Archive for Video - Internet Television
Professional Video Publishing Trends: A Video Interview With Jeremy Allaire – Part 1
Posted by: | CommentsWhat is the difference between uploading your video to typical video-sharing sites like YouTube or using instead one of the paid white-label video distribution services springing up here and there?
Photo credit: Robin Good
Free video-sharing sites like YouTube, Viddler, DailyMotion and others have the advantage to be a no-brainer for anyone getting her hands dirty in video publishing. But what about those publishers who need more control over their video inventory and are also looking to monetize their video assets?
The emergence of white-label video distribution services allows professional online publishers who want to go beyond video sharing for serendipitous purposes, to leverage the opportunity to:
- Control the distribution of video clips,
- Publish video in HD quality,
- Track and monitor viewers and video performance,
- Monetize video assets,
- Integrate video ads,
- Select and customize the type of ads running inside videos,
- Integrate ad networks,
- Personalize and brand video channels,
- Receive dedicated support.
In the first part of this video interview, Robin Good asks Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Brightcove – one of the leaders in online video distribution – to understand first-hand from him what are indeed the key differences and benefits that professional online publishers can get from using white-label video distribution services against free video-sharing sites.
Here all the details:
Introduction
Full English Text Transcription
Robin Good: Hello everyone!
Here is Robin Good from Rome, Italy, and I am today with Jeremy Allaire, CEO and founder of Brightcove, one of the really bright stars in the universe of video publishing and distribution online.
Welcome Jeremy, how are you doing today?
Jeremy Allaire: I am great, thank you so much for having me on.
Pro Vs. Free Publishing Tools – Jeremy Allaire
Duration: 1′ 14″
Robin Good: You are very welcome indeed, let me dive right into asking you some of the key questions that my readers are sending me periodically about the world of video publishing.
The first question is: what is the key difference that exists with this new emergent group of white-label professional video distribution services and the traditional video-sharing sites?
Jeremy Allaire: That is a great question.
I think what we have really seen happening over the last couple of years is: more people who run websites, who use their websites for:
- Marketing,
- communications,
- education and
- other kinds of applications
wanted to embrace video as a central part of how they accomplish those tasks.
I think initially a lot of people thought: “Hey, there are these free sharing sites where I can go, grab an embedded player“, but what a lot of organizations have found is that it is really also helpful to have more powerful tools that make it easier
- to manage that content,
- to increase the quality of the experience,
- to have a lot more control over the brand experience and where the content can be viewed,
- to have better business tools for things like recording and analytics.
I think as people have gone from experimentation to really wanting to embrace video more fully, they are looking for professional tools that they can control, that are affordable and that are useful as kind of web development technologies, but I think that is really why this is a category that is emerging for web publishers more generally.
Why Going Pro About Video – Jeremy Allaire
Duration: 2′ 09″
Robin Good: It looks like you are saying that while the video-sharing sites have opened the road by showing to people
- how good, interesting, valuable and potentially, even profitable it can be to publish video online, and
- how that there is enough cloud for some of them to really take advantage of it,
you are discovering the benefits of controlling more how that is happening. And indeed this is also my case so I can fully identify with the situation you have described.
I would like to dive though just a bit more into these key differences. For example: what are the key advantages that I, as a video publisher, have in terms of distribution and visibility when I come over to a service like Brightcove or competing ones?
Jeremy Allaire: I think the key differences are in a few areas.
- I think the first is just having a much richer set of tools for how you can present your video. For example:
- we offer a lot of different templates that can be used to present video, maybe an embedded experience,
- an experience with like a channel, with lots of different videos,
- there are tools to kind of contextually integrate video into your site dynamically using web toolkits and APIs.
- There is a lot more control over how video can be organized and presented, and that is a really important difference of between just putting an embedded video in a page.
- Obviously the brand control is related to that. We really have been seeing this white little space, that is really starting to innovate in terms of how you can create very customed brand experiences around the video itself.
- I think another really critical difference is: people who are on websites they want to have vendors that they can rely upon to get support and assistance.
You have a sort of classic technology services businesses that the website owner, the web developer or the publisher working on it, if they have a technical issue, they want to
- be able to reach out the tech support
- go through a knowledge base and
- go into a forum where you got active discussions around those parts and services.
I think that kind of vendor-orientated approach is also a really critical difference, whereas in the sharing sites they are just like any other consumer, and there really are not these kinds of resources available to you.
Those are certainly some of the initial differences, there are many others I think as you start to get into things like the control of where you can distribute your content.
I think white-label services tend to have a lot more features in terms of how you can make that content syndicated out to other sites, or even take advantage of things like mobile devices and do that more readily and those are some of the other differences as well.
End of Part 1
Original video interview recorded by Robin Good for MasterNewMedia. Article editing by Elia Lombardi and Daniele Bazzano. First published on October 14th, 2009 as “Professional Video Publishing Trends: A Video Interview With Jeremy Allaire – Part 1“.
About Jeremy Allaire
Jeremy Allaire founded Brightcove in early 2004. As chairman & CEO of Brightcove, Jeremy leads the company’s technology, marketing and business development strategy. Before working as a technologist and entrepreneur-in-residence for General Catalyst, Jeremy was Chief Technology Officer of Macromedia. Jeremy joined Macromedia with its merger with Allaire Corporation, founded in 1995, where Jeremy was a co-founder and Chief Technology Officer.
Guide To Online Video For Business
Posted by: | CommentsDo you use online video for business? Do you know which is the best type of video to improve sales or boost traffic on your site?
Photo credit: picpics
Choosing which kind of video you want to produce depends on how you measure the return on your marketing spend. But while there are risks and rewards for each kind of video, you can take for granted the big impact that video has on your viewers and customers.
Have a quick look at these two recent statistics:
- In April 2009, ComScore reports that U.S. viewers watched over 16.8 billion videos online.
- In a recent survey of executives, over 70 per cent of respondents believed video would increase their brand awareness.
Despite the popularity of online video, though, do not think that a nice clip on your site will make you rich or bring you tons of visitors. It is a bit more complicated than that. Like any other component of your business strategy, you have to test and experiment how to achieve the best results for your specific situation.
To help you choose the right video solution for your business, the guys at EyeVIew have published a guide to outline and explore the three basic types of videos you can use in your business. These are:
- Viral videos
- Conversion videos
- Educational videos
How do you know which solution is best for you? Is there a type of video which is more successful?
Here all the details:
The Three Types Of Online Video For Business
by the EyeView Team
So much has changed about the way we absorb information in the past few years.
Can you even remember what accessing the Internet was like ten years ago? In 1999 one of the most used features in Netscape’s Navigator was the ability to uncheck Autoload Images. Once you did that you would only get text, no pictures. Page load times were crucial as users were often paying per minute to their phone service provider in addition to whatever they were paying their Internet service provider.
Jump forward to 2004 and everyone was starting to sign up for broadband, but no one was watching video online, it was still too heavy. Short clips would be distributed via email inevitably resulting in your inbox getting clogged up trying to download 5 Mb attachments from the server.
Then in early 2006, things started to change – instead of video being attached to emails people started sending links to a mysterious new site called YouTube. Even more exciting was when people started sending links to sites and blogs other than YouTube that had embedded videos that were hosted by YouTube.
By the time YouTube was acquired by Google for $1.65 billion in September 2006, everyone who used the Internet regularly had seen one of their videos. But YouTube was just the start of the online video revolution. Once it became common practice for people to watch video online, it was only a short time before it became an essential part of the experience.
As the commercial world started to exploit the power of the Internet for business, it became clear that online video would be co-opted into that fight and made available by almost every business with an online presence which, by 2009, meant every business.
Why Video
The question of what video can do for a B2B company was addressed head on in a recent webinar sponsored by Brightcove, one of the leading online video platforms. The title of the presentation was “Top 6 Reasons B-to-B Marketers Need Videos”. The six reasons are worth repeating to emphasize the advantages video can offer a company.
