I’m no expert, but this is my understanding:
Videos by default are transmitted from the server directly. If there are any peers, they will help with the load. Videos will always be playable as long as the server that’s hosting it is online.
This part I’m less sure about, but I would assume that as long as you are on the page, you are a peer. I would also assume that you only peer parts that you have watched or were loaded, because that makes sense. Any parts no peer has loaded would be transmitted by the server itself.
Servers have a storage limit because it is incredibly costly to store and stream videos online, as I have learned from tech tips Linus guy. If a user decided they wanted to upload 20TB of nascar videos (which is stupid, nobody watches nascar), that would be way too expensive for the server admin. It’s just a way to keep costs down. And also, peertube, being federated, also helps with storage costs, because no single server has to be responsible for storing all the videos anyone ever uploads.
I’ve been thinking about peertube a lot recently, and how incredible it is. It really seems to solve a lot of problems related to the immense cost of video hosting. It really gives the people power, instead of relying on multi billion dollar companies who can afford the cost with all their investor money. I think it has the potential to grow really big, and spread the cost out. I don’t know if this will ever happen. Hopefully a mastodon/lemmy moment happens to peertube.
So that’s my take. Hopefully most of it is correct.
I think that’s a pretty good overview. It’s too bad you had to rewrite that entire comment because you accidentally deleted the first draft. What a shame that some parts are probably worse off because you didn’t remember all that you wrote. The mental toll that would take must have been immense. Hope you’re doing ok