How To Setup Your Own Video Streaming Server In 5 Steps?
When it comes to live video streaming for professional use, there is so much to know. However, since a top professional-grade live streaming platform is a powerful broadcasting tool that solution providers update regularly, it isn’t easy to find reviews and comparisons that include all the information you need.
For new broadcasters looking to get into the streaming game, objectively assessing the best platform for live streaming can be challenging. We’ve put together a review of 15 of the best live streaming platforms for professional broadcasters and seven social video streaming alternatives that are also valuable for businesses, providing an in-depth review of the top 23 live streaming platforms.
This comparison aims to help you make a well-informed decision on the top streaming platform to use for your broadcasting live streaming needs. We will discuss a live streaming platform, the top features to consider when comparing streaming platforms for business and professional organizations, and the best streaming platforms and pricing for 2023 and beyond: #23for2023.
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents:
- What is a Live Streaming Platform?
- Features to Consider When Comparing Streaming Platforms
- Live Streaming Technology Compatibility
- The Rise of Live Video Streaming for Business
- The Purpose of Professional Live Streaming Platforms
- Live Streaming Platform And Pricing Comparison for 2023
- How to Create a User-Facing Live Stream Platform
- Live Streaming to Multiple Websites
- Common Integrations to Look For
- So, What is the Top Streaming Service?
- Conclusion
Please note that streaming platform technology and pricing change regularly, and this post now reflects the most accurate information as of January 2023.
What is a Live Streaming Platform?
Live streaming platforms are video hosting solutions that allow users to upload and broadcast content to their audience.
Businesses use online video platforms to share videos for lead generation, building brand awareness, advertising, and providing paid access to video streaming. When deciding what platform to stream on, you’ll find that some are better than others, depending on your brand’s goals.
For example, one of the most popular live streaming sites that most people are familiar with is Facebook Live. Still, despite being very popular, it has many limitations for businesses wanting more control over their live stream experience. That is why it is important to compare live streaming platforms in order to figure out what the best live streaming platform is for your business.
Live Streaming Statistics
Many businesses are using live streaming platforms to reach their audience in a way that is both engaging and entertaining.
Let’s review a few live streaming statistics that truly demonstrate the growing value of the online video streaming industry:
- Experts predict that the live streaming industry will be worth $187.4 billion by the year 2027
- The weekly reach of live streams worldwide in Q3 of 2021 was 30.4%
- Multistreaming will be big in 2023, with many multistream platforms already available to stream to multiple sources
- Live streams capture viewers’ attention for about 27% longer than on-demand videos
- Using video for marketing can help businesses increase revenue by 49%
- Landing pages that use video tend to drive at least 80% more conversions
- Live streaming content hold viewers’ attention for 10-20x longer than VOD content
- Online video is currently used by 86% of businesses for marketing purposes
- The Zoom streaming app has been downloaded 485 million times in 2020 and as of 2021, there are over 467,100 business users on Zoom
- Nearly three-fourths of marketers believe that video is superior to static content
Want to learn more about the state of the live streaming industry and how live streaming can help your business? Check out our 115 live streaming statistics article to learn more about how live web streaming is changing the way people consume content.
Features to Consider When Comparing Streaming Platforms
The beauty of having so many live video streaming services to choose from is that there are dozens of combinations of powerful features.
Again, when deciding what the best video streaming service is for you, there’s no “one-size-fits-all” solution. That means that features that are valuable to you may not be valuable to another broadcaster, and vice versa. Best livestream platforms are ones that meet your specific business needs.
Here are a few key features to look for when selecting a streaming platform:
- Professional video hosting services
- Video content management tools
- Secure video streaming solutions
- A top-tier CDN (content delivery network) for professional live streaming quality
- Low latency streaming for live video delivery without delays
- RTMP (real-time messaging protocol) ingest, playback, and streaming support
- Video monetization capabilities
- Live streaming APIs for enhanced content management
- Mobile streaming application support and an SDK for integration on iOS and Android
- Video editing and embedding tools
- Advanced video analytics
- Cloud video encoding and transcoding for live or VOD content streaming
- Encoding software for live video delivery
- Pricing plans: does the live streaming service provider have a plan for your broadcasting needs?
- Digital Rights Management for video on demand for an extra layer of protection to your content.
- Browser-based streaming, an easy and convenient way to connect to your viewers.
- China live streaming
In order to determine which features are the most valuable in a live streaming video service, you should identify the goals you’d like to reach with online video broadcasting. Once you’ve got your list of goals, determine which features you need to bring those goals to fruition, and choose your live streaming service for video streaming based on those tools. This is the best strategy for sorting through the top livestream platforms and choose the best one for your business’s needs.
