i am building a site that incorporates Flash streaming video. i will host the
site on my own server but i need an isp specializing in streaming flash video
to host the flv content. who should i use and about how much is it?

i have tried to contact vital stream a number of times and never had anyone
call me back or try to contact me at all, and this is after 4 months. and they
come across as very shifty, imho. i just want a straight answer and i get the
exact opposite.

who does anyone recommend to satisfy my criteria? thank you.

Akamai, VitalStream, and MirrorImage are some of the bigger names. There are
certainly others.

Typically they charge per GB transferred and have minimums. You can expect to
pay $2-$3 per GB, depending on total volume (high volume gets you a lower per
GB rate). Some offer "cell phone"-like packages with "overages", "contracts",
etc. You will also likely pay a monthly fee (that includes some amount of
usage).

It can be expensive, for sure.

thanks jeffbruce.

I've been using Influxis hosting for a similar configuration. FLVs are streamed
from Influxis. The SWFs calling the stream are from a variety of hosts. You
have to configure your Influxis account to accept requests from the relevant
host but it's trivial (host name or IP entered on a form).

Influxis has been rock solid for us and reasonably priced. Of course, YMMV.