What is Cloud Streaming?

Cloud streaming, in the simplest terms, is a way to access and use data—like music, videos, or games—straight from the internet, or “the cloud,” without having to download the data onto your device first. Imagine watching television: you switch it on, pick a channel, and your chosen show or movie begins instantly. There’s no need to download the entire program before you start watching; it streams live. Cloud video streaming operates on the same principle and uses the internet for streaming, instead of a cable or antenna signal.

Music streaming: When you listen to songs and music on apps like Spotify or YouTube Music, you’re utilizing cloud streaming. You select a song and it begins playing immediately, as it streams directly from the cloud. The complete song doesn’t need to be downloaded before the music begins.

Video streaming: Services like Netflix, Prime Video, and YouTube all rely on video streaming. You click a movie or video and it begins instantly, thanks to streaming from the internet.

Game streaming: Cloud streaming isn’t just for music and video. Some gaming services, like Google Stadia, use cloud streaming. The game is hosted on a high-powered computer in the cloud, and your gameplay is streamed to your device. This means even less powerful devices can handle high-end games.

History of cloud video streaming

The late 1990s – Early 2000s: Initial years of video streaming – In the late 90s, video streaming began with the launch of platforms such as Windows Media Player and RealPlayer. At that time, the video quality was pretty low and viewers had to download the content before watching, resulting in a poor user experience.

2005 – 2007: Birth of video streaming platforms – The viewing experience somewhat changed with the launch of YouTube in 2005. YouTube was able to stream videos directly in the web browser using Adobe Flash Player, which significantly improved the streaming experience.

In 2007, Netflix launched its online streaming service and made a big move towards cloud video streaming. Interestingly, it originally started as a DVD-by-mail service. Now, the content was stored and processed in the cloud and streamed to users via the internet.

The 2010s: Rise of cloud computing and video streaming services – Around 2010, there was rapid advancement in internet speeds and cloud computing, making the way towards cloud streaming narrow. At this time, Netflix migrated to Amazon Web Services (AWS), which nearly took 7 years. This allowed rapid growth and scaling, offering a seamless viewing experience to a large number of subscribers.

“As per Pew Research, the total video streams saw significant year-over-year growth, up 31.5% to 14.5 billion streams in 2010 compared to 2009. Similarly, Wall Street Journal reported Netflix as the top paid streaming video service in the last quarter of 2010.”

2015 – Present: Global adoption and innovation – Today cloud streaming is a dominating force in the media landscape. High-speed internet, technological advancement, and the availability of smart devices had made HD cloud streaming available to a larger global audience.

“Streaming accounts for 80% of the global music market, compared to 7% in 2010. The video streaming market size is expected to grow at a CAGR of 21% from 2021 to 2028. – ‘Recording Industry Association of America.’”

How does cloud video streaming work?

Video Production and Upload – The video is first captured or recorded. It is then uploaded to a video hosting platform like VdoCipher to be prepared for streaming.

Video Encoding (Transcoding) – The next step is to encode the video into a format that is suitable for streaming. In this process known as video transcoding, the video is compressed in size while maintaining quality. Most cloud streaming platforms use H.264 or H.265 video codec for transcoding while the audio is encoded using the AAC codec.

Adaptive Bitrate Streaming – The encoded video is divided into small segments, typically 2-10 seconds long. These segments are encoded at different bitrates to create different quality levels. This process is known as Adaptive Bitrate Streaming which ensures dynamic adjusting of the video quality as per the viewer’s network connectivity.

CDN Delivery – The video segments are stored on a Content Delivery Network (CDN), a global network of servers. When a user makes a playback request, it is streamed from the nearest CDN server, reducing latency and ensuring fast delivery.

Video Playback – The viewer’s device makes a video playback request from the CDN to watch a video. The device’s video player downloads the video segments and decodes them to assemble as a continuous stream.

Digital Rights Management (DRM) – To protect copyrighted content and prevent piracy, cloud video streaming platforms like VdoCipher use Digital Rights Management (DRM) encryption. The content is encrypted via a private key mechanism and only authorized devices receive the decryption key via a secure license server.

Benefits of cloud streaming

Scalability: One of the standout advantages of cloud video streaming is its scalability. Traditional broadcasting methods often struggle with peak traffic times, but cloud streaming effortlessly adjusts to the number of viewers. This means you can reach an audience of any size, from a small group meeting to a global event.

Cost-Effective: Cloud video streaming eliminates the need for substantial investment in infrastructure. You pay for what you use, allowing for better cost management. Furthermore, the cloud provider handles maintenance and updates, saving you time and resources.

Global Reach: With cloud streaming, geographical boundaries cease to exist. Your content can be accessed from anywhere in the world, broadening your audience and enhancing user experience with the ability to stream from any device.

High-Quality Streaming: Advanced cloud streaming services offer adaptive bitrate streaming. This technology adjusts the quality of the video in real time based on the viewer’s network conditions, ensuring a buffer-free viewing experience.

Security: Cloud video streaming also offers robust security features to protect your content. This includes secure delivery of streams to prevent unauthorized access, as well as digital rights management (DRM) capabilities to protect against piracy.

Types of cloud video streaming services

Video hosting services – Video hosting services offer a platform to upload, store and distribute videos online. Examples include YouTube and VdoCipher. You can manage your videos and avail plenty of features from the service provider. Hosting platforms like VdoCipher offer DRM encryption to provide Hollywood-grade video security along with several interesting features for businesses of all sizes. These platforms are suited for individuals and e-learning and media businesses looking for sharing videos online.

Video-on-demand (VOD) platforms – VOD platforms allow viewers to stream their favorite content at the click of a button at their own convenience and timing. Examples include Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. They usually have a large content library of movies, shows, and podcasts to choose from.

Live streaming platforms – Twitch and Facebook Live like platforms focus on streaming live video content. These platforms are ideal for streaming real-life content such as live sports, concerts, and webinars. The features of live streaming platforms are Live chat, reactions, interactions, and the ability to save content for later viewing.

User-Generated Content Platforms – UGC platforms like Instagram and TikTok are built around creators i.e., the content is created by users. They are usually used to share short content and have social interactive features like comment, like, and share.

Educational Video Platforms – Platforms like Udemy and Coursera are built around educational content. The purpose of such platforms is to host courses, lectures, and learning resources. Some educational video platforms are free while some have subscriptions or pay-per-course models.

Features to look for in a cloud video platform

Easy upload and management – Look for a platform that has an easy and fast process to upload and manage videos. You should be able to easily organize, categorize and tag videos, making it easier to locate them.

Video encoding and transcoding – The cloud platform should automatically convert the uploaded videos into various formats and resolutions. It ensures content playback across different devices, browsers, and internet speeds.

Scalability – As your business demand grows, the platform must accommodate the growing requirements. It should seamlessly expand and handle the increased bandwidth and storage needs.

Live streaming support – If you have webinars or broadcast live events, look for platforms that support live streaming. For pre-recorded videos, VdoCipher is a good choice with a custom video player and Hollywood Grade Multi-DRM Encryption.

Video analytics – Strong video analytics is a must. It should give an insight as to how viewers interact with your videos, what device they use, and their demographics. These parameters help guide your content strategy.

Monetization options – There are cloud platforms that have revenue generation options like pay-per-view, subscriptions, or ad integration.

Video Player features – To provide your audience with the best possible video experience, you need a video player with multiple capabilities. For example, the VdoCipher HTML5 video player is compatible with nearly all devices and browsers. It has features like adaptive streaming, chapters, dynamic watermarking, offline downloads, and secure DRM protection.

Cloud security – The security of your videos is crucial when it comes to protecting confidential data as there are risks of video piracy and unauthorized access. Some of the features you require for secure streaming are encryption, watermarks, DRM support, time restrictions, and geo-restrictions.

VdoCipher DRM security in cloud video streaming

As more and more content is hosted and streamed via the cloud, the security of video content has become paramount. This is where DRM comes into play.

DRM or Digital Rights Management is a set of techniques for copyright protection of digital assets. When we talk of videos, DRM ensures only authorized access and distribution of video content and restricts how the users’ access and copy the purchased content. DRM protects video content from piracy and protects the revenue stream for creators and businesses.

Consider this: You are a content creator or streaming platform and have invested much of your resources and time in creating or acquiring video content. Without secure DRM measures in place, your videos can be easily downloaded or shared, leading to substantial revenue loss. This is not something any business or creator wants. The ease with which video content is copied and illegally distributed with the widespread availability of the internet, DRM has become a necessity for cloud video streaming.

