Live video transmission; a change in business marketing
There is significant growth occurring in the live stream market as companies start to adopt the technology to retain brand loyalty and increase new business. The market recently grew by 93% with average viewing times being around 26 minutes. In general, this means that a viewer’s retention is increased by around 10 to 20 times than pre-recorded content. Live video transmission then offers much more time for businesses to market their offerings to the viewer.
While live streaming videos can be watched after the live event only around 30% of people do so with the majority preferring to watch the live video transmission. As such the market cap is expected to be 184 billion dollars by 2027.
In terms of demographics currently the majority of viewers are between 18 to 34 and make up around 63% of millennials. 34% of generation Z also watch live video transmission and boomers and gen X age groups prefer pre recorded content. This is not unexpected in terms of human behavior but shows that live video transmission will eventually dominate the marketplace and key to a business’s success over time.
The technology behind live streaming success
The market figures are clear that adoption of live video transmission is essential for business success so the next question is what technology do you need to adopt it and stay ahead of the game? Initially it seems very confusing with thousands of devices and software available, however it is actually very simple. First you need live video transmission equipment from one provider to get the best compatibility and benefits. You need a live stream optimized camera or cameras that are usable for your livestreams. For example, you may need action cameras if you are livestreaming content in remote places while a studio or controlled environment may lead to SLR cameras that are rated for livestreaming possible.
You need an encoder that converts the video feed from the camera to a transmittable format, these can be of different sizes and have different capabilities and either be the size of a hard drive that can be mounted on camera flash mounts or U or 2U server blade sizes depending on requirement. Thankfully live video transmission equipment encoders are modular solutions so you can choose how you wish to process your video feed and as your live streaming develops you may decide to change encoders depending on what you are doing. One key feature that encoders need is bonded wireless connectivity that stops pictures becoming grainy in remote locations due to signal drop. This feature is a must as it essentially uses two or more connections and if one drops in quality the other takes up the slack and will ensure that you are creating professional broadcasts and not an amateur approximation that people will find difficult to watch.
Cloud-based hosting solutions
Once a livestream feed is formatted for transmission by the live video transmission equipment selected it needs to be sent to a cloud-based solution for production teams to add graphics, offering or just to push that feed straight to the viewer. Cloud based solutions only take a few minutes for you to initially register your devices and set where you want to send the feed. For example, an excellent platform for a business could either be a webpage on the business’s website or to a Facebook groups page where people interested in the business reside.
In the old days you would need to worry about hosting live streams on servers manually and getting servers around the world to synchronize data to stop data lag, however thankfully whatever cloud-based hosting solution you chose will automatically do this for you, providing you with crystal clear HD video feeds without any hassle.
