If you want other people to be able to download and watch your movies, you’ll need to put the movie files on a Web server. Your Internet service provider (ISP) might actually provide some free Web server space with your Internet account. This free space is usually limited to about 5 to 15MB, but the exact amount varies greatly. You can use your Web server space to publish pictures, movies, and Web pages that anyone on the Internet can see. Check with your ISP to find out whether you have some available Web server space — and, if you do, get instructions for uploading your files to their Web server.
If your ISP doesn’t provide Web server space, or if it isn’t enough space to hold all of your movie files, don’t worry. Plenty of other resources are available. Several companies specialize in selling server space that you can use to store your movies. These are Youtube alternatives:
- .Mac (www.mac.com): This service from Apple includes e-mail tools, an address book, antivirus service, and most importantly, 100 MB of storage space on their Web server. Uploading movie files to .Mac is just as easy as copying files to different disks on your computer. The .Mac service costs approximately $100 per year, and provides many more features than I can list here.
- HugeHost.com (www.hugehost.com): As the name implies, HugeHost.com lets you put huge files online. The service is quite affordable, as well. For example, 1000MB (yes, one thousand) is just $5 per month, or $55 per year. See their Web site for other pricing plans.
- Neptune Mediashare (www.neptune.com): This service is partnered with Microsoft so you can easily access the Neptune Web site directly from within Windows Movie Maker. When you export a movie for the Web from Movie Maker, you are given the opportunity to log on to your Neptune Mediashare account and upload files instantly. The Mediashare Pro service provides 100MB of storage space for $39 per year. Whatever you use as a Web server for your movie files, make sure you get specific instructions for uploading. You’ll also need to know what the Web address is for the files that you upload. You can then send that address to other people so that they can find and download your movie.