- Grab people’s attention instantly
- Tell your story in less time
- Bring your ideas to life
- Make your site stickier
- Create a buzz with viral video
- Bring your website into the 21st century
Parsing that list into three types of video based on their natural homes – embedded offsite, on the site’s homepage and within the site – helped to identify the three kinds of online video for business:
- Viral Video
- Conversion Video
- Educational Video
1. Viral Video
If online video got its first big break with the advent of YouTube, then Viral Video was the first breakout star for the medium. It’s a classic case of business noticing what’s going on in the real world and then trying hard to catch up.
Viral videos were the natural result of the culture of sharing that began once everyone you knew and / or did business with went online.
- Before there were viral videos, people shared jokes or inspirational PowerPoint presentations. The first viral videos were just evolved versions of the same.
- Then there were viral videos that became accidental hits. These were videos that were never meant for a mass audience like the Star Wars Kid, or at least they were videos that could never have anticipated how many people would end up seeing them like the Numa Numa guy.
As the demand for content grew, people started crafting video with one eye on making them go viral. There were several factors to consider. In order for a video to have a chance at becoming viral it needed
to be most of the following:
- Original
- Unusual
- Unexpected
- Funny / Mysterious / Sexy
In addition there was one more ingredient, a compound of timing, luck and Internet serendipity, that was required for true online ubiquity. Almost impossible to fabricate, this elusive quality is still the thing that prevents most attempts at creating a viral video from succeeding. Nevertheless businesses leapt at the chance of promoting themselves through video usually by replicating a formula that had already achieved some success or notoriety.
Viral video differs from the other types of video discussed in this paper in terms of its location. Viral video is at its best when it is found outside the company’s site. Viral video is all about distribution and promotion. The company’s aim is for the video to be embedded in many different sites to reach as wide an audience as possible. This is not always a good thing.
Once a video can be embedded outside the company’s site the company loses control over the surrounding text and, perhaps more worryingly, the surrounding pictures and ads. If you allow your video to be watched anywhere, you have to consider that viewers may see your logo and messaging juxtaposed with less savory images.
Metrics For Success
How do you measure the success of a viral video? It’s not enough to consider the number of views only, although this is important. If you are looking at views, you need decide “how much is enough?”
The most popular videos on YouTube have been seen millions of times. In order for your video to be considered a viral success, you might not need anywhere near those kinds of numbers. It depends who your products are targeting and whether or not you were noticed by the right kind of audience.
If the video is hosted on a video sharing site like YouTube, you might want to look at the number of comments your video receives to get an idea of the level of “buzz” you have created.
You can use a company like TubeMogul to upload and track your video across the internet but you probably need to combine that with your existing site analytics to judge whether or not it has an impact on your traffic.
If you’re aiming for a success metric that is even more intangible such as brand-building or buzz-making you will have to work out your own metric for success.
Creating a viral video is a bit like catching a fish… with your hands. It’s slippery and almost impossible, but if you manage it, you’ll feel fantastic.
2. Conversion Video
With all the uncertainty surrounding viral video, it seems much safer to manage video with more tangible goals. There are a number of reasons why site owners would want to place a video on their site. Video is a great way of engaging site visitors. Engaged visitors spend more time on websites. More time spent on websites means more opportunities to make money.
Visitors to a website are more likely to convert the longer they stay on that website and the more they
are engaged with the messaging of the site. Video is great tool for increasing stickiness to a site and a
proven medium for increasing engagement.The most important thing for a commercial website is to identify the goals of the site. The goal of the site can fall into a number of categories. Some sites even have multiple goals, but it’s better to maintain focus on a single goal for each landing page you want to consider. For most sites the landing page is the site’s homepage. As you build multiple points of entry to your site you should carefully define the conversion goal for each.
These are some of the most commonly seen conversion goals for commercial websites:
- Enter Your Details – the aim of the site is to get visitors to give you contact details that can be used immediately or later to contact the customer and initiate business
- Download This File – installing the file may be the first stage in turning the site visitor into a customer
- Buy This Product – a direct inducement to the site visitor to pay money in return for a product or service
- Deposit Now – used by companies to establish the financial relationship that turns browsers into committed customers
Once you have a clear conversion goal for your landing page, a good conversion video should focus on driving users to that goal. Video does that in a number of ways.
- To begin with, a conversion video, like any other kind of video, should be an engaging experience drawing viewers in and helping them to spend more time on the site.
- A successful conversion video should carry a clear call to action. This can be part of the script, part of the visual, part of the player or any combination of the three.
- The call to action in the video must be aligned with the conversion goal for the page the video sits in to ensure that there is a clear path for the viewer to follow.
A brief review of the available material on the Internet throws up an abundance of lists of tips for making your corporate video. If you have questions about any aspect of video making from the perfect duration to the perfect volume, you will find someone with an opinion on the subject. The best thing you can do is to start with what you think makes sense and to test it on your site.But before you can test the effectiveness of your video, you need to make sure people are watching.
There are many ways to promote the viewing of your video on your site. Once you have produced a video that you are happy with, you owe it to yourself to exploit as many of these methods as you can.
- First of all you want to ensure that people can find your video. Make it visible and accessible. If the video is a key part of your conversion strategy for a page then make sure people know where it is.
- Once you are happy with its location on the page, you should consider having the video autoplay. If autoplay seems too aggressive there are variations you can try such as having the video autoplay without sound (but with subtitles) until the viewer opts in to listening as well as watching.
Metrics For Success
If the goal for your conversion video is to increase conversions then the metric for success should be easy. When the number, or the percentage, of your conversions rises then the video is a success.
Depending on the conversion goal, increased conversion can have a direct impact on the revenues of your company. It is no wonder that more and more companies are focusing on conversion video as the most likely to provide a return on their investment.
3. Educational Video
Educational video probably doesn’t sit on your homepage. There are a number of reasons for adding educational videos to your site and, unlike viral and conversion videos your educational video can help you achieve multiple goals without detracting from the video’s success. That means your educational video doesn’t have to be quite as tightly focused on a single goal.
With educational video you have the freedom to build towards a number of achievements.
Primarily an educational video is there to educate. But, educational video can also help to establish trust and thought-leadership. Visitors to your site who move beyond the landing page and begin to delve deeper into everything your site has to offer may be looking for more information.
We know that video is an excellent medium for distilling information and enquiring visitors can find much to satisfy their curiosity in a well made video. But there are more advantages to putting educational videos in your site.
- Good video can be a real differentiator for your company against your competitors. You can use the videos to do things that other people in your market are failing to do well. If a visitor learns everything he needs from you, he’s more likely to come back when he’s ready to become a consumer.
- Educational video can also take the strain away from your customer support team. Linking your videos to an FAQ or any other part of your online support can help answer some of the questions and pain points that would otherwise make their way to a customer representative. The interaction can often be even more satisfying with the customer feeling they were able to get the answer they wanted in a format they are at ease with.
- Educational videos can guide viewers through a difficult process and help to ease the concerns of nervous browsers. Educational videos can help to build a mentor-mentee relationship between the site and its visitors which must have a positive impact.
There are fewer restrictions in Educational video in terms of duration and messaging. It’s probably not smart to load your Educational videos with sales messaging, but beyond that there is a freedom to communicate clearly knowing that anyone watching is doing so with less enticement that other forms of video.
Metrics For Success
Educational video may be one of the hardest types of video to manage in terms of ROI. The production costs are as high as other forms of video but success should not be measured by the number of views.
There are other metrics that should be captured such as ‘time spent on video’ or how many chapters of your video were viewed. Not every player will provide you with this kind of data, but it can be invaluable for establishing ROI.
