Top 7 Video Hosting Solutions in 2023

Did you know that according to estimates, the OTT revenue is going to reach a whopping $129 billion by the year 2023 at a global level? This is the era of information explosion, and videos are the most consumed type of content on the internet. In fact, if YouTube reports are to be believed, they’re registering a billion video hours each day!

Well, it’s no surprise considering that videos are a package deal when it comes to interactivity, education, gaining knowledge, and offering entertainment value. This makes it a viable reason to incorporate videos for your own platform. But do you just upload them to your website server and be done with it? Absolutely not!

Speaking in both economic and technical terms, video hosting is not a piece of cake. Videos are richer and heavier than text or image content. This brings about an unmanageable load to a website server and leads to a crash. That’s why it makes sense to host your video and website on separate servers. 

The best part is that you don’t even need to set up your own server, thanks to third-party video hosting platforms. In this post, we’re going to take a detailed look at the top 7 video hosting solutions in 2022. By the end of it, we’ll be able to make an informed decision regarding the best video hosting solution for your needs. So, let’s dive into the details.

What is Video Hosting?

Gone are the days when you needed to overload your website’s server to offer quality video content. Thanks to an appropriate video hosting solution, you no longer need to slow down your website because of your video content.

The type of service that enables users to upload their videos to a third-party platform is called video hosting. Users can link or embed the video on their website, or their own platform and the audience can play it as per their subscription. 

Why Shouldn’t You Self Host Videos?

Self-hosting videos slow down website load time. While it’s okay to host a few videos on your site itself, you might want to scale up. If the number of videos or the size of your video file increases, it’s time to get a quality video hosting solution.

It takes 105 MB per minute for HD video storage. Not to forget, it also requires a higher video bitrate, video frame rate, and video resolution. While this is the most obvious reason, there are other valid reasons why you shouldn’t be self-hosting videos.

• No Protection from Piracy and Illicit Downloads

If you have a plan on monetizing video content, taking stringent measures against unsolicited downloads and video piracy is a must. Self-hosting doesn’t usually offer DRM encryption or dynamic watermarking whereas a good business video hosting solution does.

• Mandatory Manual Encoding

Videos need different formats and bitrates for flawless delivery. But if you’re self-hosting, you will have to manually encode videos to all the different bitrates and various formats.

• Higher Cost, Time, and Resources

Building your own video infrastructure is not child’s play. The development part itself is a huge task. Now add maintenance and the responsibilities, cost, time, and resources will seem never-ending.

Why Free Video Hosting Platforms Like Youtube Are Not Good For Your Business?

Now it’s understandable that YouTube is the first word that comes to mind when we hear about video hosting. Even though it’s the most widely used video hosting solution, using a free video hosting platform like YouTube can actually hurt your business in the long run. Here are the reasons why.

• Risk of Losing Engagement and Revenue

Due to a notoriously high amount of advertising, YouTube is full of distractions. When users are distracted while consuming your content, you risk losing out on meaningful engagement and interaction. This ultimately affects the overall revenue since there are also chances that your viewers might as well just hop on to your competitor’s video platform.

This declines your marketing value. Since you have a regular revenue stream in the form of user subscriptions while using a paid video hosting platform, you don’t need to place ads in between. Additionally, the distraction-free interface is a credibility enhancer and conversion booster.

• Lack of Customization and Branding

Free video hosting platforms like YouTube lack options for branding and customization. They use targeted advertising instead of offering a sleek and streamlined user interface. You also don’t have 100% control over your video content.

• Unsatisfactory Video Analytics

If you take a detailed look into the video analytics of free video hosting platforms like YouTube, they just don’t tell you enough! While the aggregate data does help, the lack of intricate details regarding the performance metrics and other key insights prevent a business from reaching its full potential.

• Lack of Proper Customer Support

You only get the worth of what you pay for. The statement especially holds true when it comes to customer support. The customer support of a free hosting solution isn’t as robust as its paid counterparts. So, if you are looking forward to prompt resolutions of glitches, instant troubleshooting, and a solution-oriented approach tailor-made to your problem, it’s time to level up and opt for a paid hosting solution.

What Features To Look For In A Video Hosting Solution?

Now that we have established that videos are the primary form of consumable content on the internet, it’s time to choose the best hosting solution. There are certain boxes you should check before making an informed decision. After all, the video hosting platform you choose is going to stick with you. So why not take every important parameter into account before taking such a crucial decision? On that note, let’s take a look at the three most important features to look for in a video hosting solution.

• DRM Encryption

DRM Encryption is a crucial feature for any video platform looking to generate revenue from their premium videos. DRM system ensures that your content doesn’t get pirated as you can easily whitelist the URL where the video is to be streamed. Thus stopping any unauthorized access to the video. On top of it, DRM encrypted video streaming ensures that your video can’t be downloaded at all.

A typical multi DRM setup is advised to ensure that your content is protected on all the major devices and browsers. Google’s widevine DRM and Apple’s Fairplay DRM together essentially cover all the browsers and devices your user stream videos on.

• Dynamic Watermarking

Dynamic watermarking is a type of text overlay that embeds crucial digital information. It helps in identifying the original source of the video with an intent to prevent piracy. But the problem is, that static watermarks don’t work anymore due to advancements in video editing tools that can easily remove them. 

But when the watermark is in constant motion throughout the video, it becomes next to impossible for even the most sophisticated video editing software to remove them. That’s why you should always opt for a video hosting solution that offers that dynamic watermarking feature.