Live Streaming Technology Compatibility
As you compare the best live streaming platforms for you, it is important to consider compatibility with other live streaming technology. For example, encoders play a huge role in the live streaming process, and if you’re going to want to use affordable RTMP encoders, you need to see if your platform supports RTMP ingest.
Another thing to keep in mind is that there are several new streaming protocols that are on the horizon, including SRT and WebRTC. These protocols have different functions, but the commonality is that they support higher-quality live streaming. Since they are still developing, they are not widely supported yet.
For example, WebRTC is specifically designed for real-time video streaming and web conferencing. If this is a functionality that is important to you, you will want to find a live stream service that offers that support or integration that offers the functionality. Continuing that example, Mslive offers a Zoom live streaming integration that pulls in the web conferencing aspect you might desire. Mslive also offers WebRTC streaming, allowing you to easily live stream directly from your webcam.
Some other streaming technology compatibility that you should pay attention to include broadcasting software compatibility supported switchers, simulcasting tools, and mobile streaming support. You want to find a streaming video platform that offers as many features as possible to support your business goals.
The Rise of Live Video Streaming for Business
Broadcasting in the professional world is not new, but it has evolved in the past few years.
Live streaming services for businesses specifically used to be less common. It was normal for professional livestream companies to use live streaming websites designed for consumers and independent content creators, such as YouTube Live and Facebook Live.
Consumer-grade broadcast platforms are very valuable for amateur broadcasters and independent streamers. However, these free web streaming platforms simply do not have the tools professional broadcasters or streaming businesses need to succeed. Consumer-grade broadcasting platforms fall short when it comes to the customization and control offered by professional streaming platforms.
One of the first roadblocks that come with consumer-grade video streaming platforms that pushed businesses to seek professional corporate live streaming software is that many schools and organizations block Youtube and Facebook because they are social media platforms.
A business using social media live streaming software would miss out on large audiences due to these social media consumer grade broadcasting platforms being blocked by a large number of organizations.
Another roadblock with consumer-grade video streaming platforms is that you don’t control how the video player looks, content suggestions, or advertising. The frustration that these free web services caused for businesses forced professional streaming solutions to come into play.
Now, there are many professional live streaming platforms for businesses to choose from that provide more control. Professional video streaming platforms offer more than the ability to avoid having your stream being blocked, they offer the ability to control the video viewing experience, from how the video player looks to what, if any, advertisements play with your content.
The Purpose of Professional Live Streaming Platforms
The main purpose of professional live streaming platforms is to host live broadcasts for businesses and other professional organizations.
Some perks of hosting video on a professional live streaming platform include monetization, customization, access to better security features, and fewer limitations. Many professional online video streaming platforms include integrated video paywalls and tools to ease integration with existing workflows.
With the help of both video and player APIs, you have more control over your live streaming experience on both the ends of broadcasters and viewers.
Many of these professional business video streaming platforms, including Mslive, also offer around-the-clock 24/7 technical support. Most consumer-grade live streaming options don’t offer this kind of support, instead leaving you to figure out things on your own.
Another benefit of live streaming with a professional video delivery platform is that it typically does not put time restrictions on your streams, allowing you to stream for as long as you want. Many also offer white-label video players meaning you can have a professional live stream video embedded directly on your website with no trace of third-party ads or branding.
The purpose of professional live streaming platforms is to provide you with a video hosting service that you have complete control over. With a professional live stream platform, your business needs come first, not those of the platform.
Live Streaming Platform And Pricing Comparison for 2023
In order to help make your search for the best professional live streaming platform a bit easier, we’ve collected up-to-date information on the best streaming platforms’ pricing, pros, cons, features, and more.
Please note that the data in this comparison post for the best live streaming video platform comes from much unique research and a number of sources. These sources include platform websites, user reviews, and free trial accounts.
We regularly update this comparison of the top major live streaming platforms with every detail as streaming platforms change live broadcast services, plans, and features, in order to ensure the accuracy of this live streaming platform comparison.
Let’s look at the provider overview, basic functionality, key and detailed features, pros, cons, and pricing for the 23 Best Live Streaming Platforms.
1. Mslive
Mslive’s live streaming platform is the leading professional online video and hosting solution.
Overview and Company History:
With offices in London, San Francisco, Nantes, and Beijing, Mslive is considered a competitive offering in a crowded marketplace. Mslive is a full-featured, self-service solution for both live streaming and VOD hosting.
Mslive is a unified streaming solution that makes the annual list of the most important, most innovative, and most interesting companies on the 2021 Streaming Media Magazine’s Top 50 List. This powerful video hosting platform helps companies around the world scale and monetize their online video content.
