With Spotlightr you have the freedom of hosting your videos wherever you want. There are many advantages with using this feature as well as some disadvantages. Key Benefits include lowered costs, while drawbacks include no performance guarantees nor encryption security.

Hybrid hosting, or linking, means that you are using a link from a video hosted somewhere and adding that link to Spotlightr. We then play that video from its source location and play it using our video player.
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We are not copying or moving the video file to Spotlightr, we are playing it from it's source location. When you are using our linking/hybrid hosting feature, we are playing the video from its location but with our video player.

For example, when linking with a Youtube video we are able to play that video which is still on Youtube servers and still using the Youtube network but playing that video with our video player instead of the Youtube video player.

Storage: You don't use Spotlightr storage space when linking from another provider. When you use a link from another platform we are not copying or moving the video over from those external sources. We are playing the video from its external source location and playing it using our video player. This is why most Spotlightr player features still work.

Bandwidth: When linking you are not using Spotlightr bandwidth so you might be saving money if you use a very large amount of bandwidth. However, you may actually use less bandwidth than you think. If you are not sure, add a dozen or a couple dozen of your most popular videos. Then monitor your bandwidth usage from your Accounts & Billing section of your dashboard. This can be monitored daily.

Encryption: Linked videos cannot be encrypted. The encryption process happens when a file is uploaded to Spotlightr, so this process doesn't occur when linking. Other security features still work however. You can secure linked videos with the password protection feature and restrict them to play only on desired domains.

Performance: Performance will not be as good as it would be if you uploaded directly to Spotlightr. Since we are using the video from its source location, it's also using that systems' bandwidth, storage and infrastructure. We have less control on the overall environment for playback, so issues can arise that may be out of our control.

Thumbnails: We cannot generate timeline seeking sprites or custom thumbnails from certain frames of the video. We are able to generate a default thumbnail, but not a custom. If a custom thumbnail is required then an image must be uploaded.

Multiple Resolutions: We cannot retrieve multiple resolutions and your viewers cannot change the resolution that is best for them based on their internet speed.
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The exception here is YouTube. More than one resolution is now possible with YouTube links. We serve the 360 version by default as this version has the best performance (this is due to the way YouTube allows access to their videos). We can serve all resolutions that are available if this option is enabled in your global settings. So if that setting is enabled and the 1080 and 720 versions are available we will make those available as well in the player controls.

Downloading: You cannot download a backup of your video file from Spotlightr. As mentioned above, when you link your video to Spotlightr we are not copying or moving the video file. We are playing the video file from its location but with our video player. Because this is the case you cannot download a copy of the video from Spotlightr.
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Additionally, your viewers cannot download the video via a download button in the player settings.

Subtitles: We cannot generate sub-titles or AI content from linked videos.

Aspect ratio: We cannot auto-detect the aspect ratio of your video

Timeline Scanning: Thumbnail of video frames while scanning timeline not available

If you are linking videos from YouTube, please be aware that we do run into issues from time to time. This is because YouTube makes changes to its infrastructure that we must adapt to. And keep in mind that YouTube prefers that you play their videos with their own player, so we need to 'hack' the way their videos work in order to play their videos with the Spotlightr player.

We cannot guarantee any performance metrics when linking from YouTube. Here's what that means for you...

Yes by linking via YouTube you might save money because you are not paying for Spotlightr storage or bandwidth. We say might, because there are steps you can take so please check the FAQs below for more info.

But with that comes the disadvantage that this is NOT the most stable way to use Spotlightr. We always recommend you upload files direct to us instead of linking from YouTube. This is the BEST way to ensure your videos are stable and play flawlessly.

If your #1 priority is cost, then YouTube linking could be a good option for you for some or all of your videos. Just understand the disadvantages are something you will deal with. We do our very best to make sure linking works as well as possible, but some things are out of our control.

If your #1 priority is performance and uptime, then we recommend that you do NOT link from YouTube. Uploading your videos directly to Spotlightr and using our storage and high quality CDN network is recommended.

YouTube linked videos are freezing, what can we do?

Ask your viewers to use a lower resolution from the player controls or wait for the video to buffer. YouTube videos at 1080 might freeze a little depending on the viewer's location.

Otherwise, instead of linking from YouTube please upload directly to Spotlightr which supports up to 4k.

YouTube videos are loading slowly, what can we do?

This is going to happen depending on the viewers location and Youtube throttling traffic. If this is something you do not want to deal with, upload directly to Spotlightr instead of linking from Youtube.

I really want YouTube to work. I can't afford to pay Spotlightr for storage and CDN bandwidth. What can I do?

The cost to upload direct to Spotlightr and use our CDN network may not be as expensive as you think. To save on costs and be as efficient as possible, you can compress your videos before uploading to Spotlightr and this will save on storage space as well as bandwidth consumption. Check this article for instructions.

If bandwidth is a concern, you may be surprised that the vast majority of our customers don't use nearly as much bandwidth as they think they do or would use. Our plans include enough bandwidth for 99% of our customers, so there are never extra bandwidth costs.

If you are still not sure, upload 20 or 30 of your most popular videos and monitor bandwidth usage. You can monitor it daily via your Accounts & Billing section of your dashboard. If you see that bandwidth being used isn't as much as you thought, you can continue to upload videos to Spotlightr.

Please also reach out to support for help in estimating your usage and picking a plan that works best for you.

My linked videos from YouTube work except for ones I just uploaded to YouTube. Is there anything I can do?

YouTube videos may not work with Spotlightr if they were very recently uploaded to YouTube. We've also noticed that videos with zero views or just a few views sometimes don't work either. So if you just uploaded a video to YouTube and you are trying to link it and it doesn't work, please allow some time to pass and try again. And also be sure to get at least 5 or 10 views on the video as well.

For a list of supported sources please check this article. If your source is not listed here it might still work. If the video link/URL is publicly accessible, and basically plays when you load the link in a browser, then it will very likely work with Spotlightr.