iOS How would I Serve Media for my app?

[ArtOfWarfare]

I know that for serving up textual data I would create a database, like MySQL or IBM DB2 or Microsoft SQL Server or something, and then I can use something like Django to make sure that people are properly authenticated for accessing anything or modifying anything.

I can either set that all up myself or I could just go through a service like Parse.

If I wanted to make a server that would serve up a lot of audio, video, and pictures, how would I do that?

How would I set it all up myself, and what services might I go through instead for it?

Edit: I just realized that Parse actually offers to store 20 GB for free and only costs $0.03/GB after that. Additionally, you get 2 TB of file transfer / month plus $0.10/GB after that.
20 GB is good for about 90 hours of standard def video, so that should be enough to build an initial prototype in. From there, I can pitch it to investors and see if I can get funding to build out something that's more complete.

 

[PhoneyDeveloper]

Be aware that there are a lot of different formats and the optimum format will differ for different OSes and screen sizes. This is normally handled by having multiple versions of each video on the server and then negotiation at download time. I believe the iOS video player will progressively download a file from a server and play it but this isn't the same as streaming video. Anyway, there's more to it than just putting some files on a server if you want a great experience for users.

 

[ViviUO]

Are you asking for the best method of serving media? If so, I think you found your answer in your edit.

I was going to suggest finding a web host that provides unlimited storage/bandwidth and using a database to store the paths/meta to your media. This probably wouldn't be super reliable for audio/visual streaming, though. At least not if your app finds a large audience.