Amazon S3 is a popular solution for inexpensive video hosting. The only problem is Amazon S3 is not AT ALL easy to use. In fact, even my webmaster balked and he is way more technical than me. Plus, Amazon S3 is real bare bones, you do not get anything but cheap storage space.
To effectively use Amazon S3, it is absolutely essential for you to have some way of interfacing with it and something to give you the player software and other extras to make it function online. EZS3 provides exactly what you need.
EZS3 is an in-the-cloud service so you have nothing to download. They keep improving it too, so in that sense, I feel like it’s absolutely better than buying a software package that is never upgraded. Using EZS3 is drag and drop simple.
I first recommended EZS3 about a year and a half ago. Since then, I have only grown more impressed with their service. I am happy to have such fantastic products within my niche to recommend. If you need reliable, inexpensive hosting that you have complete control over, then an Amazon S3 account is right for you. To go with it, get EZS3. You can now get a free account that of course does not have all the bells and whistles of a paid account, but it will get you started. For Free!
Below is the first post I ever wrote about EZS3.
Original Post:
To include a video on your website, you need to have it hosted somewhere. Many people have turned to You Tube for hosting, since it is free. FREE! Can’t beat that with a stick.
Well, maybe you can.
People are starting to balk about hosting their videos on You Tube since doing so gets you stuck to the You Tube player and the poor quality You Tube resolution. Some video “gurus” are even claiming that if you rely on You Tube to host your videos then you look like a rank amateur.
So what is the alternative? Pay a fortune for bandwidth and clog your hosting service with gigantic video files?
No need to do that.
Amazon.com has added file hosting to their Amazon Web Services. They call it S3, or Amazon S3. The S3 stands for
- Simple
- Storage
- Service
Amazon S3 has such low prices for storage and bandwidth that they are able to compete with FREE and have become the video file hosting of choice for many businesses and individuals. Amazon S3 is currently the most popular solution for large bandwidth operations. It’s free to sign up. You only pay for the bandwidth and storage space you actually use, and those rates are rock bottom.
There’s only one problem. Amazon’s definition of “simple” is probably not the same as yours.
It’s inexpensive for sure, but honestly, not that simple. Unless you know multiple computer languages, you will find Amazon S3 terribly confusing.
Darn, I knew there had to be a catch!
Fortunately, it did not take long for someone to see the need and fill it.
EzS3.com.
EZS3.com is a service that links to your S3 account and gives you a TRULY simple way of uploading and managing files.
I would hesitate to use my S3 account without EZS3. It makes that much difference.
An EZS3 account gives you the ability to easily upload and download files with just one click and a drag and drop mechanism. (It looked just like a standard FTP layout) You can also easily create folders and move files around. EZS3 works “in the cloud” you do not have to have any special software on your computer.
EZS3 also lets you easily create customized players and wrappers for your videos, which is totally cool and helps you get a standout, unique look.
Only want to let certain select people view your videos? EZS3 allows you complete control over access, which is essential for video marketing. If you click the cool little graphic below, you can go check out EZS3 for yourself!
Analytics are part of the package too. EZS3 gives you the ability to track your video views and see who is embedding your video.
EZS3 lives up to its name E-Z! Easy baby!
Part of what makes it easy is the design, EZS3 is clean, simple and intuitive. It really is. I am NOT particularly technical and often have a big learning curve with stuff people claim is EASY. (So either I am a moron or they are lying. There’s a conundrum for you.) But this really IS easy; I was uploading stuff within five minutes of signing up.
Another plus for the “yes it’s easy” column is the many well-made, easy-to-understand tutorials they have scattered about. The narrator’s accent was a bit heavy but this Southern gal understood. (My voice is accent-free. NOT!)
So if you are looking for a new hosting solution outside of YouTube, you need to not only get an Amazon S3 account, but you need to sign up for EZS3 as well. They even help you sign up for the S3 if you don’t already have one.
So go check it out! Anything to make life easier. EZS3, something you really CAN’T beat with a stick!
Thanks for reading Video Production Tips
Lorraine Grula
Good information. The biggest selling point for me is taking the load off my hosting server.
I have already been shut down once for putting too much load on their server.
No, I don’t get that much traffic, yet.
