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A comment on Ask HN: Video streaming is expensive yet YouTube "seems" to do it for free. How?. Parent comment

Re:Ask HN: Video streaming is expensive yet YouTube "seems" ... by NBJack on Sunday May 19, 2024 @05:03PM (#40409721)
Think about what you actually need to start a video. Maybe a dozen MB?

After that, you can plunge into colder storages and warm things up as you stream. Additionally, if you need longer to 'defrost' things, just cache a few more MB at the front. Cheat a bit by assuming 480p to start with if you need to; even less to store.

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Re:Ask HN: Video streaming is expensive yet YouTube "seems" ... by londons_explore on Sunday May 19, 2024 @06:33PM (#40410249)
There is also location location location.

Maybe Google holds your content in 7 data centers round the world (~1 per continent for planned maintenance + latency + reduced oceanic fiber usage).

But with old rarely streamed content they might cut that down to just 3.

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