Live Event Video Streaming Services: Enhancing Virtual Experiences

1. Introduction

With events such as SG50 coming up in Singapore, it is likely that many of these events will be live-streamed. Live video streaming allows such events to be broadcasted to people who are unable to attend the event in person. For such events that celebrate a nationwide occasion, it is important that the public is engaged. Broadcasting these events live makes it more convenient for people to tune in at their own leisure, and the ability to interact via social media enables the audience to give direct feedback. For corporate events, not all staff may be able to attend due to other commitments. Live video streaming makes it possible for these staff to tune in from their office or home.

Live event video streaming provides a platform for organizations to communicate to a wide audience base more effectively. It breaks regional boundaries for information consumption and increases the potential target audience as anyone from anywhere with an internet connection can tune in. For organizations that hold annual events whereby the key objective may be to increase awareness or educate the public, live video streaming enables these organizations to reach out to their online community.

By definition, live streaming refers to online streaming media, simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real time either through the use of social media or a specific website to deliver information. With the fast-growing digital world, many people are more interested and likely to consume information online rather than through traditional means. The recent Cambridge English dictionary added new words such as “Twittersphere,” “Hashtag,” and “crowdfunding.” This is evident that there is a worldwide trend focusing on digital content sharing.

Importance of Live Event Video Streaming

1.1 Importance of Live Event Video Streaming

The importance of live video streaming for educational institutions and professional organizations is becoming more significant. An example could be an educational institution broadcasting a live video lecture to students who are located offshore. They would install special software to restrict access to this video lecture to only the students who are enrolled in the specific course. This would give the distance students a better connection to the campus and a greater learning experience. A professional organization may use video streaming to record and live broadcast a speech, seminar, or workshop to the rest of the company who are located globally. This would also be a cost-effective way to conduct professional development. Live video streaming keeps onsite and offsite staff and students in touch with real-time events and reduces the feeling of isolation for those who are unable to attend. A/V content that is streamed live is also said to have a higher level of participation and retention from audiences and can be interactive through features such as live chat (Real, 2017). This is supported by the work of Brown and Melear (2001), which explains that streaming video can be more effective than traditional analogue teaching methods and can enhance cognitive learning.

Video streaming is the process of continual transmission of a file from a server to a client. The client views the video at the same time as it is being downloaded to their computer. With the improvements in technology, video streaming is now of better quality and cheaper. Goh and Law (2002) highlighted that video streaming can be done live or on demand. Live video streaming is the broadcasting of a real-time video to an audience over the internet. The content of the live video is strictly timed and anything that is missed is gone forever. On-demand video streaming allows the audience to view the video at their own convenience. This means that the video is pre-recorded and stored onto a server. Live video streaming is more preferable in this context, as the recommendations in this paper are for a school to implement live streaming of A/V content sports events to the student cohort.

1.2 Benefits of Live Stream Production

2. Increase public awareness: Whether you have a band, are running for a political position, or running a business, products are a lot more likely to gain more popularity when they are being live streamed. An example of how a band can use this to their advantage is getting permission to play live at a local bar and live streaming it on a website. People who are unable to be there will still want to watch the performance. This usually results in a bigger crowd the next time the band performs because those people will tell their friends. Creating an event out of the live stream is a way to have people from all over come to one central location to watch and interact with one another. Depending on how big your fan base is, you can sell tickets or charge admission to the event. For band performances, live streaming is not only a way to get a bigger crowd at the event, but it also allows fans to show their friends. This can also be a way to make a little money. Advertise your live stream and tell viewers to visit a certain website for a discount on some of your band merchandise and/or music. This will be the most effective for political candidates who are trying to gain votes or a business trying to sell a product.

1. Educational tool: Online streaming can be used as an educational tool. By creating a private channel, students can log in and watch a live or recorded video of the lecture. This is very useful for students who missed the live lecture and for students who want to review the lecture. Because this is a private channel, you have full control over the content. This is a much better alternative than burning a DVD of the lecture and selling or giving it to students. Another benefit is that you can track who watched what. This is useful for student participation evaluation. In the future, you can offer live streaming events of the school’s sports, guest speakers, and graduation. The opportunities are endless and it makes the school more attractive to potential new students.

