The video streaming and video sharing landscape has been significantly transformed by technology, reaching an estimated $154 billion in over-the-top (OTT) video revenue in 2022, with the United States holding the largest share worldwide. The number of OTT users has risen to around 3.5 billion as of April 2023. This has been due to the ease of accessing content without the need for cable or satellite subscriptions. Subscription video-on-demand (SVOD), a service allowing users to stream unlimited digital video content at a fixed rate, reached a global total of 1.2 billion subscriptions in 2021, a figure projected to grow by over 400 million within six years.

What is Video Streaming and Sharing Website?

Video Streaming and Sharing Websites are basically Online Video Platforms (OVPs). They are a product of video hosting services, allowing users to upload, convert, store, and playback video content on the internet. This is often facilitated through a large-scale, structured server system with specialized capabilities. Users typically upload video content via integrated video hosting services for mobile or desktop applications, or other interfaces such as APIs. The video content uploaded can be shared with other users and platforms through internal or external APIs. These video files can range from short clips to full-length TV shows and movies. An example of a video streaming and video sharing website is YouTube.

Model and Infrastructure

These Video Platforms can operate on various business models, including software as a service (SaaS), eLearning, do-it-yourself (DIY), or user-generated content (UGC) models. They come equipped with an end-to-end infrastructure for uploading, sharing, encoding, managing, playing back, styling, delivering, distributing, downloading, publishing, and measuring the quality of service or audience engagement quality of the experience of online video content. This is usually manifested as a User Interface with login credentials.

Playback and Analytics

They also provide a custom video player or a third-party video player that can be embedded in a website. Video Platforms not only collect data for themselves but are also required to provide online video analytics to video publishers. It contains detailed insights into video performance, such as the total number of video views, impressions, unique views, video watch time, stats on user location, visits, and behavior on the site.

Security

Some video platforms with premium content require encryption of content with DRM, which increases the cost of using the service. Videos may be transcoded from their original source format or resolution to an encrypted format which further uses a dynamic key exchange mechanism during the playback. For maximum security, the key does not reflect under network and other transfer mechanism and get stored in a device-enabled black box.

Preliminary Considerations for Video Streaming and Video Sharing Website

Before launching into the creation of a video streaming and video sharing website, it’s essential to lay down some groundwork. Here’s what some objectives to ponder over:

Defining Your Target Audience

Your target audience is the group of people who will be most interested in your product. A target audience profile typically includes specifics such as location, age, gender identification, job title, industry, education level, household income, interests, hobbies, and platform usage. For example, brands like Nike and Starbucks target influential individuals and higher-income professionals, respectively, tailoring their marketing strategies to these specific groups. You can hold a consumer analysis survey to know answers about user needs, pains, and gains.

Identifying Your Niche

Identifying your niche involves defining what makes your platform unique. In the video streaming market, there are over 3.5 billion users worldwide as of April 2023, with the highest share of revenue generated by Subscription Video-On-Demand (SVOD) channels. Yet, other video streaming options also exist such as pay-per-view, broadcaster video-on-demand, ad-supported video-on-demand, and hybrid platforms like HBO Max, Disney+, and Netflix. Understanding these nuances can help you carve out a unique space in the market. This niche can be language localization, regional content, field-specific training videos, etc.

Studying the Competition

Look at what successful competitors are doing right. By April 2023, the number of OTT video users worldwide stood at around 3.5 billion, with major streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ leading the market. Also, consider video-sharing platforms such as Utreon, Dailymotion, Metacafe, TikTok, Facebook Watch, Twitch, and others. Examining their history, strategies, and algorithms can provide insights into what works and what to avoid.

Building Your Brand Identity

Your brand identity is how your business presents itself to and is perceived by the world. It should be built around your target audience and unique selling points. For example, the video-sharing platform TikTok is known for its short-form video content, appealing to a younger, more digitally native audience. Moreover, the brand identity must be consistently communicated across all channels and touchpoints to create a unified and recognizable image for your platform. Keep in mind the concepts of positioning and messaging before spreading the word about your brand identity.

Technical Aspects of a Video-Sharing Website

Understanding the Technical Infrastructure

Video streaming and video sharing website require a complex technical infrastructure to function effectively. Crucial components of such a video platform include a content management system for backend and end users, a video player, API or SDK-based integration, and a streaming server. The content management system allows backend handling via a dashboard, and frontend application for user upload, storage, management of videos, and also for displaying analytics. The video player enables users to view the videos, sharing functions can be easily integrated via APIs, and the streaming server delivers the video content to the user’s device.

Many advanced methods of video delivery like adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), delivery via CDNs, and CMAF are also utilized to enhance user experience with fast and optimal delivery. ABR works by dynamically adjusting the quality of a video’s delivery in real-time, based on the network and device capabilities of the viewer. Similarly, CDNs use a large network of servers that make copies of the video content to deliver it from the nearest requested node.

Choosing a Domain Name and Hosting Provider

The domain name being the online identity of your business should be memorable, easy to spell, and reflect your brand, niche, or the content of your site. You can purchase your desired domain name from domain registries, provided it’s still available. Some popular hosting providers include Google Domain (Now Squarespace), AWS Route 53, Bluehost, HostGator, etc.

Considering Storage and Bandwidth Requirements

Storage and bandwidth are two different and critical factors to consider when setting up a video streaming and sharing website. Storage refers to the amount of space required to store all the video files, while bandwidth refers to the amount of data that will be transferred from your server to your viewers during the playback.

