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1# FAQ
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3<!-- Table of contents generated with DocToc: https://github.com/thlorenz/doctoc -->
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073279d5 8- [I don't like the name "PeerTube"](#i-dont-like-the-name-peertube)
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9- [If nobody watches a video, is it seeded?](#if-nobody-watches-a-video-is-it-seeded)
10- [What is WebSeed?](#what-is-webseed)
11- [If a client requests each chunk of a video through HTTP, will the server be overloaded?](#if-a-client-requests-each-chunk-of-a-video-through-http-will-the-server-be-overloaded)
12- [Will an index of all the videos of servers you follow be too large for small servers?](#will-an-index-of-all-the-videos-of-servers-you-follow-be-too-large-for-small-servers)
049539eb 13- [Which container formats can I use for the videos I want to upload?](#which-container-formats-can-i-use-for-the-videos-i-want-to-upload)
bd8ab662 14- [I want to change my domain name, how can I do that?](#i-want-to-change-my-domain-name-how-can-i-do-that)
2db6f2b0 15- [Should I have a big server to run PeerTube?](#should-i-have-a-big-server-to-run-peertube)
bd8ab662 16- [Can I seed videos with my classic BitTorrent client (Transmission, rTorrent...)?](#can-i-seed-videos-with-my-classic-bittorrent-client-transmission-rtorrent)
97b72ed1 17- [Why host on GitHub and Framagit?](#why-host-on-github-and-framagit)
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18- [Are you going to use the Steem blockchain?](#are-you-going-to-use-the-steem-blockchain)
19- [Are you going to support advertisements?](#are-you-going-to-support-advertisements)
20- [What is "creation dynamic" and why not modify it?](#what-is-creation-dynamic-and-why-not-modify-it)
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24## I don't like the name "PeerTube"
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26PeerTube is just the name of the software. You can install it on your
c9e96ead 27server, and choose a name you want. For example, [this instance](https://framatube.org/)
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28is named "Framatube".
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343ad675 31## If nobody watches a video, is it seeded?
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33Yes, the origin server always seeds videos uploaded on it thanks to
34[Webseed](http://www.bittorrent.org/beps/bep_0019.html).
21c54ac5 35It can also be helped by other servers using [redundancy](/support/doc/redundancy.md).
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38## What is WebSeed?
39
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40It is a BitTorrent extension that allows a server to seed a file through HTTP.
41It just needs to statically serve a file, then the clients will request chunks
42with a `Content-Range` HTTP header.
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e755a63a 45## If a client requests each chunk of a video through HTTP, will the server be overloaded?
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47Not really. Reverse proxies like Nginx handle very well requests of static
48files. In my tests, it can send chunks at 10MB/s without consuming more than 5%
49of CPU on a very small VPS.
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e755a63a 52## Will an index of all the videos of servers you follow be too large for small servers?
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54In our benchmarks, 1,000,000 videos takes around 2GB of storage on PostgreSQL.
55We think it is acceptable for a video platform.
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57
049539eb 58## Which container formats can I use for the videos I want to upload?
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60WEBM, MP4 or OGV videos.
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bd8ab662 63## I want to change my domain name, how can I do that?
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c9e96ead 65You can't. You'll need to reinstall an instance and reupload your videos.
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bd8ab662 67
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68## Should I have a big server to run PeerTube?
69
70Not really. For instance, the demonstration server [https://peertube.cpy.re](https://peertube.cpy.re) has 2 vCore and 2GB of RAM and consumes on average:
71 * **CPU** -> nginx ~ 20%, peertube ~ 10%, postgres ~ 1%, redis ~ 3%
72 * **RAM** -> nginx ~ 6MB, peertube ~ 120MB, postgres ~ 10MB, redis ~ 5MB
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588d837c 74So you would need:
21c54ac5 75 * **CPU** 1 core if you don't enable transcoding, 2 at least if you enable it (works with 1 but this is really slow)
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76 * **RAM** 1GB
77 * **Storage** Completely depends on how many videos your users will upload
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80## Can I seed videos with my classic BitTorrent client (Transmission, rTorrent...)?
81
82Yes you can, but you won't be able to send data to users that watch the video in their web browser.
83The reason is they connects to peers through WebRTC whereas your BitTorrent client uses classic TCP/UDP.
21c54ac5 84To check if your BitTorrent client supports WebTorrent you can see this issue: https://github.com/webtorrent/webtorrent/issues/369
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87## Why host on GitHub and Framagit?
88
89The project has initially been hosted on GitHub by Chocobozzz. A full migration to [Framagit](https://framagit.org/chocobozzz/PeerTube) would be ideal now that Framasoft supports PeerTube, but it would take a lot of time and is an ongoing effort.
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92## Are you going to use the Steem blockchain?
93
94Short answer: no, since like most appchains/votechains, it modifies the dynamic of creation, and as such cannot be integrated into mainline PeerTube. Read more about that in [the dedicated section](#what-is-creation-dynamic-and-why-not-modify-it).
95
96Long answer is that the Steem blockchain goes astray of its promises of fairness and decentralization: the deliberate relaunching of the currency to ensure centralization, and the stake-based voting power, makes manipulation by wealthy users inevitable ([source here](https://decentralize.today/the-ugly-truth-behind-steemit-1a525f5e156)).
97Worse, money generated primarily goes to stakeholders ([source here](https://steemit.com/steemit/@orly/how-the-steem-pyramid-scheme-really-works) ).
98For more information, read the complete whitepaper analysis done by [Tone Vays](https://twitter.com/ToneVays/status/761975587451928576).
99
100## Are you going to support advertisements?
101
102Short answer: no, we don't want advertisers to dictate which content should be financed.
103That would modify the dynamic of creation; as such it cannot be integrated into mainline PeerTube.
104Read more about that in [the dedicated section](#what-is-creation-dynamic-and-why-not-modify-it).
105
106The long answer is probably more subtle. YouTube has shaped generations of video creators by making it easy to place ads;
107but making big money with the platform can be a challenge.
108A typical video ad runs between $.10 and $.30 per 1000 views (as of March 2018).
109More than 70% of video creators use ads as the main way to make money on YouTube, yet less than 3% of video creators make a living out of their YouTube activity (with partnerships and commissions, otherwise counting only ad revenue it drops to 1%).
110Read more about it in the 2018 study by Mathias Bärtl, [*YouTube channels, uploads and views: A statistical analysis of the past 10 years*](https://www.dropbox.com/s/0cq4wtxm83s95t2/10.1177%401354856517736979.pdf?dl=0).
111To the best of our knowledge, small and medium-community creators are better off getting support from their community on platforms such as Liberapay, Tipeee or Patreon.
112Moreover, don't forget that advertisers already pay considering YouTube's large user base; with PeerTube's way smaller user base and refusal of user profiling, a pay-per-view that's lower than YouTube's could only be expected.
113
114## What is "creation dynamic" and why not modify it?
115
116We define creation dynamic as the way any original content, regardless of its monetary value, is created and incentivized.
c9e96ead 117We want to stay neutral by limiting the influence of our platform on authors as much as possible. We are not curators, and want to limit the scope of PeerTube instance owners and administrators' responsibilities to moderation tasks only.
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118
119If you still want to use a functionality potentially altering that state of things, then you could interface with our upcoming plug-in system, which will be the place to integrate such features in the near future.
120
121With that being said, know that we are not against these features *per se*.
122We are always open to discussion about potential PRs bringing in features, even of that kind. But we certainly won't dedicate our limited resources to develop them ourselves when there is so much to be done elsewhere.