1.3 Overview of Live Streaming Services in Singapore

Online video service is a large and rapidly growing industry. Live events are people’s new content of choice and the global broadcasting of these events is experiencing vast growth. Twitch.tv, hitbox.tv, YouTube and Azubu are just a few examples of sites that mainly focus on video game content but even they experience a large number of viewers watching live or VoD (Video on Demand) coverage of e-sports. Traditional sports events both local and global are being broadcasted and even music festivals and concerts are now being streamed. As the market for live content grows so does the demand for high quality, low latency broadcasting. This creates a vacuum where companies such as ours can provide valuable services to a wide range of clients looking to tap into global markets. Our service is essentially a means of creating a global TV channel for any event and/or streamer. We use our network to receive your content and broadcast it using one of our many servers optimized for global reach. Viewers from around the world can then use our website to access and view your channel. Due to the way we have implemented our payment system, we can give you access to statistics that no other streaming service can; we can provide information on where your viewers are from, which of your content is the most popular and many other very useful things. This service also includes embedding our player or channel onto a pre-existing website and with the amount of customization possible you can create a content viewing experience unique to your event. Finally, we offer a VOD service using the same network and channel/quality options as our live broadcasting. This is a great deal more efficient and customizable VoD service compared to using something like YouTube.

2. Live Event Video Streaming Services

Considering all these points, live event video streaming services truly have the potential to act as change agents in an organization.

Multiple camera and video-on-demand services will be more cost-effective in the future. With live webcasts, there are chances that you may miss some important parts and there is no provision for rewind or pause. So viewers sometimes feel irritated. With video-on-demand services, they can view the content whenever required. Multiple camera videos can provide different viewpoints of a presentation, making it an effective way of demonstration.

In the future, there are a lot of improvements possible with streaming services. I am talking about the addition of artificial intelligence capabilities to these services. This can be used for automatic translation and summarization of a speech before it is relayed to the audience. It can also be used to target specific audiences on certain topics. For example, if you have recorded information on healthcare and a user queries about sports, which is not related, this system will identify the user as a sports person and show health issues related to sports.

Video production and streaming are the most efficient communication tools, and the availability of affordable software and hardware has made them an ideal solution for companies of all sizes. The overall concept is simple: with an encoding device, your content is encoded and sent to a dedicated streaming server, which then distributes the content to a targeted audience. At the viewers’ end, no downloading is required for the video, so it can be viewed as the content is received. Existing technologies are capable enough to handle full-motion video and CD-quality audio in a very dependable manner. The popularity of high-speed internet connections also allows for two-way communication, where the instructor and participants can also show videos. The security provisions built into this system guarantee that your content will reach its intended audience in its original format.

Not only for events, but these streaming services can also be used in various places to directly connect a group of people. For example, conducting training sessions for teams spread across the globe, delivering product launch information to the global sales force, sharing important announcements, or having important business discussions. All these things can be communicated using live streaming services. The experience can be recorded and used for future reference. In the cost-cutting era, companies avoid conducting training and other sessions in person. However, these sessions are beneficial as participants can directly ask questions and gain a clear understanding. This face-to-face communication improves morale and a sense of belonging to the team. To maintain attention, the video should be available in a large window and should be clear.

Live event video streaming services have become popular to enhance virtual experiences. By using this tool, companies can mark their presence in global markets. This is the most effective way to reach customers, employees, and stakeholders. Companies nowadays are more concerned about their carbon footprint and protecting the environment, so they opt for virtual events. Earlier, virtual events were not very effective and participants felt disconnected, lacking a sense of belonging. The ability to hear and see information as it is presented creates understanding, which is necessary for aligning decisions and actions. Live webcasts help bring participants together and present information before them.

2.1 High-Quality Video Production

Video production is the process of producing video content. It is the equivalent of filmmaking, but with images recorded digitally instead of on film stock. There are three stages of video production: pre-production, production, and post-production. Pre-production involves all of the planning aspects of the video production process before filming begins. This includes scriptwriting, scheduling, logistics, and other administrative duties. Production is the phase of video production which captures the video content (moving images / videography) and involves filming the subjects of the video. Post-production is the action of selectively combining those video clips through video editing into a finished product which tells a story or provides information. Nowadays, many companies are adopting techniques from movies to get their products or services publicized. This is proving to be a great opportunity and result for them, so they are definitely veering towards good video production companies to carry on and achieve success. In order to improve themselves, they are continuously trying to provide more than customers’ expectations. This is one way how competition and video production are going hand in hand.