“Vdocipher, a secure video hosting and streaming service offers Multi-DRM Encryption using Google Widevine and Apple FairPlay DRM’s. Videos streamed via VdoCipher cannot be illegally downloaded or shared using any internet plugin or software. Along with DRM, Dynamic Watermarking, secure offline downloads in apps, custom video player, APIs, SDKs, and geo-restrictions are some of the features VdoCipher offers. More than 3000 e-learning and media businesses from over 120 countries rely on VdoCipher for hosting and securing their premium content.”

Choosing the right Codec and Format for cloud video streaming

When it comes to cloud video streaming, one of the crucial decisions is selecting the appropriate codec and format. This choice can significantly influence the quality of your streams, the compatibility with various devices, and even the cost of your operations. Let’s simplify these technical aspects and understand what they mean.

It encodes (compresses) your videos for streaming and then decodes (decompresses) them on the viewer’s device. The codec’s work is crucial as it determines how well your video streams over the internet and how good it looks when it arrives at its destination.

H.264 (AVC) and H.265 (HEVC) are the most popular used in cloud video streaming because of their efficiency and broad compatibility.

H.264 offers a balance of compression and quality, making it a safe choice for most streaming scenarios. Compared to H.264, H.265 offers superior compression. It further reduces the bandwidth usage and costs, but requires more processing power and isn’t as widely supported as H.264.

While the codec handles the compression and decompression of your video, the format (or container) is like the video’s suitcase. It packages your video, audio, and other related data (like subtitles and metadata) together for transportation.

The most common formats for cloud video streaming are MP4 and HLS. MP4 is widely compatible and supports a variety of codecs, making it a flexible and reliable choice. HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) is a streaming protocol developed by Apple that is excellent for live streaming because it divides the video into small segments and allows for adaptive bitrate streaming, enhancing the viewer’s experience.

Ultimately, the best combination of codec and format for cloud video streaming will depend on your specific needs. If you’re targeting a broad audience with diverse devices and internet connections, H.264 with MP4 or HLS might be your best bet due to its wide compatibility and balance between quality and compression.

If you’re focusing on viewers with high-speed internet and modern devices, or if minimizing bandwidth usage is a priority, using H.265 with HLS could be the more beneficial option.

Role of CDN in cloud video streaming

When discussing cloud video streaming, one term that you’re likely to encounter frequently is CDN or Content Delivery Network. It has a significant role in delivering a smooth streaming experience to viewers worldwide. CDN is a geographically distributed network of servers. When a viewer clicks on a video, the CDN delivers the video data from the server that is closest to the viewer.

There are reasons why CDNs are vital in the realm of cloud video streaming.

1. Reduced Latency: When your viewers are spread across different regions, the distance between your video data and the viewers can lead to delays, known as latency, in video loading and playback. A CDN drastically reduces this latency by storing copies of your videos on multiple servers worldwide and delivering content from the server nearest to each viewer.

2. Improved Load Balancing: Imagine a new episode of a popular show being released on a streaming platform. The sudden surge in viewers can put a lot of strain on a single server, leading to slower streaming or even crashes. CDNs can manage this load by distributing the traffic across several servers, ensuring a smooth viewing experience for all viewers, no matter how many there are.

3. Enhanced Viewer Experience: By reducing latency and handling high traffic loads, a CDN ensures your viewers enjoy a buffer-free, high-quality streaming experience. Whether watching live sports or a web series, viewers enjoy the content without interruptions and delays.

4. Protection Against Attacks: CDNs also provide an extra layer of security by mitigating Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. By distributing the traffic across multiple servers, a CDN can help prevent an overload on any single point. This makes it harder for such attacks to disrupt your service.

Cloud streaming applications in Education and Media Industry

Cloud streaming technology has had a significant impact on both the education and entertainment sectors. It has truly transformed how we consume video content, making it accessible anytime, anywhere.

Education Sector

Online Learning Platforms: Elearning websites like Coursera and Udemy use cloud streaming to deliver educational videos. Teachers upload their course content to a cloud server, and students can stream these lessons anywhere. This technology has made learning more accessible, breaking down geographical barriers.

Virtual Classrooms: Through cloud-based video conferencing tools like Zoom or Microsoft Teams, teachers and students can engage in real-time, interactive learning experiences. Cloud streaming facilitates screen sharing, live chats, and whiteboard presentations, replicating a traditional classroom environment digitally.

Simulations and Lab Experiments: Some educational institutions use cloud streaming to provide students with virtual labs. For instance, Labster offers a virtual biology lab where students can conduct experiments in a risk-free, virtual environment. This is made possible through the cloud’s high processing power and the ability to stream complex simulations.

Media Sector

On-Demand Streaming Services: Platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ are classic examples of cloud streaming applications in entertainment. These services host a vast library of movies and TV shows on their cloud servers, which users can stream in high definition.

Live Streaming Platforms: Platforms such as Twitch and YouTube Live use cloud streaming to broadcast real-time video content. This technology allows for instantaneous data transfer, enabling users to live stream their gaming sessions or live events to audiences worldwide.

Music Streaming Services: Applications like Spotify and Apple Music leverage cloud streaming to deliver millions of songs to their users. These platforms use advanced algorithms to analyze users’ listening habits and suggest new music – a process made possible by the cloud’s ability to handle large amounts of data.

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR): Cloud streaming also powers VR and AR experiences in entertainment. For example, Google’s Stadia platform uses cloud streaming to deliver high-quality gaming experiences without the need for expensive hardware. Similarly, AR applications like Snapchat filters use cloud processing to overlay digital content on real-world images.

FAQs

What is CDN in relation to cloud streaming?

Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a geographically distributed network of servers spread across the globe. CDNs ensure reliable, fast content delivery to viewers by serving the content from the server which is nearest to the viewer’s location.

How is video quality level maintained in cloud streaming?

Cloud video streaming platforms like VdoCipher use Adaptive Bitrate Streaming (ABR). To ensure a smooth, buffer-free viewing, the technology auto-adjusts the video quality in real-time to match the viewer’s device capabilities and network connectivity.

What are the benefits of cloud video streaming for enterprises?

Cloud video streaming provides benefits like global reach, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. Businesses can manage and distribute content efficiently, get insights into audience behavior, and support features like video monetization and live streaming.

Jyoti

Jyoti began her career as a software engineer in HCL with UNHCR as a client. She started evolving her technical and documentation writing skills to become a full-time Content Marketer at VdoCipher.

The post Cloud Video Platform and Cloud Video Streaming: A Guide for Modern Media appeared first on VdoCipher Blog.

What is Online Video Storage

Online video storage is a virtual approach that allows users to store videos in a remote location. By remote location we mean the videos are stored on servers in off-site locations. These servers are maintained by their-party service providers who are then responsible for the hosting, management and securing the videos stored on their servers. The video data stored on these servers is accessible via public or private internet connection.

Online video storage helps organizations and individuals to store videos in an organized and safe manner, so that they don’t have to worry about the enormous video storage space and other operational costs. It’s scalable which means you can increase or reduce the storage usage as per need.

Online Video Storage System

Using remote servers, online video storage providers save data files like videos, images etc. Users upload their videos to servers via an internet connection, which is then saved on virtual machines on a physical server. The storage providers store these video files in various data centers across the world to ease availability and provide redundancy. In times of increase in the demand of storage space, the provider will spin up more virtual storage machines to handle the increasing load. To access the videos stored online, users need a internet connection and a browser, mobile app, web portal or application programming interface (API).

Types of video storage to store video online

Public Cloud Video Storage

Public clouds are large scale cloud storage services and not owned by any end user. Examples include Amazon Web Services, Google cloud and Microsoft Azure. Nowadays, many public online video storage solutions have even started offering their services on the client’s in-premises. These are mostly big corporate organizations and firms. The pricing structure is also variable and often they offer free services upon some limitations after which you have to opt for a paid model.

Private Cloud Video Storage

Private clouds store videos in a private server dedicated to a business or end user. The server can be configured, deployed and managed within the premises (Dedicated cloud) or built by a third-party cloud service provider (Managed Private Video Cloud). In this case, the data servers of the vendor are located off-premises but run behind the business firewall.

Hybrid Cloud Video Storage

In hybrid cloud video storage, the videos are stored in a combination of public and private environments. The common example includes environments like an on-premise data center and public cloud infrastructure like Google Cloud. This video storage model is gaining popularity as it combines using on-premise servers and at the same time, takes advantage of public cloud.

Multi Cloud Video Storage

This multi cloud approach involves more than one cloud vendor, be it public or private. All hybrid clouds fall under multi clouds but not all multi clouds are hybrid. In this storage, multiple clouds are integrated in some form. The included clouds can be all private, all public or a mix of both.

On-Premise Vs. Online Video Storage

Online video storage benefits for businesses

Collaboration – Hosting your video online gives the flexibility of access to the files remotely. Multiple authorized members of your team can simultaneously access, edit and improvise the video content. Any person with requisite permissions can work remotely on these files.