The storage requirements mainly depend on the number, size of the videos, frame rate, resolution, and bitrates of videos. For example, UHD videos will require more storage space than HD videos. As for bandwidth, you’ll need enough to handle the maximum number of viewers you expect to have at any one time. You can basically think of it as if you have a 1GB video and it gets watched once till the end, then the bandwidth consumed will also be 1GB.

Additionally, if your video URLs are getting leaked due to security issues, then it might add to your bills because of bandwidth leeching. This means that unauthorized users will keep utilizing your bandwidth and the cost need to be borne by you.

Choosing the Right Platform and Technology

Website Development from Scratch vs. Using a Platform

When launching a video streaming and video sharing website, choosing between developing from scratch or using a Content Management System (CMS) platform is a critical decision. A custom-built website created by an in-house or outsourced team of developers allows for a unique design and functionality but is often more costly and time-consuming. On the other hand, CMS platforms offer templates that can serve as a basis for your website, saving time and financial resources​.

While a custom-built website can be tailored to your unique needs and potentially yield greater profits over time, a CMS-based site provides quicker development and user-friendly templates. Concerning security, a trusted team of developers could even implement basic encryption and further maintenance of the custom site could be outsourced. Alternatively, even with a CMS-based platform, a company could manage its video security at a very affordable cost by outsourcing it to a secure video hosting platform.

Performance-wise, a custom-built site only includes necessary code, potentially leading to improved speed and performance. In contrast, with a CMS, certain elements in templates and plugins could slow down the website. For plug-ins and extensions, control over their features is usually limited, and your site could become dependent on the updates and security of the company that created the extensions. Also, there are many CMS like Django admin which can provide scalability and speed.

Review of Popular CMS and LMS

When considering a platform for video streaming and sharing, both WordPress and Moodle come with distinct advantages. WordPress, a popular CMS, offers flexibility and numerous plugins for live streaming like WpStream, VdoCipher, and various others. These plugins enable you to integrate third-party solutions, apply DRM encryption to your videos, stream live content directly on your site, and bring your streaming audience to your website.

On the other hand, Moodle, a leading LMS, provides integration with advanced video hosting solutions like the VdoCipher plugin and live streaming plugins. It also supports video embedding from YouTube and other third-party websites, facilitating easy video sharing in an educational context.

Understanding Video Encoding and Formats

Video formats refer to how video information is stored on digital devices or servers, which consists of two main components: the Codec and the Container. The Codec, an acronym for compressor/decompressor, reduces the storage required for each video file. Codecs can be either lossy or lossless, impacting the quality and size of the video file​.

The Container keeps all the elements of a file together for synchronous playback, holding data related to audio and video. Some containers can also hold metadata and subtitles, identifiable by their file extensions like .mp4, .mov, and .avi​.

Among the many video formats, MP4 and MOV are quite common. MP4 is universally compatible and capable of storing various data types, making it a popular choice for online platforms like YouTube and Facebook. MOV, developed by Apple for QuickTime Player, is highly regarded in the film industry due to its multi-track capabilities, high quality, and ease of editing. However, it’s not as widely playable across devices as MP4, and its high quality comes with larger file sizes. Also, technologies like CMAF can also be used to combine file formats like mp4 and mpd to mp4d.

Considering Mobile Responsiveness and App Development

When building a video streaming and sharing website, it’s crucial to consider mobile responsiveness and app development. Today, a significant portion of video content is consumed on mobile devices, and your platform must cater to this audience.

To ensure mobile responsiveness, choose a platform that supports adaptive designs. For instance, WordPress offers a variety of mobile-responsive themes. The WPtouch Mobile Plugin makes your WordPress website mobile-friendly and provides a simple, elegant mobile theme for mobile visitors.

For developing an Android or iOS mobile app, using a hybrid mobile app development framework like React Native or Flutter can help you create an app for multiple platforms (Android, iOS) using the same code base.

Designing the User Interface and User Experience

Principles of Effective UI/UX Design

When designing the UI/UX for your video streaming and video sharing website, keep the following principles in mind:

Simplicity: Aim for a clean and minimalist design that allows users to focus on the content. Avoid cluttered layouts or overwhelming visual elements.

Consistency: Maintain consistency in typography, color scheme, and overall design across all pages. Consistent design elements help users navigate the website effortlessly.

Responsiveness: Ensure your website is responsive and adapts well to different screen sizes and devices for users on desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices.

Accessibility: Include accessibility features to your website, app, and video like multi-language text support for a wide range of users, including those with disabilities. Consider incorporating features like keyboard navigation and alternative text for images.

Creating Intuitive Navigation and Search Functions

Here are some tips to achieve an intuitive navigation system for users to easily find and explore content.

• Include a text field and a search button: In the search box users write their queries, and with a search button, users click to initiate a search. Visitors should also be able to launch their search by either clicking the search button or pressing the “Enter”/“Return”/”Go” key when the search box is in focus.
• Place in an expected location: Websites that allow site searches tend to place the search bar in either the top-right or top-center of the web page. Also, it’s likely your users will want to conduct searches on other web pages besides your homepage. Placing the search bar in your header across most pages ensures users can do this from any site location.
• Include the search icon: Designers use icons to visually convey what a button or other page element does. The magnifying glass icon is a widespread symbol of search, so it’s recommended to include it in your interface. There are a few ways to add this icon to your bar: place it on the search button, inside the search box, or on a button that hides/reveals the entire search bar.
• Size appropriately: The size of your search bar will depend on its importance on your site and the expected length of a typical query.
• Clear Menu Structure: Organize your website’s content into logical categories and create a clear menu structure. Use descriptive labels for menu items, ensuring users can quickly understand where they will be directed.
• Search Functionality: Implement a robust search feature that allows users to find videos based on keywords, tags, or categories. Provide relevant search suggestions and filters to help users narrow down their search results.
• Breadcrumbs: Include a breadcrumb trail to show users their current location within the website hierarchy. Breadcrumbs enable users to backtrack and explore related content easily.

