Item: IBM Video Streaming
Rating: 10
Author: JD Larsen

Overall Satisfaction with IBM Cloud Video (including Ustream)

Implementation Rating

Don't use the blackmagic device that they recommend. It's garbage, overheats, doesn't do HD, and audio is choppy. Instead, get an inexpensive HDMI video switcher, and a decent laptop.

Usability

With 1 or 2 practice runs, pretty much any halfway savvy computer user can learn to run the Ustream meeting.

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Ustream to live stream all of our technology group's all hands meetings. We also use it for our annual district meetings and annual stockholder's meeting. We store the videos on the Ustream website for later viewing as well. This allows folks that are scattered around the globe to view the information live, and lets people watch it after the fact in case they missed it.

Pros and Cons

Pros

We frequently have over 150 concurrent users streaming the content during the meeting without bandwidth issues.
The Ustream producer tool is awesome.
The customer support we've received when we've had questions has always been fantastic.

Cons

We had some issues finding equipment and hardware that works well with the producer, but we've been able to find hardware now that works well for what we need.
There were a few times when audio wouldn't work or was choppy, and we would have to restart the streaming laptop to resolve the issue.
We've had some issues presenting content coming directly from a presentation PC instead of the camera, it took some time to figure that out.
Getting multiple cameras to work was a challenge since the bus would get overloaded with multiple HDMI/USB inputs. We ended up buying a switcher and that solved all of our problems. I wish Ustream had recommended that setup from day one.

IBM Cloud Video Business Outcomes

We've saved thousands of dollars in travel costs for our meetings and that savings will continue to increase the more we use it. More people are able to view the meeting content so our message is getting out to a wider audience.

Alternatives Considered

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.

Likelihood to Recommend

It is perfect for streaming 1-way content live, and for viewing recorded meetings after the fact. It is not suited for 2-way video, or situations where you want to hear or talk to people that are remote. There is about a 30 second to 1 minute delay between Live and what they are seeing remotely.

Comments

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Bob Lee
commented 8 years ago
Hi JD. Bob from the Voice of the Customer team here at Ustream, an IBM Company. Thank you for your review of our platform. We're thrilled that it's working well for you and really appreciate your insights. I'll pass your thoughts about the gear recommendations to our Customer Success team so they can ensure that they're making the best recommendations possible. Thanks Again.

Ustream is a lifesaver! Before Ustream we were using WebEx conference calls and the experience was horrible!

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