Online Backup – Another advantage of using an online video storage platform is the online backup of your video files. In case your system crashes or you accidentally delete some files, you can easily retrieve them from the online storage platform.

Scalability – Scalability means handling increased workload without disrupting your current working model. As your business or video demand increases, you may run short of storage space with your current paid or free plan. An online video storage solution like VdoCipher offers scalable plans where you can anytime upgrade to the higher storage and bandwidth plan in a hassle-free way.

Security – Security of your videos is a major concern while choosing a video hosting platform. Every year, at least $29.8 billion is lost because of video piracy and illegal downloads. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, streaming contributes to nearly 80% of the piracy and affects upto 2.6 million workers in the U.S. Coupled with legal options like copyright infringement, advanced technologies like DRM security as provided by VdoCipher secure your videos from illegal downloads and piracy.

Considerations while choosing a online video storage platform

Pricing – Most businesses consider this as the major factor in making a selection. The pricing varies depending on the service provider and offered features. From free trials to paid plans, there is a range depending on your videos and business requirements.

Security – To maximize security, it is best to opt for a video storage provider offering the highest level of security like video DRM. At no point you are ready to lose revenue and brand reputation because of illegal downloads or unauthorized access. Securing your videos with DRM is the utmost requirement for businesses like elearning and media companies and individual creators looking for video protection.

Storage Limits – Make a consideration of how much storage space you need. Opt for a smaller plan if you have few videos or in the initial requirements of video storage. As the number of videos increases, upgrade to a higher plan with ample storage limits. Hence, choose a video storage solution providing flexibility as you scale and pricing as per the video storage needs.

Video Analytics – Generally, all video hosting websites give basic analytics to monitor your content. The parameters include no of visitors, conversion rates, traffic source, bounce rate, average view time and other engagement metrics. This information helps you better understand the video performance and tailor the content based on demographics.

Ease to Use – Apart from all the required features, the basic UI and functionalities of the video storage platform must be easy to understand and use. The videos should be properly organized and easily accessible from anywhere on the dashboard. The platform must not lag and give a smooth user experience.

Best Way To Store Videos Long Term

Cloud Storage – This is by far the best way to store, access and distribute your videos in a few seconds. The files are stored on the internet using a video hosting provider and accessible via the public internet or a dedicated private network connection.

• Cloud storage and backup
• Remote update and file synchronization
• Files can be encrypted
• Unlimited scalability
• Cost-effective

Local Storage – Local storage includes a variety of physical hardwares to store videos. Examples are external hard drives, flash drives and even local computers. Easy accessibility is the main reason to opt for local storage. But this holds good only to store a few videos locally or when security of your videos is not a concern.

• Quick access to videos
• Complete control over your videos
• No remote backup
• Only locally accessible
• Not useful when working in team
• Limited storage space. As the need for storage increases, so does the cost and number of devices.

Network-Accessed Storage (NAS) – An NAS device is a storage device connected to the internet that allows storage and retrieval of data from a central location for authorized network users and varied clients. As long as the NAS is connected to WiFi, videos are accessible from anywhere in the world.

• Centralized storage
• Accessible by multiple users
• Scalable
• No video security
• High bandwidth usage to store large video files
• Maintenance cost

Best Online Video Storage and Sharing Sites and Apps

Google Drive

Google Drive is one of the most used cloud storage and syncing services. It offers a good amount of storage space, integration with Google Workspace and other collaboration functionalities.

Pros

• Easy access to video files saved on the cloud
• Easy access from multiple devices
• Excellent user interface
• Better video organization and management

Cons

• You can store videos only up to 5 TB if you have purchased at least that much storage
• The maximum playback resolution is 1920 x 1080
• Individual users can only upload 750 GB each day between My Drive and all shared drives
• Security concerns

iDrive

iDrive is a cloud storage software to backup, save and retrieve your video data. Available for PCs, Macs and Mobile devices, iDrive offers an affordable and easy solution to store videos.

Pros

• Unlimited devices per account
• Real-time sync and share feature
• Cross-platform backup process
• Affordable backup system

Cons

• Slow upload and download speeds
• Slow and hard to reach customer support reported
• No unlimited plans
• No proper security measure in place

Dropbox

Dropbox is a file hosting service offering personal cloud, cloud storage and file synchronization. Designed to easily collaborate on projects, it works on Mac, Linux, iOS, Windows and Android devices.

Pros

• Offline capabilities
• Offers Dropbox Files API, and Paper API
• Seamlessly integrates with Google Suite, Microsoft Office, Slack, Adobe, Zoom, Autodesk, Canva and AWS
• Fast upload speeds

Cons

• Offers less amount of free storage (2GB)
• Costly pricing
• Interface isn’t very intuitive

pCloud

pCloud offers easy-to-use cloud storage solutions for individuals, families and businesses. You can backup videos from your device or play your personal playlists.

Pros

• Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption
• Up to 10 GB free storage
• Easily store files from other online platforms
• Automatic file upload
• User-friendly interface

Cons

• EFH and pCloud crypto come with independent subscription
• No dedicated customer support system
• No client-side encryption in the free plan

Microsoft OneDrive

Microsoft’s OneDrive offers free and paid online storage with availability from your Android device, computer (PC or Mac), and any other devices you use. With OneDrive for Business, you also get storage for your work files so you can share and collaborate on them with other people at your work.

Pros

• Close collaboration with Office
• Easy file sharing
• Files on Demand
• Secure access controls

Cons

• Synchronization limits
• Limited backup functionality
• 400 character limit on the size of file paths

Apple iCloud Drive

Apple’s online storage service, iCloud Drive is a place to keep all your files and access them from all your Apple devices, including iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Pros

• File access across multiple devices.
• Ease integration into the whole Apple ecosystem
• Capable Windows client and web access
• Automatic sync and update across devices

Cons

• It gets harder to sync across multiple devices if you have multiple Apple IDs
• A little more pricey than the competition
• Web Interface is below par

VdoCipher – Secure Online Video Storage

VdoCipher, a secure video hosting provider with Hollywood Grade DRM Encryption protects your premium videos from video piracy and illegal downloads. Our highest level of security DRM Encryption offers Multi DRM protection to the videos, so you don’t have to worry about any unauthorized access or video sharing.

We offer multiple ways to embed videos (API, iFrame, and Script) on a website where you can monetize your video content. VdoCipher WordPress Plugin makes the whole video embedding process easy and fast and supports the most popular WordPress LMS. Apart from embedding video, there are other key security features to look for while choosing our services to secure and monetize your videos.

Features

• Google Widevine and Apple FairPlay DRM Encryption
• Dynamic Watermarking
• Domain Restrictions
• Secure offline downloads in apps
• Screen capture block in Android and iOS Native App
• Smart HTML5 Video Player with adaptive bitrate streaming, multi-lingual subtitle support, chapter segmentation via API, customizable controls, theme, and layout
• Global AWS Cloud Infrastructure
• Easy to use Dashboard to upload and edit videos, generate embed code and view the usage of bandwidth consumption
• WordPress and Moodle Plugin for quick integrations
• VdoCipher Android SDK to integrate Play Integrity to added video protection. Check out our play integrity api documentation to know more.

Online Video Storage Statistics

1. The global cloud video storage market size is expected to grow at 16.1% during 2021-2028, valued at USD 20.93 billion in 2028.
2. The growing demand for meeting platforms like Teams, Zoom has likely increased the demand for cloud video storage solutions owing to high storage demands.
3. In 2020, North America was the leading region in the global cloud services market.
4. In 2020, the global cloud storage market size was valued at $6.2 billion.
5. According to Flexera State of the Cloud Report 2021, nearly 82% of the large enterprises have already deployed hybrid cloud infrastructure.

FAQs

What is the best storage for large video files?

Cloud storage is the best way to store videos of any size. It is a secure, remote, and scalable storage solution and accessible from anywhere with an active internet connection. Additionally, there is always scope to upgrade to higher storage and bandwidth plans, making it an ideal storage solution for large video files.

How much storage does 4k video take?

A 4K video approximately takes 300-400 MB of storage per minute of footage.

How to roughly estimate bandwidth usage instead of using a video storage calculator?

For example, a 1 hour long video lecture has 400 MB size. If it is watched by one user, the bandwidth utilized is 1*400 – 400 MB. For 50 users, it will be 50*400 – 20 GB bandwidth. If 20 users, each watching 10 times, then the bandwidth used is 20*10*400 – 80 GB. Hence, bandwidth usage depends proportionally on the number of viewers and their viewing time.

Jyoti

Jyoti began her career as a software engineer in HCL with UNHCR as a client. She started evolving her technical and documentation writing skills to become a full-time Content Marketer at VdoCipher.

The post Best Online Video Storage Solutions for Video Creators appeared first on VdoCipher Blog.

