Good host provider ideas

[tjmarx]

My current WHM Sonic host has let me down pretty badly today so I'm looking for a new host. I want a WHM Sonic host, which obviously includes the AutoDJ, I need webhosting included as well.

 

Can anyone recommend someone? Would be great if the host had one of those customer coverage broadcast licenses like Live345 does so I can stop paying out so much for my license, but that obviously isn't essential in the host.

 

Thanks in advance for your help guys...

[Bizzacore]

who do you use for you licensing right now?

 

Loudcity offers hosting/licensing combinations.. something to look into.

 

Also, I heard of a host with great deals from here actually. makeavoice.com. Very cheap! 10 bucks for 50 slot @ 128k .. also has AutoDJ

[tjmarx]

I buy my license direct from APRA at the moment, which is the Australian body responsible for broadcast licensing. $1200/month base + 4% of revenue + extra for certain tracks, so obviously if I can reduce license fee's that would be great. If not, no big deal.

[tjmarx]

Just checked out loudcity, they won't do because their terms for licensing are that the listeners can only tune in through their website. I have several websites which have my radio station embedded, and the bulk of my listeners use winamp or their mobile phones.

 

I really would prefer to use WHM Sonic; but at very least a Shoutcast based server with AutoDJ + Live DJ with onair swap. That is to say, no need to restart the server and drop listeners just to change between AutoDJ and a Live DJ.

[James]

You can check out our full lusting of Stream Hosts here: http://www.broadcastingworld.net/reviews/hosts/

 

Good luck! Tell us how it goes

[NickolasM.]

http://www.wilds-hosting.net Owned and Run by our fellow member, Wildun. I won some free space on there on a contest on BW last year, He's been great, No issues, even for just free hosting (Free for me becuase I won)

 

Web host / Stream Host. IF you have a issue he will be back to you within 14 hours. And over-all, He is a great guy, and if you ever get a chance to just talk with him you will 'enjoy your experiance' I guess I can say.

[tjmarx]

Thanks NickolasM. I tried to have a look at wilds-hosting.net but he doesn't seem to offer anything other than linux web hosting. :s Thanks again though.

 

Cheers for the link James, I'm going through them now.

[BWorld]

When you are looking at those hosts, be sure to check out the ones that are Broadcasting World certified. Those are very much known and will get you a great deal and great service!

[James]

When you are looking at those hosts, be sure to check out the ones that are Broadcasting World certified. Those are very much known and will get you a great deal and great service!

 

The hosts we trust and recommend are ones that the staff (mostly me) have personally used and ones that we love! Lots of love around Broadcasting World when it comes to Stream Hosts :biggrinthumb:

[tjmarx]

Hi James,

 

Please don't take me the wrong way, but in my opinion, all of the host providers in your review section which I viewed (all who claim 100% uptime) are over priced. Also none of them offered the services I require.

 

I need at least 50 slots @ 64kb on a WHM Sonic (or same as) host server. AutoDJ shouldn't be an add-on and should come with at least 2GB of data storage for the AutoDJ. Bandwidth should NOT be limited. It should be reasonably priced for what it is; that is to say it should not go over $25/month. That is the basics of what I require.

 

I get this, plus basic web hosting from my current provider and pay $20/month. They are however not very good at communication and at any rate have given me notice they intend to close their doors mid november. It's 1 guy who runs it, and his work commitments aren't gelling with his shoutcast hosting commitments.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations?

[BWorld]

As you have stated yourself, they are shutting down in November. This is probably because they cannot afford to price that low. AutoDJ, I know from our company, takes precious resources, and that is why many companies offer this as an addon, we however, do not. I think that most of the hosts on that page are relatively good priced, and in my opinion, you get what you pay for. If you want to pay a little, expect a little. This, unfortunately, I have learned the hard way many times in my life.

[countrywesterndj]

Try these guys out. They offer 200 concurrent listeners at 128k for 1 pound a month (about $1.60 US).

 

You can't go wrong for that price, I think

 

http://ultimate-webhost.net/?page=plans

[tjmarx]

As you have stated yourself, they are shutting down in November. This is probably because they cannot afford to price that low. AutoDJ, I know from our company, takes precious resources, and that is why many companies offer this as an addon, we however, do not. I think that most of the hosts on that page are relatively good priced, and in my opinion, you get what you pay for. If you want to pay a little, expect a little. This, unfortunately, I have learned the hard way many times in my life.

 

Like I already stated, the reason he is closing is he doesn't have the time to run a business at the moment. I have found plenty of other similar priced hosts on google too, so it isn't underpriced. I fail to see how an AutoDJ and churn more bandwidth then a live stream. What I'm looking for is a recommendation.

 

I'm waiting to hear back from Mike over at makeavoice.com whom were recommended earlier. They are priced reasonably I just want to know if their control panel requires a restart between AutoDJ and LiveDJ changes.

[tjmarx]

Try these guys out. They offer 200 concurrent listeners at 128k for 1 pound a month (about $1.60 US).

