tutorial for encrypting zip files using 7zip.

 

[LilyMarie]

Users have been able to encrypt zip files for years; most zip utilities will do it easily. I like 7zip. Essentially, user downloads a zip file and needs to enter a password to unzip it. Your tech support questions may go up as most people generally are unaware of this capability, but, the main benefit is you can host your content anywhere.

Here is a tutorial for encrypting zip files using 7zip.

I just downloaded 7zip, Evvie suggested it to me via PM after Winrar did not make any difference to the file's size. (wtf)
I'm trying a compression using 7zip now.

 

[Kradek]

I just downloaded 7zip, Evvie suggested it to me via PM after Winrar did not make any difference to the file's size. (wtf)
I'm trying a compression using 7zip now.

Depending on the file format you used, you may see very little compression at all putting it in a zip file, most popular video formats are already compressed to some extent and video in general doesn't lend itself as well to compression as text.

 

[Kradek]

Also, for dead simple file hosting/syncing, I generally use Dropbox. You can store 2GB free on Dropbox, which will accommodate this particular file, but you would have to go to a paid plan to host a number of bigger files (50GB is $10/mo).

If you use this link to sign up, I get more space!

 

[LilyMarie]

I just downloaded 7zip, Evvie suggested it to me via PM after Winrar did not make any difference to the file's size. (wtf)
I'm trying a compression using 7zip now.

Depending on the file format you used, you may see very little compression at all putting it in a zip file, most popular video formats are already compressed to some extent and video in general doesn't lend itself as well to compression as text.

Well, the archive made by 7zip is even 11 MB bigger than the original file. :-x It's an mp4 by the way. (I tried rendering it as .avi first and it turned out to be 51 GB big.)

I just don't know what to do anymore. If I could just find a way to make it smaller, I could upload it at mediafire..

Also, for dead simple file hosting/syncing, I generally use Dropbox. You can store 2GB free on Dropbox, which will accommodate this particular file, but you would have to go to a paid plan to host a number of bigger files (50GB is $10/mo).

People need to have a Dropbox account to be able to download things from there, right?

 

[Kradek]

=People need to have a Dropbox account to be able to download things from there, right?

No. You can make public folders and then create public links to files which are just URLs for anyone. That's how I put up my version of the ACF Score page.

 

[LilyMarie]

=People need to have a Dropbox account to be able to download things from there, right?

No. You can make public folders and then create public links to files which are just URLs for anyone. That's how I put up my version of the ACF Score page.

So I could just "compress" my video with 7zip (just so that I can password-protect it) and then put the .rar into my Dropbox folder and distribute it that way, right?

 

[Kradek]

So I could just "compress" with my video with 7zip (just so that I can password-protect it) and then put the .rar into my Dropbox folder and distribute it that way, right?

Yep.

 

[inkydoo]

I really hope you're not stressing over this too much. Anyone that follows this site or your twitter knows you're working on it. Like good sex, it takes as long as it takes

 

[LilyMarie]

I really hope you're not stressing over this too much. Anyone that follows this site or your twitter knows you're working on it. Like good sex, it takes as long as it takes

:lol: Well the truth is I've spent the majority of the weekend, yesterday and today with editing, rendering and trying to find a way to host the video. I should be studying for school, and I'm not. So yeah, I'm stressing over this.
But I know MFC, I don't want anyone to say "uh, you wanted to give away your video DAYS ago, what happened?! Are you scamming us??" That's why it's really important to me to finally get this done.


update: Okay, I put the rar file into my Public Dropbox folder, grabbed the link and it's giving me a 404 error when I visit that link. I took a look at the forums and they say that it takes some time for the file to finish uploading - once it does, the link is supposed to work.
...We will see.

 

[Kradek]

update: Okay, I put the rar file into my Public Dropbox folder, grabbed the link and it's giving me a 404 error when I visit that link. I took a look at the forums and they say that it takes some time for the file to finish uploading - once it does, the link is supposed to work.
...We will see.

You can see if its done by looking at the Dropbox icon in your system tray. If it's uploading it will look like this:

When its done it will look like this:

 

[inkydoo]

update: Okay, I put the rar file into my Public Dropbox folder, grabbed the link and it's giving me a 404 error when I visit that link. I took a look at the forums and they say that it takes some time for the file to finish uploading - once it does, the link is supposed to work.
...We will see.