Educational videos are less likely to be promoted than other kinds of videos. They are more correctly positioned and targeted to specific customers at different stages in the sales cycle.
Educational videos are designed to prevent customer confusion and deliver clarity. If your Educational video is aimed at reducing the number of referrals to customer support then, then a clear reduction is the best measure of success.
Beyond that tangible proof, the success of educational videos is notoriously difficult to determine.
Summary
Once you are committed to making video part of your corporate marketing strategy, there is still a number of questions to be asked.
Choosing which kind of video you want to produce may depend on how you measure the return on your marketing spend. There are risks and rewards for each kind of video, but there is no denying the potential impact of this exciting medium on Internet users. Harnessing that impact and using it to your advantage is one of the key challenges facing online marketers today.
Originally written by the EyeView Team for EyeView and first published on January 1st, 2009 as “The Three Types Of Online Video For Business“.
About EyeView
EyeView creates engaging video content and then tests and proves that the inclusion of video on a site significantly increases conversion. The company also offers services to optimize conversion by continuously improving the video solution and analyzing and testing its impact on visitors.
Photo credits:
Why Video? – Pei Ling Hoo
All other images by EyeView
On-Demand Video Encoding: Guide To The Best Cloud-Based Services
Posted by: | CommentsAre you looking for an on-demand video encoding service? Do you need a cloud-based alternative that works seamlessly across any type of hardware or operating system? Are you looking for an easy way to convert videos to publish on your web site or watch on your iPod?
Photo credit: Robert Mizerek
On-demand video encoding services allow you to convert and encode video files or raw footage of your camera into any kind of video file. All with a cloud-based approach that saves you from installing software on your computer.
Let’s go into more details to better understand what these cloud-based video encoding services can do for you:
- Encoding is the process of taking your original video, either recorded by your video camera, web-cam or whichever capture device you use, and preparing it for delivery in a particular medium.
- Cloud-based services live and work entirely on the web with no software, plugins or any other stuff installed on your machine.
To use these cloud-based video encoding services, all you need to do is upload your video file, specify the output format you need and then sit back while the encoding service does the rest. When your file is ready, you are notified and given a download link to save the converted file on your computer.
On-demand video encoding services allow you to convert and encode your video files from / to most popular video formats like 3GP, AVI, FLV, MOV, MPG, MP4 or WMV. Professional video encoding services will also convert the ratio of your video (from example from 4:3 to 16:9 or vice versa), preserve the quality of your clips if you are converting high-quality or HD videos, and support de-interlacing, 2-pass encoding and H.264 encoding.
What is cool about these on-demand video encoding services is that you do not need a brand new machine nor the fastest Internet connection in the world. Any type of hardware, operating system and broadband connection will do just fine.
To help you better understand the characteristics and to facilitate your job, let me share with you the key features and traits that characterize these on-demand video encoding services:
- Free:
- Web-based: Encode your videos without downloading software on your machine and with any type of hardware or operating system you are using.
- Web video encoding: Download and convert videos from YouTube, DailyMotion, Vimeo and other video-sharing sites.
- File conversion: Convert from / to not only videos, but also text documents, image files or audio files.
- Professional:
- 2-pass encoding: Get better video quality and reduce the encoded video file size using multiple passes.
- Custom presets: Use ready-available settings to choose the optimal encoding package for web streaming, iPods, mobile phones, etc.
- Real-time monitoring: Keep track of all your video conversions using a web-based dashboard.
Besides these key general features and traits, I have used some additional characteristics for both free and professional on-demand video encoding services to prepare a set of comparative table and individual reviews to put all of these services through their paces.
The comparative criteria I have selected include:
- Free:
- Input formats: File types supported to submit your video.
- Output formats: Resulting file types to encode your video.
- Max file size: Maximum file size allowed to upload your video.
- Custom presets: Ready-available encoding settings for different destinations (mobile phones, iPods, web streaming, etc.).
- HQ / HD support: Availability to encode videos while retaining high or HD video quality.
- Professional:
- H.264 support: Availability of the H.264 codec for video conversions.
- 16:9 support: Support for 16:9 ratio for encoded videos.
- De-interlacing: Prevent odd and even lines of a video frame to be drawn alternatively to smoothen the perception of motion by the viewer.
- Distribution: Send your presentation automatically to multiple video-sharing sites.
- Price: Cost of the on-demand video encoding service.
- Premium features: Key advanced features available in premium paid accounts.
Here all the details:
On-Demand Free Video Encoding Comparative Table
On-Demand Free Video Encoding Services
- Zamzar
Zamzar is a free on-demand conversion service you can use to convert and encode your videos. Without even registering, you can start converting videos from / to the following formats: 3G2, 3GP, AVI, FLV, GVI, M4V, MOV, MP4, MPG, RM, RMVB, VOB and WMV. Each video must not be larger than 100MB. If your video is already on the web, just provide the URL and choose one of the supported formats to start your conversion. You will receive a message on your e-mail inbox with a link to download the encoded file. No custom presets nor HQ / HD support are available.
http://www.zamzar.com/ - Media-Convert
MediaConvert is a free service that performs on-demand conversion from / to different file formats like text documents, images, audio files and videos. Registration is not necessary. For online videos, you have a wide range of supported formats available: 3G2, 3GP, AMV, ASF, ASX, AVI, DV, DPG, FLI, FLV, GVI, M4V, MKV, MOV, MP4, MPG, NSV, OGG, OGM, RM, RPL, SWF, VOB and WMV. You can customize different options to enhance the conversion (or encoding) process like: video resizing, audio quality, video quality, video length, and more. MediaConvert supports files up to 200MB. To speed up your conversions, you can also choose a custom preset with ready-available settings for popular mobile phones or iPods. To receive your converted file, wait for the on-screen notification or provide your e-mail address to get a download link when your file is ready.
http://media-convert.com/ - Media Converter
Media Converter allows you to convert media files online, free of charge, including videos. Registration is not required. Supported video formats are: 3G2, 3GP, AVI, FLV, M4V, MKV, MOV, MP4, MPEG, OGG, RM, WMA and WMV. Files uploaded for conversion or encoding must be under 100MB. You can also provide a URL from a list of popular video-sharing sites and encode a video in FLV format. Files to convert can also be queued. You have 5 free conversion per day without registering to the service. No custom presets, nor HQ / HD support.
http://www.mediaconverter.org/ - YouConvertIt
YouConvertIt is an on-demand video encoding service that helps you convert your video files to any format, without spending a dime. Registration is not mandatory. Supported file formats are: 3GP, ASF, AVI, FLV, MOV, MP4, MPEG, MPG, RM, SWF and WMV. Maximum file size for converted files it is not clearly specified. You can also convert online video directly from video-sharing sites like YouTube by copying and pasting the URL inside YouConvertIt. The service will then encode the video and give you a download link when your video is ready. Custom presets and HQ / HD conversions are not supported.
http://www.youconvertit.com/OnlineVideo.aspx - MovAvi
MovAvi is a free on-demand video converter and encoder that works both with uploaded files or online videos. Without registering, you can submit a file from your hard-disk or a URL from a video-sharing site, choose an output format and wait for your conversion to take place. Supported input formats are: 3G2, 3GP, AVI, MOV, MP4, MPG and WMV. Output video formats are instead: 3G2, 3GP, AVI, FLV, MOV, MP4 and MPG. Each video file must be limited to 10 minutes and 100MB in size. You also have a list of custom presets to speed up your conversions with ready-available settings for popular devices like mobile phones or iPods. HQ conversions are fully supported, but HD videos cannot be converted.