 

You can't go wrong for that price, I think

 

http://ultimate-webhost.net/?page=plans

 

 

Cheers countrywesterndj,

 

Do you know anything about them? Their website isn't exactly forthcoming with information. Do you know what control panel they use?

[tjmarx]

Thank-you to everyone who replied. I have found a new host with a reasonable price and services.

 

For $20US I get 200 slots at 64kbps, AutoDJ and webhosting all with WHMSonic as I first wanted.

 

Check out http://www.shouthostdirect.com/ for more details

 

James, just a quick suggestion, these guys might be good candidates for a review?

[James]

Thank-you to everyone who replied. I have found a new host with a reasonable price and services.

 

For $20US I get 200 slots at 64kbps, AutoDJ and webhosting all with WHMSonic as I first wanted.

 

Check out http://www.shouthostdirect.com/ for more details

 

James, just a quick suggestion, these guys might be good candidates for a review?

Thanks, i will contact them tonight

[kwdservices]

As you have stated yourself, they are shutting down in November. This is probably because they cannot afford to price that low. AutoDJ, I know from our company, takes precious resources, and that is why many companies offer this as an addon, we however, do not. I think that most of the hosts on that page are relatively good priced, and in my opinion, you get what you pay for. If you want to pay a little, expect a little. This, unfortunately, I have learned the hard way many times in my life.

 

I couldn't say it better myself.

 

TJ, I know you think these hosts are overpriced, but they're actually very reasonable. NO, they are not trying to steal your money and take a crazy profit. The fact of the matter is, they use high quality data centers and are reliable. If you want reliability along with tech support that is actually going to answer you at 3am when your server goes out, you're going to have to pay for it. How is a company suppose to pay even one tech support person if all they are making is a few hundred dollars (and that is assuming they're not overselling)? After they pay for the server, they don't have any money left to pay anyone.

 

No matter how many posts I or other members make, people do not seem to understand that you get what you pay for. If you think those hosts listed are overpriced, check out these people, you'll think they're trying to rob you:

http://www.streamguys.com/streamingservices/livestreaming.html

 

Are they actually trying to rob you? No, they use high quality bandwidth and are overly redundant to the point where failures cannot happen.

 

Take for example nuclear submarines. Look at the amount of money put into their development, and how few accidents they've had since in operation. Why? Because so much money was spent towards their design and building they are almost flawless. Off the top of my head, I think about 5 fatal accidents have occurred as a result of the power supply since 1960. Compare that to plane, train, and car crashes....

 

This is not personally directed at you TJ, it just upsets me when people say that companies are overpriced when they're not. It's one thing if the person says that they cannot afford premium quality, but saying those hosts are overpriced is false.

[tjmarx]

With the new host I've got, I have no buffering, all the slots I need and proven tech support 24/7. That is to say I've used their tech support to switch over from cencast to WHMSonic and it was all done straight away, while I was on the line. I have no problems at all with the host, they provide everything I could want. All for $20 a month. To me the proof is in the pudding.

 

comparing automobile accidents to nuclear sub accidents is more than slightly silly. There are billions of cars in the world all using only man made road inferstructure. There are under a 1000 nuclear subs using the whole of the ocean which takes up the majority of the planets surface.

 

Paying bucket loads of cash isn't always a guarantee you're going to get something great. Take shoes for example, ADIDAS for example are expensive sport shoes but ultimately ruin your feet. Nike are expensive sport shoes and are good for your feet, but on the same hand Dunlop are cheap sport shoes but are made in the same way as Nike shoes and are good for your feet. But of course there are plenty of other cheap sport shoes which are also bad for your feet.

 

Another example are computer systems. If I buy for example a HP or another brand name PC it will, in most cases, cost a lot more than if I go to a small business computer store and have them build me a PC with the exact same system specs.

 

The point I'm trying to make is, the amount of money you spend really isn't a guarantee of anything other then that you've spent that amount of money. It is a consumers job to do their homework, to research providers of the product or service you require and to find the best one at the most reasonable price. This is what encourages competition in the market place and drives prices lower. It is what keeps business honest.

 

I am a business man, I have been a member of the boards of many major Australian companies. I have been Chair of the board of one major Australian company and I currently own and run a mid-large sized Australian company which hasn't been floated. I understand business better than most. When you're provider is a small business which either resells from a larger provider or is a single guy who rents some boxes at a data center, paying tech support people isn't an issue as you're 1 guy. I believe in supporting small business, Australian small business especially. These are people who work hard, who have invested a lot of time and money and will in most cases do you right.

 

Not only do I get an awesome deal with my current host, but I get personalised service. My tech support comes from the same guy, every time. So I can develop a relationship over time with this person. It means a happier, better quality business relationship, one where he is more likely to go out of his way to help me.

