PlanetStream Blog

PlanetStream delivers live event to one of the largest veterinary management groups in the UK.

PlanetStream were recently contacted by Holton New Media who had a requirement to stream a conference live across the web. After successfully hosting the event for our clients, PlanetStream spoke to Steve Holton, Partner of Holton New Media, about the company, their needs and his feedback about the service received:

 

“…We are web developers for one of the largest Veterinary Management Groups in the UK. Our client recently asked us to look into the best way of delivering high quality live video to their members, spread across the length of the UK. While we had proficient skills in the latest technologies, live video streaming was not something we had experience in. After looking into options and costs from various companies, we quickly settled on PlanetStream due to their obvious knowledge in their products and excellent customer support.

 

With our client hosting a member’s conference at the end of July, this was the perfect chance to try our first live event. After phoning PlanetStream and speaking to the Account Manager Steve Pedrick, he quickly scheduled in our event. All of the necessary HTML was provided for embedding the video and we were given 24/7 direct telephone access to a PlanetStream engineer should anything go wrong. After a short test run to make sure all was working correctly, we went live - on time and without a hitch.

 

Our client was delighted with the service and has recently entered into talks with one of the most respected Veterinary Teaching Colleges in the world to deliver live video across Europe. We will, of course, be using PlanetStream for all live video in the future. Excellent value and superb customer support…”

 

PlanetStream can help you implement the same exciting live content on your web site using our video streaming expertise and dedicated account management services. If you would like to discuss anything in further detail, you can email me on steven@netsecrets.co.uk, call me on 01386 792972, or chat directly to me by clicking on the Chat Logo on the PlanetStream website.

11 Reasons To Use PlanetStream For Live Streaming

I was asked the ultimate question ... Why PlanetStream? by a prospect who was considering using us for live streaming. Here are the ELEVEN reasons I came up with:

• Wide choice of formats - Windows Media Player, Flash, RealPlayer.
• Help with setup, encoding, "tricks of the trade".
• UK based service - US based servers are so slow!
• Overseas partner network - if you need it.
• Free test before the event - to make sure no one has egg on their face!
• We can supply cameras, cameramen, mixing desks - if you don't have your own.
• Fanatical support - we love this stuff!
• Big company backup - part of NetSecrets Group
• If you are selling the service onward - we can be invisible to your client.
• Competitive prices - as if it matters when we are this good!
• Flexibility - if standard packages don't fit we'll come up with something special.

Bear in mind that many of the companies you will see offering this service are US-based and that means two trips across the Atlantic for your signal when you are broadcasting from the UK to the UK.

And remember you only have one chance to get a live broadcast right!

Costs for streaming video

It's quite difficult to "guesstimate" costs for video streaming but I am often asked for a general idea of costs involved. What follows is my current best stab at it.

The costs of streaming live events are a function of the duration of the events and the maximum number of concurrent viewers the client wishes to be able to view it. A 20 minute event watched by 500 people will cost much less than a 3 hour event watched by 5000. Although related to this it is not a straight line equation as economies of scale apply. The bigger the number the lower the unit cost so here are some typical scenarios.

To stream a live event lasting 2 hours to 500 concurrent viewers would cost £468, to 1000 viewers £728 and to 5000 £2080. Additional discounts would apply were this being done on a routine basis.

The costs of streaming archived videos is on a similar basis. It is largely based on the size of the video file (a function of length and quality) and the number of viewings over a given period. So if we recorded our 2 hour live event at a reasonable quality it might result in a file of, say, 250 MB.

If this were viewed by 100 people a month the cost would be £30 per month; 1000 viewers would cost £115 per month and 5000 viewers £290 per month. This assumes the video is in Windows Media Player format. Other formats such as Real, Quicktime or Flash would incur higher costs.

There's a lot more info at:

http://www.planetstream.net/live-streaming.html - for live streaming

and at:

http://www.planetstream.net/on-demand.html - for archived streaming.

Internet Radio And TV - 24 x 7 Streaming

Getting more and more requests for internet Radio and TV hosting so thought a quick post might help.

The cost of an "always on" service, suitable for an internet TV or Radio channel, is based on just 2 factors, the bit rate of the broadcast and the maximum number of concurrent listeners or viewers. the bit rate is dictated by the quality required for your broadcast. For audio content 32 Kbps is just about OK, 64 Kbps pretty good and 128 Kbps is excellent. For video you can start at 128 Kbps, 300 Kbps is pretty good and 800 is excellent. But even at the lower bit rates viseo can be quite acceptable provided you serve it up in a small window rather than a full page.

The maximum concurrent users required is often over-estimated as viewers and listeners tend to dip in and out of a broadcast so whereas 500 might listen or view an event it can be that no more than 100 are connected at any one time.

There's a calculator to give you an idea of costs on the PlanetStream website at:

http://www.planetstream.net/24-x-7-streaming.html

Alternatively give PlanetStream a call on 01386 792972 or email info@planetstream.net for more advice.

Live Streaming for Business Coaches

Many business owners are benefiting from one-to-one coaching from Business Coaches, helping them to grow their businesses, free up their time and plan their future exit from the the business. Highly respected franchises such as Action Coaching and Ology have spearheaded this and traditionally have delivered the service via monthly face to face coaching sessions backed up with weekly telephone sessions.

This has been very successful but even better results can be achieved by increasing "face to face" contact using live video streaming. The coach can broadcast live via the internet to one or several clients and the sessions can also be archived for access later.

The equipment required is not expensive and because of the restricted number of viewers the live streaming service costs little. PlanetStream can help the coach set up the facility and once established it can be used over and over.

The same idea would work for life coaches, sales coaches, indeed any consultant or trainer conducting regular sessions with clients. For an example of a site making good use of this technique take a look at:

http://www.andygwynntraining.co.uk/