Designing Effective Video Thumbnails and Previews

Engaging video thumbnails and previews can significantly impact user engagement. Consider the following when designing them:

High-Quality Thumbnails: Use high-resolution images or video frames that accurately represent the content of the video. A visually appealing thumbnail can capture the user’s attention and entice them to click and watch.

Playful Previews: Offer short video previews that automatically play when the user hovers over or clicks on a thumbnail. These previews should provide a glimpse of the video’s content and pique the user’s interest.

Customizable Thumbnails: Allow video uploaders to select or upload their own thumbnail image. This enables them to showcase the most compelling frame or image that best represents their video.

Enabling User Profiles and Social Interaction Features

User Profiles: Allow users to create profiles where they can manage their uploaded videos, create playlists, and customize their preferences. Profiles help users establish an identity and facilitate personalized experiences.

Social Sharing: Enable users to share videos easily on social media platforms, expanding the reach of your website’s content. Use professional tools-Hootsuite or Hootsuite alternatives to better manage and plan all types of content and interactions. Incorporate social sharing buttons for popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For mobile apps, you can use OS advanced sharing options, that allow you to share to nearly all messaging apps available in the device.

Comments and Likes: Implement a commenting system that allows users to leave feedback and engage in discussions around videos. Additionally, provide a like or thumbs-up feature to allow users to express their appreciation for videos. Such engagement can be motivated through external triggers like notifications and also by internal triggers of boredom, etc.

Recommendations and Playlists: Leverage algorithms and user data to provide personalized video recommendations and allow users to create and share playlists. This enhances the user experience by offering tailored content suggestions.

Implementing Video Upload with required technicalities

To enable users to upload their videos to your website, you need to implement robust video upload and processing features. Here’s how you can accomplish this:

• File Upload: Create a user-friendly interface that allows users to select and upload their video files. Use appropriate file size and format limitations to ensure compatibility and optimize storage space.
• File Import: Many times users need to transfer all video files from their existing video hosting setup to a secure and advanced option. In such a scenario a video streaming platform must allow importing video files from various options like Drive, Vimeo paid, etc.
• Video Validation: Implement a validation process to ensure the uploaded video meets the required specifications. Validate the file format, size, and duration to prevent the upload of corrupted or inappropriate files.
• Cloud Storage: Utilize cloud storage services like S3 to securely store and manage uploaded videos. Cloud storage offers scalability and ensures the availability of videos across different devices and locations.
• Video Encoding and Transcoding: Convert uploaded videos into different formats and resolutions to support various devices and internet connection speeds. Use video encoding and transcoding techniques to optimize file size and maintain video quality.

Note: Setting up video upload, streaming, encoding, CDN, import modules, custom video player, ABR, DRM, and other such things requires above-average technical skills. Even then creating a bug-free code takes time. Thus, it is advised to use a third-party video hosting solution like VdoCipher with more features than what is being described here.

Creating Video Playback and Streaming Capabilities

To deliver high-quality video playback and streaming experiences, consider the following features:

• Video Player Integration: Integrate a reliable and customizable video player into your website. HTML5 video players with support for adaptive streaming protocols like HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) and DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP) are recommended.
• Adaptive Bitrate Streaming (ABR): Implement ABR techniques to dynamically adjust the video quality based on the user’s internet connection. ABR ensures smooth playback by automatically switching to the most suitable bitrate for the user’s network conditions.
• CDN Integration: Utilize Content Delivery Network (CDN) services to distribute and deliver video content efficiently. CDNs store and serve videos from multiple geographic locations, reducing latency and improving streaming performance.
• Video Playback Controls: Provide essential video playbacks controls such as play, pause, seek, volume, and fullscreen options. Consider adding additional features like playback speed adjustment and subtitle support to enhance the viewing experience. You might also need a custom and secure video player as per your branding needs.

Ensuring User Privacy and Security

Implement the following measures to safeguard user information:

• Secure User Authentication: Use strong encryption and security protocols to handle user authentication and session management. Implement mechanisms like two-factor authentication to enhance account security.
• Secure Data Transmission: Encrypt user data during transmission using SSL/TLS protocols to prevent unauthorized interception and ensure data integrity. For video security, it is best to use a multi-DRM-enabled video hosting solution.
• Privacy Policies and Consent: communicate your website’s privacy and data policies to obtain user consent for data collection, third-party cookies, storage, and usage.
• User Data Protection: Implement measures to secure user data, including robust access controls, Geo-restriction, data backups, etc. Plus, use Excel alternative that can safeguard user data effectively, ensuring comprehensive protection beyond what traditional spreadsheets can provide.

Ensuring the security of your video content is crucial to prevent unauthorized access and distribution. While DRM offers significant protection, understanding its limitations is also important. Learn more about why is DRM not enough to protect video piracy.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Video Websites

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a critical role in the success of video-sharing websites. Video SEO, in particular, is often underutilized but can significantly contribute to an overall SEO strategy. Video streaming web pages should align with your overall SEO strategy and generate a return on investment (ROI).