Basic Functionality:
Mslive provides comprehensive live streaming and secure video hosting services. Users can embed videos on their own websites while maintaining 100% control of their content. Among other features, Mslive offers an integrated paywall, password protection, referrer restriction, and an analytics dashboard.
Key Features:
Mslive distinguishes itself by offering high-end features with competitive pricing plans. These include ad-free broadcasting, white-label service on all plans, and top-tier CDN delivery (including the option for a multi-CDN solution). 24/7 phone support is also available for premium and enterprise-grade plans.
Additionally, the Mslive platform stands out from other online video platforms (OVPs) with its ease of use and accessibility. Even new broadcasters can create a new live channel and start a new live stream in just a few minutes.
Detailed Features:
- Secure, global content delivery, including industry-best video hosting
- 24/7 tech support with all plans, including email and live chat
- Video security features, including password-protected hosting and AES encryption
- VOD platform to monetize on-demand content, and to scale your VOD business
- Expo video gallery to display your live streams in an immersive video showcase
- RTMP Encoder for ingesting HLS streaming
- Low latency HTML5 channels for video streaming
- Player API access for 3rd party player integration
- Video API access on premium plans (event and scale)
- Multi-bitrate streaming for live video and VOD
- Cloud video transcoding with true adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR)
- Live encoding support for the top video encoders
- Real-time video streaming analytics
- Ad-free streaming
New!
- Advanced API to build your own video CMS
- AES video encryption for advanced streaming security
- Multi-user access (MUA) on Scale and Custom plans
- Zoom live streaming integration for meetings and live events in real-time
- Expo 2.0 galleries video portal for immersive video experiences
- China live streaming support
- Digital Rights Management (DRM) for VOD
- Multi-CDN for high-quality broadcasts
- Browser-based live streaming
Pros:
- Live streaming and Video on Demand are included in all plans
- Unlimited viewers and live channels
- White label and branding control
- Embeddable HTML5 video player
- SVOD, AVOD, and TVOD pay-per-view monetization options
- M3U8 media links to stream to mobile and smart TV apps such as Roku, Apple TV, etc.
- Mobile device support
- SDK for player integration on iOS and Android platforms
- Live stream recording
- China Video Hosting
- Pricing plans for every budget
Cons:
- Requires a bit of a learning curve
Upload Guidelines and Specs:
- Minimum dimension: None (but 240p is the recommended minimum)
- Maximum dimension: 1080p or 4K (depends on the user’s hardware and internet)
- Aspect ratio: No restrictions (but 16:9 is the default)
- Max file size: None
- Max video length: None
- Total file storage: 10-1000GB (depends on plan)
- Compatible video formats: MP4 (preferred), MOV, M4V, M2V, AVI, MPG, FLV, WMV, MKV, WEBM, OGV, MXF, ASF, VOB, MTS
Pricing:
Streaming platform pricing plans with Mslive start at $39 per month and includes four levels:
- Starter plan: $39/month (billed annually); ideal for newcomers with 1.2 TB of bandwidth and 50 GB of storage per year
- Event plan: $63/month (or $750/year); for organizations that would rather not sign a contract, and want to purchase bandwidth separately to live stream an event, offers 6 TB of bandwidth upfront, 50 GB of storage; additional data and storage can be added as needed
- Scale plan: $188/month (billed annually); includes 24 TB of bandwidth per year, with 1 TB of storage; add phone support, monetization paywall, an M3U8 online player for live channels, ad insertion, white-label video player, and video API access; additional bandwidth is available upon request for monthly plans
- Custom plan: if your enterprise business has high-volume streaming needs, you canMslive contact for a custom plan tailored to your needs.
Read more here about Mslive’s live streaming pricing plans.
Try Mslive risk-free for 14 days with our free trial. Access all of our features and see how our live streaming platform can help you reach your streaming goals. Mslive is a professional streaming platform with accessible pricing allowing businesses of all sizes access to an affordable video on demand and live video streaming service.
2. Brightcove
Brightcove’s Video Cloud uses an innovative HTML5 video player with the latest ingest and transcoding technology. Source: Brightcove
Overview and Company History:
Founded in 2004, Boston-based Brightcove is one of the oldest online video platforms in-game. Its product offerings focus on cloud encoding, live streaming, and VOD (video on demand) hosting.
In 2019, Brightcove acquired streaming platform Ooyala, known for its cloud video technology. Since the acquisition, Brightcove has announced end-of-life plans for the Ooyala OVP.