Here you can find our tutorial videos on upload/import and various other features in detail.

Detailed tutorial videos are included below –

• Upload/Import + Embed overview

Dashboard features & video setting details

• Multi-User addition to account & permission levels
• Adding more accounts/projects to same dashboard
• Get all videos data in csv (title, id, status, time added)
• Generating video page url to share directly to user (not embedding)
• Video settings overview (Thumbnail, title, tags, subtitles, replace video)
• Thumbnail & title change: Tutorial
• Subtitle addition (Multiple Language supported)
• Replace/Swap/Update Videos
• Video Files & Thumbnails Generated data & total storage for a video
• Api key generation (Client Secret key for your account)
• Webhooks to fetch video status via API

We have developed several features as part of our dashboard and as part of our API so that users can manage their videos. This blog covers all stages of a video-based workflow, from uploading video to using advanced analytics to assess video performance.

Upload

It is vital for our users the the time between video upload and when video being ready is minimized. Optimizing the time to encode and encrypt videos is an engineering challenge that remains top priority for our developer team.

The green Upload button can be used to directly upload videos from your device. You may alternatively import videos from URLs of MP4 or FLV files, from either HTTP or FTP.You can also import video files frmo Cloud Service Providers such as Dropbox and Google Drive, and from video service providers Wistia and Vimeo. If you require to bulk import videos from other sources please communicate to us at support@vdocipher.com.

Directly importing videos from URLs saves your device’s bandwidth usage and allows video file transfers to happen completely behind the scenes. There is a progress bar that shows the relative completeness of upload process. Once the video is uploaded, it shows in dashboard with any of the following status, which reflects the status of the video upload process:

You can check the video status by making an API call as well. If the video you uploaded is in Queued status for a long time, drop us a message at site chat or support@vdocipher.com, Generally a 15 min video should be encoded in 20 minutes time and be ready for release. However if you have uploaded multiple videos at once – say 50 or more then video upload may take more time.

Many of our enterprise customers have their customers or partners actually providing videos to them. In such cases, it becomes quite useful if the video transferred by them to your website or app directly reaches your account on Vdocipher. VdoCipher enables this functionality through upload APIs. To automate your upload process you can visit the following blog on Video Upload Using API.

We have optimized our encoding configurations to generate best quality videos at lowest bitrates. If you have any particular request with regard to resolution/ bitrates please let us know at support@vdocipher.com.

Integration into site or app

There are mainly three means of integrating VdoCipher to your website:

• Plugins – WordPress, Joomla!, Moodle, Drupal
• Player Embed Code with Dynamic OTP Generation
• Quick Embed via iFrame

To see the embed options videos please click on the Embed button for the respective video in the Dashboard.

Plugins – WordPress, Joomla!, Moodle, Drupal

The simplest way to embed secure videos through your CMS-based website is by using our plugin. The plugins for WordPress, Joomla!, Moodle and Drupal generate dynamic OTPs in the backend and send them to the front-end. The OTP generation and authentication happens completely under the hood of the plugin, and to embed the video you only require to add a shortcode, having the following format:

[vdo id= '1234567890']

Please visit Protect Videos on WordPress for more details on using our WordPress plugin. While WordPress remains the most popular Content Management System, our plugins for Joomla!, Moodle and Drupal continue to be very popular with content creators looking to protect their premium videos. Plugins for Joomla!, Moodle and Drupal have the same means of embedding video through the shortcode.

The following blogs give details on using VdoCipher plugin for the respective CMS:

• Protect Videos on WordPress
• VdoCipher plugin on WordPress directory
• Moodle Video Embed and Upload Solution
• Secure Videos in Joomla with VdoCipher plugin
• VdoCipher Joomla Extension

Player Embed Code with OTP Generation at Backend

VdoCipher’s secure video streaming requires backend authentication via unique tokens. For this your site backend has to make an HTTP request to VdoCipher API, which returns an OTP to authenticate playback session. This OTP is to be then appended to the player embed code on the site front-end.

The embed code would require the API Secret Key (also called API Key), which you can get from the Config section of the Dashboard.

Please note that the OTP call should always be made from the site backend (controller in MVC architecture). The received OTP (and playbackInfo) are then appended to the player embed code in the frontend (view in MVC architecture). This division across site backend and frontend is critical for ensuring maximum security. We have deliberately blocked OTP requests from site front-end, as this would expose your API Secret key to site visitors.

You can consult the following resources for website integration in different web scripting langugages

• VdoCipher API Page
• Protect Videos using Watermark
• Sample VdoCipher API Implementation for PHP
• Sample VdoCipher API Implementation for ASP.NET
• Sample VdoCipher API Implementation for Node.js

Quick Embed via iFrame

The Quick Embed option via iFrame is the fastest way to embed videos to your site. This is the best option when you are using ready-made website builder platforms such as Wix, Weebly or Squarespace. The following blog provides details on VdoCipher integration with ready-to-build site platforms

The quick embed code can be customized, with three features:

• You can set the embed code to expire for a period of time. By default the embed code expiry is set to 30 years.
• IP and Geo – You can limit access to certain IP addresses and to certain geographical locations only.
• URL Whitelisting – Video will play only if the video player is embedded to the main website. This ensures that piracy through URL sharing is avoided

Note that public embed code & URL whitelisting are less secure than integration through APIs or plugins. Also watermarking is not possible in that case. However even then the stream is fully encrypted and therefore piracy is still prevented from downloaders. Overall our security offerings are much more complete than our competition.

Please make sure that you only embed videos after you have edited all the required settings. We highly recommend that you opt for security through plugin or API, but if not possible we have simplified the process of Public embed code and URL whitelisting option.

Video detail management

You can manage video details, including title, description, tags, poster image and subtitles by clicking the Edit button for each video.

Add Tags

We have enabled a tag-based video management system, which makes it easier for users to categorize and manage their videos. You can easily add/ remove tags from the Edit menu.

Alternatively you may use the tagging API to update tags in your videos.

Thumbnail

By default, a random frame in the video is set as thumbnail. You can customize the poster image to capture your viewer’s attention and enhance click-through rates for your video. To set any other image, you can upload the image in the Edit section.

You may alternatively use the Poster image API to upload the new poster image.

Add captions to Videos

You can upload subtitles for any language that is part of the ISO 639-1 system, as a VTT file. Subtitles are really useful to reach out to newer audiences, as well as to help native speakers follow the video content better.

Filter and Search

Specific videos can be searched using ID, Title or associated tags using the Filter and Search option available in the dashboard. The complete details (id, title, status) of all videos can be downloaded at one go by selecting the Download CSV option.

You can alternatively use the Search API to search for videos based on tags, video ID or title.

Analytics – Usage details

You can see your account bandwidth and storage usage on a daily basis in the Analytics section of the Dashboard.

This data is received from CDN endpoints that accurately reflect the daily bandwidth usage. You can export this bandwidth data as a .csv file for any date range.

We also provide advanced video analytics about how viewers watch your videos. These analytics collect anonymized information about the most popular videos on your platform. These analytics are designed to provide you information about the relative performance of your videos, so you can see how best to improve your library of video content.

Please note that the measurement of video analytics is different from measurement of bandwidth usage, and may not track 100% of user sessions.

Testing for Secure Streaming

Once your video is ready you test secure video playback on any device. You can log into the Dashboard and simply click the play button to start video playback. You are welcome to test out downloader plugins or any hack your best developer can think of to try and download our videos.

Normally our video encoding settings have been optimized to stream highest quality videos at lowest possible bitrates. Indeed we often delight our users by streaming HD videos at 400kbps bitrates.

However if you find any issues with video streaming, it may be for either of the following reasons:

• For the first time of playback, the video is not cached in nearest CDN servers, and the streaming is therefore a little slow. Once video is cached to the server, after second playback video quality and streaming improves quite a lot.
• It is possible that the available video bitrates are high when compared to your network connections. While adaptive streaming ensures that the best resolution is displayed for user’s network conditions, in such a case you may require custom encoding settings. Please communicate your issue to us at support@vdocipher.com, and we’ll ensure that optimized encoding settings are applied for your videos.

We have implemented many optimizations in our encoding settings to ensure the best user experience. These optimizations have enabled our customers to reach users across the world, including in corners of India and the African continent where internet connectivity is comparatively poor.

– Blogs & Site chat – There is lot of documentation on how to use, and what are the benefits and standards for various technologies at our blog. (vdocipher.com/blog), Search the blog for your required keyword to see related articles.

We ensure availability of our support team at the live site chat (bottom right of the vdocipher site). Please feel free to ping us to have a detailed conversation. Our support team would help you through most of your queries and problems.

For a full version 5 GB free trial of vdocipher secure video hosting & streaming , register at www.vdocipher.com

Siddhant Jain

CEO, VdoCipher. Writes about video tech, ed tech and media tech.

www.vdocipher.com/

The post Video Management details on VdoCipher Dashboard appeared first on VdoCipher Blog.

