Streaming Blog: Industry News, Trends & Tips

4 Ways on How to Make a Live Video Look Professional

Written by Stacy Nawrocki in Tips & Tutorials on 20 July 2017

Think about today’s video viewing experience. Thanks to HD video, stereo sound, and high-pixel displays like the iPhone’s Retina feature — not to mention ever-higher bandwidth — entertainment and news video and audio is exceptionally clear, even for the lowliest smartphone or tablet.

Now, take that audience of viewers, accustomed to the very best HD video and deep stereo sound, and place them in front of a live streaming event that doesn’t have the same production values. Dark, blurry video and muffled audio won’t hold their attention, especially when you consider that online video drop off rates can run as high as 20 percent in the first 10 second of a video.

The good news for creators of live video is that even without a team of directors or a state-of-the-art video studio, it’s possible for organizations to up their game in terms of production quality. According to Jeff Irwin, customer success manager for IBM Watson Media, a few simple fixes and some strategic and affordable equipment purchases can make any live stream look and sound better. So read on to learn how to make a live video look professional with these 4 proven methods. If you find this article useful too, be sure to check out our 5 Pro Tips for Live Video Production guide as well.

Fast Video Upload Speed: Aspera Connect Integration

Written by Anthony Romero in Product Updates on 18 July 2017

Looking for fast video upload speeds? Need a bulk video uploader? IBM Watson Media has recently added an Aspera Connect integration. This works over IBM’s video streaming and enterprise video streaming services.

The new integration brings with it a host of benefits that will aid those managing their video assets. These benefits include not just a faster upload speed, but a way to do so without harming other Internet activities like email and web. It also offers a more secure upload process, while taking advantage of being able to upload large file sizes or bulk upload numerous videos.

Fast video upload speed
Large file size uploading
Bulk video uploader
Enhance uploading encryption
Using Aspera accelerated uploading

Video Playlists: How to Create & Edit Easily

Written by Anthony Romero in Product Updates on 13 July 2017

Video Playlists: How to Create & Edit Easily

People are watching more and more streaming content, with year-over-year time spent watching streams growing almost 22% on desktops and 48% on mobiles as outlined in our Video Trends to Look for in 2017 webinar. Viewers like to watch more of a good thing too. This can be for education purposes, entertainment or discovering more about a product or topic. Organizing your video assets into easy-to-find video playlists can aid in more content being consumed, and take advantage of this growth in time devoted to streaming content.

To help in navigating video assets, IBM Watson Media has added a playlist feature. This enables content owners to create numerous playlists associated with on-demand videos. These videos can range from professionally edited assets to auto archives of earlier live streams.

To Win in Streaming Media Services, Get Clever with Data

Written by Laney Lewis in AI Video Technology on 12 July 2017

Verizon could be the latest to enter the fray in the well-populated streaming media services market. This summer, the telecommunications giant has potential plans to launch a new Netflix competitor. But there’s a problem: according to Derek O’Donnell, senior research analyst at Gartner, the average limit for subscriptions to online streaming services is three, and between Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, that leaves little room for another behemoth.

So how do streaming media services compete? The instinctive answer: get more data on your customers. But that’s not quite sufficient.

“There’s no one on the planet that has more data than the streaming services other than Google and Apple,” says Dan Rayburn, a consultant and speaker on the streaming video business. Essentially, Netflix and friends are already drowning in the same quantity of data as one another. “They obviously all know what their customers are watching and then use that data on the content they feature. It’s not like one has more data than the other.”

For streaming media services, finding a competitive advantage when they have the same data as their competitors means getting creative with that data—and using it to make smart decisions that will benefit their bottom line. While there are many ways to do this, here are a few top tips. For those looking to get an idea of how the market might change, though, and give themselves an edge, be sure to check out Outsmart your Video Competition with Watson white paper as well.

Inline Video Playback on Social Networks

Written by Anthony Romero in Tips & Tutorials on 10 July 2017

Looking to increase your audience? Want more eyeballs on your product launch? Larger viewership on your live event? Inline video playback on social networks, like Twitter and Facebook, can be a way to bolster your audience size.

This article describes what is inline playback on social networks, the advantages of using it, how to do inline video and the end user experience while including demos.

A lot of the use cases for inline video playback are relevant to marketing. Not all types of video marketing will want to use inline playback, though. In particular, those that are directed at lead generation. Watch our webinar on 9 Mistakes to Avoid in Your Video Marketing Strategy to get some ideas on if your content is brand awareness focused, and would benefit from inline playback, or if it’s more directed toward lead gen.

