Vimeo introduces "storage limit" for free accounts (5GB max for all videos)

karma17 said:
I think this is a bad move on Vimeo's part. I have paid for the service when I needed to upload more than my 500 MB and then cancelled the next month when I didn't need. But then they changed that, so you couldn't buy just a month and had to subscribe for a year. And now this. I have uploaded 17GB and can't upload anything now unless I delete 13 GB or pay for the service. I understand that Vimeo is a business and is considered more professional than You Tube, but I have also had major problems with videos buffering and not streaming smoothly, and this was even when I paid for the service. It seems they basically want you to pay for the service and I suppose for those that perceive value in that, then that's great. But many filmmakers, especially young and students, don't want to pay for something they can get for free elsewhere. There are many fine filmmakers who put their work on You Tube. Oats Studios comes to mind. And if you don't like the ads, you skip most of them. Vimeo is certainly entitled to do whatever they see fit, but it just feels like a noose tightening. I don't see how they can compete against You Tube, especially given the buffering and what now is a forced subscription service. You should be able to buy what you need for your needs, and not forced into a subscription, especially when their videos buffer and freeze more often than not. There is a maxim in business that you need to match the competition, and I just don't see Vimeo doing this. And I fully expect them to eventually say they won't keep hosting content that's over the 5 GB. That's been the pattern, creeping incrementalism into a yearly subscription model that you may or may not need. And the irony of all is they are just taking all this subscription money and running "Vimeo changed my life" ads on You Tube! That should tell you something right there! LOL.
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Lets all hope clients don't adopt your attitude someday and expect all of us to provide video services for free just because their neighbors kid will do it for free.
 
I think those against this new policy would feel differently if they owned the company and saw how this potential change is best for business.
 
I don't use Vimeo for my own videos. I have no problem paying for a service I feel is beneficial to me, but Vimeo is just not that. I've been using Youtube with clients since about 2010 and have never had a complaint.
I like that Vimeo exists as an option, but in the last couple years I've had nothing but playback problems with that service, even if I set the quality all the way down. I'm at a point now where if I even see a Vimeo link or embedded player I'll avoid it and go for the Youtube version if available. So it doesn't really matter to me what they do with their free accounts, I'm not using it.
 
Samuel H said:
Three or four years ago, Vimeo's image quality was clearly better than YouTube's. But then YouTube improved their codecs and bitrates, and Vimeo was still looking like 720p to me. Many of you say it's got better image quality than YT right now, but I wouldn't know, I just left the platform at some point.

When I got the email from Vimeo, my first thought was "damn I have to upload my new stuff to Vimeo, I always forget" but then I read the email and well, it seems I just won't upload anything new there.

Yes, what Vimeo gives us is amazing. But they don't live in a vacuum, YT also gives us something amazing, and it's not just free, they actually pay me for the privilege of showing my videos to people. All while bringing me an audience that I just can't reach on Vimeo.

In any case, I understand I have a very different perspective on this, because I'm not trying to reach clients, I'm trying to reach an audience, and the audience is on YT. My videos are about to reach 5 million views on YouTube, whereas on Vimeo they are still at around 150k. It's true that the audience at Vimeo is of much higher quality: professionals that will give you valuable feedback, and clients that may hire you. But the size difference is just killing Vimeo for me: four years ago, I was getting more paying customers on Vimeo than on YouTube, but that has changed completely, YT is also king for this right now, just because it reaches so many people. At least for me. YMMV.
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Yes i agree youtube is a lot better then in the past,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHGtTmkLpgo,and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK4v8trpwA4 most of my films look as good on youtube as the origionaly made film,i used to pay for the basic vimeo 5GB but lately just the free 500MB,so vimeo can do what it likes.
 
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Well yeah its mainly a problem for hobbyists like myself. If this was my job, I could write it off on taxess. But 60€ netto a year for a hobby just to post your stuff online is tempting to move to another platform. However youtube compression sucks though.. I add a lot of grain to my videos, and youtube does not play well with grain. Also the community on youtube is not as great as on vimeo. Where on vimeo you get more professional comments and questions.

I think vimeo is shooting themselfes in the foot here. Hobbyists will move away from vimeo, as pro's were already paying for plus or pro. And if you are migrated to another platform you tend to stick with it. Or it would be great if they had some kind of content rating system, if the content is good you get to upload and keep it online for free or something, voted by the community, or if its not commercial work you can upload it for free.
 
I had a Plus account for a while. Let it lapse and they deleted some of my content, and held some of it hostage until I turned my Plus account back on. I may have permanently lost some videos because I thought Vimeo was a good place to keep them; pretty stupid of me to let the account lapse I guess. It certainly left me with a negative feeling towards them.
 
You mean if I stop paying for my Vimeo Plus account, they might not let me host as much stuff there anymore? How terrible of them!

Does your gym let you swing by a few months after your membership lapses to take a few laps in the pool too?

Seriously... with what even modest video gear costs, $60/year for a Plus account is nothing. Skip Starbucks once a month and you're nearly there.
 
Most of the changes I see Vimeo making have not benefitted me, but seem more like a lame attempt to keep up a vibe, some synergy. I'm not a pro (maybe one day), but I'd think they could add something of value that attracts more of a pro base. I liked them over Youtube because I didn't want ANY crap popping up on the screen, like happens on YT. For example, why not offer to have some PRO Video staff review your video and give actual feedback, constructive criticism? Some people might want that service and be willing to pay on a per video basis, or maybe a price according to the length. Just spit-ballin' here, but their changes they come up with are so irrelevant for me and I would think for most of you as well.
 