However, you must be very careful when choosing the video delivery platform. Always remember that the video delivery platform and content are two different things. Even if you create a high-quality video, it will not gain popularity if it is posted on a low-quality delivery platform unless it gets suggested by AI-powered recommender systems. For those recommender system models to operate properly, there has to be a proper data labeling process in place so that the model learns effectively and delivers desired outcomes.

A video delivery platform should include encoding and transcoding videos, managing and delivering video content, access management, dynamic watermarking, and providing video analytics. There is a need for video delivery platforms because there is a growing demand for online video content. Video delivery platforms make it easy to upload, share, and distribute videos online. They take care of all the highly technical and licensed integrations like DRM and make it easy to embed videos on websites and social media platforms.

A video delivery platform is mostly required by educators, VOD platforms, and OTT providers. They use it to secure their content and also want advanced features like Video CDN, APIs, Scalable Infrastructure, and much more. For new creators, public video delivery platforms like YouTube and Twitch have served the market over the years. The users of these public video delivery platforms can rise to fame if they can post good quality content on these platforms. If you can post some interesting and entertaining videos on these platforms, you will have a good fan following within a short time.

Features to look for in a Video Delivery Platform

The provider should offer various technical integrations and analytics tools to help you determine how your videos deliver and how they are performing.

• Multi-DRM enabled Secure video hosting to prevent illegal downloads and screen capture.
• Adaptive bitrate streaming to deliver different sizes of content, such as for different bandwidth, SD, and HD content.
• Offer analytics reports so that you can measure your video’s impact
• Ability to personalize video delivery for each viewer through access management
• Video player customization
• The service should provide information about the number of views, the delivery method, and the date and time of the viewing.
• Provide various player types, such as flash or HTML5, depending on your content.
• Ability to embed videos on websites and social media platforms.
• Support all the devices your audience is using, including mobile phones.
• Way to make your videos available in multiple languages with subtitle support
• APIs and SDKs for advanced usage
• Plugins for CMS like WordPress and LMS like Moodle

Technology behind a Video Delivery Platform

As discussed earlier, a video delivery platform provides a set of combined technology as features. These features are apart from basic video hosting technology having only the feature to download and upload a video file. The major technologies whose combination is required for making up a video delivery platform are as follows.

• Multi-DRM – Include video security via DRM encrypted video streaming technology, ensuring that no downloader or plugin can grab your content illegally. DRM is the highest security from video piracy, and with the use of multi-DRM, it becomes foolproof. Also, the use of viewer-specific moving/static watermark with email, user id, IP, and time stamp prevents camera recordings.
• Large Cloud Infrastructure – AWS/Google powered server for transcoding, encoding, distribution via CDN, and storage are the minimum required infrastructure to ensure a smooth playback across 6 continents. This also includes feasibility to upload from desktop, dropbox, drive, FTP, and other URL-based grabbing.
• Analytics and Dashboard – This is majorly a backend and frontend reflecting key insights about your video with integration support and other manuals. Collecting the key insights in the form of a log and reflecting the same to present valuable results are required to analyze. You can use the analysis to figure out and fill gaps in your video content.
  Support and Integrations – Any corporate or premium customer expects good support from a delivery platform. Support is majorly a human-driven aspect coupled with advanced communication channels. On the other hand, Integrations are totally technology made for easy compatibility with your CMS or LMS or Website. They include plugins, APIs, SDKs, embed codes, etc.

Benefits of Video Delivery platforms

Well, there are many benefits of using a Video Delivery Platform but mostly they are case-specific. One of the main benefits is that it can help to improve the quality and consistency of your video content. It can also help to improve the viewer experience, as well as make it easier to manage and distribute your videos. Additionally, a video delivery platform can help to optimize your videos for playback on different devices and platforms. We have listed the following important benefits that you must look for.

Security

A secure video delivery platform that ensures your video content is delivered with integrity and security. It means that your video content will not be corrupt during transfer and streamed to authorized viewers only. A secure video delivery platform like VdoCipher helps to protect your brand and your viewers’ privacy. By ensuring that your video content is delivered securely, you can ensure that your viewers’ information is protected. Additionally, you can protect your brand by ensuring that your videos are not shared or copied without permission.

CDN

A globally distributed Content Delivery Network for Videos. When it comes to video, a CDN can help improve the quality and the delivery of your content. A CDN can help deliver videos closer to the viewer, improving the overall quality of the viewing experience. Additionally, a global CDN can help to speed up video playback, ensuring that your viewers can watch your videos as quickly as possible. Also, choosing a reliable Video Delivery Platform like VdoCipher with AWS CDN having maximum uptime is a must.

Dynamic Watermarking

There are times when an authorized user tries to capture a video by recording it through a camera. In such cases, the only safeguard you have is a watermark containing dynamic information related to the user, like IP address. This acts as deterrence and prevents further distribution of video files because of the fear of getting caught.

Easy Integration

Integrations are necessary, and the easier they are, the more suitable it is. Keep in mind all the integrations you will have to make. They might be for a WordPress plugin, advanced automation or workflow management through API, and even SDKs for different languages. For a scalable infrastructure, easy integrations are a must and should be included in the package.

Best Video Delivery Platforms

As so many video delivery platforms are available online, you need to choose the right platform for your videos. Many video delivery platforms are free to use, but it is very important to choose the best one for yourself.

YouTube

YouTube is an online video-sharing website with over 300 hours of video uploads every minute. It is one of the most popular websites globally, especially amongst the younger generations. YouTube caters for all viewers, from the most popular channels to those who only have a few subscribers to those who upload videos to show their friends and family. You can watch videos on YouTube about any subject, so if you’re interested in any topic, chances are there will be a video about it.

YouTube is a Video Delivery Platform that allows content providers to distribute video content to YouTube viewers. It enables content providers to send videos to YouTube quickly and easily and track their performance. An aggregate of several different mechanisms, including Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH), Dynamic Bitrate (DBR), and video transcoding, YouTube delivers the best experience for your viewers, based on their network conditions and device capabilities.

• YouTube is a free platform. You do not have to pay to host your videos on the site.
• Easily embed videos on your website
• Over 6 billion hours of video are watched on YouTube every month. YouTube is growing in leaps and bounds.
• Evergreen video insights
• Trending hashtags
• AdSense blocking controls
• Bulk editing of video chapters
• Appeal yellow monetization icons in Studio Mobile
• Create, share, and collaborate on video playlists
• Create your own custom YouTube URL
• Play videos in the background on mobile devices
• Featured Video or Playlist Autoplay
• Video Monetization

VdoCipher – Secure Video Delivery Platform

Built for e-Learning and Media Websites & Apps, VdoCipher offers DRM Encrypted Secure Video Hosting across 40+ countries. No one can access encrypted videos without the encryption key. Videos streamed via VdoCipher have Hollywood grade DRM protection which means any downloader or internet plugin cannot grab the content. This prevents illegal or unauthorized video sharing. With Widevine DRM encryption and Apple Fairplay DRM encryption, VdoCipher uses a modified version of the existing streaming protocols to combat video piracy and minimize bandwidth usage.

VdoCipher’s Smart HTML5 Video Player supports Adaptive Multi-bitrate Playback. When you upload your videos on the VdoCipher platform, different bitrate qualities of your videos are created through video transcoding. This allows a video to stream at different resolutions and download speeds, depending on the Internet connection. It ensures that the video will always play at the highest possible resolution smoothly and uninterrupted.

• Secure DRM Encrypted Video Streaming to prevent illegal downloads
• Dynamic Watermarking to prevent video piracy using screen capture
• Customizable watermarking for movement, colour, size and transparency
• More Secure Than RTMP streaming
• Secure Key Exchange than HLSe
• DRM for effective Password-Protection so restrict downloads or video-sharing outside authorized app or website
• IP and Geo Restriction
• Domain Whitelisting to prevent video embed to unauthorized websites
• Secure Offline Downloads in Android
• Customizable smart HTML5 player
• Adaptive Multi-bitrate Playback
• Multi-Language Subtitles
• Video Analytics
• Easy dashboard to upload/import videos, configure security settings, customise thumbnail, subtitle & more
• Plugins For WordPress & Moodle
• Easy APIs & SDKs integration to automate your workflow

IBM Cloud Video (UStream)

IBM Cloud Video is a fast, easy, and secure way to deliver and play videos — with the quality, reliability and control you expect from IBM. The service is ideal for video content providers, video service providers, digital publishers, and enterprise customers with existing video content that want low-cost, high-performance, and flexible video streaming solutions.

