Selecting the best VoD hosting platform that fits your needs is an essential task that takes a lot of time and effort. VoD streaming is almost necessary for many businesses, broadcasters, and content creators in a world dominated by technology. Therefore these platforms must work to your advantage. There are things you should be looking at when trying to find the best VoD streaming platform.
Whether you want a platform that offers a monthly subscription, allows you to add advertisements to your videos, or makes it possible to use subtitles or logos for your content, there is a platform that is adaptable to your needs. If you are looking for a Video on Demand Platform, there are several features to consider. In this article, we narrow down a list of must-have features for VoD streaming platforms.
What is VoD?
Video-on-Demand is a popular service offering different media available at users’ convenience. With VoD streaming, people can choose what to watch whenever they want. Viewers can select and watch videos based on their time instead of waiting for a view scheduled broadcast.
VoD streaming is accessible through setup boxes, computers, tablets, smartphones, or any Internet-connected device. It can be used for different purposes, including movies, tutorials, educational content, entertainment, and many others. VoD streaming has various features, and it is crucial to consider these must-have features for VoD streaming before implementing one.
Read also: What is VoD platform? How does it work?
VoD Streaming Features
Video Content Management System (CMS)
One of the most important VoD streaming features is Video Content Management System (CMS), which will result in an increasing subscriber base. Organizing videos and tagging them properly will lead to getting them seen by the right engaged viewers at the right time. A well-built CMS allows to tag videos with categories and subcategories for easy searching. This way, the viewers can search for the specific subject or video and find it quickly.
It also helps to build a smart playlist that is related to the video’s viewers already watched. With an organized CMS structure, users will watch the content for longer, and the impact of the content on them will also be magnified. VoD platforms that do not manage the content by categories or topics will lose the benefits of longer watch-time and content discovery.
VoD Transcoding
Transcoding is a process of converting an object or media file from one format/size to another to increase compatibility with other programs, applications, or devices. Transcoding is mostly required when a device does not support the format or has limited storage capacity. Transcoding is a key feature for VoD hosting platforms because different viewing videos need various file sizes.
VoD transcoding in a video-on-demand platform makes it possible for viewers to watch the highest quality videos based on their Internet connection. This way, videos will perform their best on a variety of devices. With this VoD streaming feature, you must create a group of encoder settings, and the transcoder will offer the viewers the most optimized file types compatible with their devices.
Video Monetization
Video monetization is a must-have feature for the VoD streaming platform to make money from the viewers watching the video contents. Monetizing the video contents depends on the business’s models, and it is not necessary for all of them. This VoD streaming feature has three main models: SVoD, TVoD, and AVoD.
1.Subscription Video on Demand (SVoD)
SVoD monetization is a model by which the viewers pay a subscription fee, and they can watch as much content as they want. This model gives viewers flexibility allowing them to scale their subscription plan based on their usage. SVoD is the most profitable VoD streaming feature that helps content creators to focus on representing the content and be confident about the income.
2. Transactional Video in Demand (TVoD)
TVoD is a model by which users pay a specific price per piece or series of content, and they have access to view that particular content. TVoD is the standard for pay-per-view streaming. It has two subcategories— Electronic Sell-through (ESL), where users pay once and have permanent access to the content, and Download to Rent (DTR), where users pay to get access for a limited amount of time. This VoD streaming feature is mostly used for recent content.
3.Advertising-Based Video on Demand (AVoD)
AVoD is a model in which access is free to users. However, to watch free content, users must sit through advertisements. This way, there will be advertisements at different intervals in videos providing revenue for both the platform and its creators. The advertising is usually paid on a per-view or impression basis.
White-label Video Player
Using non-white-label VoD platforms means content creators have no access to remove the advertising, customize the look, or feel of the platform, and distribute the contents. The solution is to find a VoD hosting platform with a white-label feature with easy third-party setup and flexibility. Users can remove the third-party branding, put their logo, embed the video player onto the website, and share on different social media platforms.
Video Security
Video security is one of the most vital VoD streaming features. A reliable platform should offer security when content is uploaded to the time users view it. It is evident that with HTTPS uploading and delivery, the data is secure. Users are also capable of locking the address bar to block any malware or hackers. This will restrict specific domains or IPs. If viewers are using subscriptions, it is necessary to offer them exclusive and safe access like password integration.
Support Across Devices
Using a VoD platform that supports popular devices is always a better choice, and it will attract new viewers who would be willing to pay for accessing content. This platform must have a regular plan for updating multiple formats and subsequent support for streaming.
Notification
One of the key features of the VoD streaming platform is the notification service. Subscribers want to receive alerts from the creators for different subjects like when there is a live show, when new content is added, or when content is removed. A VoD streaming platform with in-app notification will engage the viewers and encourage them to resonate with the content.
Analytics
Online video platforms integrated with detailed reports and analytics can be beneficial for businesses and content creators. For that, it is good to check if the selected platform fits the important requirements. Some of these standard analytics include view by video, content drop-off, and other extensive details.
Infrastructure
The professional infrastructure is also a vital VoD streaming feature. An all-in-one video platform solution like ArvanCloud offers full setup and deployment of the content, maintenance, and updates. A VoD platform integrated with Cloud CDN will provide unlimited broadcast capacity with a significant speed boost in uploading video content. A reliable video streaming platform with cloud infrastructure will help to store everything in the cloud securely.
Conclusion
One effective way of building a strong audience base and keeping the viewers engaged is by allowing them to access the content whenever they want on whatever device they have on hand with the best quality and speed.
Finding the right platform for VoD streaming is a significant part of accessing the best tools and offering the best services from distributing to monetizing your content. If you are ready to live up to your potential, try ArvanCloud Video Platform that offers free video streaming up to 10GB and the pay-as-you-go method. Contact us and let us help you with this decision.