In general, video SEO works by optimizing video content, tags, descriptions, and video sitemaps to make them more discoverable by search engines. The key is to make your video content visible to the right people. It’s important to note that while YouTube SEO focuses on optimizing videos for the YouTube platform, video SEO is platform-agnostic, aiming to enhance video visibility across various platforms.

Alternatively, google also provides an option to add a video schema object via JSON-LD on all pages with video content. This helps Google index the video with all relevant information like title, description, etc. This schema let Google display your video content as rich snippets on queries related to your videos.

Monetization Strategies for Video Streaming and Video Sharing Website

Creating a successful video streaming and video sharing website involves more than just providing engaging content. It also involves implementing strategic monetization models that generate revenue while maintaining a positive user experience.

Monetization model choice depends largely on your target audience, the type of content you offer, and your overall business goals. For instance, if your platform hosts exclusive content, a subscription-based model might be most profitable. On the other hand, if your audience is broad and diverse, advertising could be a more effective strategy.

With Advertising as a monetization strategy, you can avail of several formats at your disposal. Banner ads can be strategically placed on your website to attract attention without disrupting the user experience. In-video ads can be implemented in pre-, mid-, or post-roll positions throughout your streams, providing a direct way to monetize your content.

Sponsored content and affiliate marketing are other viable options, which involve partnering with brands or companies to create content that promotes their products or services. This not only provides a revenue stream but also offers added value to your viewers if the sponsored content placement aligns with their interests. Affiliate marketing involves promoting a third party’s product or service in your video content, and earning a commission for any sales made through your referral.

Other modes like Paid memberships and Pay-Per-View (PPV), are effective for platforms with high-quality and exclusive content and users can get access to content for a monthly or yearly fee. PPV, on the other hand, charges users for individual pieces of content. This model is ideal for one-time events or exclusive content that has a high perceived value, like a live concert or a high-profile interview.

VdoCipher as a solution to piracy

One of the major concerns that video streaming websites and video content creators often face is video piracy. A solution to this concern is implementing a multi-DRM-enabled secure video streaming like VdoCipher.

VdoCipher is a video hosting and streaming service that offers the highest level of security against piracy. The platform ensures that your content is protected from unauthorized downloads and distribution, which are common issues faced by video-sharing platforms. The security is based on a combination of multiple technologies including DRM (Digital Rights Management), dynamic watermarking, screen capture protection, and IP and geographic restrictions.

DRM is a technology used to protect the copyright of digital media. VdoCipher provides Google Wideine and Apple Fairplay DRM to ensure that your videos are encrypted and can only be played as per your authorization.

Dynamic watermarking is another layer of security VdoCipher provides. It overlays a user-specific watermark (like email or user ID) on the video, which discourages users from recording the screen and distributing it, as it could lead to the identification of the source.

Screen capture protection and IP and geographic restrictions further enhance the security of your content. The former prevents viewers from recording the video using screen capture tools, while the latter allows you to control where and by whom your content can be viewed.

The integration of VdoCipher into your video-sharing and streaming website is made easy with APIs and SDKs provided for various platforms.

FAQs

How to stream video from AWS S3 bucket?

Create an AWS account, then create an S3 bucket, upload your video, make it public, and then use the S3 object URL to stream the video.

What does OTT stand for?

OTT stands for “Over The Top”, which refers to content providers that distribute streaming media directly to viewers over the internet, bypassing traditional cable or satellite television platforms

How much does it cost to make a website like Netflix?

As of 2023 web development project cost, it can range from $10,000 to $50,000 for a basic version, and for a more advanced version with more features, it can go up to $50,000 to $100,000. Remember that this figure is only for website development and not app development.

How much does it cost to develop an OTT app in India?

The cost to develop an OTT app in India in 2023 can range from $25,000 to $60,000 depending on the complexity and features of the app.

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 How to make a Video Streaming and Video Sharing Website 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.

Because of this ability to offer a personalized user experience, Video on Demand Platforms retain a phenomenal ability to engage viewers and keep viewers on their platform. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have both been aggressively building a vast content catalogue. It is imperative for these Over-the-top (OTT) platforms to present just the right kind of content for different kinds of viewer preferences.

Index:

1. A Case Study of a Video on Demand Platform – Netflix
2. Identify your niche and create your Video on Demand Platform
3. Why VdoCipher is best for your Video on Demand Platform
4. Select a Tech platform to build your Video on Demand Platform
   • WordPress/ Joomla/ Drupal/ Moodle Content Management Systems
   • Develop your own website using Node.JS, PHP, ASP.Net, Python, Ruby
5. Design your website
6. Monetization model, Pricing and Payment Processing

A Case Study of a Video on Demand Platform – Netflix

Going back 10 years, Netflix was primarily identified as a DVD-by-mail business. The company had introduced its Video on Demand platform in January 2007 as a bonus for DVD subscribers. What began as a tentative step to build a slight advantage over competitors has now become the world’s biggest Video on Demand platform. In this period the company has consistenly worked to improve its technology stack and content catalogue. The company now has close to a 100 million subscribers, with the number only expected to grow.

Identify your niche and Create your Video on Demand Platforms

As internet connectivity across the world improves, demand for video streaming services will continue to grow. In North America Netflix  contributes to over 35% of peak internet traffic. In India broadband connections have become the norm in urban areas, whereas mobile networks led by Reliance Jio are making an aggressive push to enable internet connectivity across the country.