Don't like it.....then don't pay for it. I mean c'mon this is just a little crazy. Vimeo has several
nice things which are different from YouTube. Maybe they mean nothing to you.....in which case,
don't pay for Vimeo.

I'm a fan of a couple things. Being able to replace a video but have the original link for when a
client wants to change something little, but you don't need to send out a new URL to everyone
involved because you just upload a new version and it replaces the old one. The new 'review'
feature where you can upload a new version and clients can compare several versions. And
one big one for me, is the ability to make the video available as a 'download' to clients. Which
means, I can do work for a client in California, and when it's done, I can just check the box that
makes the video available for download, and I do not have to mail out a USB stick or external
harddrive. The client clicks on 'download' and chooses 'original file' and they can have the video
in a few minutes instead of waiting for days for the mail. As someone who lives in a place outside
the traditional 'production areas' this helps a ton. I can have clients all over and send them video
this way in a easy manner. I have even shot 'B-Roll' for a client who had come to Alaska to shoot
for a week, went home to California to edit, and found out he needed some specific stuff. I shot
B-Roll and interviews, posted them on Vimeo with a private link 'available to download' and just
sent him the link. He didn't have to wait and got his doc finished in time to get it into the film festival
he was trying to submit to. But ripping on Vimeo for not giving you more 'free' space when it costs
them money to host your videos? I just dunno these days......
 
I'm a Vimeo fan - got 1100+ videos on there using a plus account,
the ability to replace videos, create personalised albums for clients, to review and leave notes on the videos, to host our website videos, for clients to download the files,
it makes everything so easy, I don't question paying for it, same as I don't question paying for useful software, apps or kit for the business - necessary expenses that makes life easier
(I'm in corporate video production, like others mentioned, I guess its value depends on your market/audience etc)
 
Just walked into a restaurant and they had a $20 steak and a $10 hamburger on the menu. Both are beef so why would they be so stupid to sell a $20 steak when people are going to save money and buy the burger? I mean they could buy two burgers and get extra fat for the same cost. How stupid can restaurants be??? McDonalds has a burger for $2 so why on earth would anybody ever eat at the restaurant with the $10 burger ever again?

Yes this is how silly the argument sounds to some of us...

If you no longer see the value then don't use it. It isn't some sort of injustice to offer a paid service or limit a free service. If any of you are hobbyists and don't earn money producing videos then you really should be using YouTube since it is a better social media platform to reach a wide audience. Vimeo is still providing a free service with great value for the amazing price of free and in case you missed it, free. F, R, E, E. Keep all your old videos (that people are not likely going to watch anyway) on YouTube and use Vimeo for your most recent 5GB of videos to reach a different audience.
 
I have been a plus members for several years. One big problem I have with vimeo is that there is long buffering times for my embedded videos. I have very fast internet but the last few months every time I test an embedded HD video I run into low resolution playbacks and long buffering times. A problem that I rarely experience with Youtube. I test my embedded videos at different times of the day and receive very similar results. To me this is a huge problem as I could see potential clients leaving my site because they are tired of waiting for a video to finish buffering. Not sure if their servers are outdated or what but I hope vimeo takes a close look at this problem and resolves it soon. If this problem continues I will be forced to look into other options as it will cost me business.
 
Run&Gun said:
The hypocrisy in this business cracks me up. Everyone wants to be paid for their work, but then they want everything for free.

My .02... Vimeo is a much more professional "environment"/platform. Most of my clients(network & production companies) that upload the finished pieces for viewing(for internal personnel and crew) do so on Vimeo. At the behest of a producer several years ago, I finally put some of my work on-line so that other producers, etc. could see a sample, if needed. I have a paid Vimeo account. It's billed to a CC and auto-renews, I believe. I never have to think about it. A Plus account is $7/month/$84/year. If you can't afford that as a professional business expense, maybe you're in the wrong business. And although the vast majority of my work is existing clients and referrals, if you get JUST ONE job based off of your work that was viewed on-line, it paid for it-self, hopefully, 15-20 times over, at least.
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I logged on to post something similar. But you nailed it. It's ridiculous how this self entitled generation wants everything for free and think everybody must give them free things or they will complain. Pathetic.
 
I think that's a bit misguided. It's not a "self-entitled" thing, it's just that Vimeo doesn't live in a vacuum. Not as much "I deserve to get an awesome service, and it has to be free" but "I can get an awesome service elsewhere, and it's actually free".
I completely understand that YT is not the best option for everybody, but it's great for a lot of people. It's great to have options. Pick the one that suits you best.
 
Samuel H said:
I think that's a bit misguided. It's not a "self-entitled" thing, it's just that Vimeo doesn't live in a vacuum. Not as much "I deserve to get an awesome service, and it has to be free" but "I can get an awesome service elsewhere, and it's actually free".
I completely understand that YT is not the best option for everybody, but it's great for a lot of people. It's great to have options. Pick the one that suits you best.
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There are multiple options out there to put your videos on the web and people can decide which one works best for them and their situation. That's great. But it's just tiresome to constantly see people complain about free services like they are owed something.

I mean, if a person can get their "awesome service" for free, then go and get it and quite whining about the free service that "isn't as awesome".
 
The challenge for Vimeo is not this generation of users.

Youtube is free. Hobbyists and people who think Vimeo price is not value for money are more likely to stick to youtube. However, please note that the same guys will become more serious pros later and will continue to use youtube. So Vimeo will have a growth challenge. If you see many marketing case studies certain products die because the next generation gets used to something else.
 
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