Basic Functionality:
Brightcove offers a number of modular products. These include: Video Cloud hosting, the Lift video player, Once for server-side ad insertion, Live for streaming video, OTT flow for internet TV, Zencoder for cloud video transcoding, and tools for monetization.
Key Features:
Brightcove’s features shine in the arena of analytics. Its detailed analytics and video marketing tools are quite valuable for businesses that aim to capture leads and understand their audience.
Detailed Features:
- Multi-bitrate and adaptive streaming
- Global content delivery
- Tech support, but only at a basic level with slow ticket-based responses (unless you upgrade to a paid support plan)
- Video API access, but only on custom-priced plans
- Security features, but with high-end features only available on custom plans
- Monetization options, but only on custom-priced plans
Pros:
- Good analytics
- Includes custom video portals
- CRM integration
Cons:
- High price point
- No live streaming with packages under $499/month
- Monetization is limited to custom-priced plans
- No China video delivery
Upload Guidelines and Specs:
- Minimum dimension: Determined by user
- Maximum dimension: Determined by user
- Aspect ratio: No restrictions (since Brightcove uses a responsive player)
- Max file size: No limits on files size
- Max video length: No published limits
- Total file storage: Varies by plan
- Compatible video formats: MP4, MOV, FLV, AVI, WMV, MKV, 3GPP
Pricing:
Mainly targeting huge clients, Brightcove offers several pricing plan levels but does not provide pricing. These include the following:
- Starter: includes 50 to 200 videos, up to 100,000 plays, and 2-5 users
- Professional: unlimited videos, 100,000+ plays, and no overages plays, with +10 users
- Enterprise: unlimited videos, 100,000+ plays, and no overages plays, with 10+ users, unlimited upload, and analytics-only users
Brightcove also includes custom-priced plans for their Enterprise Video Suite packages. Interested broadcasters can contact their sales department to receive a quote or sign up for a 14-day free trial.
Brightcove is not designed for small to medium-sized businesses; they target large businesses with big budgets who are willing to pay for all the upgraded features they offer as part of their streaming platform.
3. StreamLabs OBS
Streamlabs OBS is a top choice for free professional software for live streaming and recording.
Overview and Company History:
Streamlabs OBS, also known as “SLOBS,” is another powerful software for live streaming. It has similar functionality to OBS Studio, but it uses a graphical user interface rather than a command-line interface, making it easier to use. The latest version of Streamlabs OBS is v1.6.1 and is available for download here.
Basic Functionality:
Streamlabs offers quite a few features for editing and multicasting live streams. It is the chosen broadcasting software for many professional streamers. One of the unique aspects of this software is its web-based live streaming studio called MelonApp. The app allows you to broadcast to Facebook, YouTube Live, LinkedIn, or Twitch with one click and without leaving your browser.
Key Features
The Streamlabs website doesn’t indicate any limitations on operating system compatibility. However, the platform is suitable for streaming on Twitch, Facebook, Mixer, and YouTube Live.
Detailed Features:
- Multistreaming to many popular platforms
- Highlighter free video editing tools
- Layout editor with drag and drop
- Selective recording of streamed content
- Replay buffer to replay clips for your viewers
- Dynamic in-game overlay for single monitors
- Streamlabs Deck with a live stream remote control app
- Secure streaming
Pros:
- Easy for beginners
- Tools for designing stream layout
- Selective recording
- Gaming overlays
- Tools for tipping and donations
Cons:
- No scoreboards
- Limitations on graphic overlays
- Some features are clunky
Upload Guidelines and Specs:
- Minimum dimension: N/A
- Maximum dimension: 1080p
- Aspect ratio: N/A
- Max file size: 300MB
- Max video length: 4 or 10 hours (depends on plan)
- Total file storage: 30 days recording storage
- Compatible video formats: N/A
Pricing:
The Streamlabs app is free to download, but users must pay for “Prime” for full access to all of the features. Prices for prime are not listed on the website.
Streamlabs is a great tool for businesses or individuals focused on streaming live content to social platforms. They offer personalized stream overlays and integrate with a range of apps that can provide you access to improved analytics, viewer interaction tools, and more automation tools.
4. Cincopa
Cincopa is a live streaming platform that is most commonly known for multimedia hosting. Source: cincopa.com
Overview and Company History:
Cincopa is a multimedia hosting platform that large organizations use to store their content. In addition to media hosting, Cincopa offers all of the tools that broadcasters need to host high-quality live streams.
Cincopa offers plans for different budgets. The range of pricing offerings, paired with the flexible functionality of this platform makes it a great tool for many different kinds of broadcasters.
Basic Functionality:
Cincopa’s primary purpose is hosting different types of media files, including video, audio, and images. However, this platform also supports live streaming.
