People use online streaming for everything these days. Education, news, sports, entertainment, and everything else is unimaginable without video content. Businesses have also adapted short and long videos as the primary means of communication with potential audiences.
Video on Demand platforms like Netflix, Hulu, etc., have witnessed massive popularity in the past few years and have opened new avenues for the growth of VOD platforms.
Also Read: How has streaming evolved?
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What are VOD Platforms?
Video on Demand(VOD) platforms are digital stores where people can watch videos over the Internet whenever they want. Videos on streaming platforms are created beforehand and not shown live. This allows people to watch videos whenever they want, on any device.
VOD is a break from traditional media broadcast and content distribution as the content goes directly from the creator or distributor to the audience. The content is usually available to people who buy, rent or pay for a subscription to the platform.
Also Read: Difference between VOD and OTT Platforms
Advantages of Video Streaming On-Demand
Convenience
The most significant benefit of VOD streaming for consumers is convenience. They can watch the content whenever they want and wherever they want. It is also beneficial for creators as they can use it to keep the viewers who missed the live stream engaged.
Cost
VOD streaming can be cheaper than traditional cable connections in the long run. There is no added cost of equipment rental, and most plans come with flexible monthly payments and the option to cancel the subscription anytime. It gives viewers more control to pick and choose the catalog they want.
This means businesses can rely on recurring revenue from viewers who genuinely want to engage with the content.
Wide Variety of Content
With VOD platforms, viewers can access a wide variety of content whenever they want. They can easily explore different replays and highlight versions of a missed live stream. Creators, too, get more freedom to exercise their creativity and be free from the restrictions imposed by the real-time nature of live streaming.
Availability
VOD content can be easily streamed on different devices. Users just need an internet connection to access videos on their laptops, tablets, smartphones, or smart TVs. Some VOD platforms also have the option to broadcast directly to a TV through a browser.
10 Best VOD Platforms(Free & Paid)
Webnexs VOD
One of the best VOD platforms known for their high level of customization is Webnexs VOD. It caters to specific audience requirements and can quickly adapt to your business needs. Webnexs VOD prioritizes security and ensures that your content remains safe.
The platform has flexible monetization options; you can choose between subscription, rental, or purchase models.
Further, Webnexs offers an adaptive bitrate video-on-demand player, as well as cloud transcoding and content management services.
VPlayed
Another excellent VOD platform is VPlayed. It offers full customization as per the needs of your business and ensures the security of content. The platform is quite flexible and supports several monetization methods. VPlayed uses multi-bitrate technology to improve the video streaming process.
Additionally, it has end-to-end encryption, a built-in content management system, file transcoding, and cloud encoding services. You can choose between multiple monetization methods and get detailed user analytics reports as well.
Flicknexs
Flicknexes is one of the best VOD platforms if you’re looking to expand your reach via videos. It is a user-friendly platform that is accessible even to those who are not tech-savvy. You can use it for video hosting as well as for marketing content.
Flicknexes enables you to record and share videos and increase engagement with customers. It offers both scalable and cloud transcoding, and you can choose to monetize your videos either with ads, a subscription, or a pay-per-view model.
Muvi
Muvi is an all-in-one solution to launch your platform and monetize your video content. It caters to various kinds of streaming needs, has several customization features, and is overall quite user-friendly. Muvi helps you create and manage your streaming service without resorting to extreme coding.
The platform supports multi-bitrate streaming and has an automatic transcoding system. You can also monetize your videos on Muvi through advertising, subscriptions, or purchase models.
Kaltura
Kaltura is a leading VOD platform that is perfect for businesses that prioritize interactive online gatherings. It offers both on-demand and live streaming solutions with a focus on enhancing real-time interactions.
The platform is compatible with several existing content management systems and, thus, ensures a seamless integration process. You can quickly get support for multiple bitrates and adaptive video players here.
For the security of content, you can password-protect your videos and place domain and IP restrictions.
IBM Video Streaming
IBM Video Streaming is a VOD platform that differentiates itself from others by incorporating AI technology. This enables it to offer better services for enterprise-level needs and SaaS models.
It has the usual features like live streaming, content management, and interactive communication, along with advanced ones like restricted access and clickable video relays.
With IBM Video Streaming, you get Enterprise Content Delivery Network(eCDN), excellent mobile compatibility, and several video editing tools.
BridTV
One of the best customizable VOD platforms is BridTV. It comes with a comprehensive set of features and capabilities that make content accessible across different devices. The platform prioritizes user experience and provides professional streaming solutions.
Here, you can combine advanced AI functionalities with video content management capabilities. Video scheduling is possible on BridTV, which supports both pay-per-view and subscription models for monetization. It is SSL encrypted and a secure payment data infrastructure.
Vimeo Livestream
Vimeo offers high-end technology to businesses to distribute feature films, short films, and TV content. It is a popular VOD platform as it gives a significant income share to enterprises that use it for monetization.
The revenue share is calculated after accounting for production costs, which makes it the best option for content creators.
Thus, Vimeo enables you to securely upload, edit, share, and monetize your videos. The platform ensures password protection and domain-level privacy controls via SSL encryption. It even has a simulcast function that you can use to broadcast content simultaneously on Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
Also Read: Top Best Vimeo Alternatives
Dacast
Dacast is a VOD solution that provides professional broadcasting and video streaming services across devices. The platform guarantees real-time video delivery by supporting HD live streaming with low latency.
It offers multiple monetization options, including pay-per-view, subscription, and advertising. Analytics tools are available on Dacast to track viewer engagement, video performance, and other metrics.
The platform prioritizes security and offers several protection measures for private streams, such as password protection, AES encryption, paywalls, and domain/IP and referrer restrictions. It ensures optimal performance and global content delivery with CDNs like Akamai and Limelight.
Wistia
Wistia is a top famous VOD platform that was launched in 2006. It has been helping businesses across many countries to use their video content for brand marketing since then. With the platform’s video analysis tools, you can analyze your video performance and use a heat map to check which part of your video viewers skipped, watched, and replayed.
It helps you make your videos SEO-friendly by optimizing their title, description, and tags by adding relevant keywords. You can also customize controls, upload logos, and change the appearance of the video player on Wistia.
