1. Introduction to Live Streaming Services in Singapore
Live stream service is possible with many platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Twitter, and Twitch. Most of these platforms have similar technologies. Popular live streaming Singapore software is also available, such as live broadcast studio, open broadcasting software (OBS), XSplit, StreamYard, vMix, Switcher Studio, Wirecast, Ecamm Live, or Instagram Live. To further explore the rise of live streaming, we contacted Singaporean businesses using live streaming and studied Singapore’s market-leading live streaming platforms. Our research used industry-quality software to evaluate the services in detail. In this paper, you will find out what happened and how to use the most popular live streaming platforms in Singapore. This topic is interesting because no research has used industry technology to evaluate the services being used by an emerging live streaming market.
Live streaming is a live event that is broadcast across the internet and watched at the same time, as opposed to pre-recorded video. Content delivery networks, real-time messaging protocols, video codecs, web pages, streaming media encoders, and live stream search engines provide live streaming services. Many popular live streaming platforms are free to use, and some are paid. Enterprise, live events, investors, social platforms, or e-learning businesses that need to reach customers in real time often use subscription services, while individuals use live streaming as a hobby. This research paper intends to explore live streaming by examining its current status and advancements. The research will help us understand the development timeline, commercial tendencies, technological innovation trends, current platforms, medium features, revenue sources, future possibilities, impact on traditional business and media, stakeholders, and the current mainstream platform usage.
2. Key Features to Consider in Live Streaming Platforms
Online broadcast is often called live streaming. The process is also described as encoding and webcasting (when done on the web), or webcasting (when potentially not live). Live streaming is a method of broadcasting that allows the user to send live or pre-recorded video to users over the internet. Generally, this portion of the computer display is captured and then it is encoded, which means converting it into a digital format, followed by live broadcast over the internet. Subscribers or viewers who click on a web link can watch these broadcasts as the stream plays. These links or embedded viewers can be distributed by email, within a web page, within a corporate intranet, or as a video replay on demand. All popular video sources use digital video for fast streaming.
A successful live streaming session is a two-way interactive communication process. It is not just about broadcasting a message to other people. If you are a keynote speaker, chances are that you have already delivered many presentations. Yet a live video broadcast is not the same as delivering a PowerPoint presentation in person. A live streaming platform facilitates interaction between the speaker and the audience. It requires features such as chat during the presentation, question submission. Moreover, the ability to handle pre-event question submission for Q&A sessions following a talk. A system to assist in queuing the submitted questions so that high priority or particularly popular questions take precedence is a plus point. Other desirable features include polling, quizzes, and moderated chat, therefore filtering out noise from the audience.
2.1. Video Quality and Resolution
The quality of the video must be of high definition (HD) or higher to engage the viewers. Low quality videos usually do not engage viewers and deter a better viewership. Sometimes low-quality videos may lead to a bad user experience, whereby the uploaded video is distorted. Moreover, viewers are interested in watching high-quality videos, especially for videos with presentations, demonstrations, or look books of products where high definition matters most. While high definition is important, the frame rates are equally important. Frame rates are the frequency at which the video frames change in the sequence of images. Videos that are shot at 30fps (frames per second) or higher are deemed high-quality videos. High fps provides a higher quality of motion, and thus giving a better user viewing experience. With higher fps, the video would look more detailed and lifelike, providing better picture clarity. Videos with fast motion may be more important to have a higher fps.
2.2. Interactive Features
For Flabfab and ConnectionsVIP, the chat function is combined as a feature with many others in a progression to-do list, which is intended to be commensurate with audience participation. In addition to that, all the platforms have slightly different built-in engagement tools to exceed the chat feature. For ConnectionsVIP, the ‘wait room’ feature enables a virtual event to act as if its guests are in the waiting hall in real life from the time it starts. It is an effective way to create a sense of excitement and anticipation, instead of a link that is a never-ending waiting period after it has ended. With the wait room feature, the organizer has full control over the guests who are allowed to enter. The event process is that only invited guests have access to watch. Additionally, the event time is not a fixed starting time gate. Hosts can start to allow their guests to access up to 15 minutes before the official event start time. This means that guests are only able to access the event after the host instructs the participants.
For clients’ engagement that is crisp and clean, all three platforms reviewed provide chat functions. The audiences are allowed to talk directly so they can participate by asking questions and giving feedback. Though ConnectionsVIP and Flabfab allow hosts to get involved in the chat, Virtual Auditorium doesn’t have such a feature. In addition, the moderation feature is not available for any of these platforms. It means that both platforms can post anything and everything on the public chat. Although the chat function on Flabfab allows hosts to communicate with individuals through direct message mode, it is still less secure without control of the overall chat. On the engagement features, Virtual Auditorium stands out by providing a polling function. It makes call-to-action content easy and interactive, enables hosts to collect useful data for market insights, and decides the next step of the event. Therefore, it is on par with current digital marketing technology trends and is a good way for guests to engage with the content.