There was a plugin I was using that allowed me to insert my Google Analytics tracking code. I wanted to track which pages and articles were getting the most interest. It was putting too much load on their server and they “suspended my account”.
Wow! That was a lost day in my life.
So, take the load off your server and put it on S3 with EZS3.
Rich Days last blog post..Is Your WordPress Blog a Google Magnet?
Hey Rich.
Wow, too much load on the server and you got suspended? What a drag!
Video files would cause that to happen REALLY BAD. More than some google code!
I had a hosting company tell me point blank they did not allow video on their server, even if it was just one! They said if it got sizable traffic, even one would be trouble. And this was a hosting company that bragged about their huge storage capacity!
So amazon s3 is absolutely the way to go. But I think unless you are a real brain, you have GOT to have something to make it easier.
I mean I love Amazon and all, but if using S3 by itself is EASY, then I am Miss America.
EZS3 truly makes it easy. Cuz yeah, I am so far away from Miss America is would be depressing if I thought about it much. 🙂
Thanks for this…definitely looks like something worth the price if one is going to get fully into using s3!
good stuff…
Normal Joes last blog post..President’s Day Update In Joeville
EZS3 is indeed an awesome service. Makes amazon S3 SO MUCH easier. I was uploading files within about 5 minutes. Good luck!
Great, thanks for the review. I just got started on my S3 account and it is awesome. I’ve a trial Camtasia running, and even though I like the screen capture stuff, the editing features are really lacking.
So i guess i will have to break up Camtasias features and find software to match each. EZS3 really seems to simplify the uploading and embedding into HTML part 🙂
Hi Kian Ann.
Glad you like the Amazon S3 and EZS3. I was totally lost just trying to use s3 by itself. I think you would need to know several computer languages to be able to make sense of it. But with EZS3, it’s just like a simple ftp layout and you drag and drop!
I am with you on Camtasia. Screen capture is indeed awesome, but compared to a standard video editing program, it is durn near impossible to make basic edits in that program. Whenever I use camtasia, I make sure to record it in such a way that MINIMAL editing is needed. It is just not precise at all!
So many web video “gurus” talk as if camtasia is the end all and be all in video editing. I have had readers contact me thinking camtasia is the best program to edit their cooking show! I felt so sorry for them. Camtasia’s strong point is its ability to capture your computer screen. That is something you can not do in a standard video editing program, like Final Cut. But when it comes to basic editing, Camtasia can not do even 1/100th of what Final Cut can do. I like camtasia, don’t get me wrong, but it is NOT just a basic video editing program at all. It is a screen capture program. Bear mind that it takes some special coding to make a stable screen capture possible. That in and of itself is quite a trick, but if you want to edit video taken with a video camera, camtasia is essentially worthless and I think most people do not understand that.
Thanks for reading Video Production Tips!
Lorraine
Just a side note on Camtasia. To personalize your video, I think it is necessary to add your shining face at the beginning of a Camtasia video.
Make sure that they can see the highlights in your eyes. The intimate close up builds trust.
You can upload from any avi file into Camtasia and it will default to be before the Camtasia screen capture portion. You can move it where you want, but I would leave it at the front.
Richard TrafficBumper Days last blog post..How To Set Up Your Blog To Accept Comments Properly
Hi richard.
One cool feature my version of Camtasia has is the ability to include a shot from your web cam in the screen capture. So like in this demo of animoto, there I am in the bottom right.
http://www.videoproductiontips.com/video-editing/using-animoto-demonstration/#more-2915
I just know people love looking at my face! I rolled my hair and put on make-up and EVERYTHING! Can’t be scaring people now!
Lorraine
40% of all purchases by the year 2020 will be online
Hi Lorraine,
I was hoping that in addition to Ezs3, you would consider adding S3MediaVault.com to the list. It is a plugin that you can use to securely embed Audio, Video, PDF and other media from your Amazon S3 account into your WordPress website – especially useful for securely embedding premium, private digital content into members-only pages & posts for a membership site or online course.
It also integrates with Amazon CloudFront to speed up downloads, creates Video & Audio playlists, create HLS True Streaming videos (impossible to download), create Transcriptions of Video and Audio files in your S3 account, all from right within the plugin itself. You won’t even have to log in to Amazon S3 to do any of this.
Happy to give you a no-obligation, free copy if you wish to check it out.
Cheers and thanks for the consideration!