IBM Video Streaming

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
IBM Video Streaming
Score 8.7 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
IBM Video Streaming solutions are used to stream virtual events, executive town halls, video marketing product launches, and 24-hour streaming channels. According to IBM, the solution is built for privacy, reliability and scale, to optimize video quality, and powered by IBM Watson AI for video search and automated closed captioning. IBM Enterprise Video Streaming can power security-rich video communications ranging from employee town halls, to…
$137
per month 100 viewer hours
Pricing
IBM Video Streaming
Editions & Modules
Silver
$137
per month 100 viewer hours
Gold
$688
per month 2,000 viewer hours
Platinum
$1380
per month 5,000 viewer hours
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
IBM Video Streaming
Free Trial
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Yes
Entry-level Setup FeeOptional
Additional DetailsVideo Streaming edition is available for purchase via credit card online (or via IBM salesperson if needs exceed those outlined in the online plans). Enterprise Video Streaming edition must be purchased from an IBM salesperson.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
IBM Video Streaming
Considered Both Products
IBM Video Streaming
Chose IBM Video Streaming
The ability to scale the platform, as well as its ability to interface with other IBM systems, was the reason they decided to use it. Integral to the concept of an advanced analytics suite was the comparative advantage it had over other competitors and analysis tools crucial …
Chose IBM Video Streaming
There weren't a lot of other enterprise offerings out there at the time we signed up for IBM. The market is changing though and would probably look at other offerings to see how they stack up too.
Chose IBM Video Streaming
Vimeo offers better tools for on-demand like chapters and marketing tools. But their live options are limited to event durations. YouTube can stream for longer durations but IBM 24/7 stream has been much more reliable and easy to use.
Chose IBM Video Streaming
We did experiment with other services when we started but quality, convenience, and pricing were the best with USTREAM.
Chose IBM Video Streaming
The features given by Ustream for broadcasting live events where not comparable to its competitors. The amount of information retrived about the audience is the real added value that was given by Ustream. Information on viewers is fundamental not only in the production of video …
Chose IBM Video Streaming
IBM just had more features than Livestream, Youtube Live, etc, particularly security and reporting. There was no other vendor we could trust with our clients' sensitive data. This was most important when creating internal educational, onboarding, or training content where …
Chose IBM Video Streaming
This platform was much more straight forward and did not require additional software vendors to implement.
Chose IBM Video Streaming
It's hard to compete against YouTube as it's a household name. While Ustream may not have been around for a long time, it's gain in popularity in such a short span is a testament to it's service and features. JPL must have been impressed with the product to choose Ustream for …
Chose IBM Video Streaming
The main reasons I would recommend Ustream over other competitors are: SSO integration, how accessible/responsive support is, the ease of use for the viewer, the consumption/seat model is easy to understand, server side encoding to multiple bitrates/qualities, ability to …
Chose IBM Video Streaming
When this project was evaluating streaming providers in 2013, Livestream was the closest to uStream in feature set. However, we found the packages that uStream provided were financially better considering the volume of customers who were going to stream our content. We also …
Chose IBM Video Streaming
Ustream had more experience than many of their competitors, they were also able to beat them on price. I have looked at Livestream and they seem to be geared more towards broadcasters and news outlets. They offer easy to use and affordable cameras, revenue sharing ads and many …
Chose IBM Video Streaming
Ustream Align is a much better product than Pro and Enterprise for different reasons. The pro version just doesn't do enough and The enterprise version lacked the ability to secure channels and videos the way that we have been able to using Ustream Align. All in all a much …
Chose IBM Video Streaming
For the service and because some of my clients need many streaming feeds that Facebook Live can't provide for them.
Chose IBM Video Streaming
Because Ustream has become such a popular service, there are many more that have followed after it. You can find a variety of similar options that might have more customization or a lower price tag. However, the scalability and reputation this platform has achieved will keep my …
Chose IBM Video Streaming
Ustream was hands down the best option. When we were doing our research, I was able to download the tool and immediately start streaming, it was incredibly intuitive. The other tools were much more complicated and difficult to use.
Chose IBM Video Streaming
Ustream was one of few vendors who provided the ability to broadcast prerecorded events. Ease of use was a major factor in our purchasing decision.
Chose IBM Video Streaming
Ustream is a great solution for companies to have a secure way to let their employees be up to date with important information regarding their employer. It is easy to use and share streams with any one with the required company credentials to be up to date and informed on the …
Chose IBM Video Streaming
IBM Cloud Video is the most professional and easiest to use out of all of them. While you certainly pay for these things, they are worth it if your company is serious about doing video streaming the right way.
Chose IBM Video Streaming
We were going to go with the "free"/unsupported route with YouTube Live, but Ustream has really allowed us to be more "hands off" with stability and security so that we can focus on the fun stuff like promotion.
Chose IBM Video Streaming
We have looked at a range of platforms - Livestream, Oolya, Brightcove, NeuLion, YouTube, Facebook etc., and all platforms have their pros and cons. The points raised earlier are the key changes that need to be made form our perspective to improve the platform. Offering direct …
Chose IBM Video Streaming
I do not believe we have used any other products.
Best Alternatives
IBM Video Streaming
Small Businesses
Vimeo
Vimeo
Score 8.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Vimeo
Vimeo
Score 8.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Kaltura
Kaltura
Score 8.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
IBM Video Streaming
Likelihood to Recommend
7.6
(128 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.9
(8 ratings)
Usability
8.9
(62 ratings)
Availability
9.0
(3 ratings)
Performance
8.3
(3 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(9 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.1
(60 ratings)
