I'm considering posting a HD video to either Vimeo or YouTube for the first time, and I'd like to know the best option. The video is 25 minutes long, which I know exceeds YouTube's limit, though I can divide it. Does Vimeo have a different limit? And is the latter a better showcase to pursue? What, if any, have been your experiences with these two places? Or are there other sites you would also suggest?

Thanks,
Barry

I much prefer Vimeo - it's in a different class than Youtube. The users tend to be more serious in their use of video (you won't find mobile phone uploads there, apart from experimenting with a serious test; neither will you find inane and rude comments!)
You can also post videos up to 2Gbs, so the duration will depend on the compression used.

Barry,
In my experience it depends on what the content of the video is as to whether YouTube or Vimeo gets you a bigger audience. I usually post to both now as it is relatively easy and you can upload the same file. 25 minutes is way too long to upload as 1 part so i would break it up anyway.

As Daniel said - follow your audience. YouTube appeals to a general audience. Facebook is somewhat more youth oriented. Vimeo towards more serious video hobbiests and professionals.

Which also prompts me to ask: Why 25 minutes? This is really outside the conventions for online video. If one were putting such an online audience first, 3 to 14 minutes is much more in keeping with their expectations.

You gotta' ask yourself: Will the viewer who checks out at 3 minutes have gotten my message?

I prefer Vimeo over YouTube for serious video.

As Robin said, Vimeo hosts much higher quality pieces of work, as well as very helpful users that can offer constructive critisism, rather than the 'trolls' you get on YouTube.

However, I believe YouTube has a wider audience then Vimeo does - so I'd advise uploading to both, but splitting the YouTube version into a couple of uploads. Alternatively, how about creating a short/trailer for YouTube and link the full Vimeo version via an annotation? Just a thought!

Thanks for the replies. It's 25 minutes because it's an edited event originally on DVD, so it kind of works as intended, but I understand your point. I might be better off offering segments.

I'm considering posting a HD video to either Vimeo or YouTube

Why it's either /or? Unless your video will be password protected and for selected viewers only, post it to Youtube and Vimeo.
I'm guessing you wanted to tell something to all of us, the more sites you will post your video to, the larger audience you will get, isn't that what you want?
length of the project is not a problem, there are some amazing videos longer than 25 min, it is only about your ability to keep viewer’s attention for that long;
And don't be discouraged by some rude comments that you might get on youtube, but who cares, it's better than not to get any :)
Best!

You're right; not sure why I thought it an either/or; I guess I just wanted to sense how it would differ.

I much prefer the player on Vimeo. YouTube users that go full screen can't control scaling. Watching a 320p or 720p video on a 1920x1280 screen means it gets scaled full screen. On Vimeo, if you (the viewer) don't like it, you can turn scaling off and watch it in the native size with the rest of the screen black. I like this a lot for certain 720p content. All in all, I prefer Vimeo hands down.

Another aspect of Vimeo is the community. In addition to tagging (both have that), you can add your video to various Groups of similar videos. This has the effect of putting your video into a smaller pond for people looking for content on a particular subject or genre.

One downside on Vimeo is that you have to be a Vimeo Plus user to make your content available on mobiles.

YouTube has upgraded some of its users so they can upload videos longer than 15 minutes. I got a message from them the other day when I was uploading something. Here's the official announcement:
YouTube Blog: Up, Up and Away - Long videos for more users (http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2010/12/up-up-and-away-long-videos-for-more.html)

I am a paid Vimeo Plus member, and I also post to YouTube. Both have their strengths, so I just post to one or the other or both of them, depending on what it is. One thing that puzzles me about Vimeo though is their prohibition against commercial use. The way I understand it, Vimeo is to be used for personal use or limited use for promotional purposes. They very clearly say it is not to be used as a substitute for a hosting service. If you've done a corporate or an event video for a client, it seems that it is not OK to post it to Vimeo, and then let the client embed it or link to it. However, they very plainly make exceptions for filmmakers and production companies. They say it is OK to use Vimeo to show off your work or collaborate on projects. A bit of a grey area there. The easy password setup is fantastic for putting rough cuts up for clients to peek at But --- I am just very confused about Vimeo and what they want to be when they grow up. I love the site and the way the player works -- superior to YouTube in many ways. Maybe someone who knows the situation better can explain what Vimeo's business model is all about and if it's a good long-term choice.

One other strength with Vimeo though -- vewers can be given option to download the source video file.

The download function is definitely worthwhile. It's really nifty to be able to have some view / sample a video and then download it if it suits them.

It came in really handy with a video on Joomla 1.6 that I originally recorded in Brisbane and was suddenly needed for a session at a conference in Germany. Being able to download the original file meant that they didn't have to take risks playing it "live" from the web. (Check out the full Joomla video channel (http://vimeo.com/channels/51359) if you are interested.)

Andrew

I prefer Vimeo for professional work. But why not both? Judging by the final results in quality, you can then decide which links to use.