 

At the end of the day, I'm happy with what I have. It does everything I want it to do for a price I find reasonable. To me those other hosts ARE over priced. It seems to me, their price structures are very generic, copying one after another. There is little to no downward market pressure because people aren't doing their homework and finding cheaper host providers who are willing to give the same thing for less money. Were ever possible it is our job as a consumer to create such downward pressure to ensure we are always getting the cheapest possible price.

[shoutcaststreaming]

I know this is a no win situation, but since Karl tried, I will also.

 

Not only do I get an awesome deal with my current host, but I get personalised service. My tech support comes from the same guy, every time.

I'd like you to come back in 2 - 3 months and tell us how the host is. Being a customer for a few days isn't a good test of the host, even though it is cheap.

 

Paying bucket loads of cash isn't always a guarantee you're going to get something great.

True, but getting the cheapest thing you can find is a guarantee you're going to get a bad deal. For example that host that was posted (http://ultimate-webhost.net/?page=plans) 200 slots at 128k for a dollar or two a month can't be anything but a scam.

 

The cheapest cost of a 100 mbit server with shared bandwidth is $159 per month at FDC servers. You can get 720 slots at 128k on it without buffering. That is about $0.22 per slot. So 200 slots would cost $44 dollars per month. No way he can sell 200 slots for $2 per month.

 

To me those other hosts ARE over priced. It seems to me, their price structures are very generic, copying one after another.

This is completely false. Had you did your homework, you would have found the prices of the hosts listed vary greatly. They range from about $0.40 per 128k concurrent listener to $2.50 per concurrent listener. I won't put names of the hosts, since the last time I did that, I got hate mail.

 

The hosts are all different in what they offer. Some offer transcoding (taking a stream at one speed and rebroadcasting at anoter speed) and some do not. Some offer Auto DJ and some do not. Some have Auto DJ included and some have it as an add-on. Some offer Windows Media streaming and some do not.

 

The point is that they are all different in what the offer. To say they all copy from one another is simply not true.

 

When you're provider is a small business which either resells from a larger provider or is a single guy who rents some boxes at a data center, paying tech support people isn't an issue as you're 1 guy.

I have to disagree with both of you here. The main cost of a Stream Host is not hiring people for tech support.

 

The main cost is in the bandwidth. The difference is that low quality shared bandwidth (used by the cheaper hosts) costs about $0.22 per concurrent listener. High quality Dedicated Bandwidth costs about $1.00 per concurrent listener.

 

The shared bandwidth is just that. It is shared among up to 20 other servers. When people download porn or large files, your station will buffer. Dedicated bandwidth doesn't buffer, as the provider 'owns' it with no other server(s) using it. There is also a difference in who the bandwidth carriers are. Savvis is very good, Cogent usually has issues. Different data centers use different carriers.

 

That is the main difference in price, not tech support, not phone support, not live support. Bandwidth is the main cost.

[kwdservices]

When you're provider is a small business which either resells from a larger provider or is a single guy who rents some boxes at a data center, paying tech support people isn't an issue as you're 1 guy. I believe in supporting small business, Australian small business especially. These are people who work hard, who have invested a lot of time and money and will in most cases do you right.

 

So what do you do when that 1 guy gets involved in a car crash and ends up in the hospital for a month, unable to pay the server bill to the data center? Then you're in a mess, because you just paid your monthly bill and now your station is down...

[kwdservices]

That is the main difference in price, not tech support, not phone support, not live support. Bandwidth is the main cost.

 

While I do agree with you in the fact that bandwidth is the main cost, I think that tech support does affect a lot of stream hosts' pricing, especially when you compare the large companies with the smaller ones (small company as in 5-10 people working together from their homes, rather than an office with 10+ people).

[tjmarx]

I did actually do my homework well. If you had actually read my original post I stated I was looking for 64kbps. Which is also what I have gotten. Not 128.

 

I am paying $20/month, not 1 or 2 dollars. Clearly if it costs 1 or 2 dollars it either is a scam or it isn't going to be very good. I also don't rebroadcast in other bit-rates at this point in time. I just have 1 single 64kbps stream with 200 slots. That's it. Yes there was slight variation in offerings and prices between the providers listed but it wasn't really all that great a variation for what I wanted.

 

If the 1 guy gets into a car crash, and my server is down, then clearly he will either find means to fix it or I will get a refund.

 

I didn't create this thread to have arguments. You boys clearly have a vested interest in defending the prices of these services. I find them over priced, that is my opinion and I am entitled to it. I'm not here to fight and argue, that's just silly. I started this thread because I was looking from some genuine recomendations for what I would consider reasonably priced shoutcast servers and listed what I wanted. That's it, all there is too it.

 

I found one that I liked, I'm happy with it, so that's all that matters. Stop trying to find fault with things just because you can't or won't match the prices.

[BWorld]

That is right, you are entitled to your opinion. Would it be possible though to do a follow-up in a couple of months, just to see if the service is really what you expected?

[tjmarx]

Yep, I certainly can. I'll report back about it in 3 months time, in 6 months time and in 12 months time. That should give a good over view of any issues that raise.

[BWorld]

Very good! I look forward to hearing your experience!