VOD streaming, also known as video on demand streaming, is a topic that has become increasingly popular over the last few years. It all started with the decline in TV watching. Now, this may seem inaccurate. But it’s true. If you think about your daily consumption of content – how much of that is on traditional TV? Our guess? Not much. But that doesn’t mean you’re not consuming content. All it means is that your content consumption happens via other methods. One of those is VOD streaming.
Let’s get into this in a bit more detail:
VOD streaming allows viewers to choose when they consume content and how much of it they would like to consume at a time. Think about your most recently watched content – maybe you binged watched the latest TV show on Netflix. Or you’ve been watching an old favorite over the past six months.
With traditional TV, you don’t have much choice – you have to consume their content when it airs. More so, you probably have to watch ads in between, too.
VOD streaming has given viewers flexibility. Streaming giants like Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+ have all jumped on this video on demand bandwagon – and it’s highly successful for them.
So, in this post, we will give you the full breakdown of exactly what VOD streaming is, how you can monetize it, and which are the top video streaming platforms.
Let’s dive straight in!
What is VOD Streaming?
You may have heard or read the term “VOD streaming” before, but what exactly is it? Firstly, VOD stands for “video on demand.” This describes the way in which viewers can access content from an online video library. Essentially, the “on demand” part of “video on demand” tells us that videos can be played from this library anywhere, at any time. All you need is a steady internet connection. Libraries can consist of a range of videos. These can be anything from online class videos to movies, TV series, documentaries, and more.
In fact, most people use VOD streaming daily. It is the preferred method for consuming content today because it’s convenient, reliable, and flexible.
How Does VOD (Video on Demand) Really Work?
If you’re wondering how to start using VOD streaming, you’ve come to the right place. Video on demand is not very complex for the end user. In fact, it works pretty simply, provided you have the right video on demand streaming platform.
But we’ll get back to VOD platforms in a bit. For now, let’s look at how video on demand works, step by step:
Step 1: Invest in a VOD platform: The first step is to invest in a modern, measurable, and adaptable VOD platform. These platforms are designed to host, stream, and manage your video on demand content. They also make your videos available to your customers, either via subscriptions or once-off transactions. We will get into the detail of video monetization platforms a bit later. Before choosing your VOD platform, check out our blog on ten things to look for when selecting your ideal VOD streaming platform.
Step 2: Record your video: The next step for content creators is to start recording videos. This can be done via any desired equipment, provided the video is recorded and edited at the correct resolutions for VOD streaming. You can check these settings on your VOD platform.
Step 3: Edit your video: Once you have recorded your video, it’s important to take some time to edit it. That’s right; every video needs some extent of editing. Most content creators edit videos to cut them at specific points, add music, or, most commonly, add voiceover. Once your video is the correct specifications and is a complete piece, you can move on to the VOD portion of this process.
Step 4: Upload your video to the VOD platform: Log into your VOD platform and start to upload videos! Some video monetization platforms allow you to bulk upload videos, saving you time and effort. Once uploaded, you can categorize and create permissions for each video. This way, each video is carefully protected and managed by your video on demand platform automatically.
Step 5: Stream your video to customers: Once it is uploaded with the necessary categorization and permissions, it’s time to make them available to your members. Your VOD streaming platform should help you manage your content and allow customers with certain memberships to access corresponding videos or libraries.
Step 6: Measure your video’s success: Last but not least, you should use your VOD platform’s reporting capabilities to measure your video’s success. By analyzing the performance data, you’ll be able to quickly determine which content performs best – and create more content similar to your top-performing pieces. This allows creators to become more agile, relevant, and successful.
What is the Difference Between Live and VOD Streaming?
You may be asking yourself, “What is the difference between live streaming and VOD streaming?” The truth is that they are not the same thing. The major difference between live and VOD streaming is how the viewer interacts with the content:
Are they watching the content live?
OR
Are they watching the content on demand when it’s convenient for them?
