Cloud storage can form the foundation of a video hosting system, but storing the file is only one part of the workflow. Businesses can build video delivery around cloud video storage by adding processing, streaming formats, CDN delivery, and playback tools. This article explains what that setup requires and when a dedicated video hosting platform is simpler.
Can cloud storage host video?
Cloud storage can be used to host video, but the setup depends on how the video needs to reach viewers. A stored file can be made available online, while a complete video hosting workflow can add processing, streaming delivery, and playback capabilities around it.
For small-scale use, a business may only need to make a video file accessible through a URL or the cloud provider's own interface. This can work when a limited audience needs straightforward access to the content.
Serving video through a website, application, or learning platform can require additional infrastructure. Cloud storage can remain the location of the video files, with other services handling the stages between storage and playback.
Businesses can therefore build video hosting around cloud storage. The main consideration is how much additional infrastructure they want to create and manage.
How does video playback work from cloud storage?
A browser or video player can play compatible video files stored in the cloud when it has permission to request them. This provides a way to make individual files watchable online.
A streaming setup can prepare the source video in multiple resolutions and bitrates before playback. The resulting files can then be packaged into streaming formats such as HLS or MPEG-DASH.
These formats divide video into smaller segments that the player requests during viewing. With multiple renditions available, the player can also switch between different versions as connection conditions change.
Cloud storage can hold both the original source and the processed files. Separate services may then handle encoding, packaging, and delivery.
Can you embed a cloud-stored video on a website?
A cloud-stored video can be embedded when the storage setup provides a URL that a compatible web player can access. The implementation depends on the cloud service, permissions, file format, and player.
For example, a developer could configure a web player to request a compatible video file from its cloud location. A streaming setup could point the player towards an HLS or MPEG-DASH manifest generated from the source video.
Teams may also need to configure access permissions, cross-origin requests, responsive playback, and the infrastructure delivering the files.
A dedicated video hosting platform packages these parts of the publishing workflow into the service. Businesses building around cloud storage need to configure the required components themselves.
What happens when more viewers watch videos from cloud storage?
Every viewer generates requests for video data. A setup that works for a small internal audience may therefore need a different delivery architecture when hundreds or thousands of people access the same content.
Serving each request directly from the storage origin can repeatedly transfer data from that location. Viewer distance from the origin can also affect how efficiently content reaches audiences in different regions.
A content delivery network (CDN) can sit between the storage origin and the audience. The CDN caches video content across distributed locations, allowing subsequent requests to be served closer to viewers without retrieving the same data from the origin each time.
This becomes particularly useful for public campaigns, company-wide training, product launches, and other content that can experience concentrated or geographically distributed demand.
Cloud storage and CDN delivery are separate parts of this architecture. The storage service holds the files, while the CDN helps distribute them to viewers.
Does cloud storage automatically optimise video for different viewers?
Cloud storage does not necessarily create the different video renditions required for adaptive streaming. This depends on the service and any media-processing tools connected to it.
A business might upload a high-resolution master and use an encoding service to create lower-resolution or lower-bitrate versions. Those outputs can then be stored alongside the source file and packaged for streaming. The video player can use these renditions to adjust playback as viewing conditions change.
This processing layer is an important consideration when using cloud storage for video. Storing the source file provides the foundation, but additional processing may be needed to prepare it for audience-facing streaming.
What does it cost to deliver video from cloud storage?
The cost of delivering video from cloud storage depends on the cloud provider, architecture, audience size, and services involved.
Potential costs include:
- Storage. Source videos and processed streaming files both consume storage capacity.
- Video processing. Encoding or transcoding services can add separate usage charges.
- Data transfer. Moving video between services, regions, or out to viewers can generate transfer costs.
- CDN delivery. Content delivered through a CDN may be charged according to data transfer and request volumes.
- Requests. Some cloud services charge for particular operations or quantities of requests.
For example, storing one video creates a relatively predictable storage requirement. Delivering that video thousands of times creates a separate volume of data transfer.
Businesses comparing cloud storage for video should therefore calculate the cost of the complete delivery workflow.
What do you need to turn cloud storage into a video hosting system?
A cloud storage service can provide the storage layer, with additional components handling the journey from the uploaded file to the viewer. A typical workflow might look like:
Cloud storage > transcoding and packaging > CDN delivery > video player
The source video first enters cloud storage. A processing service can create the resolutions and bitrates required for playback and package them into suitable streaming formats. Those outputs remain available from the storage origin.
A CDN can then distribute the processed content to viewers, while a video player requests and plays the appropriate files or streaming segments.
Other capabilities can sit around this core workflow. Access management controls who can request protected content. Monitoring can identify processing or delivery problems. Playback analytics can collect information about viewing behaviour when the business needs that data.
The business building the system is responsible for connecting these components and maintaining the workflow as its video requirements change.
Should you build video hosting around cloud storage?
Building around cloud video storage can make sense for businesses that need substantial control over their video infrastructure. An engineering team may want to integrate processing and delivery directly into an existing application, authentication system, or cloud architecture.
This approach can also suit organisations that already operate the required storage, CDN, monitoring, and automation services. They can configure the video workflow around their own technical requirements and expected workloads.
The trade-off is that the business owns the infrastructure connecting storage to playback. Teams need to configure and maintain the processing, streaming, delivery, player, and supporting services required by their implementation.
A dedicated video hosting platform provides these capabilities as an existing service. This can be simpler when the objective is to upload, publish, and deliver business video without assembling the underlying video delivery stack.
The right approach therefore depends on the level of infrastructure control the business needs and the resources available to operate it.
How does Cinema8 provide the video hosting layer?
Cinema8's video hosting platform provides the storage, processing, playback, and delivery capabilities required to host business video within one platform. Teams can upload source files without building a separate transcoding and streaming workflow around their own cloud storage.
Uploaded videos are prepared for adaptive streaming and delivered through Cinema8's ad-free video player. Teams can also embed and share videos, apply access controls, and use video analytics to understand viewing behaviour.
Businesses can continue using existing cloud storage for raw footage, production files, masters, or other assets outside the publishing workflow if they'd prefer. Finished content intended for an audience can then be hosted and delivered through Cinema8. Storage capacity and monthly video delivery are included across Cinema8 plans, with allowances varying by plan.
Choosing how to deliver cloud-stored video
Cloud storage can provide the foundation for video delivery, but businesses building their own hosting system need to account for the infrastructure between storage and playback. Processing, streaming formats, CDN delivery, and a video player can all form part of that workflow.
For businesses that do not need to build and maintain this infrastructure, a dedicated hosting platform can handle those stages within one service. View Cinema8's plans to compare the available video hosting options.