Compared to the costs of creating and distributing videos, revenues are not hard to attain. Setting up a video on demand platform is certainly one of the most attractive proposition for content creators and distributors.

Video on demand means so much more than movies and TV shows. YouTube, which is the world’s biggest VOD platform, enables creators to share videos on niche subjects. Users create videos covering anything from video games, film and music discussion and vlogging to educational videos. To get started you only need to reach out to a small subsection of your potential audience base.

Video content is 40 times more likely to be shared than other forms of content. This means that quality videos can generate an audience with minimal effort in marketing. You need to identify your niche, and offer top-quality content to ensure that your video on demand platform is a success.

Videos are also heavily being used for marketing and for product videos. Four times as many users prefer to to watch a video about a product than read about it.

Video is also revolutionizing E-Learning considerably. Instructors are using video to reach millions of people eager to learn. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) such as EdX, Coursera and MIT OCW have made quality higher learning accessible to anybody with a good internet connection. 

You can setup your own video on demand platform, which would give you complete control over your video streaming application.You can directly communicate with your audience, and can interact with them help improve user experience, helping achieve a greater audience.

Setting up your own VOD platform, you can setup your monetization options, opting for either a subscription model or an advertising video on demand business model, as you see fit. You can make further customizations such as custom encoding to optimize bandwidth usage, and custom player skins to offer a customized viewer experience. 

It would also mean being no longer dependent on video aggregators like Vimeo and YouTube. YouTube for all its advantages offers limited monetization options. It does not leave the users much control over their content and their audience. Throughout playback viewers are completely free to switch to another video, meaning that meaningful engagement is hard to achieve.

Why VdoCipher is ideal for your VOD Platform

Streaming videos involves a large workflow process, which involves:

• Video Upload and Transcoding
  • Upload to secure S3 bucket
  • Transcoding to different file formats, enabling multi-bitrate streaming
• Video management through dashboard
• Secure Video Streaming
  • Amazon Cloudfront and Akamai CDN network for fast delivery
  • Server-side encryption, including HLS encryption
  • Player authentication, through backend private key
  • Dynamic watermarking
  • URL whitelisting
• Smooth video playback
  • Design custom skins and customize video player
  • Thumbnail customization
• Plugins for WordPress, Joomla!, Drupal, Moodle, and developer-friendly APIs
• Multi-device compatibility
• VAST ad insertion for Advertising Video on Demand platform
• Access video playback analytics through API and dashboard
• Pay per use model – pay for bandwidth and storage

The entire process of conceptualizing, storyboarding, and video production is extremely time and resource-intensive. To regain the investment that goes into making videos you need to ensure effective monetization from content.

Yet piracy presents a major challenge to monetization. Our statistical study shows that about 25% of the world population uses common video download tools to pirate content. 

VdoCipher’s large user base relies on our secure video streaming solution to ensure that their monetization opportunities are not affected due to piracy losses. VdoCipher video hosting solution provides the complete solution for video on demand platforms. Our full-stack Video DRM enables video content providers to secure their videos effectively, and set up their videos behind a paywall solution. In this blog we discuss why self-hosting is rarely a good idea. Find more details about how we integrate Widevine DRM for Hollywood-grade security, to provide the best protection for premium content.

Using VdoCipher means that you can continue to focus on improving your website experience and your content catalogue, while resting assured that your viewers are getting a smooth video experience. Buffering is the reason a lot of users leave videos – a study revealed that even for videos of length greater than 30 minutes, a delay of 30 seconds can lead to more than 60% of users leaving the video. Viewers have little patience and high expectations when it comes to streaming videos. VdoCipher has developed expertise in delivering high quality videos in locations with spotty internet connectivity. Video playback through the VdoCipher player is smooth and seamless, and time taken for buffering is minimal.

In this blog we discuss how to use VdoCipher to maximum effect to setup your video on demand platform. To learn more about how the VdoCipher feature set works out for different cases check out this blog on VdoCipher for business.

CMS and Programming Languages to Build your Video on Demand Platform

Create Video on Demand Platform with WordPress

With VdoCipher you can build a video CMS in combination with popular CMS such as WordPress, Drupal, Joomla! and Moodle. WordPress currently powers over 25% of the websites on the internet. Some of the most prominent websites using WordPress because of its easy functionalities are New Yorker magazine and Techcrunch.com

Embed using Shortcodes

• Create an account on VdoCipher. You will be mailed your client secret key.
• Install the VdoCipher wordpress plugin, and enter your client secret key. You are all set to embed VdoCipher videos to your website.
• Right-click on the video in the dashboard that you wish to embed to your website. Copy the video id to the shortcode format, replacing the 123456 in the shortcode below, and using a single parenthesis.  

[vdo id="123456"]

• Add the shortcode to the page in which you wish to embed the video. Its a simple two-step process to embedding your video.

Dynamic Watermarking

To add a dynamic watermark go to the settings panel of the VdoCipher plugin, and add the text that you wish to add to your WordPress website. More details are given in this blog.

Themes for WordPress developers

WordPress supports a fantastic community of developers who create plugins and themes. This makes WordPress extremely useful for beginners looking to buy off-the-shelf solutions for their website. To create your own Video on Demand Platform there is a wide variety of themes and plugins that you can use to embed your videos to your websites.  Some of the best themes that we have found to offer great functionalities and easy monetization options are:

• Vlog

Multi-purpose – can be used for vlogging or for news websites.
Supports Series plugin, which enables you to create playlists of videos
Integration with WooCommerce for monetization options
Enables Advertising Video on Demand by supporting banner ads on pages
$69 one-time purchase

• VideoTube:

$49 cost
Easy integration with membership plugins enabling you to monetize your website as Subscriber Video on Demand

• VideoPlus

$39 cost – includes 1 year of theme updates and 1 year of personal support

• PremiumPress Video Theme

$79 cost
Whereas most video themes are designed to enable monetization from advertising video on demand model. PremiumPress’ Video Theme is designed to enable you to secure videos behind a membership plugin.