Here’s a table of differences between live streaming and VOD streaming:
Live Streaming |
VOD Streaming |
| Watching content live, such as sports games. | Watching content at your leisure, like on Netflix. |
| Live shows on things like cable TV. | Pre-recorded videos are uploaded to a library. |
| Lower quality streams due to the live element. | Higher quality videos at any given time. |
| Limited replays of the content are available. | Great pausing, stopping, rewinding, and fast-forwarding capabilities. |
VOD Streaming Monetization Models: All You Need to Know
When you sign up for a video monetization platform, you should always look at which monetization models that platform offers. Why?
Well, the chosen monetization model will determine your pricing model, costing, and, ultimately, your profit margins.
There are three main VOD streaming monetization models available today:
- AVOD: Advertising-based video on demand is when viewers access and consume content for free. The way in which this model makes money is via advertisements which are aired on the platforms. Viewers would pay because they would watch ads instead of paying an actual fee.
- SVOD: Subscription-based video on demand is the most common monetization model around. Here, viewers pay a monthly or annually recurring fee to access a video library. Netflix and Hulu are great examples of this model. This model is favored due to it providing recurring revenue to content creators.
- TVOD: Transactional-based video on demand is where you pay for a certain amount of content in a specific timeframe. Sometimes, TVOD is done for one piece of content. For example, you pay $3.99 to rent a movie for two days. TVOD, also known as pay-per-view, is still quite popular today. Examples include iTunes, Amazon’s Video Store, and Google Play.
Top VOD Streaming Platforms to Consider in 2023
Now that you know what VOD streaming is and how it works, here’s a list of the top VOD platforms to check out in 2023:
Dacast
Dacast is a VOD streaming platform that is known to be robust and modern. It is a popular choice amongst content creators because it can securely distribute your content to people around the globe. A convenient feature of this VOD platform is that it allows you to share a number of videos at once, saving you time and effort when managing content. Dacast is also known for its incredible analytics dashboard, which helps you monitor your video performance. You can also choose between SVOD, TVOD, or AVOD monetization models with Dacast. However, the downside is that some creators find the Dacast interface quite complex. It takes a while to get used to the dashboard’s multiple layers.
Pricing:
- Starter: Starts from $39/month
- Event: Starts from $63/month
- Scale: Starts from $188/month
- High Volume Needs: Custom pricing
Uscreen
Uscreen is a VOD platform high up there, along with Dacast and a few others. This video on demand platform is known for its HD live streaming capabilities. With this VOD streaming platform, you can customize your mobile app and site to match your business color scheme. Uscreen also has a community feature which helps creators and freelancers to keep the conversation going with their customers. But Uscreen does have one disadvantage: You will need to pay 0.50 per subscriber monthly in addition to your monthly subscription. This doesn’t sound like too much, but it can quickly become pricey as your VOD business grows.
Pricing:
- Basic Starts from $79/month (+ 0.50 per subscriber per month)
- Growth Starts from $159/month (+ 0.50 per subscriber per month)
- Uscreen Plus: Custom pricing
Mastera
Mastera is a premium video on demand platform built for creators, freelancers, instructors, and entrepreneurs. That’s right – this platform was built with the mindset that anyone can sell their passion online. This is what sets Mastera apart from other VOD streaming platforms out there. This video monetization platform comes with a range of features designed to help creators easily manage their content, customers, and monetization models. Mastera offers live streaming and VOD streaming via a video library.
What’s more, is that Mastera offers you unlimited content and customers. All its plans also have 0% transaction fees – a fantastic feature once things start scaling up in your business. This VOD platform is also contract-free, so you don’t have to worry about committing to long-term contracts when signing up.
Pricing:
- Starter: $39/month
- Premium: $99/month
- Elite: $199/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Thinkific
Thinkific is a well-known platform within the online learning community today. The online streaming platform is all about helping people create and sell courses online. Thinkific is also known for its community-building feature. The online teaching platform focuses on offering clients an opportunity to sell memberships to their customers. You are also able to customize your domain or web theme on Thinkific. The platform does offer a free version, although it is limited. The plans are quite expensive, and it is a platform more geared to online learning than VOD. So, if you’re looking for both features in one, Mastera or Thinkific would be good choices.
