Create your own video streaming server with Linux
VOD stands for video on demand; VOD services aren’t the same as live streaming. The biggest difference between VOD content and a live stream is that VOD content is recorded and generally edited before you view it, and live content is streamed in real-time.
Additionally, VOD content is available on demand, meaning viewers can watch it whenever and wherever they want once the content is made available to them. This isn’t the case with live streaming, where the content needs to be watched in real-time.
To maximize monetization and views, many brands create VOD and live streaming content. That opens up multiple streams of revenue for them instead of just one. When you create your team’s video marketing strategy, it’s important to think long-term about your content strategy.
You can save a recording of your live streams and turn them into videos on demand. Live streams can be a great way to increase your VOD content library.
For instance, Vevo partnered with Ariana Grande for her live streaming performance of the album “Positions”. The music videos from these performances are still available on demand to viewers.
However, these two methods of streaming video content online do differ from each other. Let’s look at how they differ.
Live Streaming
Sharing real-time experiences with your audience through live streaming is a great way to create a sense of exclusivity and community, making live streaming an essential tool for businesses.
Live streaming can create a sense of community with your customers and share information with them and within your organization. That’s especially true if you have a remote workplace or offices in multiple locations. Live streams can be a great tool to harvest a positive work culture within your organization.
For your customer, you can use live streams for a wide range of real-time events, such as:
- Product demos
- Product releases
- Press releases
- Share news
Live streams can be a great way to share information and connect with your customers in real-time. It is a great way to let customers feel like they are in the know.
Live streams can also be a great internal tool for connecting with your employees and stakeholders. This is especially true if you have a remote workplace or offices in multiple locations.
You can use internal live streams for a variety of purposes, such as:
- Announcing changes within the company
- Hosting a conference
- Conducting live training sessions
- Holding meetings
Live streaming is a medium for sharing less structured and edited content, all in real-time. This quality might help resonate with a broader viewer base for specific genres.
Compared to VOD, live streaming requires a bit more technical know-how. With live streaming, you are recording video content in real-time. During a live stream, you want to minimize the delay between when something happens in real-time and when your viewers experience it through their screens.
You can achieve that with adaptive bitrate streaming, which instantly creates different versions of your content, allowing your end-viewer to watch the content in real time with minimal buffering at the best resolution for their device and internet connection.
This is particularly helpful for those watching the content on smartphones while on the move. As their data speeds vary, the video quality will adapt to them. The upscaling or downscaling of the video will ensure that the stream keeps going without stopping for buffering.
On the back end, you will need to work with encoders to allow for the smooth delivery of your content to your viewers. Luckily, many online video platforms, such as Mslive, take care of this encoding for you.
Video On Demand (VOD) Streaming
Video-on-demand streaming software works differently than live streaming and serves different purposes.
VOD streaming allows you to perfect your content before releasing it. Live streaming is great for creating hype and channeling that is built up into views. While VOD is better for video content that follows a script. You can plan, record, edit, and fix your video before you release it. That allows you to create a polished and professional premium video experience for your viewers.
Both types of content are valuable and offer different experiences.
For customers, you can use VOD content for a variety of purposes, such as:
- Entertainment
- In-depth product demonstrations
- Educational content
- Informative content
Within your organization, you can use VOD for a variety of purposes, such as:
- Internal training
- Tutorials
- Walk-throughs
You can use VOD streaming software to create content that people across your organization will need access to over time. VOD lets viewers watch content on their schedule.
Take tutorials, for example; you can create VOD content teaching recruits in your company how a specific piece of equipment is operated. They can then refer back to it whenever need be. Troubleshooting any issues or training new employees can be easier and more streamlined this way.
VOD content fits into people’s busy lives and allows people to watch the content from any internet-connected device.
With VOD streaming, you need to work with a video hosting platform that allows you to manage and upload your content easily. You also want to work with a platform with API tools and video galleries that make it easy to share all your video content with your audience.
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