2.2 Seamless Live Streaming Experience

Namely, we’ll assume that you are wanting to pipe your live broadcast into the net and to some kind of computer server. This could be accomplished using an encoder, which takes your analogue video and converts it to a digital flow, sending it into a server. Another choice is to utilize an MPEG-2 Hardware encoder which will do exactly the same job and encode the movie to a digital flow, but will deliver it directly to the server over a satellite connection, taking in an IP address and providing the capacity for multicasting. Fill in this stage for your needs and budget, nothing but the best will do to make certain the best excellent transmission of your video stream to the server.

Enterprise video streaming services must be able to deliver the same kind of viewing experience that audiences are used to on traditional TV. For this, the live stream has to be on-demand or as close to the live broadcast as possible. This makes rich, high-quality viewing, and it can be the best solution for all involved parties. Turning to a broadcast-grade solution, however, means you ought to invest in additional price and gear, whether to find an expert server or employ the services of a server supplier.

2.3 Interactive Features for Audience Engagement

One of the advantages of live event streaming services is the fact that they can be as open or closed as you want them to be. What do we mean by this? Well, an open event is one where it’s being streamed for everyone to see. This could be using something like Twitch to stream a gaming session where anyone who wants to watch can do so. Or for something like a business Q&A session, this can be streamed over a multitude of platforms right from Facebook Live to something like GoToWebinar where attendees can ask their own questions. The more closed event involves using platforms like ClickMeeting or WebEx that often have their own integrated streaming systems where a video broadcast can be streamed privately to invited attendees, usually followed with a Q&A session. The closed off events usually mean attendees can engage with the content more, and here are some more ideas on how to get that content to be as engaging as possible.

2.4 Customization and Branding Options

It is no secret that brands are always on the lookout for effective and innovative ways to reach and connect to their key audience. With live streaming, every event (may it be big or small, i.e. product launch/companies AGM) receives opportunities for extending their event’s reach, increasing brand awareness and basically, reaching their attendees that are unable to attend the event. Live streaming provides a more interactive way of engaging with their target audience. A study shows that 67% of viewers feel more passionate about attending in person after watching a live stream for a music event, and even more convincing, 30% of people will buy tickets for the next similar event. This is a solid reflection on how live streaming can impact a brand which has a live event. This is the reason why there are increasing demands of customization and branding options specifically for the live streaming services. Branding, colors, mascot, etc. There are so many forms of ‘brand’ that a brand owner wants to deliver to their target audience, and it is vital. What branding does is; it makes a deep representation of the brand itself and manages to etch it into the customer’s memory. When the brand’s perceived image and the actual image are the same, this results in brand identity. Customization is a process of custom building the required brand’s representation. The more brand identity a strong brand has, the more chances it has in gaining new customers. Studies show that music events that have a strong brand identity tend to have higher attendance and even have a price premium compared to less known music events. Customization and branding options are used for building a specific brand representation during a live event to an online environment through live streaming.

3. Live Stream Production

Live stream production is an entirely different mode of video production. It is an extension of broadcast television. When considering interactive streaming broadcasting, the vast majority of broadband streams to date have been delivered live. Live streams are commonly used for broadcasting sports events, television shows, and breaking news. Most new interactive streaming broadcasts are simply changes to existing broadcasts, which are perfect for live streaming. With the existing infrastructure and technology used for broadcasting audio and video content on the internet, interactive on-demand broadcasts are simple to add to an existing live show. Due to the current state of the economy, many companies have had to reduce travel and have meetings in digital environments. E-learning and interactive multimedia learning simulations are the only way to have these digital events. This has also had a positive effect on live streaming, as companies are able to live stream their event and save a video copy for on-demand viewing. Businesses and individuals are now using live streams to product launch, create brand awareness, or make any company announcements. Although live streaming is an easy way to stream audio and video content over the internet, many producers are unfamiliar with the production process. This section will guide you through producing a live event utilizing the best interactive streaming platform, Twitch.