http://online.movavi.com/ - OnlineVideoConverter
OnlineVideoConverter allows you to convert video files from / to major popular formats, free of charge and without registration. Supported formats are: 3G2, 3GP, ASF, AVI, FLV, MP4, M4V, MKV, MOV, MPG, OGGì and WMV. Files to convert must not be larger than 100MB. You can either convert a file on your hard-disk or an online clip available on a video-sharing site like YouTube. You also have several customization features to choose for optimizing your conversions like: video codec, audio codec, video quality, audio quality, video resolution, etc. To facilitate your conversions, you can use one of the ready-available presets with customized settings for popular devices like iPods or mobile phones. HQ and HD conversions are supported.
http://onlinevideoconverter.com/ - UEncode
UEncode is an on-demand video converter that allows you to encode and convert video files in multiple formats. Registration is necessary. Free to use, the encoding service supports the following formats: 3G2, 3GP, AVI, MOV, MP4, MPG and WMV. You can convert any type of video file, no matter how big is the video. To start your video conversion, upload a file to UEncode, choose your preferred settings and then wait for an e-mail with a download link to your encoded file. your You can either choose your settings or use a set of custom presets to obtain the best results for popular devices like mobile phones or iPods. HQ encoding is supported, but HD encoding is not available.
http://www.uencode.com/
On-Demand Professional Video Encoding Comparative Tables
On-Demand Professional Video Encoding Services
- Hey!Watch
Hey!Watch is an on-demand video encoding web service. The service supports conversions from / to the following video formats: 3G2, 3GP, ASF, AVI, DVD, FLV, MP4, MOV, MPEG, MPEGTS, MJPEG, MPEG2, PSP, RM, SVCD, VCD and VOB. Hey!Watch allows you to customize several options while encoding your video, like: de-interlacing, conversion from 4:3 to 16:9 video format or vice versa, H.264 encoding, HD support, 2-pass encoding, and more. Te service also makes available an API for easy integration into your publishing platform or web service. Hey!Watch works with a pay-as-you-go philosophy. The price for each video you encode or convert depends on the length of the video itself and the type of conversion you make (standard quality or HD). You pay for the service by purchasing credits which cost $0.10 each. Each time you use Hey!Watch, you spend one or more credits. No distribution nor premium features are available.
http://heywatch.com/ - BetterEncoding
BetterEncoding is a free on-demand video encoding solution. The web service claims to convert from / to any video format with no limitations neither in size, nor in the length of your clips. BetterEncoding uses a proprietary algorithm which operates a particular type of compression that is capable of shrinking the size of your videos by a 40% – 60% less than other similar encoding services. All without sacrificing the video quality. Each conversion can be customized on your specific needs by selecting options like: de-interlacing, H.264 conversion, 16:9 support, 2-pass encoding, and more. BetterEncoding does not make its API available for easier customization of your video encoding processes. No distribution nor premium features.
http://www.betterencoding.com/ - Encoding.com
Encoding.com is an online service that allows you to convert and encode your videos on-demand. The service recommends the following input formats for optimal conversions: 3GP, 3G2, ASF, AVI, FLV, MOV, MP4, M4A, M4V, MPG, MPEG, MJPEG and MJPEG2. Other video formats may be accepted but are not tested to work. Encoding.com lets you customize your conversions with different options like: de-interlacing, H.264 conversion, HD conversions, 2-pass encoding, 16:9 support, audio quality, video quality, and more. The service also provides an API to integrate the Encoding.com conversion engine into your web service or online publishing platform. To speed up your conversions, you can also use one of the custom presets, which are ready-available settings for web streaming, mobile phones, iPods, and other media. Encoding.com pricing starts from $19/month for maximum waiting time of 30 minutes before video processing, 1GB of monthly encoding bandwidth, 5GB of max encoding bandwidth per hour and email support. Premium plans start from $49/month and give you the following privileges: maximum waiting time of 10 minutes before video processing, 10GB of monthly encoding bandwidth, 15GB of max encoding bandwidth per hour and email / phone support.
http://www.encoding.com/ - Flix Cloud
Flix Cloud is an on-demand video encoding service which is completely web-based. Flix Cloud supports the following input / output formats: 3GP, 3G2, AVI, DV, FLV, MOV, MP4, MPG, MPEG, MJPEG, OGG, RAW and VOB. The service also supports several customization options to get the best out of video conversions: 2-pass encoding, HD conversions, de-interlacing and H.264 encoding among the others. Flix Cloud also makes available its API for easier integration of its conversion engine into your web service or online publishing platform. Flix Cloud is priced by how much video data you transfer in and out of the service (source video size and converted video sizes). The costs are: $0.00175 / MB for input data and $.00225 / MB for output data. No distribution nor premium features available.
http://www.flixcloud.com/
Originally prepared by Daniele Bazzano for MasterNewMedia, and first published on September 29th, 2009 as “On-Demand Video Encoding: Guide To The Best Cloud-Based Services“.
Live video streaming services allow you to broadcast live any video content from your computer to any number of viewers connected via the Internet. In this guide to the best live video streaming tools you can find all of the available free web video broadcasting services compared and put through their paces.
Photo credit: Ruslan Gilmanshin
To stream live video online, the key requirement is having a good upload bandwidth. 384Kbps would be an acceptable minimum, with 500 Kbps or more providing the best results and video quality. Unfortunately many Internet providers offer plenty of download bandwidth to Internet subscribers, but keep the available upload bandwidth to a very bare minimum. This is why it is a good idea before you get excited about video conferencing that you do check your effective upload bandwidth from the computer and connection you plan to be using.
There are many free tools that can help you gauge your effective upload speed. I use the one from my provider, which is at http://test.ngi.it but there are a ton of other good ones starting from this one here: http://www.speedtest.net/.
One thing to keep in mind when testing your upload speed is from where this is being measured. If your speed test uploads a test file to a relatively close by server, you may likely see upload speeds as high as your provider promised, but considering that when you video conference with someone, your other party may likely be across the ocean, it is always a good idea to use a speed testing service that can measure your upload speed from different locations around the world like this one: http://www.speedtest.net/global.php.
Whether to stream your life 24/7 or to create a professional daily show that integrates pre-recorded clips and multiple cams, you have also lots of live video streaming services at your disposal to broadcast yourself in real-time.
All of the top video streaming services allow you to easily embed and re-distribute your video channel to multiple sites and social media, generally providing also a way for users to comment back, rate, and even chat back to you during your live transmission.
Advanced features include automatic recording of your video performances, auto-distribution of your live video to popular video-sharing sites like YouTube, the ability to invite and display video co-hosts who connect from separate locations just as news reporters do during the news, or event the option to switch between multiple live cams connected to your own computer.
In the comparative table that follows I have collected and compared the more important key traits and features for all of the best live video streaming services available out there. While I was testing and reviewing these tools, these were the most important criteria I did identify to put these services through their paces:
- Text Chat: Integrated text-chat with viewers while streaming.
- Co-hosting: Option to host other video streams in your show.
- Multiple Cams: Live switchboard supporting multiple live cams.
- Recording: Auto-recording of live streams.
- Distribution: Posting to YouTube and other video sharing sites automatically.