2.3. Monetization Options
Recognizing that the best advertisement is word-of-mouth advertising, some live stream platforms allow funds to be raised through super chats and Twitch bits, with a share of the revenue going to the platform. Although live stream platforms pay a controlled share of revenue to elevated subscribers or donators broadcasting commercial messages, businesses are willing to pay more to improve their user experience. Businesses are allowed to broadcast live messages such as internal news and general advertisements to the public at an affordable subscription or no subscription. With a user base of various interests, over time, the general public can increase or decrease to subscribe to the business, or donate to the business’s streamer.
As live streaming has become popular with businesses, platforms have looked at ways where businesses can make money off live videos. The traditional television broadcasting model is an advertisement-based approach. While not wrong, advertisements are generally perceived as intrusive and can potentially reduce the user experience. Besides, live stream platforms are viewed as quick to incorporate pre-roll and mid-roll advertisements into the live stream. Consequently, this can give the impression of the live stream platform being greedy for advertisement revenue. Why provide businesses with a free or an affordable fee subscription when the live stream platform is able to solve server problems and pay for bandwidth costs through an advertisement revenue sharing agreement?
3. Comparison of Top Live Streaming Platforms in Singapore
3.2. Summary So which platform is best for live streaming for your business? You will need to consider a range of factors including: budget, available resources and time, the content you will be streaming, and where your audience will be best reachable. Prices vary greatly from free or low-priced platforms to those that may charge hundreds to thousands of dollars per month to support live streaming. The content will also determine quality and production requirements. If you will be proficient in live streaming, then spending a lot of money to sign on to a high-end service may not be the best move. If you are a company that produces your own live streaming content, that is a feasible choice with the tools you currently have. Regardless of the platform you choose, it’s important to make sure that your privacy policies and local laws comply. Ideally, consider a platform with a content moderation plan that you are happy with, but many platforms do not allow for any transparency or ability to control the content, so you will need to adjust your strategy to suit that.
3.1. Introduction To reach out to their audience, brands are using live streaming as a regular part of their communications mix. The COVID-19 pandemic hastened the growth of this trend. Consumers were forced to stay indoors, isolating themselves, spawning a large increase in demand for live events, education, and live streaming platforms. The advent of 5G has also made live streaming more accessible for brands, especially with its nesting in a mobile-first world. There are many platforms to choose from if you are looking to leverage live streaming for your business or brand. We compare the top live streaming platforms in Singapore in this report: – OBS Studio – Vimeo – Panopto – Kaltura – Zoom – Skype – Microsoft Stream – Facebook Live – YouTube Live – Instagram Live – Twitch – LinkedIn Live
3.1. Platform 1: Features and Pricing
Individual Plan, 1 event per at $69 per session Regular Plan, 6 events per quarter at $59 per session Unlimited Plan at $39 per session but there’s Requirement of at least 46 events per quarter Pay-per-use at $149 per session with unlimited events in a 14 days window Live Streaming Hosting only at $199 annually only (applicable for earlier and higher-tier plans) 10% discount is available on annual plans as well as available for organizations, educational institutions, and non-profit societies. The Multi-brand pricing is also available up to for 5 additional brands.
Pricing
180 minute time limit per session Supports any number of video participants Hosting will be done via Zoom No brand logo on video conferencing window and end-user experience Multiple brands/streams can be set up but it’s time intercepted Email reminders Shareable webcasting link Registration forms Live Q&A Moderation of messaging Can record sessions and replay Reporting on viewer statistics Generating leads and insights 24/7 customer support with 1 hour response time
Platform Name: VIQ Free Starter Plan: No Plan/Feature Tiers: Individual, Regular, Unlimited Live Streaming Singapore Features
3.2. Platform 2: Features and Pricing
Hands-free (no one moving the camera around)
YouTube and/or social media platforms (Fb, Instagram)
Rental of filming equipment – Monitor, laptop, light, decorative backdrop, and computers
1080p MAX streaming resolution
High-resolution single camera source
360 minutes usage on actual recording
6x special props & different backgrounds
3x main outfits & 3x casual outfits
Live Stream Studio Deluxe Plan – $4800 (U.P $7000)
Hands-free (no one moving the camera around)
YouTube and/or social media platforms (Fb, Instagram)
Rental of filming equipment – Monitor, laptop, light, decorative backdrop, and computers
720p MAX streaming resolution
High-resolution single camera source
4x special props & different backgrounds – 300 minutes usage on actual recording
2x main outfits & 3x casual outfits
Live Stream Studio Premium Plan – $3800 (U.P $5500)
Hands-free (no one moving the camera around)
YouTube and/or social media platforms (Fb, Instagram)
Rental of filming equipment – Monitor, laptop, light, decorative backdrop, and computers
Live-studio branding overlay
480p MAX streaming resolution
– 240 minutes usage on actual recording – High-resolution single camera source
3x special props & different backgrounds
2x main outfits & 2x casual outfits
Live Stream Studio Basic Plan – $2800 (U.P $4000)
3.3. Platform 3: Features and Pricing
Platform 3 offers two types of plans: basic and premium. Under the basic plan, users are allowed to go live by using the platform’s studio with no risk-free trials, and basic tech support is provided. In the meantime, its various partner integrations and social platforms are also provided under this plan. With the premium plan, in addition to the same arrangements as the basic plan, the service provides upgraded tech support and live support, marketing and operation support, and VIP service with a dedicated account manager. It also supports improving viewership through recommendations and promotions. Moreover, it provides more options and features for encoding and cloud broadcasting. Its VIP program for partners is also available for service providing, training, and technology, and it supports OTT distribution to enhance the market share.
