Streaming Blog: Industry News, Trends & Tips

Boost Virtual Event Registration in 6 Steps

Written by Anthony Romero in Tips & Tutorials on 12 March 2021

Running virtual or hybrid events? Need some advice to help boost virtual event registration?

These six steps will help you increase your virtual event attendance. They assume you are already using a virtual event platform to run the conference, as they focus more on promotion. If you need a more in-depth guide that includes executing the event, check out this definitive guide to running virtual events.

Server Cluster in Europe for Streaming Video

Written by Anthony Romero in Product Updates on 16 February 2021

Located in Europe and looking for a video streaming solution that has a server infrastructure also located there? IBM Watson Media is introducing a concentrated, shared server cluster for the Europe region, located in Frankfurt, Germany.

For organizations that elect to use this added service, they will be able to manage and deliver live and on-demand video strictly from a Europe based server cluster. As a result, servers from outside Europe aren’t used for those who elect to use this service. This introduces advantages to Europe based organizations and also the ability to comply with certain regulations.

CDN & Video: What is a Content Delivery Network?

Written by Anthony Romero in Tips & Tutorials on 2 February 2021

CDN Video Delivery

Video streaming and delivery is a resource intensive process. This is attributed to the various networks a video stream must pass through as well as the quality of the video, as higher bitrates and resolutions require more information related to that stream to be sent to the end viewer. As a result of this requirement, it’s not recommended to broadcast video using your own server. For companies, this can result in bottlenecks from the servers hosting or unnecessary costs to scale a server infrastructure.

One solution to avoid both, though, is through utilizing a CDN (content delivery network). This article talks about the basics of delivering content over the Internet before why it’s important to have a CDN when streaming video content.

If you are already familiar with CDNs and would rather learn more about how IBM Watson Media offers a more robust solution for video streaming, read our live video scalability white paper.

Closed Captioning Settings for Video Streaming

Written by Anthony Romero in Product Updates on 26 January 2021

Viewers now have more options related to how closed captions are displayed for video streaming content. This allows end users to customize closed captioning settings inside the video player for live and on demand captions. As a result, viewers can control a number of options from increasing font size for accessibility reasons to altering aspects like color of the display.

These settings are available for manually uploaded WebVTT captioning files and also automated closed captions from IBM Watson. Furthermore, the settings can be accessed and control the captions for mobile devices and desktops. However, please note there is a current limitation for these settings when viewing full screen on an iPhone.

Options for closed captions
Opening closed captioning settings
Stored CC settings

Revised Acceptable Use Policy

Written by David Mowrey in Company News on 15 January 2021

Please note IBM’s revised acceptable use policy:

Cloud Services may not be used in any jurisdiction for unlawful, obscene, offensive or fraudulent Content or activity. Examples of prohibited activities are advocating or causing harm; interfering with or violating the integrity or security of a network or system; evading filters; sending unsolicited, abusive, or deceptive messages; introducing viruses or harmful code; violating third party rights; or streaming Content that would constitute offensive speech, including Content that could be interpreted as racist or discriminatory, with the latter category specifically including speech that is intended to discriminate based on race or ethnicity, religion, gender or gender expression, or sexual orientation.

White Label Video Platform: Live Streaming & VOD

Written by Anthony Romero in Tips & Tutorials on 4 January 2021

Looking for a white label video player solution? Broadcasters can spend hundreds if not thousands on their setups, from top of the line cameras to hardware encoders that can allow for camera switching, only to have the end product touting another company’s brand which can cheapen the viewer experience.

IBM Watson Media offers a wealth of features to help customize and allow content owners to control a viewer’s experience. This is presented as part of a white label video platform and an enterprise video platform, allowing the removal of the IBM branding and also allowing content owners to insert their own. This article covers these features in more depth. It looks at where and how content owners can remove IBM branding and insert their own and also how content access can be restricted. This includes insight into how content owners can manage elements of the video player, embedding, viewer access, and also the channel page experience.

Recycled Percussion Takes on 24-hour Live Streaming Concerts and Tech for Good

Written by Stacy Nawrocki in Customer Stories on 30 December 2020

Music, and the artists that make it, have always had tremendous power to influence our culture, our emotions, and even our morality. Recycled Percussion is a band that has taken that responsibility very seriously for years as they seek to use their influence for good. And now, they are combining their talent, influence, and cutting edge technology to take it to another level – online.

SzinhazTV.com Offers Exclusive Content to Global Audience for the Holiday Season

Written by Norbert Mocsnik in Customer Stories on 17 December 2020

SzinhazTV, a Budapest-based media startup, streamed plays from top Hungarian theaters to more than 8000 unique users since its launch in November. The increase in streaming capacity was derived from IBM Watson Media technology on the IBM Public cloud.

Live Video CTA: Add Clickable Video Overlays

Written by Anthony Romero in Product Updates on 10 December 2020

Need an effective CTA (Call To Action) for your live video marketing? Looking to add clickable video overlays?

CTAs are an important element of the overall conversion process. While video marketing can be valuable to build brand recognition, sometimes collateral is created for later in the sales funnel with the desire to convert. For these and other instances, IBM’s streaming video and enterprise video streaming users can now add live CTAs directly into the video player. These clickable video overlays can provide a clear next step for prospects who are watching live streaming content. For more information on using live video as part of your marketing strategy, also be sure to download our How to Increase Conversions with Online Video white paper.

How to Live Stream Cisco Webex™ Video Conferences

Written by Anthony Romero in Product Updates on 8 December 2020

Want to know how to live stream Cisco Webex video conferences? Looking for ways to improve archiving and content discoverability through AI?

IBM Video Streaming from IBM Watson Media can be integrated into Cisco Webex Meetings or Events. Through this integration, Webex users are able to push out their video conference so it can be broadcasted on a channel page. This channel can be restricted for internal use, or open so that anyone with the link could watch.

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