Live video streaming companies are those which provide the service of streaming the videos which are being telecasted live over the internet. Previously, internet videos could only be downloaded and not viewed in real time due to lack of fast internet connection. These days with the increase in internet speeds and advancement in technology, live video streaming has become very popular. When it comes to live video streaming companies, Singapore is the place to be. This is because Singapore is a small country with a high population density. This makes it easier for a video streaming company to reach out to more people across the country and thus making the service more cost effective. There is also a very high internet penetration rate in Singapore. This makes streaming videos online more feasible as there would be more people who would be able to view the videos. To add on to that, there are plenty of educated people in Singapore and video streaming is an industry which requires a lot of technological knowledge. The combination of all these factors would make it easier for a live video streaming company to set up in Singapore and reach out to a large audience.
Overview of live video streaming
A standard of legitimacy and idealness likewise characterizes live transmission, as there are not many chances to edit or redo a caught live stream. This is likewise a twofold edged blade; just as one can even now convey a message botch ups and instances of awful behaviour can turn out to be particularly harming to a company’s image or individual standing. The term live TV is as yet common however has gotten out dated since the broad increment in live web broadcasting. Live streaming is by and large considered to be an occasion with respect to a continuous communicated. This is curated content moving from a live stream to an on-demand position, which has become exceptionally ordinary in the current age of consumer TV and film watching. Buying the best live streaming services is the most ideal approach to get an occasion live.
Live streaming is the streaming of video content that is sent over the web to a data-driven gadget and shown live on a screen. Anything can be streamed live; it is direct and immediate. One of the most widely recognized and gainful employments of live streaming is to play occasions progressively to crowds. This is additionally alluded to as occasion simulcasting. The primary case of simulcasting was in 1995 at the “Walk with the dinosaurs” occasion at the Field Museum in Chicago. Disney utilized simulcasting various occasions when they were reestablishing and reproducing their Fantasyland. The college of Cincinnati recreated surgery for preparing and instruction. There is wide scope of potential utilizations for live streaming. Other applicable terms incorporate on the web and web streaming.
Importance of live streaming services
There are many benefits to live video streaming; here are some of the reasons why you should consider live streaming for your next event. Live video streaming is a cost-effective way to reach your audience. Whether you are live streaming a concert, conference, or a church service, your audience will be able to join you from anywhere in the world. Live video streaming companies allows you to get your message or event out to people who might otherwise have missed it due to travel costs, work, or health issues. With the ability for your viewers to view your event from anywhere in the world, it can help increase the number of people who will view your event. Live video streaming provides the added benefit of being able to compile a recording to be used for on-demand viewing. This is useful for people who might not have been aware of the live stream or had prior engagements. If you will be live streaming a conference or a church service, you can attract more attendees for future events, as they will be able to sample a recorded event. Recorded events can also serve as a useful marketing tool for your next event or to reach a particular audience.
Factors to Consider when Choosing a Live Streaming Service
Pricing: a factor that is paramount for many companies, particularly when choosing a less important service such as a live streaming provider. Maximize the amount of service you get for the competitive price. Many companies offer multiple packages, some of which include a free trial. From the trials, companies can then determine which package suits them best, enabling them to then further compare prices and content of the package with other providers. Make sure the trial is at least a week long, enabling you to actually get a feel for the service and time to compare with other trials. Beware of companies that require a lengthy contract in exchange for lower prices. You may end up dissatisfied with the service and be stuck in a binding contract. The content and purpose of the live stream is a major influencer when choosing a package. For instance, if you are looking to live stream events in Singapore, particularly large-scale events such as concerts and seminars, you will require a high-performance live streaming provider. On the contrary, someone looking for a more casual video broadcast may not be interested in spending extra money for the best service. This leads on to our next factor: the quality and reliability of the stream.
Pricing and packages
Enterprise – Custom plans that are negotiated for big businesses who need a more tailored solution to their live streaming requirements. Often these are built around an SLA (service level agreement) between the customer and the service provider.
Monthly subscription – Various plans that involve paying a monthly fee for access to different levels of service and features.
PPV (Pay-per-view) – A common model used by businesses. The broadcaster can set a price for viewers to access the content and the service provider will take a percentage cut.
Free – Often with limitations that include lower quality video, restrictions on the amount of viewers and duration of the broadcast, and the inclusion of ads that cannot be controlled by the user.
