The world of entertainment has undergone a significant transformation and the rise of on-demand video software has brought in a plethora of opportunities to build successful businesses. According to Techjury (2020), experts predict that the video streaming industry is expected to generate a whopping $124.6 billion in revenue by the year 2025.
So have you ever wondered what you would require to build such a video-on-demand platform? Well, we’ve done some groundwork, and in this article, we’ll talk about the must-have features for a great video-on-demand software.
What is a Video On Demand Software Service?
Technically speaking, a Video On Demand Software Service, or VOD, is a media application software that allows users to choose and stream videos of their choice from a listed library, giving them the flexibility to watch at a time of their convenience.
Simply put, it enables entrepreneurs & media businesses to host popular video content like movies, tv shows, events & music videos and lets customers view these whenever they want, from any device that they wish to.
What makes Video On Demand Platforms really popular is the flexibility and vastitude of options that are available to users. Take Netflix for example – thousands of popular movies and tv shows to choose from, and users who have a simple subscription can access this whenever they want to. Plus, they have the option to save their playlists, get personalized recommendations based on their interests and activities, share them with their peers, and can access it from any device they wish.
Before we get into the essential features that a video on demand software should have, it’s crucial to understand what is the purpose behind it. The foundational goal is to give users access to the video content that you curate as conveniently as possible. The more you emphasize this, the more you expand your reach.
How Do Video On Demand Platforms Work?
In general, a VOD platform works by storing video content online so that it is easily available to users. This content is then integrated with a video content management system that is tailored to deliver a gratifying, personalized viewing experience. Additionally, many video-on-demand platforms incorporate multiple features like playlist curation, personalized recommendations & multiple profile accessibility so that the video streaming experience is enhanced.
The important thing to understand here is that the product isn’t really the platform; it is the viewing experience in itself. A video-on-demand platform simply doesn’t store video content; instead, it combines it with added functionality to build the best video experience possible.
Most broadcasters generally use a video-on-demand software to host and manage their content. In case you’re looking for something that will help you do that, check out iScripts VisualCaster. It is a one-of-a-kind video streaming solution designed to help you launch on-demand video platforms, similar to Netflix, without going through all the hassle.
Essential Features For A Video On Demand Software
While developing a video-on-demand software, you must understand that some core features are very integral and there are others that are more or less an added bonus. However, a lot of these features come together to create a unique viewing experience and for that matter, they can be quite essential too.
1. Video Content Management System
This is the most crucial core requirement when it comes to building video-on-demand software. A robust video CMS is integral in managing and organizing the video content library while at the same time, allowing administrators to upload, categorize, and manage metadata for videos, including titles, descriptions, genres, tags, and thumbnails. This allows users to easily access the kind of content they wish to view.
Therefore, it’s important to note that your video CMS should be aimed at reaching the right audience, creating a seamless experience, and maximizing the return on investment. Ideally, it should help the user to access the content they wish to view and save easily, as well as make it convenient for you to manage content in the backend.
2. Monetization & Payment Integration Gateway
Deciding upon the kind of monetization for your video-on-demand streaming software largely depends on your needs and the business model you adopt should be successful in creating recurring revenue. In general, there are three different types of monetization methods that you can implement – subscription-based video on demand, transactional video on demand, and advertising-based video on demand.
Subscription-based video on demand, or SVOD, works just like your traditional television subscription model. Users pay a monthly subscription fee (usually every month) and is given access to unlimited content. Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu are all examples of businesses that follow this model. This is often preferred as it gives businesses a more predictable revenue.
On the other hand, Transactional Video On Demand model, or TVOD, requires users to pay a specific price for either a single or a series of content. This may come in two different options, where either you pay once and receive access to the content permanently or you pay for a limited amount of time. Amazon Prime Video is perhaps the biggest example of a video-on-demand platform that follows this model.
Lastly, there is the Advertising Based Video On Demand, or AVOD. What separates this model from the other two is that usually, the content is accessible for free. The catch is that it comes with ads and so, users pay for an ad-free streaming service. However, if you’re adopting this business model for your video-on-demand software, understand that advertising revenue is usually paid on a per-view basis at low rates.
