Video is now an everyday part of mobile phone life and watching YouTube is something we can do with ease. However, with new kid Vimeo on the block, things may well be about to change. But can Vimeo really compete with Google’s YouTube? Can it offer users what YouTube does? And what, if anything, makes one better than the other? Read on after the jump for our video hosting website site shootout.
YouTube, since its inception has gone on to become one of the fastest growing and most frequently visited websites on the internet. In fact, it’s almost a knee-jerk reaction to go straight to the site when you want to watch a music video, which means it is starting to enjoy a similar monopoly to the way people associate Google as the only search engine - and seeing that Google owns both, it’s probably a good thing that there is now some healthy competition beginning to surface in the form of Vimeo, which has just announced support for both the iPhone and Android.
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David Versus Goliath
Google is obviously one of, if not the biggest player on the internet - the brand Google is almost synonymous with the world wide web itself. So in this sense, YouTube is clearly backed by the biggest, most experienced, and most well known brand on the web, and for some people this is a problem - Google represents “the Man” - in the context of the internet - and nobody likes “the Man.”
However, Vimeo is also owned by a corporate entity, so it’s hardly a David and Goliath type face-off. Far from it in fact, when you consider that Vimeo owners IAC own nearly 50 consumer brands which include Bloglines, Ask, CollegeHumour and Urbanspoon. Nevertheless, Google is a far bigger company, and in a free-ish society, competition is always healthy as it keeps things innovative and fresh, so in this context, we have to side with Vimeo…. Sorry Google, but you’re big enough as it is.
Winner: Vimeo
Actual Content
Both sites actively encourage users to report and flag up any material that maybe considered offensive, this includes pornography, religious fanaticism, and anything defamatory. However, YouTube, largely owing to its size, has to be a little more stringent in its policing of content. That said, Vimeo will not host any commercial videos, gaming videos or pornography. Basically, to get a video on Vimeo, it has to be user created. This means that Vimeo is more user oriented than YouTube, which more often that not can become a conduit for advertising companies to pimp out latest products - although, this can sometimes be useful, particularly for when you’re shopping around for things. Nevertheless, YouTube has far more users, and much more content, and in this context it is the clear winner.
Winner: YouTube
Video Quality
Vimeo was quick to announce that it boasted the highest video quality on the web - a startling 720p HD. That said, YouTube has recently adopted a similar level of quality, so there’s not much between the two in this context. However, YouTube has the option to view different qualities depending on which device you’re viewing them on, which is certainly handy for mobile users that don’t want to dissolve their entire data packages in one viewing.
Vimeo again has one over Google in the sense that it offers 5000 kbits compared to Google’s 2000 kbits, which makes the overall experience of viewing videos on the web a much smoother affair on Vimeo. In addition, YouTube has better audio playback, but Vimeo’s is still adequate and in stereo. Overall, in the context of viewing videos on the web via your PC, Vimeo provides better quality and better playback, so it is the winner in this sense.
Winner: Vimeo
Library
YouTube has 20 hours of footage uploaded every 60 seconds, which means there’s 2 million minutes of new videos every day - in short, you’d have to be immortal to watch it all, and even then, it’d probably take you the rest of eternity! Vimeo, on the other hand, still has an impressive 13,000 uploads per day but compared to YouTube it doesn’t even come close to scratching the surface. YouTube is a God in this sense - all knowing, seemingly infinite, and practically omnipotent.
Winner: YouTube
Uploading content
YouTube can handle just about any video format, as can Vimeo. However, YouTube will only let users upload a maximum file size of 2GB, which is slightly limiting - although, it is understandable given the size of the site. Consequently, there is no limit to the length of videos you can post on Vimeo, but the actual data you can upload in one sitting is limited to 1GB, making it half the size of YouTube. In addition, with a basic account on Vimeo you can only upload 500MB per week, which is pretty rubbish compared to what you can do on YouTube.
Additionally, content upload onto YouTube has a million times more reach than Vimeo and could potentially propel you to fame and fortune, which is something Vimeo can’t currently compete with - it’s like comparing a puddle to the Pacific Ocean, one is infinitely larger and more powerful.
Winner: YouTube
Overall Winner: YouTube.
While Vimeo is a good video hosting site that provides above average service and video quality, it still, unfortunately struggles to compete with the behemoth that is YouTube. We’d like to say Vimeo is the better service, but unfortunately we can’t at this point. That said, Vimeo is constantly growing and developing, so who knows where it’ll be in six months time…
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