Platform 3 is a live streaming service that provides businesses with comprehensive live streaming features including touchpoints, reward systems, cart checkout, customer relationship manager (CRM), and convenient user interface (UI) settings that are plug-and-play. Its business model focuses on helping a brand to explore internet ecology. It integrates live operations to all platforms and is committed to combining live streaming features with various social media platforms. These features can also be customized according to the needs of multichannel live broadcast and specific scenarios so that companies do not have to jump from platform to platform and implement live broadcast and sales. It allows sellers to add designated customer touchpoint bundles and a cart checkout system when the video is playing. Moreover, it supports merchants to increase brand touchpoints and establish at-depth contact with their fans.
4. Case Studies of Successful Business Implementations
Case study 3: Art galleries exhibit online Da Tang Art Gallery attracted 600,000 views on the day through partnerships and approximately SGD $50,000 in online sales revenue. The Zoom integration was their favorite feature, noting that it was “very easy to use, with just one-click chat.” They conducted a live video walkthrough with a gallery owner to demonstrate the artists’ works and ideas for exhibition space. Beconnected worked with The Private Museum on the technology setup and administration for the reception. Across three hours of the hybrid, we shipped two camera feeds onto the team for Facebook-owned platforms. From the event, and senior management used the data for conversations during and after the virtual event.
Case study 2: Equipment firm broadcasts live auction Impulse Construction used Live Store by AV8 Media and Huawei AI infrastructure (a custom video analytics model and the 311 Fast and Secure Authentication System on a HUAWEI CLOUD server) to live stream their construction equipment auctions to clients currently in other countries. They’ve adapted to the new normal by upgrading to the latest video technology as a distributor. The live stream included facial recognition and auto-tagging, which was used for tracking who was dropping in and which equipment they were bidding on during the whistle-to-whistle event. Throughout the multicamera production, crews monitored the feed and eventually integrated highlights for the live broadcast. Not only raised excitement but also added automation by monitoring the attendees allowing event marketing and preregistration.
Case study 1: Wedding shop sells at-home packages Dang Bridal, a wedding shop, benefited from lower cost-per-lead and easier follow-ups when they used Luvcam Live to stream live from its wedding studio. Instead of three staff members handling multiple customer inquiries through messaging apps and emails, co-founders Brye and Dave chatted with brides, making personalized dress recommendations and selling the $1,500 at-home wedding package. They hired a part-time digital marketer to help them plan the livestream and create the Facebook ads. During the sessions, that marketer would step in to chat and influence. Since these birthlike sessions were regularly scheduled one month prior, time and resources to drive leads increased while staff costs decreased by a projected $600. The at-home wedding packages sold for $1,500.
5. Future Trends and Innovations in Live Streaming Technology
The emergence of 5G has propelled this development with its high-speed Internet connections that surpass even those of fiber optic cable connections. With 5G in the picture, businesses have great potential to enhance quality and produce live streaming events with its accompanied 4K resolution pictures and almost real-time latency by transmitting live streams up to 4K quality. This pioneering image, with its advanced depth-of-field characteristics, is comprehensive and visually appealing, which would greatly improve the watching experience and likely bind viewers longer to the channel.
Considered as a disruptive technology, the impact of live streaming on businesses has been quite significant, particularly due to its ability to create interactive, real-time experiences. Consequently, it becomes imperative to keep abreast with the latest advances in live streaming technology in order to assure your business is at the forefront in the digital ecosystem. Here in this section, we are going to discuss a couple of the newest innovations and trends in the arena of live streaming technology. In fact, the technology of live streaming has experienced a quantum leap from the short and poorly captured live streaming of the 90s to the right production of 2021 with high-definition 4K video transmitting capabilities.