IBM Cloud Video delivery platform allows users to upload, share, and view videos. It offers features such as video editing, hosting, and streaming, as well as live video streaming. The platform allows live or on-demand streaming of video content over the internet. IBM Cloud delivers video content to viewers on any device or platform, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and smart TVs.

• HD live broadcast with no caps on bitrate or resolution
• Recording of broadcasts as a private video
• Mobile compatible player with videos virtually accessible across all devices with any screen size or bandwidth.
• Access to multiple CDNs (content delivery networks)
• Live chat and Q&A
• Live playlists with looping
• Customizable channel page

Dailymotion

Dailymotion is a video-sharing social networking website. The website enables users to upload, share, view videos on the internet. It has a large collection of videos, including various formats and genres, like comedy, entertainment news, music videos, music, sports, technology, documentaries and more. It is available in 183 languages and 43 localised versions featuring local home pages and local content.

• The massive global reach of 250 million unique viewers in 35 localized versions of the platform.
• Personalized recommendations and content discovery
• Premium video content
• integrated ad platform with premium publishers and brands
• Offline viewing
• Picture-in-Picture Technology
• Autoplay on scroll, autonext
• Social sharing

Vidyard

Vidyard is a video hosting and marketing platform that helps businesses create, manage, measure, and optimize video content. Vidyard’s platform allows users to upload, share, and track their videos and measure their return on investment (ROI) for their video marketing campaigns.

Vidyard also offers a suite of tools and integrations that allow businesses to add a video to their website, landing pages, and marketing emails. With Vidyard, you can record and send videos in just a few clicks – perfect for busy sales reps trying to break into inboxes or marketers trying to make a splash.

• Video creation up to an hour-long
• Screen recording
• Video playlists
• Auto-generated 3-second GIF preview
• video editing
• Ad-free video hosting
• Fast video uploads
• Uploader widget
• Password and SSO protection
• Custom video calls-to-action and landing pages
• Detailed video analytics and CRM integrations

Vimeo Livestream

Vimeo Livestream is an online service that lets anyone start their own live show and instantly share it with the world. You could be a professional broadcaster on your way to a big event, an amateur videographer capturing your weekend adventure, or a tech expert showing off your newest creation. Vimeo Livestream opens the door to all possibilities, no matter how big or small. It offers a variety of features and tools that make it easy to create and stream live videos.

• Easily stream from any device across social media platforms or your own website
• Privacy & Security to privatize event access
• Monetization model with subscriptions, apps and PPV
• White label your live player or launch branded apps.
• All-inclusive dedicated phone support for your events
• Live Streaming for OTT
• Adaptive streaming
• Video management
• Viewer engagement with moderated chat, Q&A, and live polls

FAQs

What are the different types of video delivery platforms?

There are several types of video delivery platforms:

Web-based platforms: These platforms allow you to stream video content to websites.

Mobile platforms: These platforms allow you to stream video content to mobile devices.

Connected TV platforms: These platforms allow you to stream video content to connected TVs.

What is a content delivery network (CDN)?

A content delivery network (CDN) is a distributed network of servers that deliver web content to users, such as HTML pages, images, and videos. When a user requests content from a website, the CDN retrieves the content from a server near the user, providing a faster and more reliable experience.

Why Do You Need a Video Delivery Platform?

By using the Video Delivery Platform, you will be able to optimize your videos, upload them on multiple platforms, and utilize advanced online marketing techniques.

Vishal Sharma

My expertise focuses on DRM encryption, CDN technologies, and streamlining marketing campaigns to drive engagement and growth. At VdoCipher, I’ve significantly enhanced digital experiences and contributed to in-depth technical discussions in the eLearning, Media, and Security sectors, showcasing a commitment to innovation and excellence in the digital landscape.

The post Best Video Delivery Platforms with CDN & Content Encryption Support appeared first on VdoCipher Blog.

These companies typically offer various services, including digital rights management software, anti-piracy protection, and content licensing. DRM company also provides a platform for businesses to sell and distribute digital content. DRM technology protects any digital content, including videos, music, movies, games, and software. It restricts access to digital content, controls digital content usage, or prevents unauthorized copying of digital content.

Need for a DRM Company

The history of DRM goes back to the early days of digital music. In the 1990s, music companies began releasing songs in MP3 format, allowing users to copy and share music files easily. In response, music companies began using DRM to protect their copyrights. DRM technologies allowed music companies to control how users could copy and distribute their music.

DRM also controls how digital content is used. For example, DRM technology prevents unauthorized users from making copies of digital content. It can also be used to restrict the way digital content is used. Many companies use DRM technology to protect their digital content like videos, documents, music files and more.

For example, Apple uses DRM technology to protect the music sold through its iTunes Store. iTunes songs are encrypted with Apple’s FairPlay DRM technology. FairPlay DRM technology prevents unauthorized users from playing iTunes songs on unauthorized devices. FairPlay DRM technology also prevents unauthorized users from making copies of iTunes songs.

One of the main reasons companies use DRM is to protect their intellectual property. By using DRM, companies control how their content is used and shared. This can help to reduce piracy and protect their profits.

Another reason companies use DRM is to ensure that their content is played back in a specific way. For example, a company might use DRM to ensure that their content can only be played back on a particular device or only be played for a certain amount of time.

DRM Implementation

DRM company usually implements digital rights management software through licensing authorities like Google Widevine and Apple FairPlay. This mechanism protects digital content from being copied or shared without permission. DRM companies have been around since the early 2000s and are one of the leading providers of DRM software. Since the implementation is difficult, content providers usually prefer a multi-DRM company like VdoCipher.

A DRM company provides a simple, straightforward way to protect your online content without any implementation hassles. Not only do you get DRM protection but also many features like CDN, dynamic watermarking, API, plugins, etc. This can help you to protect your intellectual property and to prevent piracy. Additionally, a DRM company enables you to track and manage your content to see who is accessing it and how it is being used.

Online DRM

The digital world is ever-changing, and with it, so are the ways we protect our content. Online DRM is a type of digital rights management designed to protect content distributed online. Unlike traditional DRM or Offline DRM, which is intended to protect content distributed through physical means, online DRM is designed to protect content distributed through digital means.

There are various ways to implement online DRM, but the most common method is to use encryption. Encryption is the process of transforming readable data into an unreadable format. Encryption makes it difficult or impossible for unauthorized users to access digital content.

When content is encrypted, it can only be accessed by those who have the key to decrypt it. This key is typically in the form of a password and is only known by the content owner. Online DRM is an essential tool for content creators and owners to protect their work. Choosing the right DRM solution for your content is crucial.

Overall, online DRM can be an important tool for protecting videos from unauthorized access and copying. It can also help to ensure that videos are played back in an intended way.

Also, the other type of online DRM requires a user to remain connected to the company’s server to access their product. In the context of video games, to play a video game, online DRM requires the player to actively connect to the internet, even if the player decides to play the video game offline or in single-player mode. Ubisoft’s Might and Magic X: Legacy’s single-player and downloadable content is DRM-protected, requiring users to be online to authorize their game access.

Benefits of Online DRM

Online DRM helps to protect videos from being copied or downloaded without permission. It can also prevent unauthorized access to videos that are meant for specific audiences, like subscribers to a video service. Using DRM can help to prevent piracy and unauthorized distribution of videos. It can also help to ensure that only authorized users can access specific videos. This can be important for videos that contain sensitive or confidential information.

For example, DRM can prevent a video from being played back on a device that does not support the video’s DRM system. This helps ensure that the video is seen in the way it was meant to be seen and that the viewer has a consistent experience.

There are several benefits of using online DRM, including:

• It eliminates the need to install and maintain expensive hardware and software systems.
• More secure as it is difficult to pirate content that is stored online.
• Reduces the costs associated with deploying and managing digital rights management systems.
• It provides a more convenient and flexible way to manage digital rights. It allows users to share or transfer their content to other devices.
• Enabling content providers to control how their content is used and distributed.
• Helping content providers protect their intellectual property and revenue streams.

Why Online DRM over Offline DRM?

With the proliferation of online video content from professional content providers and user-generated sources, the need to protect this content from unauthorized copying and distribution has never been greater. There are a few reasons why online DRM is preferred over offline DRM.

First, online DRM is more convenient for users. They can access their content from any device with an internet connection without worrying about transferring files or authorizing devices.

Second, online DRM is more difficult to circumvent. Users who want to pirate content can do so by cracking the DRM on a single file. With online DRM, they would need to crack the DRM for each individual stream or download.

Third, online DRM evades the need to download and store large encrypted files on an offline device. This also provides hackers with a chance to manipulate the encryption while offline.

Finally, online DRM is updated more quickly and efficiently than offline DRM. If a new DRM system is needed, it can be implemented without updating every user’s device. Online DRM can be more flexible, allowing for different access levels and device usage.