• NewsMag Lite

This is free plugin that you can use to create your own newspaper-like or magazine-like website. You can use a combination of texts, images and videos for your site.

Membership Plugins for WordPress

You can manage user access rules using membership plugins. This includes partial protection of content on web pages to restrict content to only paid subscribers. Partial protection is implemented through shortcodes, and means that free subscribers/ non-subscribers can only see part of the page, while the remaining would be protected by a paywall. You can also protect entire sections and pages behind your paywall membership plugins.

WP eMember and Membership Pro 2 are two of the most popular membership plugins. An important feature that WP eMember offers is to prevent simultaneous logins. This stops users from sharing passwords with other people. Another plugin.

Create Video on Demand Platform with Joomla!

Joomla! is one of the most popular PHP-based content management systems. A vibrant community of developers has made Joomla one of the best platforms on which to build your video on demand platform.

VdoCipher’s Joomla video plugin makes all the backend API calls, meaning that all you need to do to embed your videos is add the embed code. The installation procedure to integrate VdoCipher’s video plugin to your Joomla-based video on demand platform is:

1. Dowload the VdoCipher Joomla Extension
2. Upload the VdoCipher Joomla Extension to the Manage Extensions page
3. Click on VdoCipher to open Parameters page
4. Enter your client secret key, which you would have received in the mail on registration, in the given field
5. On saving the settings you are good to go
6. Get your video id directly from the VdoCipher dashboard
7. Enter your video id to the shortcode, in the format (where you replace 123456 with your video id)

[vdo id= 123456]

Note that PHP5-curl needs to be installed on the server for this extension to work. Attributes for the shortcode include the display settings of height and width – for example if you require height = 350 and width = 700, you can add the following attributes to the shortcode

[vdo id=123456 height=350 width=700]

The shortcode is space-sensitive, so any additional space at the end of the shortcode before the brackets can cause an error.

Create Video on Demand Platform with Drupal

VdoCipher module for Drupal uses a shortcode to display videos inside any node, which may include articles and posts, besides custom content types. The shortcode is added to the WYSIWYG text editor, and the module handles the API calls. The client secret key is used for API calls between your Drupal website and the VdoCipher video dashboard. The plugin abstracts away the API calls, meaning that all you need to do get started is:

1. Upload your video to the VdoCipher dashboard
2. Download the VdoCipher module
3. Upload the module file from the “Install New Module” page on your Drupal installation
4. Click on the Configure link on the module page to complete your setup
5. Copy the API Key from VdoCipher Dashboard -> Config -> General
6. Enter your client secret API key.
7. Get your video id directly from the VdoCipher dashboard
8. Enter your video id to the shortcode, in the format

9. Embed the video id to any content_type text field in your website

We are currently working on integrating the VdoCipher plugin with the Drupal media module. You can add dynamic watermarks to your video as well using these annotation code guidelines.

Video on Demand Platform with Server-Side scripting languages and Frameworks

We have also developed our API for use-cases with Python, Ruby, Node.js, ASP.NET and PHP. Together these backend-languages power much of the internet. Using our embed code and the API reference for the respective language, you can host your videos to deliver a truly unique experience for your clients.

Web Frameworks that are most popular currently include:

• Django, Flask and Pyramid frameworks for Python
• Rails framework for Ruby
• CakePHP framework for PHP
• Node.js framework for Javascipt

The utility of frameworks is in enabling developers to use boilerplate code, thereby avoiding having to repeat the same thing multiple times. Frameworks help you manage and enforce your web architecture. Using a framework also enables you to use vast a variety of libraries that are available.

For Web Hosting the most popular website hosting servers are DigitalOcean, Rackspace and AWS.

Create Video on Demand Platform with PHP

PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is one of the most popular server-side scripting languages used to build websites. The biggest utility for PHP is its ease-of-use, which has enabled blogging platforms such as WordPress, Joomla! and Drupal to emerge. The world’s largest encyclopedia – Wikipedia is also setup using PHP. Popular e-learning platform Moodle is yet another implementation of PHP. Facebook also uses PHP in its core codebase.

PHP is arguably the easiest language for beginners to make a basic functional website, and for that reason retains its popularity.

In our developer library you can find the embed code for integrating your VdoCipher videos to your website. Using this embed code you would need to add the video id to the embed code, and your client secret key to the API reference, and you would be ready to embed your videos directly to your website.

The developer library also includes sample code for enabling video uploads to your VdoCipher dashboard directly from your website. This would enable your users to directly upload videos without needing to open the dashboard. After the API call is made by your PHP application server, a video upload policy document is returned. You can use standard Javascript libraries to make the process of upload smoother – Angular, JQuery or Dropzone. The video upload should be made within 1 hour of the video upload policy document.

