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Top 3 questions to consider when choosing a streaming platform based on your budget

Key tips for choosing the right streaming platform for your needs

Advertorial If you want to get your message heard and your content out there, video streaming is one of the best platforms for its delivery. And the broader the reach of such a platform at your disposal, the further and faster that message can be spread.

The three questions you should ask while choosing a streaming service are: how well it performs in the regions of your interest whether it meets all your requirements, and how much it costs. Let's dive into it.

1. Does the streaming platform have points of presence in the regions of your interest?

If you want to launch an international service or enter a new market in a distant country, having a streaming platform with good content delivery network (CDN) coverage is essential. Such a platform with CDN points of presence (PoPs) in the countries you are targeting will reduce the time it takes to get the content to the audience you want.

So, when selecting a streaming platform, it's important to check the availability of PoPs in the right markets. For example, Gcore has 150 PoPs worldwide, that allows it to deliver video content with little or no impact on performance in various geographic and regional markets.

2. Does the platform meet all your requirements?

To choose a streaming platform, you must understand what features you expect from it. For example, they might be as follows:

Video storage: An advanced streaming platform should not only offer Live Streaming but also be able to deliver and store VOD (video on demand). This way, you can record your streams, store them, and publish them on your website. When considering a streaming platform, it is essential to consider the video content volume available for storage, how easy it is to upload your videos, and which file formats are supported. All of these factors will help ensure that your streaming platform meets your needs and provides the best possible experience for viewers.

Content protection: When launching a project involving video materials you intend to sell, it is important to protect your content from unauthorized access and copying. To ensure that your videos and broadcasts are secure, you need to research the streaming platform you're going to use and find out what technologies it utilizes to protect your content. This will help you avoid your videos being uploaded to the Internet with free access.

Monetization: If you decide to use free video access and want to make money from paid ads, it is essential to understand the monetization opportunities available through the platform. You should research which ad insertion methods are available, what technologies are used for this purpose, and whether the provider guarantees that Adblock will not block your ads. Knowing this information will help you maximize your monetization opportunities and profits.

Transcoding and adaptive bitrate: Transcoding is a technique that allows for a single video stream to be available on any device. It can be played on any device by converting the video from one format to another. The video quality may be adapted depending on the device, such as for 4K or 8K broadcasts on modern Smart TV sets. Also, it may be automatically adjusted depending on the device's internet connection—this is called adaptive bitrate. Most streaming platforms can transcode videos, so it is essential to ask the provider which devices your broadcast will be available on and what the video quality will be like.

Statistics tools: In order to make video streaming help you achieve your business goals, it is important to understand how viewers react to your broadcasts, what they like and dislike, and how popular your videos are. To gain this insight, you need to access statistical data. To do this, you should research which statistics tools the streaming platform offers and check if the ones you need are among them. With this data, you can understand what needs to be improved and achieve the best results.

You should look into all-in-one solutions if you need at least 3 out of 5 of these features. Ideally, these solutions must support video creation, capture, and playback. It also has to handle common technical issues like upload, live ingest, transcode, record, store, process video using machine learning, delivery via CDN, and playback on your behalf so you can concentrate on producing the video content itself.

This way, you don't have to solve any technical tasks when setting up a streaming platform, and your developers can take care of more important business tasks. Moreover, an all-in-one solution would be ideal for those looking for a comprehensive streaming platform.

3. Does the platform fit your budget?

The monthly cost of streaming content via Gcore's extensive CDN can be much cheaper than competitors' platforms.

The company recently launched simple per-minute video streaming rates and announced that video encoding would become free, leaving customers to pay only for what they use. That equates to €0.001 per minute for video streaming and €0.003 for storage, says Gcore, while you can test the Streaming Platform for free without commitment.

Check the pricing by visiting the Gcore online calculator and start live video streaming today.

Sponsored by Gcore.

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