Streaming Video Jobs are On the Rise

Written by Stacy Nawrocki in Video Trends & Studies on 5 July 2017

There are many jobs that didn’t exist a decade ago. Chief listening officer, social media manager and app developer were all unknown titles until recently. Streaming video jobs are another set to add to that list.

As the use of streaming video grows, more brands need a dedicated full-time employee to oversee its production. At the time of composing this article, job search sites Indeed, PBS Digital Studios and Allstate were all looking for video streaming specialists.

So what’s contributing to the position’s rise? As Business Insider noted, “While the concept of live streaming has been around for years, mobile-first video platforms with user-generated content have just recently begun to make serious waves thanks to improved video quality, faster broadband speeds, and enhanced mobile technology.” This increase in live streaming also has a trickle down effect for video on-demand as well. In fact, 19% of organizations are adding 25 hours of video content or more to their corporate libraries each month. This is in 2013, according to a joint IBM and Wainhouse Research report.

As the need for this role grows, workers who are adept at video production and can keep a cool head when the inevitable disruptions occur during live events will find a new outlet for their talents. Video integration into social and business platforms continue to fuel the growth of this industry, meaning the long-term outlook for such streaming video jobs is solid.

DIY Video Studio Setup on a Budget

Written by Stacy Nawrocki in Tips & Tutorials on 29 June 2017

Once an organization decides to present streaming video on a regular basis, carving out space—and budget—for an in-house studio makes good sense. The prospect may sound daunting, but the studio doesn’t need to look like the headquarters at CNN : It can be equipped with the basics for somewhere in the $12,000-$15,000 range.

Brian Malone, CEO of video production company Malone Media, travels around the country working with companies, nonprofits and government organizations to share their messages through video. Here, he explains how with help from the IT department (and some smart hardware and software purchases), organizations can deliver streaming video on a few minutes’ notice. But first, they need a basic setup and equipment, and this article discusses approaching a DIY video studio setup while being mindful of the end budget.

If you are looking for an expanded guide on this subject, please reference our Video Studio Recommendations white paper.

CEA-608 Captions: Live Stream Closed Captions

Written by Anthony Romero in Product Updates on 27 June 2017

Looking to deliver live streaming content with closed captions? Curious on CEA-608 captions and how they differ from CEA-708?

This article describes some of the benefits of closed captioning live content while discuss the CEA-608 and CEA-708 methods. It also briefly touches on execution, with emphasis on IBM’s video streaming offerings which have recently enhanced their delivery to support reaching mobile devices with these captions.

4K Streaming Video Platform for Live & VOD

Written by Anthony Romero in Product Updates on 14 June 2017

4K Streaming Video Platform for Live & VOD

Looking to broadcast 4k streaming video? 4K presents an opportunity for better, more vivid detail. This can enhance viewing content on larger screen sizes, such as on a big screen in a meeting room. Even downscaling the assets, though, can present an image that is high quality with a higher level details. It also offers an opportunity to focus in on smaller details. Ever do a presentation with a graph that was indecipherable due to size and compression? 4K streaming at an appropriate bitrate can be a solution.

IBM Watson Media has added capabilities to create 4k live streaming video and upload 4k VOD (video on-demand) files over the IBM video streaming services. This article outlines these capabilities and also discusses what is 4K and how to go about broadcasting at that resolution. It also outlines some of the challenges inherent with live streaming 4K content, due to the large demand from both the broadcaster and viewer in terms of a required connection speed. Consequently, before they can begin streaming at this resolution, broadcasters need to reach out to IBM Watson Media’s customer success to discuss their setup.

Monitor Network Performance & Status for ECDN

Written by Anthony Romero in Product Updates on 31 May 2017

Monitor Network Performance & Status for ECDN

When asked in relation to video deployment, 58% of IT executives want to be able to monitor network performance. Video delivery is becoming a big part of how companies conduct business, both from a customer facing and employee facing perspective. From an internal point of view, employees and stakeholders are now actively being trained and addressed through video content, ranging from internal technology training to executive town halls. Under certain setups that feature a large, centrally located audience, this presents a challenge to scale without harming the network. An issue that raises that need to monitor network performance by those in IT.

This need is addressed by technology called ECDN, or Enterprise CDN. This article discusses what is an ECDN and how it works. It also covers ways that administrators can monitor them and the benefit of strain reduction to the network. IBM Watson Media has also recently enhanced its monitoring capabilities for its ECDN offering, which are highlighted as well. It also includes data from a joint IBM and Wainhouse Research report, which interviewed 1,512 executives to see what elements they place importance on for their video solutions. The full report can be read here.

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