Here all the details:
Live Video Streaming Comparative Table
Live Video Streaming: Guide To The Best Services To Broadcast Your Video In Real-Time
- Ustream
Ustream is a live video streaming solution that helps you broadcast your life in real-time. All you need is a computer, an internet connection, a microphone and a webcam or video camera. As a broadcaster you got a personal page where your viewers can check your live video broadcast, the videos you have produced so far and use a text-chat area to interact live with you (also using Twitter). Your video player is fully embeddable on other web pages or social media sites. You can also syndicate your videos via RSS feed or using social bookmarking services like delicious or StumbleUpon. On your personal page, you can also display a list of recommended shows you follow and who is following your channel. If you link the Ustream channel to your YouTube account, uploading your video streams to YouTube is just one click away. No co-hosting feature or multiple cams management. You can record your videos, but not automatically.
http://www.ustream.tv/ - Livestream
Livestream (former Mogulus) is a video streaming solution to broadcast live and on-demand videos. Set your webcam (or external video camera), microphone and you are ready to go. Your live show is streamed using a video player you can fully customize to match the look and feel of your website. Several ready-made templates are also available to get you started quickly. Each show page integrates a chat area to interact in real-time with your audience. When broadcasting, you can switch back and forth to multiple cameras, regardless of their location. You can also integrate Livestream with your Twitter account to send a tweet notifying all your friends you are live at that very moment. After finishing your live broadcast, your clips are automatically recorded. Livestream is web-based but Windows users can also download for free the Procaster suite which allows you to manage and produce your live streaming efforts directly from your computer. No co-hosting available for the time being.
http://livestream.com/ - Justin.tv
Justin.tv is an online community where you can broadcast, watch and interact around live and on-demand video. Th service provides you with a show page where you can stream your video using a Flash-based video player. The show page and the video player are fully customizable. You can also distribute your video player to third-party social media sites or embed the player on your own blog. Each show page has an integrated text-chat area where you can interact with other Justin.tv users, but also with your Facebook, Twitter and MySpace contacts. If you link your Twitter account to Justin.tv you can also tweet everytime you are watching a video (using a dedicated hashtag) and see the reactions of other users live on the show page. If you integrate MySpace with the streaming service, your status is automatically updated when you watch new videos. After your broadcast is over, your live streams are automatically archived for seven days to be downloaded. No multiple cams or co-hosting.
http://www.justin.tv/ - Stickam
Stickam is both a live video service and a social network that allows you to stream real-time videos over the Internet. You can start a video channel with live or pre-recorded material just with your webcam and mic. When you are live streaming using Stickam, you and your viewers have a text chat area close to the video player to interact with each other. Up to 6 members of your audience can also connect using their webcams and microphones to create a video-conferencing session on-the-fly. Your can redistribute and embed your Stickam video player on any web page or social media site. No co-hosting or multiple cams. Auto recording and auto distribution features are not available for the time being.
http://www.stickam.com/ - BlogTV
BlogTV helps you live stream your videos straight from your computer and engage with your audience. You can also record your videos and broadcast your clips at a later time. BlogTV gives you a personal show page with your profile info, video player, chat area and list of your recorded and upcoming shows. To chat with your audience you can either use simple text or login with your Twitter account and tweet with other users. Your viewers can freely download any of the video you publish for offline viewing or redistribute your show episodes to any web page or social media site. You can also embed your video player and customize it to match the look of your own blog. No co-hosting or multiple cams management available. Auto-recording and auto-distribution not supported.
http://www.blogtv.com/ - Kyte
Kyte is an online and mobile platform to stream live and on-demand video content. You get a dedicated page where a video player streams your videos and your audience can watch and interact with your content. Next to each video you can put a “module”, which is an interactive widget to engage your audience. From the list of modules you can use, you have a text-chat area to communicate with other users in real-time, both via simple text or Twitter messages. Users can also use audio or video to chat back with you. Each video player is largely customizable and can be redistributed on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace with one click. Video player can be also embedded on your blog, both by you or your viewers, who can also comment your clips. No co-hosting or multiple cams management features supported. Auto-recording and auto-distribution of your videos is also not available.
http://www.kyte.tv/ - LiveVideo
LiveVideo is a video streaming community where you can produce live shows or video-chat with other users. Just launch your Producer Console and manage all aspects of your show, including video customization. different playback clips, cameras, polls, and more. When you finish setting up your personal page, you can live stream your video or schedule the release of pre-made clips in a video playlist. When you are live, other users can join you to chat, either via text or using their webcams and microphones. Users can also drag and drop different web-cam enabled users inside a video conference to have them participate. Also, as the owner of the show, you can drag chatroom members into your webcam window, and make them co-hosts. No auto-recording nor auto-posting features available.
http://www.livevideo.com/ - Veetle
With Veetle you can live stream video from your webcam, DVD, tuner card, any file on your computer or your own TV. To have Veetle work on your machine, you need to install either Veetle TV or Veetle Broadcaster software (PC, Mac and Linux), depending if you want to watch or broadcast videos. Both software make the live streaming service work inside your browser. The channels you create with Veetle cannot be personalized nor redistributed on other sources through an embeddable player. The service is still at its beta stage and misses common features like co-hosting a show, manage multiple cams, auto-record a show and auto-post your live streams to external destinations.
http://www.veetle.com/ - Yaika
Yaika is a social lifecasting community where you can live stream your video or audio, and also interact with other users. Every channel created on Yaika works like a blog, so you can post your live streaming content and also write posts. Other features include live chat with your audience, receive comments, ratings and also redistribute your content over third-party websites using an embeddable player. Your viewers can use their webcams and microphones to connect with you live and you can make any member of your audience the co-host of your show. There is also a video messaging feature to send public / private video clips to anyone with an e-mail address. Multiple cams are supported on Yaika. Auto recording and auto distribution are not available for the time being.
http://yaika.com/ - Make.tv
Make.tv works as a professional web-based studio to produce live videos. You can switch between multiple cameras, monitor different sources (live and pre-recorded) and adjust volume levels inside an interface that resembles a recording studio. Your viewers can chat with you in real-time via text or using their own webcams and microphones. Co-hosting is also supported if you want a member of your audience to present with you. You can freely redistribute your live videos with a customizable player that you can embed on any web page or social media. Recording is allowed, but not automatically. After your clip is recorded, Make.tv publishes the live video without any upload or conversion process. Auto distribution is not supported. Pricing available on the site.
http://make.tv/ - Glomera
Glomera is a web TV platform that helps you broadcast live videos. You can also pull videos from YouTube to broadcast inside your web TV or create niche-targeted compilations to redistribute on third-party websites.. With Glomera “Total embed” option, you can install the whole Glomera platform on any website or blog to broadcast your live videos. The video players available are fully customizable to match the look and feel of any web page and adapt to your needs. Users can comment your videos and re-embed your clips but cannot text-chat with you. Co-hosts and multiple cams support is not available. No auto upload to third-party sites and auto-recording supported either.
http://www.glomera.com/
Originally prepared by Robin Good and Daniele Bazzano for MasterNewMedia, and first published on July 27th, 2009 as “Live Video Streaming: Guide To The Best Services To Broadcast Your Video In Real-Time“.
Professional White-Label Video Publishing Platforms: Guide To The Best Services
Posted by: | CommentsWhite-label video publishing and distribution platforms allow professional web publishers to move beyond zero-cost video sharing sites like YouTube and onto services which guarantee faster transcoding, HD video quality, the option to schedule both VOD and scheduled programming, CDN-based distribution, ad management and integration as well as private labeling and personalization of your video player.
Photo credit: Liubomyr Feshchyn and Christophe Testi mashed up by Robin Good
If you are looking for solutions that would allow you to set up a professional web TV channel of some kind, one for which you have a budget to spend and hope to sell advertising and sponsorship for, you have no choice but look for a professional white-label video publishing and distribution service.
The traditional free video sharing sites like YouTube, are great for uploading and distributing at zero cost your favorite video clips. Much less exciting is the moment when you want to start controlling the ads that are displayed on your video clips, or you want to set up a day-by-day video programming schedule while monitoring and analyzing traffic, views and clickthroughs.
This is why to move from amateur video sharing to professional video publishing you really need to consider seriously whether you have a budget to support the costs that such pro video distribution services require. The video services I review here have all some kind of monthly or yearly fee that is clearly not within the reach of the typical blogger or independent video-maker.
On the other hand what’s the use of publishing tens of video clips and having hundreds of thousands of video views on YouTube if this provides very little return in terms of visibility and revenue for your business or web site?
The times are ripe for serious and economically capable video publishers to step up significantly above the generic, amateur Internet video publisher, and to strengthen their online video presence by providing extra quality, reliability, speed and monetization options which are so critical to their own future survival.
