Is LibSyn good if you have LOTS of listeners?

[PCOSGurl]

LibSyn.com is the host name I see popping up most often when it comes to dedicated podcast hosting - although, I just saw something about PodLot, too.

My podcast is going to serve my existing message board community which currently has about 24,000+ registered members, and exponentially more visitors than that, so I HAVE to plan for AT LEAST several hundred downloads on each podshow.

I'm on a dedicated server, right now, but it can't handle one more thing on it due to the message board - so I really need to find another hosting solution for the actual show files.

Thanks, in advance! :)

[allthewhile]

Libsyn is good primarily if you have a lot of listeners. For 5 dollars a month you get 100 new megabytes of show uploads and unmetered downloads. So you won't have to worry about how popular you are.

I don't really know anything about podlot.

[owyn]

You should check with Dave Raven ( dave at raven dot dj ).

He has just switched to libsyn on a trial basis for his show, Raven'n'Blues.

He was expecting about 4000 downloads this weekend.

[PCOSGurl]

How is LibSyn offering unlimited downloads?


He was expecting about 4000 downloads this weekend.
Geez, Louise! :)

[allthewhile]

firstly, there's no such thing us "unlimited". The system will break at some point, it's just that it's so far into the future it's unlikely to happen. But they do, in fact offer, "unmetered" bandwidth. I'm guessing they do this wil the economics of the thing. The majority of people who sign up for libsyn use such a small amount of bandwidth that the cost (for libsyn) of those heavy hitters is offset by the average person. Most people want a huge amount of bandwidth, but they never really use it.

[PCOSGurl]

Most people want a huge amount of bandwidth, but they never really use it.
That makes sense.

I'm just sensitive to hosting issues since I've been kicked of many ISP's as my message board grew. Now I'm on a dedicated server.

I'm just thinking ahead, and don't want to have any issues (in the near future) with podcast downloads... (but it sounds like the 'near' future is still a ways off :) )

[mesoed]

I imagine they would allow videos. I have a couple of graphics I use within my blog that I'm hosting there.

[cybercooler]

If you are looking for bandwidth, be careful. I looked at midphase.com and some others who offered "unlimited' bandwidth. This is true if all the traffic is coming from your site. But if someone streams your file from poscast alley, pickle, etc, that would be considered "Milking Bandwidth" and the other most of these sites have specifications about file types. Mainly mp3 and video. (like someone is going to need unlimited files for html?)

If Libson offers video that would be cool, I'm trying to launch a site that will host all sorts of streaming tutorials about podcasting (www.schoolofpodcasting.com ) it's not ready just yet, but it's hard to find a home without going to a dedicated server which shoots the price right through the roof. I love the Libson idea that you "start over" every month. That is very cool.

I've got some polls going for podcastors and listeners at the site right now www.schoolofpodcasting.com along with another site
www.podcastingshirts.com

[justSue]

If you're looking to stream instructional video, (i.e., doesn't have to look like a high-quality rock video or movie trailer), Flash is a good alternative. You can import video and export as .flv, which can be embedded or streamed via flash. Basically, your video file just becomes a .swf file.

[shepdave]

I have been a LibSyn customer since March, and I have always been happy with the service.

However, this week I have become much, MUCH less happy. My audience is starting to grow to the several thousands of listeners, and I need people to be able to find me. However, for several hours yesterday and today, LibSyn was dead. I could not get to my feed through iTunes, people could not post to my blogpage, I could not check my stats or manage my account. The server simply seemed DEAD.

This lasted for at least three and a half hours today, in the middle of the workday on the East Coast of the US, and in the early evening in Europe (where I have a large audience). This is not cool.

Morever, twice this week I uploaded media files to LibSyn via FTP. But when i went to post them as podcasts, they did not show up as postable files. This was HOURS after I had uploaded, not minutes.

I am ruefully beginning to wonder whether the great bandwidth choke may now be upon us.

I still have not been able to post this weekend's podast at LibSyn.

Dave

[idastudios]

try http://podkive.com the hosting company is pretty flexible on the bandwidth and your not compromised on the space. Also the CMS is pretty slick.

[jimk]

I am SO glad I left Libsyn. My server slows down for a few hours after I post a new show, but it stays up and settles down pretty quickly.

[podcastshuffle]

I don't really know anything about podlot.

I switched from .Mac to PodLot for Podcast One to avoid any Apple shutdowns now that they mention bandwidth on their .Mac hosting.

Podcast One has a few thousand downloads per file - 1-2 times per week - small files though 4-7mb. I test downloaded a bunch of files prior to deciding to move my feed there and thought it was pretty fast. I also noticed that Scott Sigler from Earth Core used it and emailed him prior to signing up to get his impressions as well.

So far after a week I have no complaints.

Cheers,
Jeff

[Patrick]

Libsyn had a rough patch, but it's pretty much all better now. They had some growing pains, but they look to have things under control.

To me, the libsyn stats are worth the money alone, but the system is good, solid, and download speeds are around 300-500k even when they are slammed. Great speeds.

They are also getting better about communication with listeners. I'm very happy with the service, doing thousands of downloads per day.

[shepdave]

Having previously trashed LibSyn, I must agree with Patrick.

They had a few rough days, but overall they have been responsive.

Our download numbers have gone WAY up in the past three or four days (having to do, I think, with our crawling our way into the iTunes top 100), and LibSyn seems to have been able to handle it just fine. I've never really noticed a degradation in speed of downloads. My main problem was not being able to get on and do maintenance for awhile twice.

I am very satisfied with LibSyn's response, and I would still recommend them. Between the unmetered bandwidth and the statistics engine, they provide an awful lot of bang for the buck, IMHO.

Dave

[kcrockett]

I would have to agree Libsyn is very Nice . My podcast has skyrocketed this past week with being included in iTunes and all finally none of my listeners have had a problem and they have always been good about getting back to any questions that I have had

[airstreamjock]

Have to throw in my 2 cents on LibSyn. Have been with them from the get-go and there have been growing pains BUT (and this is important when it comes to hosting concerns) they LISTEN!

Enough said....

ASJ