Uptime & Reliability

No Complaints – Limited Guarantee

WHSH4U guarantees 99% uptime for their customers.  While this certainly is enough for almost every scenario, the 1% leaves just under 88 hours of downtime annually.  While those hours could easily be routine downtime on low-usage hours, no details are provided.  With the ever-growing number of available streaming services available and the ease of access for customers, a more stringent guarantee may be needed.

Features

Primarily Streaming Hosting

WHSH4U offers streaming media in both ICEcast and SHOUTcast these two platforms comprise a good part of online audio content delivery formats.

The firm does a very good job at describing the services they provide and how many listeners each package supports at a time.  Based on their listings, a 64kbps rate will support up to 50 listeners and 128kbps will support up to 200.  On the higher end of the packages is the VPS package, which lists an unlimited number of listeners

All packages offer “unlimited bandwidth” which at first is very alluring, but customers should realize that as with any site operating as a reseller, availability is determined by the host running the services and their facilities; WHSH4U certainly has allotments dictated by their host as well.  Contrary to their unlimited claim, the terms of use state that customers are given an allotment of bandwidth and accounts can be suspended after the maximum usage is reached.

Support

Nice support options with some drawbacks

Support is offered by searchable FAQ page, which appears to be very robust and should allow customers to find many tips and detailed instructions without having to resort to submitting a ticket through the online ticketing system.  While no direct phone number is listed, I believe that this is hardly an issue in the technical arena; WHSH4U claims to have addressed 1500 tickets.  While 24/7 service is very attractive, operating around the clock with knowledgeable staff is a very expensive undertaking and at WHSH4U’s prices, having to submit and e-ticket and be contacted by return phone call or email is certainly a reasonable procedure.

There is also a “network status” link available to determine the state of WHSH4U’s four servers for troubleshooting with uptime and other performance statistics.

Pricing

Reasonable pricing

Each account has to be formatted as either a SHOUTcast or ICEcast, price is the same for either choice.

For a single station with a 64kbps rate, without the AutoDJ management tool, the monthly charge is €2.00 ($2.18 USD) for €7.00 ($7.62 USD) customers can get the 64kps with AutoDJ and 5 GB of storage; this supports up to 25 listeners.  The highest-rated package operates at 128kbps and is €16.00-€21.00 ($17.43-$22.87 USD) monthly and supports up to 200 listeners.

VPS platforms are pricier but offer the ability to have an unlimited number of listeners and higher allotments and the ability to be provisioned in 24 hours.  Prices range from €25-€36.50 ($27.730-$39.75 USD)

Germany’s 19% value added tax applies to all services.

Summary

Very nice option for streaming media hosting

Overall, WHSH4U appears to offer a solid value for the money spent.  With their specialization in streaming technology, they are able to keep prices down but keep numerous options open for their customers to develop their own brands.

As with any offer that lists “unlimited bandwidth” customers need to investigate the exact terms prior to starting service.

Pros:

• Popular formats for ICE and SHOUT Casts supported
• FAQ is searchable and very helpful
• Great for streaming

Cons:

• No support hours listed
• 99% uptime guarantee is not that good