In this MasterNewMedia guide I have selected, reviewed and compared for you the best private-label video publishing and distribution platforms available out there, while paying particular attention to their key traits, strengths and weaknesses.
This is an area that will see fast growth and many new entrants in the near future due to the increasing demand for quality video channels and the need for many video sharing sites to start earning back their rapidly escalating bandwidth and storage costs.
If you are into video publishing or are considering the move from amateur to professional video publishing, this guide can help you get a comprehensive view of this new market and of the traits and features that characterize the first group of providers competing to get your attention.
Here all the details:
Professional White-label Video Publishing Platforms Comparison Table
Professional White-label Video Publishing Platforms
- Brightcove
Brightcove is an on-demand video platform to distribute and monetize your online video inventory. The web-based Brightcove Studio lets you create branded videos with your logo and monetize your clips trough advertising campaigns. Brightcove players are fully customizable to match the layout of your web pages and also maintain optimal quality whatever device or internet connection video you choose. Videos can be re-distributed and embedded across any website, even using widgets. Videos streamed are encoded with H.264 and VP6 codecs and range from low-quality till HD. You can also program video broadcasting using playlist creation facilities. You keep total control over the ads you show with your videos by choosing ad units, insertion points, frequency, relevance. You can also integrate your ad servers and ad networks to serve ads with your videos. Custom reports are generated by Brightcove to help you track the performance of your clips. To get a price quote (on an annual contract basis) you have to contact Brightcove sales.
http://www.brightcove.com/ - Livestream
Livestream is an online video platform that broadcasts live and on-demand videos. The premium account is priced at $350 and allows you to have a white-label channel to deliver videos with your own brand logo or watermark. Using a web-based interface, you can fully customize the size and look of your video player and also configure the redistribution of your videos; allow only specific audiences to view your clips or even disable sharing if you prefer. A list of ready-made templates for your channel is available and the integrated user chat allows broadcasters and their audience to communicate in real-time. Videos are encoded with Sorensen Spark (Flash 7) specifications and HD is supported. You can create a video playlist with the Autopilot feature to broadcast your videos 24/7 automatically. For optimal video encoding Livestream recommends around 700Kbps of upstream bandwidth. Livestream also provides an analytics tool that tracks and reports the performance of your videos. Advertising is supported and your ads are integrated inside channels using overlays that can be either served by you or by integrating ad servers and ad networks into your video production workflow.
http://livestream.com/ - Watershed
Watershed is the white-label version of Ustream interactive broadcasting platform. Watershed allows you to publish and distribute ad-free, branded videos to your audience both on web pages or mobile phones. Live streaming broadcasting is also supported. The video player is fully customizable and your videos can be password-protected or limited in number of views from your web-based Administrator control panel. HD videos are supported. You can also interact live with your audience via text chat, real-time polls or co-hosted broadcast feeds. Watershed does not support self-served or third-party-served ads on your videos. Reports are generated to take care of the performance of your clips. No video programming. Two pricing options are available: monthly-based plans starting from $49 and a pay-as-you-go pricing model that charges for monthly or hourly views by a single user. No encoding info provided.
http://watershed.ustream.tv/ - Glomera
Glomera is a web TV platform that helps you broadcast live and on-demand videos with your own logo. You can pull video from YouTube to broadcast inside your channel or create niche-targeted compilations to redistribute on third-party websites. Video channels are fully customizable to match the look of any web page. The scheduling feature lets you organize your web TV programs in a daily, weekly, or season-long programming. HD videos are supported and videos are encoded using FLV specifications. Web TV channels you build with Glomera Premium account are ads-free and you cannot serve third-party ads. The reporting feature allows you track the performance of your clips. Glomera Premium account is priced at $199/year. You can also purchase additional interactivity options for your channels like: rating, comments, on-demand video list, guide-programming, and more.
http://www.glomera.com/ - Ooyala
Ooyala has developed Backlot, a scalable video platform with content syndication controls and monetization features. Video quality is preserved to match your syndication relationships (web pages, video-sharing sites, mobile devices, or other). Backlot video player supports overlays with our logo / watermarks and is fully customizable. You can arrange your clips in playlists and program the broadcast with no operation needed from your side. Videos are encoded in H.264 format and HD video is supported. A video metrics report is generated to help you monitor the performances of your videos. Backlot manages also ad insertion points, frequency and the different ad units like pre-roll, post-roll, mid-roll and interactive which are served with your clips. Third party ad servers and ad networks are also supported. Prices depend on the campaign; more info contacting Ooyala sales department.
http://www.ooyala.com/ - Vmix
Vmix provides web-based video and image publishing solutions to distribute and monetize your content. You can brand your clips, serve ads with your videos and also track the performance of your channels. Videos are encoded in H.264 / FLV and distributed at optimal resolution to websites, mobile phones and portable devices using customizable players, widgets and applications. Vmix has support for HD videos too. A list of ready-made templates is available. Your audience can also interact with your videos using ratings, sharing, or video / text commenting tools. Scheduled playlists are automatically created to operate your video channel without human input. You can customize ad-serving procedures on your videos using different ad units (pre-roll, post-roll, overlays and also animated ad units), insertion points and frequency. You can bring your own ad server / ad network to serve ads inside your video clips. Pricing is subjected to distribution campaign you choose; more info on Vmix corporate website.
http://vmix.com - PermissionTV
PermissionTV offers a web-based solution to manage and monetize your online video inventory. You can choose between different player solutions that are freely customizable and redistributable on any web page. Viewers can interact with your video content by clicking on graphics, surveys or advertisement overlays and pop-ups. You can also create video playlists and deploy niche-targeted channels to your audience. Ad networks integrate with your videos to serve contextual ads using pre-roll, post-roll and mid-roll ad units. No info is provided about the encoding codec used for your videos, but HD is supported. No programming feature available. Pricing details available upon request to PermissionTV sales department.
http://www.permissiontv.com/ - Twistage
Hosted video platform Twistage allows you to create customizable video players with your own logo to embed on any website. Twistage integrates with your existing content management system (e.g. a blogging platform) or content delivery network. Videos are delivered to match the internet connection requirements of viewers; the video platform promises “uninterrupted delivery regardless of your site’s traffic demands“. No information is given on the encoding codec used and HD is not supported. Video player is fully customizable to match the look of any web page. You can create a video playlist to broadcast your videos in sequence. Ads on your videos are served using different ad units: pre-roll, post-roll, mid-roll, overlay and in-page banner advertising. You can also bring your ad server or ad network to provide your ads. Analytics reporting allows you to track the earnings and spread of your videos on the web, but also which portions of your videos are the most viewed. No programming features. A free trial is available. Contact Twistage sales department for pricing options.
http://www.twistage.com/ - Castfire
Castfire allows white-label video publishing so you can distribute and monetize your own videos using your logo / watermark. You can take control of the video production workflow and customize your player, ad serving procedures, viral redistribution, and much more through a web-based interface. A single video upload automatically generates multiple video formats to match your distribution needs and maintain good quality either on mobile phones, iPods, media box sets, HD-compatible TVs and more. Videos are encoded complying with H.264 specifications. Castfire has partnered with the automated video distribution service TubeMogul and allows you to distribute your clips on multiple video-sharing sites and also track precisely the performance of your video. You can also schedule and broadcast your videos without any user input. Ads can be served by third-party ad networks or ad servers using pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll units. Prices depend on the distribution campaign you choose; contact a Castfire representative for more details.
