Sunday, April 10, 2011

How to Choose the Right Online Video Platform for Your Business


The online video platform market has exploded in the last few years, with dozens of new vendors offering solutions. Different platforms offer different features and target different kinds of content and customers, and with more than 90 online video platforms to choose from, how do you determine which online video platform (OVP) is the best fit for your business?

An OVP provider is typically a SaaS (software as a service) solution providing end-to-end tools to manage, publish and measure online video content for both on-demand and live delivery. Typical components of an OVP provider include video hosting, encoding, custom players, syndication, analytics, as well as interactivity and monetization through a variety of online advertising options typically 3rd-party ad-servers/networks. Most OVPPs offer scalable product packages for both self-serve SMB publishers up to large media companies. (from VidCompare)

At the Online Video Platform Summit, this introductory session, "How to Choose the Right Online Video Platform for Your Business", featured a panel of online video platform users comprised of a cross-section of independent entertainers, business, and education who discussed their decision-making process and the features they looked for to help them advance their goals speak and best fit their needs.



The video from the session featured above was moderated by Kris Drey, Founder of Vidcompare who offered this great summary of the discussion on VidCompare blog:
"The panel I moderated, How to Choose the Right OVP for Your Business, had 3 fantastic panelists which, in my opinion, stole the show. Last year I sat on a similar panel with 3 OVPs who walked the audience through how they provide online video solutions for businesses, this year the coin was flipped and the panel was occupied by 3 unique business executives whom explained their experiences of finding and working with their online video platform of choice.

Panelist number one, Austin Brooks is a Master Magician and uses Brightcove to power his website of amazing magic tricks which he performs all over the world. Our second panelist, Peter Himmelman is a musician and entertainer with tons of online video of his many shows, backstage passes, and a web series called Himmelman’s Furious World. And our third panelist was Curt Van Inwegen, an interactive online marketer and Vice President of Client Services at LEVEL studios who uses Kyte to manage their online video needs.
Like I said, an all-star cast of people who have first-hand knowledge of the pain and pleasure of selecting an OVP for their unique use case. Peter kept the crowd laughing with his artistic view on life and the world of online video, Austin captivated us with his practical and insightful commentary on why Brightcove is best for his needs, and how he uses and tracks his online video. And Curt was our resident technologist explaining to the crowd, and our panel, how to get the most of online video, why a multi-device strategy is critical, and how to customize video players to match his customer’s particular use cases."

Speaker bios

Kristopher Drey, Founder, VidCompare.com (Moderator)

Kris has worked within online video for the past 3 years as an executive in the online video platform space. Over the years he's watched the OVP sector become increasingly crowded and complex as new providers came into the mix offering competitive top-to-bottom, white-label video platform solutions. As a result, Kris realized the need for a service such as VidCompare that would bring clarity and guidance to business decision makers looking for video services. Kris tapped into his 6 years of building and managing unbiased comparison engines at CNET Networks to create a data-driven, fair, and deeply informative interactive directory of Online Video Platform providers helping first-time buyers of video find the right solution for their needs.

Austin Brooks, Independent Magician, Austin Brooks Magic
Austin Brooks is vice president of an internet marketing company and moonlights as a professional magician performing for some of America’s top corporations such as Pepsi, Warner Brothers, IBM and Sony. He began his magic career at the age of 17 when he was accepted to the famed Chavez College of Magic. After two years of intense training, Austin was the youngest person to ever graduate from the college and ranked top in his class. At the young age of 19 Austin took his show on the road and performed all over the country. He performed for companies like Pepsi, Arm and Hammer, Virgin Records, numerous colleges and nightclubs and even spent 18 months in Las Vegas performing for various Casinos and Corporate events. While on the road he wrote his first book “Making Magic Art” and quickly sold out it’s first printing, becoming a must-read for magicians everywhere. The book was proclaimed the bible for “alternative thinking” in magic.

Always wanting to learn more, Austin set out to earn the rare title of Master Magician. To earn the title Master Magician is not an easy task. Not only must you master all of the styles of magic such as illusions, street magic, sleight-of-hand, comedy, and mentalism, you have to be able to perform your craft across all demographics and events. Austin Brooks is one of the few individuals in the world that have been given the title of master magician. Currently, Austin performs for America’s top corporations and elite parties. He develops products for other magicians and consults for feature films and television shows when they need a magic effect created for their project.

Peter Himmelman, Independent Singer/Songwriter, Host of Peter Himmelman’s Furious World
Among rock musicians who matter, no one has check-listed those items more winningly than Peter Himmelman. During his multi-pronged career as a singer, songwriter and all-around performer, as a children's entertainer, TV and film composer and pioneering webcast star, he has maintained remarkably high standards. He is also Bob Dylan's son-in-law, being married to his daughter Maria Dylan.

Nominated for an Emmy Award in 2002 for his "Judging Amy" contributions, his music has also been featured on the television series Bones. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for his children album, “My Green Kite”. USA Today called Himmelman "one of rock's most wildly imaginative performers". He is also the creative force behind his USTREAM live Internet show broadcast every Tuesday evening at 7pm (Pacific time) from his studio, called Furious World. The show features original live music with his band, video segments that range from philosophical to comedic, and special guests. The show can be accessed through peterhimmelman.com or furiousworld.com.

Curt Van Inwegen, VP Client Services, LEVEL, a Rosetta Company
The Smooth Operator. Leveraging senior-level marketing, strategy and account management expertise, Curt leads his team with the charter to elevate the identity and value of Client Services in the agency experience and runs point on all LEVEL partnerships. Ardent about superior service versus servitude, Curt maintains solid relationships across all LEVEL clients and studios to ensure unequivocal customer satisfaction. His smooth style blossomed in the 80s while cruising his IROC-Z listening to Foreigner. Prior to LEVEL, Curt served on the Orb Networks, Inc. executive team where he managed strategic partnerships with brands like Vodafone, Intel and Nokia. Before that, he ran the Wirestone San Diego office and led client teams for Apple, eBay and HP while keeping things consistently profitable and beach-friendly. The Jesuits let him by with a BA from Loyola in Maryland and an MBA from Loyola Marymount, Los Angeles. Curt's smooth style has matured as he now cruises his Lexus while listening to Rodrigo y Gabriella.


The Online Video Platform Summit is a two-day event designed to help organizations of all types, not just those for whom video is their core business. Held on November 2-3 in conjunction with
Streaming Media West in Los Angeles, the Online Video Platform Summit is designed for video publishers of all types and sizes, whether small businesses looking to publish content for the first time, independent entertainment content creators, large media organizations, or anywhere in between.

Disclaimer: VidCompare is a sponsor of this blog.

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