Once you’ve fixed on a suitable model(s), comes the next part of integrating a secure payment gateway that allows users to make transactions and access content without any hurdles. It should integrate seamlessly into your video-on-demand software providing the customers with a great user experience. Make sure to support a variety of payment methods to cater to diverse user preferences and at the same time, prioritize security to protect sensitive user information and financial data.
3. Video Transcoding & Encoding
Your users are going to access and view your content from multiple devices and so, various types of viewing will require various file sizes. Essentially, what this means is that your video-on-demand software should have the capability to transcode video into different sizes, file types, playback scenarios and more. This feature will allow the transcoding to happen automatically and will give your users the best viewing experience possible.
To simplify, what VOD transcoding does is that it enables your users to watch videos in the best quality possible according to their internet connectivity. This is often referred to as adaptive bitrate streaming. Further, your video-on-demand platform should utilize optimized transcoding settings to achieve a balance between file size reduction and visual fidelity. This helps to optimize storage space, bandwidth usage, and streaming performance. Additionally, your VOD software should also include an HTML 5 video player to manage adaptive playback.
4. Privacy & Security
If you’re planning on really being in the VOD software service industry, you’ve got to ensure that uploading videos to your video-on-demand platform is really secure. It is crucial for the media companies and partnerships that you work with to have the assurance that their VOD content privacy is secure when stored on your platform.
Coming to the features specifically, your video-on-demand software must employ robust data encryption techniques to secure user information, including personal details, payment data, and viewing history to prevent unauthorized access and ensure that sensitive data remains confidential. HTTPS & SSL protocols should be mandatory.
Moreover, the VOD software must implement strong user authentication mechanisms, such as username & password combinations, and two-factor authentications. You have to make sure the content you upload can only be accessed through authorized channels, preventing illegal copying or sharing.
5. Seamless User Flow
This cannot be described as a single feature alone, but rather a combination of a lot of different features and functionalities. Your goal is to provide users with easy access to the uploaded video content and make the entire process from signing up and subscribing to viewing the videos seamless.
On a very foundational level, your video-on-demand software should help users find specific videos or content based on keywords, titles, genres, or tags. User registration and authentication should be optimized to reduce friction, i.e., they should be able to create accounts, sign in, and manage their profiles without much hassle.
Additionally, the options to save playlists, view watch history, watch offline, and the ability to resume watching from where they left off can all enhance the quality of the viewing experience. But what has perhaps topped the charts is the feature that provides personalized recommendations based on user preferences and activity, as this pushes your audience to use your VOD platform more. Social media sharing options have also grown to be essential features, and keep in mind that they can be a great marketing tool as well.
6. Analytics, Reporting & Admin Dashboard
Finally, your video-on-demand software must also make things easier for you. Having a user-friendly and powerful admin dashboard is vital for effectively managing content, users, and overall platform administration. It allows easy content management, user management, and access to valuable analytics for informed decision-making. Furthermore, incorporating moderation tools assists in reviewing and managing user-generated content (which are mostly reviews or comments), ensuring high quality and adherence to community guidelines.
Secondly, in-depth analytics offer valuable insights into user behavior, viewing habits, popular content, and engagement metrics. This information plays a key role in making well-informed decisions regarding content selection, marketing approaches, and enhancements to the platform.
Final Thoughts
So far we’ve discussed the integral aspects that define a great video-on-demand software, including the core features as well as the additional ones. Even though consumer behaviour is always evolving, convenience continues to be the foundational requirement that a user looks for in a platform. Your goal is to cater to that requirement and build a great video-on-demand platform out of it.
Just think about the very reason people moved from television to on-demand video platforms. People could watch what they want, whenever they want on any device they have handy. This is what keeps your users delighted and your goal is to keep improving the bits and frails, providing both convenience and quality.
So where do you start? How do you begin building your own video-on-demand platform? Start with iScripts VisualCaster, which is an on-demand video streaming software that helps you create your own Netflix-style platform. With this solution, you can easily provide your customers with awesome video streaming services and customize features according to the way you want. You’ll have complete control over managing, uploading, distributing, and streaming any video content of your choice without going through the trouble of starting everything from scratch.
If you’re excited about your own Netflix software, then there’s nothing stopping you from checking out the free VisualCaster demo. And if you want to up your game, we’ve got branded iOS and Android apps as well.
Check out iScripts VisualCaster