http://www.castfire.com/ - Delve
Delve provides a online video solution to manage, publish, measure, and monetize your video content. With a web-based management tool you can create an embeddable player that matches the look of your website and is freely redistributable over any web page. The player also auto-adjust the video quality for best results with every internet connection. Codec used to encode videos is H.264 and HD is supported. You can offer your users the ability to search inside your videos for topics of interests; a heatmap shows the portion of video that corresponds to a specific topic. Delve also provides analytics features to track the performance of your clips, but you can also use Google Analytics to monitor your video content. No video programming though you can broadcast video playlists. Advertising capabilities include the integration with ad servers and ad networks. Ad units options you can choose to serve your videos are pre-roll, post-roll and “random“. You can also set the frequency your ads are served and specify the ad insertion points. A 30-days trial is available yo test the service. For pricing options, you have to contact the sales department at Delve.
http://www.delvenetworks.com/ - VideoBloom
The Premium plan of VideoBloom ($299) allows you to deliver and monetize online videos with your brand logo using a dedicated player. The player is fully customizable and you can also redistribute and embed your videos on any website or social media page. Videos are encoded using MPEG4 specifications, also in HD format. VideoBloom claims that your videos are deployed to match the different internet connection speeds of your viewers while maintaining optimal video quality. Video playlists are available to broadcast niche-targeted compilations. No video programming. You can use different ad units to monetize your videos: pre-roll-post-roll, overlays, skin ads (for your video player) and companion ads. The analytics tool measures the popularity of your video on the web as well as your earnings through a web-based dashboard.
http://www.videobloom.com/ - MonetizeMedia
A live streaming and on-demand video publishing platform, Monetize Media allows you to distribute and monetize your video assets. Through a web-based interface you can arrange your video, organize playlists and insert advertising inside your clips. You cannot schedule playlist broadcasting for the time being, but you can pull videos from most popular video sharing sites to add to your custom channels. HD videos are supported. You have a list of ready-made video players at your disposal that you can also customize and scale to match perfectly any web page or mobile device. All video players offer chat, ratings, comments, social network sharing, social media tags, and RSS functionalities. Video players also detect the connection of your viewers to auto-adjust video resolution. You can set your videos for public or private access. Monetize Media supports online ad units such as banner, in-stream, overlay and pre-roll ads. Ad network integration is allowed to serve third-party ads. You can deploy your video on a pay-per-view basis and receive payments using your PayPal account. Performance reports are available to track the popularity and monetization goals of your videos. No encoding info is provided. Gold plan is priced at $1199/month plus a one-time setup charge of $500. A free trial is available to test the service.
http://www.monetizemedia.com/ - BitGravity
BitGravity is a content delivery network that provides delivery of on-demand video and live streaming broadcasts. The service takes care of distributing your videos but is not aimed to monetize your video assets with advertising campaigns. Codec used for videos is H.264 and HD is supported. There is no custom video player provided, but customers are free to modify the API of the Flash player to match their production needs. No video programming or analytics features. For further info you have to contact a BitGravity representative.
http://www.bitgravity.com/ - GizmoUTube.TV
GizmoUTube.TV is a white-label video platform that allows you to broadcast either on-demand and live streaming shows. GizmoUTube.TV provides a customizable video player which supports HD, interactive video search and redistribution on third-party websites. Videos are encoded in Flash H.264 and VP6 formats. Ad integration is not supported for the time being. For $1999/year you get a .TV domain name and 1GB of storage space per month. Expenses for bandwidth traffic are managed by Bits On The Run and payed separately. No programming available. More info on corporate website.
http://www.gizmovideo.com/gizmoutube.tv/ - The FeedRoom
The FeedRoom is an online video platform that helps you create and distribute niche-targeted video channels out of your online video inventory. Different customizable video players are available to help you find the correct matching with the look of your website. Players are also scalable, redistributable and allow user interaction with rating and commenting features. HD videos are supported. Reporting functions tell you who is tuning in, what and how much they are watching, and an understanding of which sources are driving traffic to your site. With The FeedRoom you can also monetize your video assets by offering online subscription, pay-per-view programming or by integrating advertising features. The platform has support for all popular ad formats, including in-stream pre-rolls, post-rolls and banners, as well as contextual targeting ads. You can also rely on ad networks partnered with The FeedRoom to serve third-party ads on your videos. No programming feature and no encoding info is available. You need to contact the company for available pricing solutions.
http://www.feedroom.com/ - BestTV
BestTV provides fully customizable Internet TV channels to distribute and monetize your video content. You can either broadcast white-label live streaming shows and on-demand videos on PCs, set-top boxes or mobile phones. You have also the option to create targeted playlists but not schedule a playlist to be broadcast without user input. HD videos are supported. You can monetize your video assets using both subscriptions and advertising options. Regarding advertising, you can employ pre-roll, post-roll and banner ads while setting ads frequency and capping to achieve optimal results. Ad networks can be integrated to serve third-party ads with your video content. Detailed reports are available to track your advertising campaigns and video performances. No encoding info is provided. To get a quote for BestTV solutions contact a company representative.
http://www.best-tv.com/ - Kaltura
Kaltura is an open source online video platform that allows you to manage, distribute and monetize your online video inventory using open standards. You can also import third-party video content from other websites or video-sharing sites, add your videos and create custom playlists to engage your audience. You can schedule your playlist for broadcasting without input and also take advantage of advanced features like: remix and annotate your videos, add text slides, translations, and much more. When you have your content ready, your video is encoded using FLV codec (HD supported) and then published using a customizable widget player that matches the look of your website. Powered by Gyga, your widget player is freely redistributable on any website or social media sites. You can even offer viewers to download your video player for offline viewing or broadcast private shows. Kaltura has partnered with ad networks to help you show ads with your video content that comply with IAB standards. Detailed statistics and analytics of your online video offering are also generated for your video campaigns. Contact Kaltura sales department for price quites.
http://corp.kaltura.com/ - KIT digital
KIT digital provides solutions manage, publish and monetize your online video assets. Videos can be offered on-demand on websites or mobile devices and you can put your own logo to represent your company. Video players offered by KIT digital can be fully customized, redistributed and shared on any web page. No info on HD support or video encoding. To capitalize on your video inventory you can serve ads with your content, even integrating your ad networks. Ad units accepted are: pre-roll, post roll, companion banners and flash overlay ads. Alternative revenue channels supported are: subscriptions, DTO (download to own), VOD (video on demand), and PPV (pay per view), pay per click and pay-as-you-view (per second / per frame). Detailed reports are generated to track your earnings and the performances of your videos. No video programming. Contact KIT digital for pricing info.
http://www.kitd.com/ - SOFTing K.iTV
K.iTV from SOFTing is designed to assist content providers with all key functions associated with managing online video: content uploading, cataloging, tracking and maintenance, advertising, analysis, billing and paying. You can either offer on-demand or live content. Once uploading your content you can take advantage of fully customizable video players that also allow you to create scheduled playlists to broadcast without any input from the user. A list of ready-made templates is available if you do not have specific customization needs. Advertising is supported with most common ad units: pre-roll, post-roll, in-stream, image & flash banners. Third-party ad network integration is not supported. Other monetization strategies include billing and subscriptions. Contact SOFTing support for pricing details.
http://eng.eu-softing.com/Originally prepared by Robin Good and Daniele Bazzano for MasterNewMedia, and first published on July 6th, 2009 as “Professional White-label Video Publishing Platforms: Guide To The Best Services“.
Mobile Live Video Streaming: Best Tools To Broadcast Yourself From Your Mobile Phone
Posted by: | CommentsIf you are looking for the best tools and services to stream live video from your own mobile cellular telephone, you have landed in the right place. This guide lists for you all of the available mobile live video streaming services available out there, while providing you with key information and comparative data about their key features and strengths.
Photo credit: tupikov edited by Daniele Bazzano
This is MasterNewMedia first guide to mobile live video streaming tools offering an up-to-date catalog of all the services out there while providing specific data to compare and evaluate your ideal solution.
Among the newer features adopted by mobile live streaming services is the ability to share your geo-location by leveraging the built-in GPS many mobile phones now have, as well as the option to auto-post your live video clips to multiple video sharing sites (YouTube and others) and microblogging services (Twitter, etc.).