If you need someone to test the URL, let me know. Can't view it without the password anyway.

 

[goneDude1]

Lily,

I can offer help with hosting on a temp basis too if you need it. Let's look at this from another angle first. I can get a 50gb blu ray HD film down to 750-800mb @ 720p encoding with mp4 container and xvid codec. I don't think you video is going to be that long, if i said 30 mins in length that should be under 200mb. I think you need to check your encoding settings. As kradek already said zipping the file wont compress it that much more but lets you password protect the file. Personally I would use 7z with compression level set to Ultra as I find zip format actually increases file size as you have found out.

 

[LilyMarie]

Lily,

I can offer help with hosting on a temp basis too if you need it. Let's look at this from another angle first. I can get a 50gb blu ray HD film down to 750-800mb @ 720p encoding with mp4 container and xvid codec. I don't think you video is going to be that long, if i said 30 mins in length that should be under 200mb. I think you need to check your encoding settings. As kradek already said zipping the file wont compress it that much more but lets you password protect the file. Personally I would use 7z with compression level set to Ultra as I find zip format actually increases file size as you have found out.

Thank you.
I'm trying out Dropbox right now (it hasn't finished uploading yet, the symbol Kradek was talking about is still the same).
If Dropbox does not work for some reason, I'll write you a PM, okay? I'd really prefer it if I could keep the video 1080p, so hosting it at your server in 720p would be a last resort, no offense (Plus I don't feel so great about just giving the video to others and depending on others. It's a mental thing.)
I used 7z with the compression level set to Ultra, and it didn't do a thing for the size of the file. :/

 

[BootyEyes]

There are several cloud hosting sites, DropBox is well known because of it's ease of use, but it has limited capacity. Check out this wiki page,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_on ... p_services

I tried Ubunto One, so I could respond to this post. I uploaded a 67mb clip and it took 30 minutes, with your file being 900mb I imagine it would take all night (7 hours). I am aware of my service provider slowing down internet connections when uploading large files, my provider offers 512kb/second maximum upload. This only uploaded at 38kb/second, so knowing your service provider and it's practices would be good.

Try http://www.speedtest.net/ to get a feel for what your internet service actually is.

Another note about cloud storage, some companies, such as Microsoft prohibit nude material in it's terms of service, so before committing to a cloud check out their terms. There may also be, copyright issues and country prohibitions.

here's the Royals spoof clip from a SNL http://ubuntuone.com/7kBz3R7aTFUnwRNuvTviZN
for me this video downloaded in 7 minutes, my provider advertises 7mb/second, but this is more like 161kb/second which translates to an hour and a half for 900mb, but everyone is different.

Once the intended recipient(s) download the film, you can "stop publishing" and then "publish" each time you sell a video. Each cloud I've used have similar mechanisms of sharing.

 

[Kradek]

I'm trying out Dropbox right now (it hasn't finished uploading yet, the symbol Kradek was talking about is still the same).

You may want to check if you're limiting your bandwidth. Right click the icon and select preferences.

Then go to the bandwidth tab and check to see that you're not unnecessarily limiting the xfer.

 

[goneDude1]

Thank you.
I'm trying out Dropbox right now (it hasn't finished uploading yet, the symbol Kradek was talking about is still the same).
If Dropbox does not work for some reason, I'll write you a PM, okay? I'd really prefer it if I could keep the video 1080p, so hosting it at your server in 720p would be a last resort, no offense (Plus I don't feel so great about just giving the video to others and depending on others. It's a mental thing.)
I used 7z with the compression level set to Ultra, and it didn't do a thing for the size of the file. :/

How did you get on ? Fine to pm me no probs. None taken at all, fully understand your concerns.
I'm always doubtful of uploading my vids too Don't ask :lol:

 

[LilyMarie]

Believe it or not, but Dropbox seems to be working.
I'll probably download the zip file another 3 times or so before I actually believe it, but the 1st time worked...
Could this mean the endless desperate tweeting and the annoying posts in the models only section might finally be over...? Could this mean I can draw the raffle winner tomorrow? :shock:

 

[goneDude1]

Glad it looks like its working for you :thumbleft: I installed dropbox, kinda neat bit of kit. I clicked your link Kradek.