i am planning a site for video sharing. My top priority is good speed for the viewers.

Now, what is smarter? A dedicated Server (maybe managed), or a colocation?

Thanks alot!

Well, it really depends on your budget and needs of course. I think you should go with a managed dedicated if you're not used managing servers or if you don't own servers.

I don't think you'll benefit much from colocation unless you own multiple servers yourself and can go to your datacenter often.

You can certainly get good speed from either a properly configured dedicated or colocated server. Smarter is relative to your business and to your skill set.

Yes a managed dedicated server will be great for you..I have google for few companies offering FFMPEG installed server and found out below companies:

http://infrenion.com

Apthost

Cirtex

Hope this helps you find a better solution.

Depending on your bugdet a managed Dedicated server is what you should aim for.

What sort of budget do you have? This will help us to point you in the right direction

If you need higher specs for your website, dedicated managed servers are the best choice.

for medium budget, colocated servers should be ok, but aim is for dedicated server if budget permits

thanks alot for your help

Factors or guidelines to select dedicated versus colocated?

At the top of my list are:

• In-house technical expertise
  
• Proximity of data center
  
• Are managed services available
  
• Are monitoring services available
  
• What about backups and disaster recovery
  
• Cost of power
  
• Type of bandwidth offered (BGP/Cogent)?
  
• Flexibility to upgrade and scalability factors
  
• Entry cost
  
• SLA (Service Level Agreement)
  
• Terms of Service
  
• Current reviews of each
  
• Capital Asset Expense

Of course there are pros and cons to each plan, and neither may be the perfect solution for your requirements. Most hosts will work to customize a solution that matches your requirements.

Colocation Pros:

If you’re in close geographical proximity to the data center, you can work on your own equipment (upgrades, etc.) avoiding the cost of outsourced parts and labor.

As you grow, savings from colocation grow as well

It’s still your equipment, so it’s easier to migrate to another provider should problems arise.

As a rule, it’s generally less expensive when compared to unmanaged dedicated

Your fixed assets show on your balance sheet, indicating higher net worth (important to banks and potential customers).

If you’re using accrual accounting, you’ll be able to show profitability on your income statement by spreading expenses over three to five years (depreciation).

Dedicated Pros:

For smaller customers, dedicated makes more business sense

A broad range of managed services are available

The server belongs to the host and it’s their responsibility to maintain and keep it running

Their techs are familiar with the hardware more so than they would be with your colocated equipment

You benefit from data center amenities that may not be included in colocation packages (firewalls, load balancing)

Entry costs are lower and scalability is enhanced

O/S maintenance and upgrades may be included as optional managed services

Allows you to outsource IT expertise so you can do what you do best - drive your business

wow steve....Where does all this stuff come from?? Do you just pull it off the top of your head? lol

Not off the top of my head. LOL. I spend a lot of time researching different topics that apply to our operations and to business in general. Much of this is gleamed from different forums, books and articles (and our own internal operations). I just put my own spin on it, based on my experience in the industry. Hopefully, what we contribute to these forums will help others to avoid mistakes - and possibly even help them succeed in their businesses.

I see....Also, very true. HD is here to help those in need of web hosting guidance.

I suggest dedicated server.

if i am not wrong.
the poster did not mentioning the budget!