A Guide to Choosing the Best Online Video Platform

The popularity of videos online has increased over the past few years. There are various online platforms for these videos. Businesses use online videos to promote their services. Schools and colleges may use an online video platform for educational videos that make classes more interesting. Apart from these, the biggest revenue generated is by entertainment producers as online video platforms are great for movies and TV series. You can use an interactive online video platform to promote your content and reach your target audience.

Read on to know more about online video platforms and how to find the right online video solution.

What are Online Video Platforms?

Online video platforms are video solutions where videos can be uploaded and stored. Subscribers can then play any video they want. There is a long list of online video solutions that businesses and digital content creators can choose to host and deliver their videos.

When users or content creators upload their videos, they do so on the app or website, provided by the hosting service. You can also use application programming interfaces or APIs to upload video content. There is no need to actually build a video platform as there are many such solutions available.

The best online video platform for content creators will host both live and pre-recorded videos. This allows you to stream exclusive videos live and schedule other videos. These platforms also have video players with adaptive streaming which allows subscribers to play the videos on any device.

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How do online video streaming platforms work?

Video content can be stored on an online video delivery platform before it is distributed and viewed by the people on the internet. The videos are stored in a content delivery network (CDN).

Take a look at the following points to understand how online video streaming platforms work.

• Content creators pre-record their videos and upload them using a CDN. The videos are stored securely on the platform.
• When a viewer comes on to the platform, they have to choose a video stream through a mobile or desktop app. Once they have chosen the stream, a request is made to the digital rights management or DRM server.
• There is a manifest file that is used to fill the player buffer as the viewer requests chunks of more than 30 seconds.
• The CDN will then send these chunks back and use a media key to decrypt them so that the playback works.
• Once they are decrypted, the video will start playing on the viewer’s device.
• This process will continue and chunks will be requested so that the playback buffer is full. This is what ensures uninterrupted streaming.

All video platform providers use a specific delivery technology for such video content. This technology creates a secured network on which viewers can stream the videos available.

What are the different ways in which you can earn money on Online Video Streaming Platforms?

When you are an online video hosting platform for your content, you can monetize it in various ways. There are several business models to choose from. You will then need to select an online video publishing platform where the model will work. These business models include:

AVOD

Advertising video on demand or AVOD is where you upload content on an online video player or platform and do not charge any fee. You will be generating revenue from advertisements.  Once your videos become popular, you will get more lucrative advertisement deals and your income will increase.

SVOD

Subscription video on demand or SVOD is an online video service where viewers have to pay a subscription fee. This model is particularly suitable for a mobile video platform. SVOD provides a predictable income as you will know how much you are earning at the end of a month or year. Any online video distribution platform for SVOD gives complete control to the content creator or business.

TVOD

Transactional video on demand or TVOD uses the pay-per-view method. Users will need to pay for only the videos that they want to watch. You can easily find a secure online video platform that suits this revenue model. TVOD attracts viewers as it not only provides secure online video content but also does not charge a fee for the entire video library.

SSAI

Server-side ad integration or SSAI is the insertion of advertisements in long videos without any buffering. This business model can be used on a white label video platform. Usually, a white-label video solution is used for hosting live events. With SSAI, the content can be easily monetized. The transition from video to the advertisement and then back will be seamless.

Third-Party Integration

Third-party integration or ad integrations are a convenient method of monetizing online video content. The platform merges with several ad vendors to successfully monetize the videos available. This can also lead to online videos becoming a passive income source.

What change is video streaming bringing to the media industry?

Cable and satellite TV has taken a backseat and the online video streaming business is becoming extremely successful. Since there is so much content online, people can even create an online video platform for their videos.

The reason behind the rise of online streaming is that it ensures flexibility and convenience. Viewers can choose what to watch and can stream videos from any device, at any time as long. If you are creating an online video platform and have a specific niche for your content, then you are likely to gain many subscribers.

Conclusion

The success of top online video platforms comes from the content they provide and high-quality streaming technology. There are certain features of online video platforms like 100% customization, DRM, cloud transcoding, CDN and adaptive bitrate streams, among others.

The pandemic has flipped around organizations and building and giving video streaming services is one of the organizations that can take advantage of the boom that such organizations are battling to find. Ideally, this article has assisted you with seeing how and why a business can benefit from putting resources into a video streaming platform. Please reach out if there is any more information you would need.