Create Video on Demand Platform with Node.JS

Node.js is currently the most exciting framework for server-side scripting. Its primary utility is its single-thread non-blocking I/O design, which means it is eminently suited for web applications requiring vast scalability. Some of the most popular transaction and event-based web applications currently using Node.js are PayPal, Uber and Netflix

The VdoCipher Node.js module enables you to handle your videos securely on your video hosting platform. VdoCipher’s secure video hosting

Using Node.js for server-side scripting means that both your frontend and backend use Javascript. Most Javascript frameworks are for frontend; Node.js is a singularity in that context. . The Node.js core itself is quite lightweight. There are numerous modules that are made available by an active developer community, adding powerful functionalities to Node.js programming. An active developer community means that for most purposes you could easily find a developer library to achieve a nydesired functionality.  

VdoCipher Node.js API

Class VdoCipher. Create a class instance vdocipher (client_secret_key). Instance method of the VdoCipher API include vdocipher.getOTP, which passes the video ID, and receives OTP. Instance method vdocipher.getSignature returns a signature authenticating the video playback.

For more information about the API reference please look up the API reference. Check out the embed code.

You can find sample code to generate OTP for a video on demand platform on WordPress, to authenticate video playback

The github reference can be found here.

Create Video on Demand Platform with Ruby on Rails

Hulu is a major video on demand platform built using Ruby on Rails. Other web applications built using Ruby on Rails framework are SlideShare, Github and Groupon.

Ruby is one of the most popular server-side scripting language. Popular for its developer-friendly structure, Ruby can be used with the Rails framework (Ruby-on-Rails).

VdoCipher gem for Ruby-on-Rails handles the API reference. Steps for integrating VdoCipher video player to your video on demand platform:

• Add this line to your Gemfile in your rails application

gem 'vdocipher'

• • And in your controller file add these lines

require 'vdocipher'
...

vdo_api = VdoCipher.new(clientSecretKey: "CLIENT_SECRET_KEY");
@embedcode vdo_api.play_code("VIDEO_ID", "style=\"height:400px;width:640px;max-width:100%%;\"");

• • • Now in your view file embed code where you would like to play videos

Create Video on Demand Platform with Python Frameworks (Django, Flask, Pyramid)

Most popular websites using the Django framework with Python are Instagram, Pinterest, Google. The biggest video on demand platform YouTube, although originally built using PHP, now also runs on Python.

You can see a sample file for integrating VdoCipher to your Python website here. You should break this file, which includes the embed code, player OTP call and API reference, according to your MVC architecture.

Design your Website’s User Interface

A great and intuitive user interface goes a long way towards building and retaining your audience. Here we bring tips from observing popular video on demand platforms, that you should implement to make your VOD platform a success.

• • • Clean and Easy Membership system – a popup box can be used to login. You may also enable social login via users Google or Facebook accounts
    • These are the home pages of Twitter and Netflix – the similarity? Both of them give a glimpse of interesting content that you find on the platform. This would improve conversion of site visitors to subscribers.

     

      
    • Personalized Recommendations based on ratings that you give movies and your watch history.  Netflix implements a Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down rating system – it aggregates user behaviour across different patterns of ratings. Using your viewership data Netflix recommends content that you are likely to watch.
    • Easy grouping of content helps viewers decide what to watch. This includes content based on your recent watch history, and content grouped according to genres such as Action & Adventure and Romantic Films.
    • Get your movie descriptions right – help users understand exactly what they are signing up to watch. Your users will appreciate it.
    • Multi-Device synchronization – For viewers constrained by time, it may be possible only to consume long-form content in small chunks. By providing synchronization across devices you enable your viewers to start from the last-watched locations, and stop in the knowledge they can resume when they want to on whichever device they wish to. This is one of the most important features to get right. Your video player should be able to synchronize your last played location on the video. VdoCipher gets this right by automatically saving the pointer to the last viewed location on the video, meaning that you can easily play back videos.
    • Get the balance between high quality and streaming on low bandwidth networks – It is important to provide a great experience for viewers with high-speed connections as well as for viewers with low-internet bandwidth. This is critical for VOD platforms in developing countries, where internet connectivity in rural areas is poor. Encoding optimizations can help viewers stream reasonably good videos even on 2G-speed internet connections.

Monetization Models, Pricing, and Payment Gateway

SVOD – Subscriber Video on Demand

Subscription Video on Demand is definitely the most popular monetization model used by most video on demand platforms. A recurring subscription gives users access to unlimited content on the VOD platform.

To target different kinds of users you can implement a tiered pricing model, wherein subscribers to the basic plan get the core content offering. Subscribers to higher payment plans can get access to additional content that supplements the core video offering. For example Netflix gives unlimited access to its complete library for its basic plan. However if you wish to watch Netflix simultaneously on multiple screens (share a subscription), you are encouraged to buy a multi-screen subscription at a higher price point.

AVOD – Advertiser Video on Demand

As a monetization model, this is the strategy that YouTube offers. Through this YouTube can share revenue with its content creators. In this case, content creators do not have a direct relationship with the video on-demand platform, and therefore advertiser Video on Demand in YouTube’s case enables revenue sharing. AVOD is the optimal strategy when you are expecting a lot of users to tune in to your website.

The only caveat to basing your business model exclusively on advertising is that it is viable only when you have a large audience. Revenue from a single ad is often very low – you need to have a large enough audience to be able to generate meaningful revenue. For videos on subjects of broad interest, the inherent virality of content is extremely critical. In such a case YouTube is often the ideal platform for building and connecting with their audience. If you are looking to build your website with the target of earning revenue from advertising, you should at least target million plus page views per month to build a video platform like youtube.

