Vimeo

Promptfree, for everyone, and the only version there is

Copy the prompt for Claude CodeCopy the prompt for CodexCopy the prompt for Cursor

Copy

Do not build this at scale. Transcoding and bandwidth are the product, and both are bills rather than code.

Uploading a file and getting a stream that plays everywhere means a ladder of renditions, packaging, storage and a delivery network. Every piece exists as open software; the cost is processor hours and egress.

FIRST, THE ARITHMETIC
- Take your actual library: hours of video, average bitrate, views per month. Multiply out the egress and price it against the subscription
- Most people find either that the hosted price is obviously reasonable or obviously is not, and either answer beats a preference

WHEN TO KEEP PAYING
- A real library with unpredictable traffic
- You want a player, privacy controls and a review workflow without operating any of it

WHEN TO BUILD
- A modest, predictable amount of video. Then ffmpeg on one machine plus object storage with a delivery network in front is a fraction of the cost, and the shape is under Wistia elsewhere in this catalogue

WHAT IT INVOLVES
- A ladder of renditions packaged as HLS so the player adapts to the connection
- Transcoding queued with a concurrency cap. It is CPU-hours per video and unbounded parallelism takes the machine down
- The original kept untouched, always
- **A delivery network in front is not optional.** Serving video from one machine is the mistake that makes everything feel slow
- Signed, expiring playback URLs where the video is not public, with the manifest and the segments both protected. A public storage path means the video is elsewhere within a week
- Captions from a local speech model, editable. A video without them excludes people and is unsearchable
- Do not write a player: the browser's video element with an HLS library, captions, keyboard controls, under 40KB

AND THE HONEST NOTE ABOUT PROTECTION
Signed URLs stop casual sharing. They do not stop somebody recording a screen, and anything stronger costs more than it returns. Say that plainly rather than promising more.

THE ONE-LINE VERSION
Work out your egress first. The build is ffmpeg and a rented network; the decision is arithmetic.