VdoCipher – DRM company for Online Video DRM

Online video DRM is a type of access control technology that is designed to protect digital content from unauthorized use. Video DRM typically uses encryption to control access to digital content and can include features like watermarking and digital rights management information (DRM) to further control how the content is used.

VdoCipher, a secure video hosting and online DRM company, helps protect your premium video content from online video piracy with a Hollywood grade DRM content protection system that supports Google Widevine and Apple FairPlay DRM technologies. Widevine is a powerful and flexible DRM platform that is used by many leading content providers. It provides a high level of security and is able to support a wide range of content types. FairPlay is a more simplistic DRM platform that is used by Apple. It is easy to use and provides an excellent level of security.

• DRM Encrypted video streaming
• Custom moving watermarking with logo/image/viewer details
• Offline secure playback for app
• AWS powered server and CDN infrastructure
• Smart HTML5 video player with adaptive bitrate playback and multi-language subtitles support
• OTP-based playback
• Easy to integrate APIs and SDKs
• VdoCipher WordPress plugin

Conclusion

DRM has been controversial because some people believe it can be used to restrict access to digital content unfairly. However, DRM can also help businesses and copyright holders to prevent piracy and unauthorized use of their content. While DRM can be helpful for companies, it can also be unpopular with consumers. Some people argue that DRM is unnecessary and only serves to inconvenience users. Others say that DRM is too restrictive and prevents people from accessing content they have paid for. Despite the controversy, DRM is still a popular solution for protecting digital content. DRM is used by many companies, including Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon.

FAQs

What are the benefits of DRM company?

There are several benefits associated with working with a DRM company. These benefits can include increased security for digital content, greater control over how that content is used, and the ability to generate revenue from content licensing. Additionally, DRM companies can provide valuable insight and advice on how to best protect digital content.

What are some of the challenges associated with working with a DRM company?

One of the challenges associated with working with a DRM company is the potential for high costs. DRM services can be expensive, and it is important to be sure that the benefits of working with a DRM company outweigh the costs. Additionally, some DRM companies have been known to be difficult to work with, and it is important to be sure that the company you choose is one that you can trust.

How does Online DRM work?

Online DRM typically uses encryption to protect digital content. Content that is encrypted can only be decrypted and accessed by authorized users.

Vishal Sharma

My expertise focuses on DRM encryption, CDN technologies, and streamlining marketing campaigns to drive engagement and growth. At VdoCipher, I’ve significantly enhanced digital experiences and contributed to in-depth technical discussions in the eLearning, Media, and Security sectors, showcasing a commitment to innovation and excellence in the digital landscape.

The post DRM Company for Online DRM protection against Piracy appeared first on VdoCipher Blog.

DVD sales are declining and being beaten by Subscription Video on Demand

DVD revenues have, since their launch in early 2000s, dominated the home entertainment market. At their peak in 2006, DVD sales dwarfed box office receipts. The $16.5 billion in DVD sales towered over $9.6 billion in theatre revenues.

However, in the intervening decade, the rise of SVOD platforms has contributed to a decline in DVD sales. In 2016 revenues from streaming services ($6.2 billion) edged out DVD sales ($5.5 billion) for the first time ever.

Movie studios’ hand has been forced by piracy. The most pirated episode of Game of Thrones has been downloaded 13 million times. While subscription video on demand services are also afflicted by piracy, the bigger brunt has been faced by movie studios.

This is because streaming services offer an inexpensive alternative for most users who would otherwise be lost to piracy. This weakens the position for movie studios when it comes to licensing content to subscription video on demand platforms.

Growth in the home entertainment industry has primarily been in the SVOD space, dominated by Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu. Subscription video on demand platforms offer seemingly unlimited choice to consumers, with the express intent to lock-in viewers to their platform.

Amidst the rapid shift towards subscription video on demand services, movie studios are looking for a new source of revenue. And now they just might have found one.

Premium Video on Demand

Whispers of a Premium Video on Demand model have been heard around Hollywood ever since streaming video became a possibility. What has changed over the last year has been theatre chains’ willingness to consider this model.

This new revenue model entails release of film through video on demand before the film is made available on DVD, Blu-ray or Streaming services. The time of release is critical. This is because films are proposed to be released on Premium Video on Demand within a few days of theatre release.

This is the thinking: The first two weeks of a film’s theatre release is when a large percentage of revenue is generated at the box office. Beyond this period,  the initial novelty fades. The movie however is still in the mind of the general movie-going population. Premium Video on demand is intended to capture the segment of potential audience that would like to watch the movie at the comfort of their homes, and who otherwise might not go to the theatre to catch the film.

Needless to say, when considering the pricing and timing of the Premium Video on Demand release, maximum care needs to be taken so as to not cannibalize theatre revenues, and yet earn strong revenues. Movie studios are considering time windows of 10-45 days from the date of theatre release to release new films on premium video on demand.

In all likelihood, movie studios are likely to build their own platform to use for Premium Video on Demand. Costs of building and promoting a premium video on demand platform are low when compared to the losses from sharing revenue with an aggregator like Netflix. Movie studios can quite conveniently use VdoCipher’s secure video streaming to host videos on their premium video on demand platforms.

What is the Hollywood Release Window?

In Hollywood the release window is the period after the release of the film when the film is solely available on theatres. This period of 90-120 days before the film is released on DVD or subscription services is considered sacrosanct by the theatre chains. Theatre owners indeed have reason to consider this period sacred. They fear that attempts to shorten this window would cause theatre-goers to skip the cinema halls altogether and wait out a short period to catch the newest release.

On the other hand, studios are aware that different movies have different reception at the box office. Some films see extended runs in theatres for over 3 months whereas many end up disappearing within a month. The challenge is to apply a one-size-fits-all premium video on demand model in the film industry. This is because with films it is only about a week after release that a film’s fate becomes clear.

Risks in launching Premium Video on Demand for Studios

The studios are aware of the dangers of trying to fix something that is not broken. Risks in the premium video on demand model are evident – Premium VOD may cannibalize theatre revenues, confuse users, and may even lead to further decline in the culture of audience going to cinema to watch films.

Watching films in cinema halls is a different experience from watching at home. Besides the physical experience of watching the film in theatres, there is also the aspect of pop-culture relevance of films. Popular films gain an audience because people watch a film and recommend it to their peers. This peer pressure contributes to a large percentage of people going to theatres.

Netflix has already disrupted the film industry with its model of releasing films on the VOD platform on Day 1 itself. Starting a Premium VOD option may just about be the final nail in the coffin for movie theatres.

Just as studios are wary of pulling audience away from movie theatres, they are aware that overall changes in home entertainment means that viewers now experience films differently than before. Developing a premium video on demand platform would mean that movie studios are better equipped to fight off Netflix and Subscription VOD websites.

Ideal release window and price point for Premium video on demand

The debate currently is about the time window between theatre release and release on Premium Video on Demand. A related problem is that of price. It is over these two points that the major studios differ.

Studios, Advertising and Pricing

Warner Bros has proposed a $50 fee for a Premium Video on Demand release 17 days
Fox is considering $30, and making films accessible after a 30-45 day period of theatrical release
Fox and Warner Bros. have displayed flexibility in this, with Warner Bros. also interested in the pricing and timeline of Fox’s proposal.
Universal wants to see Premium video on demand release date in under 20 days. Their proposition is $40 after 10 days.
Disney is seeing a golden 2017 (Beauty and the Beast, and Pirates of the Carribean both generating handsome profits). Disney films are often seen as sure bets at the box office. Their films are eminently suited for the theatre experience, for which reason it is extremely unlikely to undermine its bottomline by agreeing to Premium Video on Demand.

The studios cannot collaborate together to achieve a Premium VOD model because of anti-trust laws, and are likely to enter into agreements directly with theatre chains.

Advertising and Public memory: Upto and during the weeks of a film’s release released, there is extensive promotion and publicity for movies. If the film being released through video on demand shortly (between 10 to 30 days) of the theatre release, it is much more likely to be in public memory. On the other hand if this period is extended to beyond 45 days a separate promotional campaign would be required to release on premium video on demand, which may not be as effective either. The risk is that by Day 45 the movie would have receded sufficiently from public consciousness that responses will be tepid.

Pricing also becomes relevant in this regard. The lower the price the higher are people likely to want to watch films at home only and avoid theatres. To placate theatre owners, studios may price premium video on demand films for as much as $50.

Theatre Owners and Film-makers on Premium Video on Demand

Exhibitors are quite clearly against Premium Video on Demand, and they seek reassurance that there will be no further changes in the release window over the next 5 to 10 years.

Film-makers are divided when it comes to Premium VOD. Many such as Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson back the concept of Premium Video on demand (supporting Screening Room). On the other hand many filmmakers such as auteur Christopher Nolan stress the significance of theatre for film, and would not want to be involved in anything to jeopardize that.

