Optimizing Live & VOD Workflows for the Enterprise

Enterprise use cases for live streaming video have continued to soar as organization’s find more and more ways that live video can make an impact. From training to sales to marketing to shareholder meetings, live video is everywhere. It’s becoming the most effective tool to engage, report, and inform throughout the enterprise.
Yet as any enterprise begins to leverage live streaming video, there are many questions that can surface:

• What should be live vs recorded?
• How do we measure & report the ROI of live video?
• What happens after the stream is over?
• What kind of workflows are needed to record live streams?

These questions, along with many more, surface as any enterprise begins to roll out live streaming video. So, to help answer some of the basics, we put together the following bullet points to get your organization started.

Keep the Recorded Live Stream’s Source in the Cloud

Your live stream is already being sent to the world via the cloud, so if possible it is best to record your stream to the cloud as well. This can optimize your end-to-end workflows by reducing upload time after the live stream has finished.
Even if you need to record to a remote cloud location, more times than not a server-to-server content transfer can be faster than a direct user upload from their computer.
In the most ideal scenario, try to record your source directly into your respective OVP (online video platform) or distribution platform. With Kaltura, for example, you can deliver a live stream to all of your end users and have a copy of your stream’s source recorded at the same time. Then, when your stream ends, your VOD recording is already immediately available for distribution on the web.

Be Strategic About Content Delivery & Storage

You may watch Delivery Network (CDN) and storage costs. You may also need to show a clear ROI for video. So keep in mind the type of content you are streaming and who your audience is when configuring your streams.
For example, how does your recorded live stream need to be? For new customers, you may want higher fidelity live video as well as a higher quality recorded video to entice them and showcase your products and features. On the other hand, an internal sales call you may not need the same fidelity.
Not all content is created equal. Some content might require higher quality playback than others. If this is the case for your organization, check with your OVP to see if you can configure multiple streaming and recording options that can be used for different types of content. This provides video-by-video level optimization for both streaming and storage costs. It also allows you to pick and choose which content gets delivered and stored at which quality.

Live Streaming Isn’t One Size Fits All

Not every live stream is created equal since each live stream has its own unique use case and audience. Webinars can be a great way to deliver live streaming media while also providing a tool for conversion and real time engagement.
HD live streams are great for live events such as shareholder meetings and CEO messages inside or outside the organization. Standard live Streams are great for large scale training or other smaller scale live video use cases.
Whatever your use case is for video, make sure you work with an OVP that can provide a multitude of options so you can best target the content to your audience and use cases.

Plan to Record Live Stream Content in Advance

When deciding to record the content or not, note that while you may not want to resurface the entire stream, there is functionality that comes with recording the stream that would not be available otherwise.

• DVR: With most OVPs, you can enable DVR for your end users when you elect to record the live stream to VOD and allow them to scrub backwards to re-watch content or go back to the start if they came late
• Clipping: Once recorded, you can create smaller clips that can serve many use cases. If you don’t plan to make the live stream available in its entirety, this is a great way to extend the value of the live stream as VOD assets.
• User Experience: When a live stream ends, the embedded player will convert from playing the live stream to showing the VOD version of it. While you may not want to have the VOD asset available in its entirety, this provides you a nice buffer. You aren’t forced to remove the embedded player from all its embedded locations immediately after the stream.

So even if you don’t plan to re-use the entire stream, there are added benefits and features that come from recording the stream to a VOD asset. If you don’t need the stream, but may want some of these features, it might be best to consider this in advance and plan to record the stream then remove the recorded version after you have leveraged the benefits of it being captured.