Configurability
6.0
(3 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.1
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.1
(3 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
7.6
(3 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
7.6
(3 ratings)
User Testimonials
IBM Video Streaming
Likelihood to Recommend
IBM
Very limited customization features. Permissions are a mess too if you want to have people assigned as chat moderators for events for instance, but dont want them access to the admin panel. The quality of the broadcast and live captions work well, but they charge extra for live captions. For operating a video on demand site, the design of the page is really poor and limited on customization. Been a user for years and seen almost no new innovation on the platform which has been disappointing. The metrics are a mess on the user panels too. They do provide an api link for your external metrics and/or data dumps for using something like tableau, but that features not really something to write home about and a rather basic offering. This is an expensive platform with limited options and an outdated style unfortunately. We have been getting by for our uses but there's nothing really keeping us with IBM if another platform offering came around
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Pros
IBM
  • IBM Video Streaming allows for the integration of interactive elements into video content, such as quizzes, polls, and live Q&A sessions. This can make learning more engaging for young students by making it interactive and fun, thus increasing their attention and participation.
  • Teachers in a K-5 setting can access and share professional development materials and teaching resources through the platform. This can help them stay updated on the best practices for early childhood education, innovative teaching methods, and subject-specific strategies, ultimately benefiting their students.
  • IBM Video Streaming provides the capability for teachers to create a library of on-demand educational videos. This is particularly useful for young learners who may need to revisit concepts multiple times to fully understand them. It also supports differentiated learning by allowing students to learn at their own pace.
  • Young students often benefit from visual aids in their learning process. IBM Video Streaming can deliver high-quality video content that includes animations, demonstrations, and visual explanations of concepts. This can be particularly effective in subjects like science, math, and reading, where visualizations can enhance understanding.
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Cons
IBM
  • Occasionally, we experience a form of static that lasts for about 1 to 2 minutes. It appears in the live stream and in the auto-recorded file, but not in the live worship assembly. It occurs roughly 1 in every 4 hours of webcast time. I wish there was a way to trace the source of that recurring static. The diagnostic tools could be more robust.
  • It would be nice if the chat room allowed a user photo/avatar for each user to personalize that a little more.
  • I have wished for a way that an admin could use a “laser pointer” on the video window to point out something on the feed that other live viewers could see.
  • It would be wonderful to have a mini-tutorial for viewers who are not technically savvy that would inform them of how to get to the site and explain how they can use the software. For example, how they can see and type in the chat room, how to maximize the screen and make it smaller. Some of our viewers are in nursing homes or otherwise limited in capability to learn to use this on their own.
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Likelihood to Renew
IBM
Our organization depends heavily on this streaming service. Now that we have the option of allowing our clients to attend meetings virtually, we can never retract that option as so many of our clients love the flexibility. Also, we have no complaints with the service itself. It is reliable and dependable and any issues we have encountered have never been to blame on the service but rather our lack of knowledge of it or needing to update our embed code
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Usability
IBM
The user interface is pretty straightforward, but simply needs optimization. (Please hire a seasoned UX person to fix it.) However, all of the key features are there and understandable. It's a great platform overall, a bit expensive, and could use some more options for its viewing experience, and a better "smart" embedding window for mobile applications.
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Reliability and Availability
IBM
Absolutely. We have never had an outage problem or any application errors that I have been privy to. We are duly notified generally in advance of outages or updates
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Performance
IBM
As we use it now, we are satisfied with the streaming performance. I cannot speak to integration yet as we have yet to engage in that but have plans to in the future
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Support Rating
IBM
We funded 'white glove' service as our timelines were tight and our needs were well-defined. Tier 1 and Tier 2 support were able to help us get up and running in shorter order than we would have on our own. Documentation on the eCDN product had gaps, increasing the time to resolve and created concerns about success.
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Implementation Rating
IBM
Ustream is easy to implement. It takes any stream we have thrown its way and distributed it quickly and with quality. When talking to others that are pursuing live stream implementations, I often remind them that the technology used to distribute your live stream is less important than the quality of the content you are distributing. Taking care to use the right camera equipment, the proper encoder, and quality sound gear will result in a high-quality stream that will allow the strength of the Ustream CDN to shine.
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Alternatives Considered
IBM
Vimeo offers better tools for on-demand like chapters and marketing tools. But their live options are limited to event durations. YouTube can stream for longer durations but IBM 24/7 stream has been much more reliable and easy to use.
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Scalability
IBM
IBM global network.
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Return on Investment
IBM
  • Our ROI is measured by the provision of ministry and satisfaction of our congregation. We are extremely pleased with our USTREAM and feel that it is a valuable asset to our church.
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ScreenShots

IBM Video Streaming Screenshots

Screenshot of the viewer's portal experience (channel page).Screenshot of how the automatically generated closed captions can be edited if necessary.Screenshot of the Analytics Console.Screenshot of the Watson Media CMSScreenshot of the viewer's portal experience (channel page).