I scream, you scream, we all scream for live streaming online and mobile video. Live is becoming not just an oughta-have, but a must-have, as video distributors seek to reach an audience that isn’t content to watch reruns on-demand. For sports and live competitions in particular, live is becoming ever more important — and content companies are keen to meet that demand. But of course, doing so means using a whole different system for distribution than what they usually use.
OR DOES IT?
Not necessarily anymore, thanks to a new module from video distribution platform Brightcove that will make it a lot easier for its customers to roll out live video streams on a wide variety of devices. The brilliantly named Brightcove Video Cloud Live module allow Brightcove customers to manage live events with many of the same features as their on-demand video streams.
The module will provide high-quality, multi-bit rate streams to PCs, smartphones, tablets, and even connected TV devices. And it’ll do so all within the same distribution platform that their existing on-demand library uses. So they’ll be able to take advantage of the same analytics, monetization, and other features available from Brightcove. Customers will also be able to create an on-demand version of a live stream instantly after an event is over, enabling them to manage the full lifecycle of an event all in one platform.
Brightcove recently announced the availability of live video encoding through Zencoder, which the company acquired last summer. That feature from the cloud encoding division will power Brightcove’s live module, enabling customers to set multiple renditions for adaptive streaming on a wide range of devices and network conditions.
But the platform also taps into existing monetization tools, allowing customers to add pre-rolls, sponsorship bumpers, and watermarks to its streams. They can also tap into real-time analytics and, once a live video is over, use those analytics to chart the number of viewers who have watched a piece of content live and on-demand. And while Ustream has always been about live streaming, the company has recently rolled out new tools to more easily re-package its live streams on-demand when they’re over, offering a similar solution to what those other two are rolling out… just kind of, in reverse.
Brightcove isn’t the only video platform that’s thinking about live distribution. Comcast online distribution unit thePlatform announced a live component of its own just a week ago.
Video Cloud Live is being announced at Brightcove Play 2013, the company’s annual customer conference. It’ll be available for Pro and Enterprise customers, with customizable pricing based on even hours and number of SD and HD outputs.
Comment