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Ustream/IBM: Very dependable, needs minor product tweaks
Updated October 21, 2020

Ustream/IBM: Very dependable, needs minor product tweaks

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

Streaming Manager (Ustream Pro Broadcast)

Modules Used

  • Ustream eCDN (IBM Cloud Video Enterprise Content Delivery Network)

Overall Satisfaction with IBM Watson Media's Video Streaming

I manage live streaming for our university’s central communications office. I’ve used Ustream/IBM Watson Media's Video Streaming to centralize the streaming of major university events to one channel. I’ve also helped our smaller division set up their own channels for their events.

[Updated review on 10/2020: I decided to update this review after IBM stripped one more piece of useful functionality (a simple YouTube integration) without notice this week, and after many months of glitches in their web CMS and cloud platform. We have been a "metal plan" (self-serve) customer for years, and unfortunately, I can no longer recommend this product that deliver excellent performance for a good price. The price now is too high for what it currently delivers, relative to market peers. Save your money and look elsewhere if you're budget is below $20K per year for a live/VOD platform for your company.]
  • Rock-solid performance [updated review on 10/2020: not as reliable as 12 months ago]
  • Good video management system back-end [updated review on 10/2020: glitchy, waning engineering support]
  • Easy for non-technical users to grasp quickly
  • Invoicing - would like to see email notification/automation [updated review on 10/2020: Improved - of course, because it helps them collect $]
  • Updated templates for embedding channels on web pages [updated review on 10/2020: No major changes]
  • Beefing up event notification and functionality and subscription opportunities (this was stripped away earlier) [Updated review on 10/2020: Nothing new here]
Very solid performance. Friendly, supportive and responsive customer support. Great job to those on the front lines. You’ve kept me from canceling a few times in the past!

[updated review on 10/2020: IBM has very solid streaming infrastructure in place, and a live stream very seldom has any issues. But many other aspects of their streaming service has had significant glitches recently. If you're a "whale" customer looking to spend $50K a year or more on streaming, IBM may serve you well. But if you're a small to medium-sized business who wants to significantly over-pay for IBM Video's so-called self-serve, or "metal" plans, you will find great customer support but significantly lacking engineering support and product management. You could probably get a much better deal with Vimeo and other vendors in the sub-$15K annual range.]

IBM Video Streaming Feature Ratings

4.2
Lead generation
5
Video personalization
5
eCommerce
1
Support for advertisements
5
Video SEO
5
Video Platform Integrations ()
Not Rated
6.6
Video access controls
7
User management
4
Video link sharing
8
Internal video
6
External video
8
6.8
Player customization
6
Embedded videos
6
Video quality / Bandwidth controls
8
Mobile compatibility
7
6.3
Streaming quality reports
7
Per viewer tracking
5
Per video tracking
5
Video analytics dashboard
8
8.3
On-Demand video
8
Live streaming
10
Impact of streaming on network
9
Video upload & format support
7
Video library / File management
8
Video portal
8
6.3
Audience polling
8
Audience Q&A / Live chat
8
Video comments
3

IBM Watson Media's Video Streaming Implementation