• Custom Video Player

It’s no secret that customizability helps with brand recognition. Your video hosting solution needs to have a customizable html5 video player that matches your brand and can seamlessly stream your videos without any trouble. A customizable player will also help you control options such as the beginning and end of your video, volume, quality, and speed, to name a few.

• Video APIs

It doesn’t matter whether you plan to create a custom portal or build applications on the basis of video content. You need a hosting solution that offers support for API facilitating custom development as well as integration.

Top Video Hosting Solutions In 2022

Here are the top video hosting solutions for 2022.

• VdoCipher

VdoCipher has successfully emerged as a pioneer in video piracy prevention, thanks to its advanced feature set. By offering foolproof solutions to prevent video piracy, illicit downloads, and screen captures, VdoCipher has made it at the top of the list of the leading video hosting solutions in 2022. 

Key Features:

• Encrypted DRM video streaming for preventing undesirable downloading of videos
• Customizable and flawless video player with features like forwarding, speed change, rewind, and subtitles
• Dynamic watermarking for tracing the original video source
• Multi-device HTML5 player
• Supports custom workflows
• Offers a comprehensive Dashboard, intricate analytics, and helpful plugins

Pros:

• Highly versatile: Used for LMS, OTT, media, as well as e-learning
• Multiple theme options to enhance aesthetics
• Offers a quality CDN
• Doesn’t require a credit card to sign up for the free trial

Cons:

• Only 5 GB limit for a free trial

Panopto

If you’re looking for the easiest option for video recording and sharing, Panopto is the way to go. With a special focus on optimization of the learning environment, universities and learning platforms are among its major target audience. It has a secure video library, smart Video content management, powerful search, and clean observation of user behavior for enhancing engagement.

Key Features:

• Record and playback
• Built-in optical character recognition (OCR)
• Virtual classroom and video training
• Lecture capture

Pros: 

• Easy setup and usage without any need for plugins
• High reliability
• Easy integrations
• Better accessibility with automated generation of speech-to-text captions
• Offers sharing of end-product in multiple formats
• You can easily create and add quizzes to your videos.

Cons:

• The lack of tutorials makes the learning curve steep.
• There is a speed restriction while playing videos.
• The interface could have been simpler.

Brightcove

Have you heard of the phrase ‘old is gold?’ In some ways, it perfectly applies to Brightcove as a popular video hosting solution. Brightcove has been in existence since the early 2000s. With their primary focus on serving businesses requiring digital marketing tools, they have their Video Cloud has the topmost product to host live and on-demand videos.

Key Features:

• Offers analytics, monetization tools, and an all-screen video player
• Facilitates global content delivery and OTT streaming
• Versatile usage for communication, monetization, and marketing
• Supports cloud transcoding

Pros:

• Smooth CRM integrations
• Great Tech support
• Offers support for custom video portals
• Give intricate insights through reports and analytics

Cons:

• Limited security and privacy features
• Fewer monetization options than its competitors
• High price

Vimeo

The fact that Vimeo has been around for so many years and has helped plenty of businesses reach their video hosting goals is what makes it on this list. Originally, the founders launched it as a showcase for creativity. Despite keeping its original value intact, the business video hosting platform has become more business-oriented over the past few years. The thing that makes it better than free hosting is a higher control over ads.

Key Features:

• Offers a 30-day free trial
• Features DRM tools for piracy protection
• Offers video creation tools
• Features HD streaming

Pros:

• High bitrate and bandwidth
• Excellent security features
• Downloadable videos
• Facilitates equal operation

Cons: 

• Restrictive upload size limit for the free plan

Wistia

Wistia is famous as a video marketing solution. But when it comes to video hosting, the related features come attached with the conventional video marketing plans. The basic plan enables users to upload 10 videos. Moreover, after embedding a video hosted on Wistia on your site, customized branding becomes a cakewalk!

Key Features:

• Video CRM and custom video embed player
• Ad-free viewing
• Organization and “Up Next” features
• Powerful Marketing tools, SEO tools, and analytics

Pros:

• Seamless team collaboration
• Lead generation and easy integration with Google Analytics, Hubspot, and other third-party tools
• Excellent customer support

Cons:

• You can only upload 3 videos with the free plan.
• Steep learning curve

Vidyard

With virtual selling at its center, this video housing solution offers a wide array of tools for creating and sharing different types of videos. It also features automatic creation of SEO transcripts, performance analysis embedding on email and website, and so on.

Key Features:

• High quality and flexibility of the video player
• Versatile marketing tools
• Password protection for your videos

Pros:

• Plenty of video promotion tools
• Outstanding security
• Holistic video marketing

Cons: 

• Dashboard lacks intuitiveness
• The price is on the higher end.
• Steep learning curve

Vidizmo

Vidizmo is a streaming media as well as video hosting solution designed keeping in mind users who like to stream videos on their own video portal. Vidizmo is appropriate for enterprises, educational institutions, healthcare institutions, training & compliance, webinars, educational lectures, and so on. Some of their popular clients include Avast, ISIHR, and VETERAN.

Key Features:

• Supports CMS and comment moderation
• Offers digital asset and medium management
• Supports HTML5 playback
• Offers sophisticated security analytics and monetization features

Pros:

• Offers cloud-based and hybrid options for the deployment
• Multiple customer support options
• Makes it easy to create videos and rich media courses

Cons:

• Not access on mobile
• Remote assistance through screen sharing is only available for enterprise users
• Lack of multi-channel support

Summing It Up

Before you choose the video hosting solution for your business, it’s time to narrow down the features crucial to your organization. Every business has unique needs and you should always consider them before deciding on a video hosting platform. The best way to go is to shortlist your top three from this list and take a free trial for a month to know what works well for you.