Likelihood to Recommend The teacher uses IBM Video Streaming to record and upload instructional videos on various subjects, such as math problem-solving techniques or grammar lessons. Students watch these videos at home as homework and then apply what they've learned in class through collaborative projects and hands-on activities. This approach allows the teacher to spend more time providing individual support where needed.
Read full review Powtoon is a very capable suite of tools that help a developer create training videos that look way better than they should. I've used it to create fun, attention-getting commercials for new topics, I've used it to enhance what would otherwise be boring step-by-step tutorials, and I've used it to create all manner of "Explainer videos" for all kinds of topics - this is where it EXCELS! In my opinion, its biggest limitations are limits on imported video (max of 90 seconds), which mean that you have to do a lot of extra work to break up and import anything of substantive length. And because it presents your personal library of imported images and audio ONLY sequentially, it's VERY LIMITED in the re-usability of those assets - it's way faster to just import a new instance of an image and audio than to try to find it in your library.
Read full review Pros It allows us to stream without special equipment. We mainly use our phones. The quality of the videos is amazing and I love the fact that videos auto-save and you can download and edit them for later. The program allows you to create playlists so that we can stream on our online channel 24/7 Read full review Powtoon is very easy to use; no previous experience is needed. It has a lot of features (images, backgrounds, videos, sounds, etc.) It automatically saves your work After you have created your video, you can download it to your computer in different resolutions Read full review Cons 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. Read full review Comparing it to Vyond, it is more time consuming to make videos. The timeline could be easier to understand. They recently started upcharging to use some scenes. This has made updating some of my videos challenging as the scenes that were included as part of my plan are now an upgrade to use. They don't have a voice over option. I have actually taken some of the videos out of the platform over to Vyond to add voiceover. Some items they have introduced, like turning a powerpoint into a video really don't work. Read full review Likelihood to Renew 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
Read full review Usability 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.
Read full review Reliability and Availability 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
Read full review Performance 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
Read full review Support Rating 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.
Read full review I have never needed the support feature. As I mentioned, everything was intuitive to me however I have taught myself Adobe, Final Cut and
iMovie so most of these programs became intuitive.
Read full review Implementation Rating 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.
Read full review Alternatives Considered 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.
Read full review Powtoon has the advantage over traditional video editing software in terms of the library of characters and elements that can be easily dragged and dropped onto the canvas. Powtoon is easier to use and has a more intuitive user interface than
Vyond .
Read full review Scalability IBM global network.
Read full review Return on Investment 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. Read full review We don't have to spend money on traveling to a location to do an actual live shoot. I'm spending less time on hand animating videos. We used these to create teaser videos for our professional development offerings. I believe because of the captivating graphics, we had a lot more people driven to our site. Read full review ScreenShots IBM Video Streaming Screenshots