IBM's Ustream is a great service for live streaming corporate productions internationally.
Updated July 12, 2019
IBM's Ustream is a great service for live streaming corporate productions internationally.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Software Version
Streaming Manager (Ustream Pro Broadcast)
Overall Satisfaction with IBM Watson Media's Video Streaming
We have used IBM's Ustream for several years to broadcast a corporate event to a large international manufacturing firm - a client of my company. It's being used by my production team and shared with the client's entire international organization across multiple states and countries. Employees from all over US, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and many other countries were able to tune in and view their local team compete in a company wide competition. The software is easy to use, reliable, and an affordable option to establish a private, secure, and dedicated connection for live streaming - something that is integral for this particular situation as privacy & access are major concerns.
- Privacy Settings - very easy to establish a variety of security levels depending on the project.
- Publishing features are simple and easy to use. Not only can I publish the stream immediately after the live event is over, but I can upload to youtube directly.
- Communication - I can talk directly with the viewers of the stream in the event that their are questions or concerns
- The interface - though easy to use - is a bit dated. It does seem that it could be updated a bit.
- Browser exclusive streaming - it would be nice if the streaming service could be more directly integrated with streaming services/apps such as Youtube or a Ustream App. Maybe it is, but at the time I used it, i was unfamiliar with this option.
- Pricing options - though I think it is affordable, it's a bit difficult to determine what level I need to purchase. It might be nice to see more options in terms of pricing.
I would say we are not looking at massive concurrent viewership - our numbers are in the 1000s - but for our purposes where our client's employees from facilities across the world are able to tune in and see their coworkers compete with other teams, it is reliable and capable of handling more than we need at any given time.
As far as I understand, I haven't utilized this feature, or at least was unaware that it was running in the background. With that said, I am glad to know I have a backup process in place to make sure our live stream events go on without a hitch and that gives me peace of mind.
We primarily are concerned that our client's users have access to the stream by a private, password protected link. I assume they are accessing by their mobile device, PCs, and have a variety of internet strengths. Having the ability to work cross platform is helpful so that users in Mexico, America, Japan, etc can equally have access to the content. The metrics are helpful for us to know which plants are able to tune in and which have trouble tuning in.
I am not using this capability but would love to have it - especially if it translates to other common languages (spanish, french, etc...)
IBM Video Streaming Feature Ratings
Using IBM Watson Media's Video Streaming
3 - They team members using ustream are producers and technical directors, responsible for executing and live switching steaming productions. The producers may be responsible for publishing the stream and its necessary details as well as sharing the link with the client. The technical directors will directly interface the video feed with the ustream platform.
A good understanding of video is helpful, but also the basics for knowing how to publish web content are helpful as it’s similar to uploading a video to YouTube, only you are creating a live event. You need to be able to communicate between video logistics and web management in order to have a successful experience with upstream.
- General Streaming
- Private corporate events
- House concerts