Key Features
Cincopa provides all of the features that broadcasters need for a professional streaming experience, including video monetization, stream recording, OTT streaming, powerful content delivery, and more.
Another perk of this streaming solution is that it supports integrations for a customizable streaming experience.
Detailed Features:
- Multimedia hosting
- Live streaming support
- Powerful video player
- Video monetization
- Integrations for customization
- OTT streaming
- Reliable CDN partnerships
- Secure streaming
Pros:
- High-quality streaming
- Professional streaming experience
- Wide range of useful tools
- Customizable streaming
- Reliable customer support
Cons:
- Live streaming is a secondary offering
- Some complaints of media storage limits
Upload Guidelines and Specs:
- Minimum dimension: 144p
- Maximum dimension: 4K
- Aspect ratio: 4:3, 16:9
- Max file size: 1, 2, 20GB (depending on the plan)
- Max video length: not available
- Total file storage: 5 videos, 40 videos, unlimited videos (depending on the plan)
- Compatible video formats: AVI, MOV, WMV, MP4, M4A, F4A, F4B, F4V, F4P, M2TS, MTS, VOB, MKV, RMVB, M1V, QT, DIV, DIVX, DV, 3GP, 3GPP, 3G2, MPG, MPEG, MPE, FLV
Pricing:
Cincopa offers three different pricing plans, including:
- Plus: $25/month; includes marketing tools (CTAs, email integrations, etc.)
- Corporate: $99/month; advanced broadcasting tools
- Agency/Enterprise: $350/month; advanced broadcasting tools with more flexibility
Please check out Cincopa’s pricing page for a further breakdown of storage and capabilities that come with each plan.
Cincopa is an image and podcast hosting platform that supports live streaming. If you need all three of those video live streaming services in one place, they may be the right platform for your business.
5. Restream
Restream specializes in multistreaming, but its Studio solution hosts live streams. Source: restream.io
Overview and Company History:
Restream is a streaming platform that specializes in multistreaming but offers some other streaming products. Restream Studio is their offering that supports in-browser live streaming.
Restream studio offers the ability to broadcast video in real-time, designed to increase brand exposure and sales.
Basic Functionality:
Restream is a platform for broadcasting live videos in-browser, most popular among the gaming, tech, government, sports, media, and music industries.
Key Features:
Restream is primarily a multistreaming platform, but it offers support for collaborative in-browser streaming alternatives.
Detailed Features:
- In-browser streaming
- Multistreaming capabilities
- Features for boosting engagement
- Peer-to-peer streaming support
- Tools for audience interaction
- Brand customization
- Scheduled events
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Tools for collaboration
- On-brand streaming
- Tools for audience engagement
Cons:
- Not a dedicated streaming platform
- In-browser streaming is secondary to live stream hosting
Upload Guidelines and Specs:
- Recommended dimension: 1920×1080
- Aspect ratio: Unavailable
- Max file size: 2GB (for pre-recorded streams)
- Max video length: 1-4 hours (depends on plan)
- Total file storage: 10 videos
- Compatible video formats: MP4, MKV, M4V, MOV
Pricing:
Restream has several pricing plans for both individuals and businesses. These include the following plans:
Individuals:
- Free: $0/months
- Standard: $19/month
- Professional: $49/month
Companies:
- Premium: $99/month
- Business: $299/month
These prices reflect monthly rates when paid monthly, and offer discounts when paid for a full year in advance.
Restream touts that with one live stream, you can reach 30+ destinations all at once. However, their free plan only allows you to be multistream to 2 channels, their standard plan allows for multistreaming to 5 channels, and the professional plan allows for streaming to 8 channels. If you need to stream to more locations than that, you need a company plan.
6. Wowza
Wowza’s cloud streaming platform features a live streaming engine for business-critical applications. Source: Wowza.com
Overview and Company History:
Founded in 2005 by David Stubenvoll and Charlie Good, Wowza is a bootstrapped start-up, with live and on-demand live streaming capabilities to phones, tablets, consoles, focusing on greater accessibility, further flexibility, and the best cost-effectiveness.
Basic Functionality:
Wowza offers two main products, the first of which is the Wowza Streaming Engine. This product is widely used in the industry for self-hosted streaming. Wowza streaming services, however, come with the Wowza offering. The Streaming Cloud functionality includes a variety of features aimed at providing low-latency content access to global audiences of all sizes.
Key Features:
Wowza’s live streaming platform’s core capabilities help developers, event producers, and technical entrepreneurs deliver live streams to their viewers/customers through third-party integration, captioning, API, and more.