3.1 Pre-Production Planning and Setup

Deciding on the right date for the stream is quite important to ensure maximum viewership. Consideration should be taken to avoid any major competitive streams, holidays, and other events that may detract viewers. The time that the stream will take place is also a factor. This must be suitable for viewers in the target audience and time zone. An Australian viewer will not want to stay up until 3 am to watch a 6-hour stream from the USA.

The first step is identifying the platform in which the content will be streamed. Skype and Google Hangouts are not viable solutions, as the consumer level of the two will reflect greatly on the stream. Platforms such as Livestream, Twitch, or Ustream offer premium services. Although sometimes costly, the features and support from these services are much greater and will help prevent disasters. Benefits from these platforms range from CDN support, technical support, and in the case of Livestream, hardware redundancy using their HD500 Video encoder.

It is very important to understand that live stream production is much different from video production. The main difference between the two is that in live streaming, it only happens once in real-time. There are no additional takes, and you cannot fix it in post. An error that happens will be there forever, so the show must run very smoothly. To ensure a successful stream, good pre-production planning and setup is required.

3.2 Professional Camera and Audio Equipment

The primary attribute that separates an average stream from a professionally executed one is the build video and audio tools used. The typical streamer utilizes webcams and built-in microphone in combination with their computer’s output in order to converge. Doing improves the person’s face but minimum their background which takes away from the professional appearance. A formulated shoot could involve various cameras on tripods placed at different angles or simply put a single camera hooked up to a computer. This can be utilized in collaboration with audio equipment, often consisting of lapel microphones connected to a sound board and the computer. This setup allows full control over the audio levels and can prevent sound quality issues such as feedback or echo. The reason this method is rarely used by “amateur” streamer is because of the setup and the cost. When streaming from a PC, capturing video from an external source at a higher quality than the PC’s output is not a simple task. Often the streamer is required to swap between his computer’s normal display output and the video source he wants to capture. This can disrupt personal usage of the computer during off-stream times due to the necessity of swapping the settings back and forth. The added cost comes into play because higher quality video and audio equipment can be quite expensive. Because the value of this equipment does not depreciate quickly, renting is a viable option for those who are only currently doing a single high-paying event.

3.3 Skilled Production Crew

A live event video production is a fast-paced and high-pressure environment. A strong, skilled production crew is critical in shaping a great production. It is important that the crew members are extremely fast with their setups and breakdowns for events. Oftentimes, production crews only have a window of a few hours to set up all of the necessary audio and video equipment for the event. Members also need to make on-the-fly decisions and troubleshoot technical or logistical problems that arise during the production. A quick and knowledgeable crew is capable of resolving issues without affecting the event. A professional crew is able to provide clients with a sense of confidence as they are able to alleviate the stress of technical production from the client. A future trend in live event video production would be the shift from traditional broadcast communications truck to portable video production systems that are capable of live streaming in various video and audio formats. This would allow for event video production services to provide a higher quality, more efficient, and less expensive video production.

3.4 Post-Production Editing and Enhancements

The opportunity to improve the live coverage of an event, as well as extend its shelf life through on-demand viewing, is where the true value of live streaming is realized. Although a live event can be an enormous undertaking, its content can be repurposed for other uses. Post-event videos can be used for marketing materials, or perhaps to share knowledge with an audience unable to attend the event in person. Recorded material can also be used as a learning tool for trainees, new employees, or members who were unable to attend the live event. Through Video On Demand (VOD) capabilities, live event content can be shared and viewed for months and even years following the event. This is an attractive feature to event planners as it provides additional value to an event, and can actually increase an event’s attendance in subsequent years. Syndicating event content is another strategy employed by many companies and organizations which can be greatly enhanced through live streaming and VOD. Interviews with event speakers or perhaps a panel discussion can be compiled and edited for later syndication. With slow deliverable Internet services, there is still a digital divide in many countries who are unable to access the same information as first world countries. A digitally recorded event can be replicated and shipped to be used on localized servers in remote areas, thus making technology transfer a more reachable goal. Creating a package of digital content that can be used for distance learning is another way that event content can be used for knowledge transfer. Live streaming is the catalyst to these initiatives and provides a mean to easily create digital content in an era where effective use of multimedia is becoming increasingly prevalent.