TVOD – Transactional Video on Demand – Pay per view or buy the content

You can make specific content accessible for users on payment of a fees. This is for one-time content created which you want to monetize. Most online tutorials fall into this category. You can package your videos individually, or as part of a bigger package. The difference between subscription and pay-per-view content is that users pay for access to specific content only. TVOD is ideal when you have differentiated content offerings which have value by themselves.

Payments Gateway and Processing

You need to setup a payment gateway solution so that you can receive payments from across the globe.

Instamojo, PayU and CCAvenue are some of the most popular payment gateways in India. Internationally PayPal and Stripe are both widely trusted payment processors.

Comparison of International Payment Gateways – PayPal and Stripe comparison

Comparison of Indian Payment Gateways

All Indian payment gateways – Instamojo, PayU and CCAvenue offer integrations with WooCommerce Platform for WordPress. By using any of the free plugins offered by these payment gateways you can get your Video on Demand platform to accept payments within minutes of setting up.

The onboarding process of tying up with the Payment Gateway can take some time though. Most of the payment gateways require scanned copies of documents.

Setting up Payment Gateway for Video on Demand Platform

• Install WooCommerce and the free plugin for the Payment Gateway –
• WooCommerce Settings Page -> Checkout -> Payment Gateways
• Click on the Payment Gateway of your choice after downloading and installing the plugin
• Rename the payment gateway Credit Card/ Debit Card/ Internet Banking
• Configure your payment gateway by adding your merchant ID and Merchant Key
• You can finally select a redirect URL – the page on your website where customers will be taken after the transaction

Individual process for these payment gateways vary. If you opt for any of the payment gateways for your WordPress website it would be a good idea to first integrate it with your WordPress installation to make sure that the plugin is compatible with your WP themes.

If you have more queries on VOD platform, please give us a shout at info@vdocipher.com. A free trial to secure stream videos for your video on demand platform is available at vdocipher.com

Popular FAQs Around VOD Platforms

How can I identify my niche and create a successful Video on Demand platform?

Recognizing your audience and delivering high-quality, targeted content are crucial steps. Video content’s shareability significantly aids audience growth with minimal marketing effort.

Why is VdoCipher considered ideal for VOD platforms?

VdoCipher offers a comprehensive suite of services for secure video streaming, including multi-bitrate streaming, secure S3 bucket upload, transcoding, DRM protection, dynamic watermarking, and detailed analytics.

What are the main monetization models for VOD platforms?

Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD), Advertiser Video on Demand (AVOD), and Transactional Video on Demand (TVOD) are key models, each catering to different content access and payment strategies.

How can I set up payment processing for my VOD service?

Integrating a reliable payment gateway that supports global transactions is essential. Options include PayPal, Stripe, and regional gateways like Instamojo and CCAvenue, depending on your audience’s location.

Siddhant Jain

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

www.vdocipher.com/

The post Video on Demand Platform for Media & E-learning Businesses appeared first on VdoCipher Blog.

At VdoCipher we are committed to offering our full feature set to all customers, irrespective of their size. We offer customizable plans for early-stage video content providers so that they can try our services to their full satisfaction before committing to a bigger plan.

Setting up your video selling website requires multiple stages:

• Setting up your tech platform – What tech do you use? Code from PHP/Node.Js, CMS like WordPress and Joomla, or ready-made template sites.
• Deciding and implementing a suitable theme
• Evaluating the features and functionalities of your video selling site
• Choosing and setting up an Online Video Platform

How to set up the Tech Platform for Your Video Selling Site?

When setting up a website for selling your videos online you need to evaluate your requirements in terms of features and functionalities. If you do not have highly specific requirements you can opt for hosting on WordPress. Adding plugins to your WordPress site is a great way to increase the features of your website. Making sites on WordPress is also quite straightforward, and the time to set up such a website would be somewhere in the range of 7-10 days. Do watch the video below, or check out this blog for a more detailed explanation on the tech platforms available for hosting your online video selling site.

Why You Need an Online Video Platform for Your Video Selling Site?

When faced with the exorbitant prices that many Online Video Platforms charge, you may have considered to self-host your videos. This is not a great idea, as you need to put in dedicated effort to add each one of the following features:

• Secure Video Streaming of your Video Content
• Analytics to understand the viewership of your video content
• Customization to video player
• Multiple Bitrates and Encoding for Multi-screen Streaming
• Setting up a Cloud Storage and Content Delivery Network (CDN)

Select Plugins and Themes for Your Video Selling WordPress Website

We’ll make a strong case for you to setup your video selling site on WordPress. These are quite easy to implement, and you can integrate a membership plugin with them to restrict content according to free and paying subscribers. For E-Learning website specifically we list the most useful E-Learning plugins. A detailed review of the WooCommerce Sensei LMS is given here.

Check out this LMS theme from ThemeForest for integrating custom themes to the Sensei plugin. VideoPress is also another great theme for developing a video-based website.

Setting up Payments

For payments, you have options from Paypal , Beanstream and Stripe. Various options are mentioned in this link. You can add WooCommerce or Shopify to smoothen the payment process for your WordPress website.

Using VdoCipher To Sell Your Videos Online

VdoCipher’s secure video hosting has a ready to use plugin for WordPress, which can help you host your videos and sell videos online. It is compatible with all WordPress themes and plugins. Encryption, backend authentication and dynamic watermarking features make VdoCipher the most secure solution in the market. It allows multiple bitrate streaming on player. On daily basis, you can see the analytics. You can integrate VdoCipher WordPress plugin using shortcodes.

Siddhant Jain

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

www.vdocipher.com/

The post How To Secure Video File From Downloading? appeared first on VdoCipher Blog.