Detailed Features:
- Cloud management portal
- Up to 4K streaming
- Wide range of security options
- APIs available
- Live stream recording
Pros:
- Audience Engagement
- Performance Monitoring
- Robust security
- Mobile Screen Support
- Video Looping
- China video delivery
Cons:
- No Multistreaming
- No Session Recording
- No Video Monetization Tools
- No Multiple Camera Feeds
- No Audience Analytics
- No Event Scheduling
Upload Guidelines and Specs:
- Minimum dimension: 240p (320 x 240)
- Maximum dimension: 4K (3840 x 2160)
- Aspect ratio: 16:9, 4:3
- Max file size: Not available
- Max video length: Not available
- Total file storage: 250 GB (depends on the plan)
- Compatible video formats: MP4, FLV, MP3, SMIL, AMLST, ID3, NGRP
Pricing:
Wowza recently overhauled its pricing plans and added several options. These are split into 2 main tiers: Streaming Cloud and Streaming Engine.
Wowza Streaming Cloud:
Wowza Streaming Cloud offers three different pricing plans and live streaming video services.
Live Event Pricing, monthly plans include:
- Pay As You Go: $29/month, with a 3-month minimum; flexible streaming with low startup costs
- Basic: $99/month; includes 20 hours of live streaming and 1000 viewing hours based on video resolution of 720p
- One Month Event: $149 one-time purchase; includes 20 hours of live streaming and 1000 viewing hours also at 720p
- Plus: $499/month; includes 150 hours of live streaming and 7000 viewing hours based on video resolution of 720p
All of these Live Event plans include full brand control, adaptive-bitrate streaming, and HD and UHD streaming.
Wowza Streaming Engine:
The Wowza Streaming Engine has its own pricing plans. These professional-grade streaming plans are billed annually and include:
- Basic: $175/month + $195/month for each additional instance and $125/month for each additional prepaid instance
- One Month Event: $295/month + $295month for each additional instance and $95/month for each additional prepaid instance
- Enterprise: Please contact Wowza directly for access to their custom-tailored high volume enterprise solutions
Wowza is a platform that has streaming plans that work for both individuals and businesses. If you need a live streaming portal with plans that will grow with your business, Wowza may be right for you.
7. Panopto
Panopto’s live streaming platform is a reliable solution for managing, streaming, and recording videos for any organization. Source: Panopto.com
Overview and Company History:
Founded in 2007 in Pittsburg at Carnegie Mellon University as a tech project, Panopto is a video company focusing is on businesses and universities. This platform enables you to stream, share, record, and broadcast video content. With more than 100 employees in 6 offices worldwide, Panopto serves an audience of over 5 million end-users in the e-learning space.
Basic Functionality:
With a primary focus on internal use for online education, Panopto provides powerful tools for creating “internal YouTubes” and integration with Learning Management Systems. Panopto is a more focused online video organization than the other best live streaming platforms.
Key Features:
With Panopto, users have a single mobile-ready solution for recording live videos, live streaming, video search, quizzing, and analytics. Their content management (CMS) system allows for the centralization of video streams, playlists, and playback.
Detailed Features:
- Lecture-capture and video-search software
- Analytics
- Access control & security features
- White-label streaming
- Integration with LMS systems; APIs for further integrations.
Pros:
- Audio Content
- Document Indexing
- Full-Text Search
- Video Content
- Asset Categorization
- Customizable Branding
- China hosting
Cons:
- No customizable templates
- No image editor
- No SEO management
- No version control
Upload Guidelines and Specs:
- Compatible video formats: AVI, MP4, MPG, WMV, MOV, QT, ASF, 3GP, WMA, MP3, M4V
- All other upload guidelines and specs are only available to paying customers.
Pricing:
Panopto recently simplified its pricing packages and included the following three options:
- Basic: Free
- Pro: $14.99/month
- Enterprise: Please contact Panopto for custom pricing.
After establishing a contract, you have access to unlimited streaming and storage. However, this aspect may represent a potential downside for some streamers as Panopto does not handle any external-facing video content.
Panopto understands the needs of educational institutions, making it a great platform for educational institutions.
Top Social Video Streaming Platforms
As we mentioned, free B2C streaming platforms like YouTube and Facebook are not ideal for video hosting on a professional level. Live streaming social platforms tend to have limited features and functionality compared to the professional streaming services mentioned above.
Despite its limited functionality, social media live streaming platforms are useful for teasing content and building a loyal following for your brand. Doing a live stream on social media is also free, making it appealing for those unsure about professional broadcasting.
Let’s take a look at a few of the top social media streaming platforms.