4. Live Streaming Services Singapore Price

Lastly, there are companies such as Ustream, who offer services in both categories with the additional features of the professional grade services being an add-on to their consumer grade model.

Professional grade services are great for companies who are hosting events and plan to use live streaming as a recurring tool. The price is a subscription based model, where the client can be paying anything from $50 to $300 per month, and on top of this there is a price per hour of streamed bandwidth. This solution is highly scalable with higher end services offering dedicated accounts manager and much higher reliability and bandwidth allocation.

Consumer grade services are typically free to view, as their revenue is generated by leveraging the audience to ‘click through’ to a website that hosts the content on a higher traffic platform such as Justin.tv. These services are capable of getting the job done, but are limited by the reliability.

The pricing of live streaming services has a vast range, depending on the quality and complexity of the production. In order to understand what qualifies as ‘cheap’ or ‘expensive’, we need to identify the different pricing models live streaming companies work with. Generally, these can be simplified into 3 categories: Consumer grade services, Professional grade services, and there are suppliers that offer both.

4.1 Pricing Models for Live Streaming Services

The term pricing models refers to the various ways in which customers are usually charged for using the live streaming services. The most common pricing models are pay per view, monthly fees, and pay as you go. For pay per view, customers are usually charged a flat fee for the event that they wish to stream. An example would be the recent live streaming of the Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather fight in which viewers were charged an upfront fee to watch the match through live stream. Monthly fees allow the customers to pay a fixed sum of money each month to have unlimited access to live streaming services. This is typically aimed at organizations who plan to use live streaming as a means of communication and may have regular events that require live streaming. Finally, there is the pay as you go model where customers are charged depending on the amount of streaming that is done. This would be useful for customers who do not have regular live streaming events and only require the service on an ad hoc basis. From the customer’s point of view, choosing the right pricing model depends on the frequency of live streaming events and the budget that has been allocated for live streaming services. On the other hand, businesses providing live streaming services need to take into consideration the needs of their target customers and create a pricing model that is suitable and attractive to their target customers as well as being financially viable for the company.

4.2 Comparison of Different Service Providers

It would be impossible to compare all the different service providers within the context of this essay, thus only a few popular and widely used service providers will be compared. These are Livestream, Ustream, and Skype. Each of these providers offers differing services in terms of quality and cost of the stream to the user.

4.2 Comparison of different service providers

At the top end of the scale are pay-per-view services, which are often used for streaming major events such as boxing matches or music concerts. This would involve viewers paying a fee to access an event. This has the potential to draw high revenue, but there are also high costs associated with setting up this type of service.

There are providers who offer live streaming services free of charge for the client but will have the viewer endure advertisements during the stream. This could be a good option for NGOs with limited funds, as the costs are covered by the advertisement. However, it is important that the nature of the advertisements does not adversely affect the viewer’s perception of the organization.

There are various methods of charging for live streaming services. The most common method is charging by the duration of the event. This could be by the hour or by the day. This could be problematic for the broadcast of events such as sports, which could go into extra time. Another method of charging is a fixed cost for access to the stream. This could include both a one-off payment for access to an event or a subscription fee.

4.1 Pricing models for live streaming services

Section 4 Live streaming services in Singapore: Pricing and packages

Live event video streaming services: Enhancing virtual experiences Leonhard, D. and Cole, S. (2010). Dealing with the future: implementing sustainable telehealth programs. The Australian Journal of Rural Health, 18(3), pp. 113-118.

4.3 Additional Services and Add-ons

In order to further improve the viewing and auditory experience for their audience, event companies can consider adding on additional services and features. This can range from simple things such as providing subtitles to a more complicated task like setting up a live feed to allow the audience to interact with the event’s emcee in another location. These add-ons can increase the price of the package that the event company is paying for, but the increased audience engagement can create a more memorable event for the audience and increase the chances of them attending future events by the same company. Comparing add-ons between different service providers can help event companies make a decision on what additional services they would like to provide. An example of a simple add-on is the ability to provide Chinese subtitles. This can be useful for event companies whose audience is consist of both English and Chinese speaking individuals. They can easily switch between the two languages of subtitles to cater to both sets of audiences. Other examples of add-ons include providing a live Q&A session to allow the audience to ask the speakers questions in real time, and doing a live broadcast from a mobile device to show an event that is happening in another location.