Subscription Video on Demand Platforms

Netflix has of course circumvented the entire theatre release model. This has found the video on demand platform facing some resistance – Cannes Film Festival now requires that to be able to compete for the Palme d’or movies need to have theatrical releases. 

Amazon Studios on the other hand reaffirmed their committment to theatrical release of films that they produce. The studio produced Oscar winner Manchester by the Sea, which enjoyed an extended theatre run.

Other Players in Premium Video on Demand – Prisma and Screening Room

Prima is a high-security home entertainment system that enables users to watch films at their homes at the same time as theatre releases. It is prohibitively expensive, and the anti-piracy restrictions means that folks are unlikely to want to capture films using this technique. Prima costs $35,000 for installation and $500 for each time you want to watch a film. The service offers movies from Film Studios Univeral, Lionsgate and Paramount, and is in talks with Warner Bros., Disney and Sony.

Prima Security features include background check, restrictions on size of home theatre hall and minimum size of theatre screen, besides fingerprint authentication at each time of video playback. This is one that the likes of Brad Pitt and Woody Allen are likely to have at their homes.

Sean Parker cofounded Screening Room, which intends to introduce direct online release of films at the same time as theatre release.Sean Parker is notorious for disrupting the music industry with Napster. Under its plan, viewers can rent movies the same day as theatre release for $50.

Screening Room faces considerable opposition from studios and exhibitors.The company claims that it can generate $8.5 billion revenue annually for the film industry. Movie studios however disagree, and believe the potential returns are not very sufficient. 

Under its proposal, of the $50 rental fee, 20% would go to the movie’s distributor, participating theatre chains would get upto $20 from the fee. Screening Room has not gained much traction, largely because of its outsider status in Hollywood and because of its aggressive same-day release model.

It is likely that Premium Video on Demand will take in the near future. VdoCipher’s full-stack DRM is eminently suited for releasing films online simultaneously with theatre release. Online businesses also often require features over and beyond video security. VdoCipher fulfills all major requirements for enterprise video hosting. The complete set of features that VdoCipher offers for enterprise video hosting may be found here.

Find more details about VdoCipher’s DRM infrastructure and our integration of Widevine DRM for Hollywood-grade security, which helps us protect your premium content.

Siddhant Jain

CEO, VdoCipher. Writes about video tech, ed tech and media tech.

www.vdocipher.com/

The post Hollywood’s Premium Video on Demand Model appeared first on VdoCipher Blog.

Using this WordPress membership plugin would help you in deciding what content to provide to which category of learner. Control of access to content eventually determines that you are able to monetize your content. We discuss how to implement Per user restriction on login time and preventing unauthorized access so that one paid member has maximum restrictions from sharing their access credentials.  We have given the links to plugins at the end.

The biggest utility of membership plugins is to protect content in a Learning Management system. For suggestions on free LMS plugins to use in WordPress check this blog on Free WordPress LMS.

Specific case of protection for video membership site is also written in brief at end. Overall aim of the article is to ensure that maximum revenues from your content reaches you while you are able to continuously grow your subscriber base. 

WordPress Membership plugin is one of the most popular free membership plugins. This is the wizard page in the plugin, and guides you about how to set up your eLearning site.

WP eMember

WordPress eMember is a plugin that helps you manage memberships to your content. eMember offers various customizations – including integration with WordPress so that any account created for eMember would automatically make a corresponding WordPress account. You may make multiple membership levels depending on the level of access decided for the user. For example for a basic trial access to the site you may give users free access to a certain amount of content, or for a limited period of time. For this a free membership may be created. 

Selective content protection and access

To protect content you can use two methods

• Enabling custom protection and access through dashboard
• Using shortcodes

Custom Protection

• To enable general protection, go to the “WP eMember” button on the WordPress sidebar, and in the drop down menu go to “Membership Level” button.
• From here go to the “Manage Content Protection” tab. Click on “Custom Posts” to see all the posts that make up your content. To protect some or all of these posts, select them and click on the “General Protection” option in the drop down menu at the top of the page. General Protection restricts access to all the posts that you select (you can select all posts or pick specific posts for protection). 
• After access restriction, the next step is to grant access according to the membership levels. For this go to the same drop down menu as the General Protection option, and select each membership levels. The resulting files will be files that are restricted from access.
• You can select the files for which you want to grant access , and after selecting, click the “Grant Access” button. You can make various membership levels, each differentiated by the number of pages that access is granted to.

Using shortcodes

Alternatively, partial content protection may be implemented using this wordpress membership plugin. For this you can make use of shortcodes to grant partial access to pages. Suppose you have two membership levels, Membership Regular and Membership Lite. You might wish to grant access to only the Membership Regular users, having level id 4. For this you can use the shortcode:

“[emember_protected for=4]”

“[/emember_protected]”

Suppose that level id 3 corresponds to Membership Lite. You can grant access to a section to both Membership Regular and Lite users. To do that you can enclose it in this shortcode:

“[emember_protected for=3-4]”

Note that membership levels to which access is to be granted are added using the dashes. Without specifying the membership ids, ie “[emember_protected]” – content is limited to logged in users only, including free registered users.

General eMember settings

WP eMember offers multiple options using which you can customize membership experience of users. These include the option to:

• Decide if you wish to grant free memberships
• Offer attractive login page – so that a popup appears rather than redirecting to a login page

Limited muliple logins To Your WordPress Membership Plugin

• Limiting number of IPs used from a membership per day, so as to discourage password sharing
• Disabling simultaneous login, again to discourage password sharing

Encouraging Membership Renewals

eMember also has features that encourage memberships renewals upon expiry. These include

• Triggering auto expiry email notifications shortly before account expiry date
• Allowing expired memberships to move to free membership status, to protect continuity
• Generating special renewal membership links.

Besides this, eMember offers options for integration into wordpress, so that logging in to eMember would automatically log you into wordpress. The very large number of customization options that WP eMember offers makes it one of the most useful WordPress membership plugin.

Drip Content

You can structure access to your learners so that the release of course material is done periodically. This method of releasing course material, called drip content management, limits the amount of information accessible at once to the user. This prevents your learners from being overwhelmed by the magnitude of the course. The auto-upgrade feature in this WordPress membership plugin allows for dripped content management, although this entails making multiple courses.

Auto-upgrade feature

According to this feature, using WP eMember you may upgrade a member taking Module 1 of your course to Module 2 automatically after a thirty day period (or a 7-day period, according to how you wish to structure your course). So, if there are say 5 modules to one course, each module to be accessed 30 days from the previous module, you may time the auto upgrade feature so that

Module 1 -> 2: 30 days from start of course
Module 2 -> 3: 60 days from start of course
Module 3 -> 4: 90 days from start of course
Module 4 -> 5: 120 days from start of course

Pros and Cons of Drip Content Management

There is a debate regarding the merits of drip content management policy – a negative of this approach is that it dictates that learners follow the particular pace with which you have structured the course. The other side of the coin is that you are ensuring that you do not overwhelm your learners with too much information.

Prevent Concurrent Login plugin with WordPress Membership Plugin

A major concern for eLearning site managers is the possibility that their content may be shared by multiple users using a single login. Password sharing is a problem that eMember does address, through the previously mentioned settings of limiting number of IPs and the option to disable concurrent login.

In case the WordPress membership plugin that you use does not have the option to prevent simultaneous logins, a plugin that that specifically prevents concurrent login is the “Prevent Concurrent Login” plugin. This is a plugin that you only need to activate, and store in the Must Use category of plugins, for it to run silently in the background. It then by default prevent access to your membership system from multiple systems at the same time. You may use this plugin with any wordpress membership plugin, including the widely used WordPress Membership 2 plugin, and Wishlist Member, both of which rival WP eMember in popularity.

Video Membership site with eMember

For many premium video businesses like elearning & media , the necessity to protect video content from piracy by so many free downloaders, plugins , hacks is a must. Most of video streaming providers like youtube, vimeo, or self hosting doesnot allow for any protection. To restrict the access of your video content to only only your subscribers on wordpress, VdoCipher has come up with a secure video streaming solution based on encryption and watermarking.

The plugin enables you to use a custom short code. You can use the plugin and the shortcode with any wordpress membership plugin. Also as explained in the eMember section protection code, you can design your course to allow free registered access to trial learners and paid membership for the video. For this you only need to place the VdoCipher shortcode inside the sectional protection shortcode.

Links:

WordPress page for the e-member plugin

Prevent concurrent Login plugin

VdoCipher secure video streaming account signup, 5 GB Free Trial

Siddhant Jain

CEO, VdoCipher. Writes about video tech, ed tech and media tech.

www.vdocipher.com/

The post WP eMember as WordPress Membership Plugin: User Management Tutorial appeared first on VdoCipher Blog.