8. YouTube Live
YouTube is one of the most popular video platforms. Source: youtube.com
Overview and Company History:
YouTube was one of the first social broadcasting sites to make online video streaming popular, and it has grown exponentially in the past decade. This Google-owned website is designed for consumers, but many businesses use it while they are getting into broadcasting.
YouTube is not the best platform for live video streaming hosting since the site has strict limitations on monetization and other professional tools. Additionally, YouTube requires that broadcasters give up partial ownership of their content when they upload it to the platform. It is a live stream service that your business can use, but it has major limitations.
Basic Functionality:
Youtube Live is a free B2C video streaming platform designed for users with little to no prior broadcasting experience.
Key Features:
YouTube is primarily a consumer-grade video sharing platform. It supports both VOD and live streaming, but the most popular content on the platform is on-demand videos.
Detailed Features:
- Ad-based monetization is limited to users with large followings and watch times
- No notable security features
- Popular among consumers
- Powered by Google
- Easy to share videos
- Videos can be embedded in other websites
- No white-label capabilities
Pros:
- Free to use
- YouTube is a household name, so viewers are comfortable using it
- Easy to use (for both viewers and broadcasters)
- Easy to embed video player
- Live and VOD hosting
Cons:
- Cannot remove YouTube’s branding
- Limitations on live streaming
- Strict restrictions on content. For example, if there’s a popular song playing in the background, your video can be abruptly taken down for copyright reasons.
- YouTube owns partial rights to your content. For example, if you rely on in-video sponsorships, you may be forced to start giving a cut of your revenue to Youtube in the future.
- Distracting third party ads and branding
- YouTube will suggest the videos of competitors off to the side, which can drive away potential fans
Upload Guidelines and Specs:
- Minimum dimension: 240p (426 x 240)
- Maximum dimension: 4K (3840 x 2160)
- Aspect ratio: 16:9 (adds padding to videos with other aspect ratios)
- Max file size: 128 GB
- Max video length: 12 hours
- Total file storage: No storage limit
- Compatible video formats: MP4, MOV, MPEG4, FLV, AVI, Web M, WMV, MPEG-PS, 3GPP
YouTube is a free live streaming platform, that free tag comes with a cost, as you don’t have the complete control over your content that a professional-grade live streaming platform can offer your business.
9. Dailymotion
Dailymotion is often referred to as “the French YouTube.” Source: DailyMotion
Overview and Company History:
Dailymotion is a streaming platform that calls itself a place where you can discover content you love from around the world, live or on-demand, and where video-makers are free to share their world and connect with a passionate audience. One thing that many broadcasters like about Dailymotion is that it allows just about any content, whereas YouTube is quite strict.
The purpose of Dailymotion is essentially the same as YouTube. It is a basic platform for new broadcasters to upload and host video material. Since this site is free, it is pretty “bare bones” regarding professional broadcasting tools.
Basic Functionality:
The growing popularity of Dailymotion and the greater freedom of expression makes this streaming platform a great choice for many broadcasters.
Key Features:
DailyMotion is a basic video sharing platform that consumers and independent content creators primarily use. It includes tools for easy video sharing.
Detailed Features:
- Basic video sharing platform
- Based in France
- Small creator’s fund
- Copyright protection tools
- Minimal content limitations
Pros:
- Very few content restrictions
- Growing in popularity around the world
Cons:
- Not as popular as YouTube
- No significant monetization tools (other than a slim “creator fund’)
- Limited video analytics
Upload Guidelines and Specs:
- Minimum dimension: 240p (426 x 240)
- Maximum dimension: 4K (3840 x 2160)
- Aspect ratio: 16:9 (adds padding to videos with other aspect ratios)
- Max file size: 128GB
- Max video length: 12 hours
- Total file storage: Unlimited
- Compatible video formats: MOV, MPEG4, MP4, AVI, WMV, MPEG-PS, FLV, 3GPP, WebM
If you want a free platform that isn’t YouTube, DailyMotion is the next logical choice. DailyMotion has fewer restrictions on what content can be shared on its platform.
How to Create a User-Facing Live Streaming Platform
All of the professional-grade streaming platforms we covered above are great options for hosting and managing your content, but you will need to create a user-facing platform where viewers can access your videos and streams.
Depending on which top live streaming platform you choose, you will be able to customize a gallery through that platform, or you’ll have to build a custom site to embed your video player.
Mslive, for example, offers an Expo Video Portal where broadcasters can organize their content by playlists for viewers to access. The portal can be easily customized to reflect your branding and best suit your audience.
As you create your live streaming platform, you’ll need to work out pricing, monetization structures, and more details.
For more information, check out our dedicated guide to building a live streaming website in 6 easy steps.
Live Streaming to Multiple Websites
When there are so many platforms to choose from, it might be tough to single out any. If you’re struggling to decide, consider multistreaming to multiple platforms at once.