Choosing a pricing model is one of the most crucial factors that determine what kind of live streaming service a user needs. This can be split into two major markets, consumers or businesses. Consumers may be looking for free ways to broadcast their content and attract viewers. Or they may be willing to pay small amounts for premium features and higher quality broadcasts. Businesses are generally looking for a service that provides a stable, high quality platform to convey their message. They are often willing to invest a significant amount of money to have their content hosted on a reliable platform with a high potential viewer count. This is looking at the broader picture. Here is a detailed list of pricing and packages offered by the best live streaming services.
Streaming quality and reliability
The streaming quality and reliability are a very important factor to consider when choosing a live streaming service. The quality of the stream will reflect on one’s event or business. It is important to present oneself in the best way possible and often times the stream is a direct representation of the business or event. Rough and poor quality streams with constant interruptions give off a less professional image and may be detrimental to a company. It is crucial the quality of the stream does not fluctuate and remains at a constant level throughout. Some services offer the option to switch to a lower quality stream if viewers are experiencing constant buffering. This is a good option for some as viewers can still watch the stream, however the choice to lower quality can be disabled to force a constant minimum bitrate. Reliability is also another important factor as having the stream go offline during an event can be very frustrating and often times it may cause viewers to leave and not return. Look for services that offer guaranteed uptime and have a good reputation for being reliable. It may be good to contact some other clients of the service to see their experiences and whether it is fit for your requirements.
Customization and branding options
Optional flexibility of features rates highly when considering any type of live streaming service or software. This refers to having the ability to enable or disable a feature with guideline of when and where it’s used. For live streamers with a target audience in different languages, closed captions or multi-lingual audio support would be a useful tool for wider viewer reach. This means the streamer can connect to a broader audience before toggling an option that will display machine translated subtitles to test non-native speaking viewership. Large organizations that have internal and external communications may want to use live streaming for meetings or sharing of media. In this case security features are important as the organization can choose to make the stream public or private, with the ability to embed the stream in a password-protected page and relocate internal staff.
The next factor to consider is customization and branding options. You need to be sure that the service fits your brand. A paid service may offer features such as overlaying your logo or graphics, re-branding the player, and video embedding which are essential to corporate and business live streaming. These features are also important to educational institutions when considering a live streaming service to lecture students. An example is customizing the player to show the school’s logo with a link back to the school’s website. This will increase awareness of the school brand and drive traffic back to the school’s website. Some services might be aimed at a specific use-case of higher end production live streaming, for example live pay-per-view sporting events. Such services are not relevant to the average user with large costs and features that won’t be used. In this case more basic branding options may also be irrelevant to the user. An entertainment or gaming streamer may be more interested in interactive and social features that will increase viewership and retain viewers. These users should be looking at what branding options are available to increase channel reputation and attract potential viewers.
Analytics and reporting features
All live video streaming companies services to a certain extent will incorporate analytics into their dashboard. While many of them will present analytics in the form of data, where you can then interpret that data to increase views on your videos. At DaCast, we offer a combination of data and functionality that makes understanding your viewership and video performance as simple as possible. Our analytics and reporting feature allows you to keep track of your viewer numbers. You can isolate specific countries to see where you are receiving the most viewership. This can help decide what the best time is to broadcast your live videos to maximize viewership. We also provide a graphical representation of details to show what bandwidth was used during what time period. This is vital information if you are looking to monetize your video using ad insertion. Being able to present an advertiser with statistical data of your bandwidth use and viewership will provide a desirable opportunity to negotiate ad placement and rates.
Conclusion
After careful examination of these seven live video streaming companies services, we believe that the best one for you is BoxCast. The main reasons we came to this conclusion over the other ones are the accessibility, price, and viewability. BoxCast is accessible via mobile devices (such as smartphones and tablets) with a highly rated mobile app, and at a reasonable price. The videos are also high quality and HD. High quality video and audio is also possible when using BoxCast and some of the more complicated services with various add-ons. Asking for donations or Pay-Per-View is not an option with some of the other services; BoxCast allows for both. YouTube is also notably simple and easy to use, but is not as professional, viewable, or feasible. Based off the accessibility, price, and viewability, Boxcast is the best service to use for live video streaming. Since these key aspects are the most important things to consider when choosing a live video streaming service, the seven services were graded based off these three components. The collective scores altered our original perceptions of some of the services; for instance, some services with more features were not rated as highly because the pricing was too high. Other services which appear to be the same actually had different scores; Limelight consistently ranked the lowest because of its high pricing and fewer features compared to the other service. The accessibility, price, and viewability are factors which will most likely remain important for those seeking a live video streaming service in the future, so this information should stay relevant for years. With this in mind, it will be easy to part with this information; BoxCast is rated the best of our seven services with a grade of A-; this makes it our recommendation of the best live video streaming service.