I am myself a heavy user of this mobile live video streaming technologies, and if you look at this live video streamers popularity chart you’ll get a better idea of how much I have used this technology recently. Even on the top of the MasterNewMedia homepage you will see that I often use QIK and my Nokia mobile phone to share some sneak peeks of events I’m attending, promote interesting content I publish, or just to have an unfiltered, direct line with my viewers.
To help you select your ideal live mobile video streaming service, I have prepared a comparative guide which not only lists all of the mobile video streaming tools available out there, but also lists for you, side-by-side their key features and options, allowing you to easily compare the different features and options that differentiate these services.
One word of warning. Before you get too excited about these cool video services, there are three things you need really need to check well before you start testing and selecting your favorite one. These are:
- You must have a compatible mobile phone: Go to the “supported phones” page on the site of the tool you want to use and check that your phone model and brand are listed as fully supported.
- Don’t do this with your standard mobile phone data plan: When you broadcast video from your mobile you are effectively sending lots of data, and if you are not aware of this, you may find some nasty surprise in your mobile phone bill at the end of the month. Best thing to do is to get a cost-effective data plan such as an unlimited “flat” rate would be ideal. Here in Italy I use the data-only plan offered by 3 which costs me eu19/month for 5GB of traffic weekly. I am very happy with this solution both from a technical and cost-effective viewpoint. Consider that when you live stream at the highest quality level allowed today by these services, you produce an outgoing data stream of about 400Kbps. That is equivalent to roughly to 3MB per minute. So do some math against your mobile provider data costs before you start testing with this stuff.
- Get a second battery: Do some tests and see how much battery your mobile phone uses while live streaming. In my experience mobile phones drain down batteries in record time, requiring you to have at least one spare charged extra battery everytime you want to do something serious with it.
Now that I have warned you about the possible issues down the road, here is a comparative table placing side by side the key features and differences between all of the mobile live video streaming tools available out there:
- Chat: Text chat messages from viewers while streaming.
- Distribution: Auto-posting to YouTube and other video sharing sites.
- Recording: Ability to record live stream locally.
- Geolocation: Auto-display of live streaming location.
- Private: Share live streaming with selected private audience.
- Premium: Price and extra features of premium accounts (if available).
- QIK
QIK is a popular, free solution to stream live videos from your compatible mobile phone. You can share your location on a map (specifying at which level of detail to keep your privacy safe), chat in real-time with your viewers, and also restrict your live streaming videos to a selected audience. All the videos you stream with QIK are automatically recorded so that your viewers can watch your broadcasts on QIK website. Live streaming works even if your mobile is out of reach: all the data you record will be automatically transmitted when your mobile acquires the signal again. Auto-posting your videos to Twitter or third-party video-sharing sites is as easy as setting the preferences for these services. If you want a comprehensive review of QIK, Robin Good has extensively tested the service.
http://qik.com/ - Stickam
Stickam Mobile Broadcaster allows you to stream live video right from your mobile phone (list of supported mobile phones). The quality of video transmission is automatically adjusted to match network speed and have an optimal resolution to broadcast. Free to use, Stickam sports a text-chat feature to engage your audience during live streaming. Live videos are automatically recorded and accessible from Stickam website. Clips produced with Stickam can also be set to private to let only selected people to watch your live videos. No geolocation or auto-posting to third-party video-sharing sites.
http://www.stickam.com/mobile/broadcaster.do - Kyte
Kyte Mobile Producer allows free live streaming from Symbian S60 3rd edition mobile phones and picture-sharing for iPhone models (due to phone limitations). Kyte live streaming channels support live text-chat to connect with your viewers as you broadcast your video. You can directly upload your live streams to MySpace or Bebo by setting the preferences inside your account page. No private streaming or geolocation.
http://www.kyte.tv/mobile/index.html - Flixwagon
With Flixwagon you can live stream your video from S60 mobile phones and iPhone at no cost. Any video produced via mobile can be automatically posted to YouTube and clips are automatically recorded for future access or sharing with your viewers. You can also select your audience as Flixwagon allows you to label a video stream as “private” and specify the users who can watch your content. Geolocation is fully supported and you can choose the level of detail the GPS will track your position to respect your privacy. No live text-chat available.
http://www.flixwagon.com/ - Livecast
LiveCast is a free mobile video streaming platform that allows you to broadcast live videos from supported mobile phones to the web or other mobile phones. Streamed videos are automatically recorded inside Livecast servers. When you broadcast your video you can turn on geolocation and share your position on a map, live text-chat other users, and also restricting the access to your video content by entering private mode. No auto-posting to third party video-sharing sites. Pricing is not available on the corporate website.
http://www.livecast.com - Bambuser
Bambuser is a web service that lets you stream live videos from your mobile phone to the web (mobile phones supported) for free. You can live text-chat your viewers as you stream and, if you have a Symbian-based phone, also share your position using the geolocation feature. All your live streams are automatically recorded inside Bambuser servers so you can access your recordings at a later time. You can set your videos to “private” so that only users you select are authorized to watch your clips. No auto-posting.
http://www.bambuser.com/ - Next2Friends
Next2Friends is a content distribution service that allows you to live stream your video from a compatible mobile phone at no charge. There’s not a list of supported mobile phones but the company claims that Next2Friends work on “popular models from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG, Motorola, Samsung, Blackberry and Apple’s iPhone“. During your live streaming sessions you can text-chat your viewers, submit polls and send pictures or audio files. Geolocation allows you to share your position and find other potential users or customers in your area who like your content. No auto-recording, auto-posting to third party video-sharing sites or private streaming. Pricing information are not available.
http://next2friends.com/welcome - Yamgo
Yamgo offers a set of content distribution solutions that you can utilize to stream live videos from your supported mobile phone for free. Yamgo also allows publishers to monetize their existing video inventory including ads in the videos distributed to other platforms (desktop, mobile phones or other supported devices). Video streamed via mobile are automatically recorded and accessible at a later time. No geolocation, live text-chat, or private streaming. Yamgo pricing is not available on the corporate website.
http://www.yamgo.com/ - Molv
Molv is one of the newest entrants in the mobile live video streaming landscape. Almost all new Symbian-based mobile phones are supported and from Molv claims the list is continuously growing. Videos you stream with Molv are automatically recorded for later use and sharing via web. Video content produced with Molv is not automatically redistributed across other platforms or third-party video-sharing sites. No live text-chat, geolocation or private streaming available. Molv is free to use.
http://molv.com/ - LiveCLIQ
LiveCLIQ Mobile enables you to stream live videos from your supported mobile phone for free. LiveCLIQ video streaming solution is available for Nokia S60 phones and the iPhone, but there is also a dedicated client for those mobile phones that support Java technology. You can broadcast live video to a selected audience and also share your position using GPS. No live text-chat, auto-recording of your streamed videos or auto-posting to third-party video-sharing sites.
http://www.livecliq.com/platform/livecliq-mobile/ - Seero
Seero is a free geo-broadcasting platform that fuses live and on-demand video with GPS mapping. Any mobile with GPS capabilities works with Seero. Each streamed video is localized inside a dedicated Google Map and users that visit Seero.com can browse live videos based on locations rather than user or topic. Live text-chat is supported. No auto-recording of videos, auto-posting to third-party video-sharing sites or private broadcasting.
http://www.seero.com/
Here all the details:
Best Tools To Broadcast Yourself From Your Mobile Phone Comparison Table
Best Tools To Upload Your Video To Multiple Video-Sharing Sites
Originally prepared by Robin Good and Daniele Bazzano for MasterNewMedia, and first published on June 15th, 2009 as “Mobile Live Video Streaming: Best Tools To Broadcast Yourself From Your Mobile Phone“.