Kaltura vs. Vimeo Enterprise

Kaltura is an excellent tool IF you have a large library of content. It can be pretty pricey so if you are early in launching an online program you may be better off waiting a few years until you've amassed a large enough catalog to warrant the investment in such a tool. The tool is best purchased by a University or company-wide vs having a single department try to find the budget for it. The unlimited plan pays for itself in most cases if you go this route. Secondly, you must be willing to invest time and resources into on-going training for your faculty and staff, especially for those who wish to create their own media and use the quizzing features.

Incentivized

Vimeo is much better for Live-streaming than other software or hardware based solutions. The Livestream Studio app runs on Macs and PCs with almost any hardware configuration. It allows you to have unlimited hardware HD and 4k inputs. 3 GFX channels and 3 media playback channels along with configurable outputs while streaming. The most unique tool is the remote guest feature which has a type of zoom function built in so you can have remote speakers join a livestream and easily hear, see, and interact with the program. This software can transform an iMac into a video production truck run by one person.

• Very easy to use interface for uploading videos or capturing a screen recording. There are very few clicks required to get the media up and running. The video conversion process that happens on the back-end is fast and provides videos in device agnostic formats.
• Integrates well with other systems, such as our Moodle LMS. This extends the capabilities of the LMS and also allows us to keep video/multimedia content organized in a central location (the KMC).
• Kaltura can be connected to various processes within your organization. For example, we have a system in place that allows a video lecture in a classroom to be uploaded to Kaltura in a very easy manner.
• User/role management is very important as some people on campus have more privileges to publish content than do others. We have Kaltura connected to our Single Sign-On solution for authentication and we can assign roles to specific people within the Kaltura software.

• Quality streaming of video - few if any hiccups.
• Embed options that allow for customization of video.
• Option to limit viewing to just one domain, so users can't share the video link with others who have not paid for the content.
• Easy upload process.

Incentivized

• As it relates to the LMS integration, we would like to see improved workflow. But that may be just as much a Canvas issue as a Kaltura issue.
• I would like to see the ability to add inline, anchored comments to the video timeline.
• We are seeing issues with compatibility with certain browsers - especially Chrome. The faster Kaltura can move away from Flash the better.
• The capture appliance (CaptureSpace Lite) needs to be reconsidered. It's not intutive enough.

Incentivized

• The editing features are very basic for an archived event, work for us most of the time but can be clunky.

Incentivized

The choice to renew our subscription does not belong to us, though we are able to provide input. We are aware of competitive products who have matured in the past three years, and we are aware now of alternatives to conventional plugin usage (LTI).

The layout is inconsistent for different parts of the platform, it takes a very long time to find specific settings. Labels aren't clear sometimes - not to the first-time/average user. They actually just changed the interface with zero warning or tooltips and had to contact support to get it back to the version our teachers are familiar with.

Incentivized

The first line support agents seldom are able to diagnose or troubleshoot any problems that we have. These agents simply open support tickets in their system which are escalated to a foreign level 2 support agent which creates at least a day delay between reporting a problem and getting initial feedback. Any back-and-forth questions add at least another day delay.

Incentivized

Generally Vimeo is fast to respond to support tickets with more or less the answer to the question/problem with documentation and clarity in the answer. Usually only takes on message to solve the issue.

Incentivized

Kaltura was the best option given the sheer volume of people we needed to support digitally. Others were better in their own regard, but due to limitations in number of attendees or sessions, Kaltura was the best option

Incentivized

Vimeo is awesome because it is a seamless experience that blends software and a cloud platform and end user experience. No other competitor offers a holistic solution the way Vimeo does. With other platforms you have to piece together multiple pieces of hardware and software and even with those pieces you don't get the same ease of use and performance that Vimeo gives you with their software and cloud solution

• Managing video content with the KMC has greatly reduced the amount of hours previously needed to manage.
• User issues ie: uploading video, viewing video has been greatly reduced.
• Increased user engagement with using video in LMS courses. We currently have 6,929 videos on our system. Last month , 2/1/14, 17,623 videos were viewed at least 75% of the way through.

• Positive ROI - the pricing is better than other comparable services with a better end result. So, the return on investment is significant since it is an inexpensive way to deliver what I need to my program users.
• Positive - their 30 day trial period is so helpful to be able to determine if this is truly a good investment for you/your business. I was able to do all that I needed to within the first 30 days for live video, then continue with keeping the embed links with the continuing monthly subscription.
• Positive - good analytics within the account (not Google Analytics with my level of subscription) so I can see how many users are viewing my videos, what devices they're on, and where they are in the world. This is all important for my business.

Incentivized