Even if you’ve decided on one platform, you can still find it beneficial to stream on multiple streaming platforms. For example, maybe you want the professional features of Mslive while leveraging the wide reach and built-in audience that YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch offer. If that’s the case, no worries. It’s quite simple to stream with Mslive, Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube simultaneously.
Many platforms either natively offer the ability to stream to multiple websites or integrate with a service that allows you to stream to multiple websites simultaneously. That way, you can reach more people while giving your audience the flexibility to watch on whatever platform they prefer.
In practice, it’s quite easy. You’ll only need one setup, meaning you won’t need multiple cameras or anything. Depending on the platform, you may have to copy and paste a few pieces of information into various locations, but each platform generally has easy-to-follow instructions.
Common Integrations to Look For
Sometimes, you may like what one specific platform offers, but they seem to be missing a key feature or two. If that’s the case, there’s a chance they offer common integrations. Some common integrations for live streaming platforms include the following:
- Software that allows you to stream to multiple platforms at once
- Software that allows you to include a chatbox in your video streams
- Marketing tools like email marketing software, customer relationship management software, and analytics
Multistreaming
If you find value in streaming to multiple platforms at the same time, you’ll be happy to know that most platforms integrate with software that allows you to do so. For example, although Mslive does natively offer the ability to multistream, you can also integrate your Mslive account with Switchboard Live to make it even easier for you to do so.
Be sure to double-check the platforms that each multistream software is capable of streaming to. For example, one software may support streaming to Instagram, whereas another might not.
Chatbox
Many live streaming platforms don’t natively offer the ability to live chat during a broadcast because you can easily find tools. It’s generally quite simple to integrate with a tool like RumbleTalk if you want a platform that supports 2-way communication or wants to give your audience the ability to ask questions.
Some chat platforms even allow you to manage the chat for multiple streaming platforms from a centralized place.
Marketing Tools
A popular use case for live streaming is marketing. Because of this, many top platforms, like Mslive, natively support many marketing capabilities. However, if you find that a live streaming platform you’re interested in doesn’t, there’s a chance they support integration with marketing software for email marketing, relationship management, and lead generation.
In effective marketing, it helps to know more about your audience — specifically where they’re tuning in from, what devices they’re using, their age, and so on. One of the top platforms for analytics is Google Analytics, so it’s a good idea to see if your preferred platform integrates with it.
So, What is the Top Streaming Service?
As we’ve discussed, many streaming services are on the market. As a result, it can be challenging for us to choose which is the best live streaming platform for you. It entirely depends on the goals of your specific business because all streaming platforms have their positives and negatives.
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Ideally, you narrow this list down to a top 3 and evaluate them based on your specific broadcasting goals.
If you’re stuck, consider asking yourself the following questions:
- Is video going to be a big part of my business now and into the future? If you plan for video to be a big part of your business, you want a platform that can easily scale and support increasing viewers.
- How do I plan to monetize my business and videos? Not all platforms support ad-based revenue and subscriptions. Some platforms offer more tools for e-commerce businesses, while others cater to those who plan to monetize using a paywall.
- What type of content will I live stream? For example, suppose you plan to use live streaming for internal business purposes like new hire orientation. In that case, you’ll certainly need to prioritize different features than if you were planning to stream video games.
- Who is my ideal audience? Many organizations block common consumer platforms like Facebook and YouTube to maximize workforce productivity. If you have a B2B business and your audience works in an office setting, this is something you should consider.
- How strongly do I feel about video piracy? It’s sadly too common for people to download videos off the internet and leverage them for their gain. In the same way, you rarely know who created the most popular memes, you need to consider that this commonly happens for business videos too. If you’re concerned about this, features like watermarking or DRM are a must.
- Am I in a regulated industry? Data privacy and security should always be a consideration – even more so if you’re in an industry like healthcare or finance. Professional platforms almost always provide more security features than free platforms. And even among the professional ones, some have more robust offerings than others. Besides live streaming features, look for qualities like AES video encryption, secure video upload, tokenized security, and password protection.
Am I technical, or do I have anyone on my team who is technical? If you run into technical problems, do you know how to troubleshoot your live stream? Some platforms offer around-the-clock technical support, whereas others, such as YouTube, offer little to no live support.
Conclusion
We hope this article has helped you to get a better idea of the streaming platforms available and what you should be looking for as you compare each one. Most importantly, we hope you’ve succeeded in narrowing down your live streaming service provider.
Want to start streaming but you’re still not sure which streaming service to choose? We highly recommend taking advantage of free trials for the best live stream platforms.
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