Pricing:
- Free: $0/month
- Basic: Starts from $36/month
- Start: Starts from $74/month
- Grow: Starts from $149/month
- Plus: Custom pricing
Teachable
This is one of the most renowned online learning platforms. Teachable is known for its simplicity and ease of use. It helps any creator make an online course in minutes and gives users a free plan to help them understand the VOD platform from day one. Teachable is predominantly an online course creator and seller, but you can also host on demand videos within a library with them. Its interface is very user-friendly, and the setup process is quite smooth. But Teachable does have one catch; not all advanced features are available on the lower-tiered plans. So, you may need to upgrade if you want some advanced features, which could cost quite a bit monthly.
Pricing:
- Free: $0/month
- Basic: Starts from $39/month
- Pro: Starts from $119/month
- Business: Starts from $499/month
Muvi
Muvi is a VOD streaming platform that is designed to be all-inclusive. It is fully managed and offers creators a website and a TV or mobile app. It is an entirely white-labeled website, so customers can customize it. You can also choose your own domain. Muvi also offers iOS, Windows, and Android apps to clients. You can even manage multiple currencies within the platform, so your content can be sold and viewed around the globe. Muvi also helps you manage your subscriptions and content. However, as you will find below, Muvi is much more expensive than others on this list.
Pricing:
- Standard: Starts from $399/month
- Professional: Starts from $1499/month
- Enterprise: Starts from $3900/month
- Ultimate: Custom pricing
Vimeo
Vimeo is an excellent CMS and VOD platform in one. It helps creators upload and distribute on demand content. But it also helps them market and monetize this content stress-free. Vimeo is designed with various video monetization models; You can rent out your content to customers or sell recurring subscriptions to them. Like other VOD platforms on this list, Vimeo allows you to customize and brand your content to match your brand logo and colors. This VOD streaming platform is compatible with iOS and Android and allows viewers to access your content via TV or mobile. The one downside to Vimeo is that you will need to pay per seat per month for any of its pricing plans.
Pricing:
- Starter: Starts from $14 per seat/month
- Standard: Starts from $42 per seat/month
- Advanced: Starts from $69 per seat/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
VPlayed
VPlayed is a VOD platform designed to help you stream and monetize video and audio content. The platform is known for its ability to help you implement and deploy content quicker, customize your solution for your clients, and upscale easily. VPlayed has excellent streaming features and enables you to monetize content in over six ways. The VOD platform is also well known for its reliant and free migration features, with 99.9% uptime. VPlayed also offers video marketing tools within the software, helping you easily get your content out to your audience.
Pricing:
- No pricing available – contact sales for more information.
VOD Streaming FAQs
1. What is VOD in streaming?
Any and all video services that make enticing videos (movies, TV shows, documentaries, online classes, etc.) available to viewers at any time, provided they pay a fee for it.
2. How do I convert a live stream to VOD?
Record your live stream while it is happening. Then save this video file, upload it to your VOD platform and distribute it to all relevant members via your streaming platform.
3. What is an example of a video on demand?
Disney+ is a good example of video on demand; it allows viewers to access a library of TV shows, documentaries, and movies on demand for a monthly fee.
VOD Platforms: In Summary
With more and more people looking to consume video content online, it’s time for creators and freelancers to share their passion via VOD platforms and get paid for it. With VOD streaming platforms, it’s so simple to set up, manage, and monetize videos. All you have to do is choose a premium VOD platform that will give the best bang for your buck.
Our team at Mastera can help you start your video on demand dream. Simply schedule a demo with us today.
And if you’re looking for more ways to make money, check out our blog on how you can monetize your content with Mastera in simple, effective ways.
Co-Founder, Gleantap & Mastera