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Live Streaming Destinations

How to Choose the Best Live Video Streaming Solution

This post addresses how to go about finding the best live streaming solution. It's part of our series on how to start live streaming.

The secret’s out: There’s immense power in live video streaming.

When organizations like schools, sports leagues, churches, or municipalities, decide to stream, they no longer confine their events to the spaces in which they're held; instead, streaming allows people to watch from wherever they are.

There are several different streaming providers to choose from. Evaluating each one and navigating the differences between them can be overwhelming. This post outlines six key features to consider when evaluating different streaming solutions.

This post is based on The Buyer's Guide to Live Video Streaming. If you'd like to learn about additional key factors and features to consider when evaluating live streaming solutions, download the free guide.

Price

Price is often one of the biggest considerations for any organization. Be sure to understand what’s included in your quoted price.

Be sure to ask questions like "What is included in the quoted price?" and "Are there additional costs for increased viewership or storage?" to help you uncover ‘hidden’ costs and eliminate any surprises.

When determining your budget, it’s helpful to have a target range in mind, rather than a firm number.

Related: How Much Does Live Streaming Cost?

Hardware vs. Software

When it comes to live streaming, the decision between a hardware or software solution will inevitably come up. The benefit of hardware encoders is that, unlike software solutions, they were explicitly built to stream. They free up existing equipment and are typically less expensive than their software counterparts.

Related: Why Hardware is better than Software

Picture Quality

Nobody likes to watch bad quality video. Thanks to major television networks and online platforms like Netflix, we’ve all come to expect to watch crisp video all the time – anything less is unacceptable.

Customer Support

Live streaming is hard. You want a provider that makes it easy. Sharing video in real-time with people around the world makes the consequences feel higher if things don’t go right. That’s why a knowledgeable, dedicated customer support team is so important to your organization’s streaming success.

Storage

Though there’s immense power in live video, the storage of this video is equally important. Viewers can watch the archived versions if they’re not free at the time of your event or re-watch their favorite moments. How do the various providers you're evaluating stack up against each other when it comes to storage?

Viewer Capacity

You are streaming to share your events with your viewers. Some streaming providers limit the amount of viewers that can tune in or charge you a premium to increase your viewer capacity. Be sure to understand this metric before making your decision.

Final Thoughts + Further Reading

Whatever you’re looking for, we wish you luck in your search and hope that The Buyer's Guide to Live Video Streaming helps you during the evaluation process.  

Click the button below to download the free guide.

  Download the Free Buyer's Guide