I need recommendations for a hosting solution

[rsavoia]

Hi, I have been lurking around here and just about every other directory and host related to podcasting searching for answers and so far all I have is eye fatigue and a headache.

I have a podcast (not Tech Ethics) that is taking off and I need to set up a complete podcast promotion solution for it.

What I want is to create a site as a home base for the show that is not just a blog site but an entire package complete with news, reviews, daily tips, a forum and a swag store, like many other podcasters out there. However, I want to do it right the first time and I need to know the best way to set it all up so that it is seamless. I want a first level domain for the site, no subdomains, and I need to be able to accurately track download stats for advertisers.

Nothing new there, I know.

The problem is there are so many possibilities out there I have information overload. I don't want one of these prepacked solutions because I have my own design in mind and they are mostly limited to blog pages with subdomains. I can spend a few dollars for hosting but don't want to spend big bucks on it, at least not until I receive a return on my investment.

What I need is some input from those that do have their own solution as described above and an unbiased rating of the hosting sites.

Yes, I looked at okaytoplay.com as well, but it just lists the hosts and doesn't really rate them as far as I can tell. A few hosts post biased lists.

Is there a truly unbiased review of all these services out there? If so, where is it?

I don't want to sound arrogant but I am tired, frustrated and burnt out from searching.

[PodCastGuru]

If you show really takes off I would suggest cachefly for distribution, they handle the massing downloads of things like firefox etc. For a more moderate scale, just get a good webhosting solution with lots of bandwidth. Dreamhost.com is one of the best. If you enter promocode PodCast10 you can get $10 off you hosting.

[rsavoia]

Thanks, but what I am really looking for is an unbiased comparison chart with ratings or reviews of the podcasting hosts and services. Everyone has their favorites but most of them are biased for one reason or another. I am aware of Dreamhost, Libsyn, GoDaddy and numerous others and compared their rates and service options but so far I found no honest review of these hosts or comparison chart that is not skewed based on some personal or promotional agenda.

I suppose I would have to poll everyone out there to get a general rating but it is very unscientific and somewhat inaccurate.

Apparently these forums are not that active or I would have received a greater response to my question. I am somewhat disappointed as I would think something like this would be of interest to most, if not all podcasters. I guess I am trying to find something that either does not exist or is not in demand.

[AGuyandaGirl]

This might be what you are looking for....
http://www.okaytoplay.com/wiki/Podcast_Hosting

[rsavoia]

This might be what you are looking for....
http://www.okaytoplay.com/wiki/Podcast_Hosting

Thanks, but I did mention in my OP that I already tried okaytoplay.com. Although I found it a good source for hosts, it did not have any sort of actual rating or review that chose one over another based on the data listed and why. It does list the names of hosts recommended by the site but there is no indication as to why it is recommended over another one or what makes it a better choice. There is no unbiased peer review. In other words, it did not provide enough information to help me make a clear decision.

At this time I decided to use godaddy.com to host the web and blog site, but I still have not decided on a host for the podcast itself. There are many options out there and some are more comprehensive than others. I have heard mixed things about most of them. I almost signed up with Libsyn but after the issue with the stats awhile back I decided to wait. Some of the other options are very expensive and don't offer a lot of features for the price. They seem to be marketing to podcasters but their product is not optimized for podcasting. I think a lot of these hosts are taking their services and trying to repackage them to a new market without fully understanding what that market needs. Instead of building their service from the ground up around the market with the proper tools for podcasters they throw a few podcasting features in their existing services and label them as podcast hosting.

I guess that is expected in a market that is only two years old but then again I am disappointed that after hosts such as Libsyn more of these hosting companies are just trying to repackage their products and services rather than creating new ones.

[WyethDigital]

Thanks, but what I am really looking for is an unbiased comparison chart with ratings or reviews of the podcasting hosts and services. Everyone has their favorites but most of them are biased for one reason or another. I am aware of Dreamhost, Libsyn, GoDaddy and numerous others and compared their rates and service options but so far I found no honest review of these hosts or comparison chart that is not skewed based on some personal or promotional agenda.
I gotta be honest with you -- you're not going to find that list you're looking for. There's always going to be some bias in people's opinions.

Someone mentioned Dreamhost before. They're a good host, but they have their drawbacks -- like limited bandwidth. Example: We use them for our podcast and have a 2TB limit. It was projected at one point that we could go over that limit by as much as 2 TB -- at a cost of $1 per GB! That's $2000! That won't work for us, so if push comes to shove, we'll have to move. Don't make that mistake!

If you have a successful podcast, stop looking for a full featured, one stop host. Forget the forum being hosted in the same place. Your primary concern should be unlimited bandwidth, and there's not a lot of companies out there that reliably provide that. You said you already use GoDaddy for the blog? Use them for the rest of it, too (except for the podcast host --use someone else for that).

The best three that come to mind (I'm sure others will have their picks as well):

LibSyn.com
PodShow.com
Switchpod.com

(BTW, I don't use any of these companies yet. But I have my eye on all of them in case of a future need to move, so I consider them to be both unbiased recommendations as places to start, and unproven -- to me)

Eric

[Vlad-The-Impaled]

Check out http://www.CyberEars.com

They handle VERY large volume podcasts and have a patented technology to distribute content across large server farms that covers high volume requirements. And they are really cheap too!

Vlad

[Webzu]

I'm new to podcasting but not hosting, bandwidth cost money so I don't understand how any host provides real "unlimited" bandwidth. I would be suspect of any host that claims to offer free unlimited bandwidth. They might offer such claims when you have a small podcast and are just starting out but as soon as you become a popular podcast, watch out! :p

Go to WHT (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/)to research hosting companies.

[john09199]

personally, i use www.host100gb.com and www.1and1.com

they are fast and a good deal. and are the largest shared hosting (http://host100gb.com) provider

it include a domain name, 100Gb of web space (http://host100gb.com), 20 email addresses, 2GB of mailbox space per account, 100 MySQL databases (http://host100gb.com), 100 email aliases, photo galleries builder, web builder, blog and rss capabilities, firewall protextion, etc....

and that is only the beginner package at $4 a month. Go up to $5 a month, and get 100Gb of space, 1200 email accounts, 2 domain names, host many other websites there as well, 25 MySQL databases, etc. etc. etc....

they are the best deal i think. I've used them to host (http://host100gb.com) over 65-70 web sites.

[skolapper]

The only people who are going to use this are shitty podcasts. You will have a bunch of 8 year olds on your service.I know you have to pay for the bandwidth somehow. Why not provide a good service for a fair price instead of a half-assed service that modifies its customers content for free.This is the most ridiculous model Ive seen for podcast hosting.

[wfobnbf]

gents rolex watches (http://www.linkreplica.com/rolex-watches-jubilee-gents-watches-c-409_411_492.html). Sell preowned replica rolex watches (http://www.linkreplica.com), used and secondhand rolex watches. Buy rolex watches and sell rolex watches for cash at Linkreplica.com

[yamanifareena]

Thanks for visits my site Motorcycle Clothing and here you can buy all motorbike accessories.

_______________

Emaly

quick money (http://fastmoneytree.com/index.php?referral=77)

http://www.imageba.com/images/69k8i17i1cl7qy5if1g3.jpg

[Szise]

I use Esobtel with D.A, i don't know any reliable Cpanel host because i don't use Cpanel, for me is better D.A, more user friendly.