7 Live Streaming Platform Features to Look for in 2024

Live streams are the third most popular form of videos, just after music and viral videos. More than 164 million Internet users watching live videos in 2024.

This is why it is becoming increasingly important for organizations to create live streams. Companies create live streams to communicate their message and remove communication barriers, engage with their audience, train their workforce, host internal meetings with employees and other stakeholders, launch their highly anticipated product, and host memorable events.

Do you find your company doing any of the above? If yes, then you already have or might opt for a live streaming platform to achieve your business goals. However, here’s the tricky part of choosing the best live streaming solution for your enterprise – looking into the live streaming platform features that fit your needs.

For instance, when hosting an organization-wide live employee training session, you would need a massive audience to attend your event, probably in thousands – that too from different regions of the world. In that case, you’ll be finding a scalable live streaming solution that can accommodate as many people as possible. Similarly, in case you’re live streaming a town hall meeting, you’ll need secure live streaming to prevent unauthorized people from getting into the conversation.

Knowing what live streaming platform capabilities you need is crucial to making the right purchase decision. This way, you can be surer than ever when comparing different live streaming software vendors.

In case you are already sure about what you’re looking for in a live streaming solution, you might feel the need to jump right into the comparison thing. Read this blog on the 9 Best Live Streaming Platforms of 2024.

In this blog, we will discuss the factors you need to consider when deciding on key features to look for in a live streaming solution. That’s not all. This blog will also cover the common mistakes that can lead to live streaming failures, followed by the essential features that a live streaming platform should have.

How to Decide What Live Streaming Platform Features You Need?

When deciding which live streaming platform is the best for you, you’ll need to decide which features matter to you to achieve your goal. Having said that, there is no single answer to this question. Deciding on the right live streaming platform features depends on a number of factors.

Some of the questions you might need to ask yourself before coming up with your list of live streaming software features are listed as follows:

• Internet Connectivity: Does your audience have a stable, high-speed Internet connection or not?
• Audience Location: Is your audience global, or will your livestream be viewed from a specific region?
• Livestream Lifespan: Will your live stream be a one-time fling, or you’ll use it later to engage with your audience?
• Viewer Restriction: Do you want to restrict people from joining your live stream from specific regions or domains?
• Stream Quality: Is your live stream going to be a professional broadcast requiring 4K streaming quality?
• Audience Interaction: Will you need to interact with your audience in real-time, or would one-way communication be a better approach?

Now that we have covered the essential factors you need to consider before deciding what live streaming platforms to look for, it is time to explore the live streaming features.

Failing to consider the above factors is not an option. Ignoring these questions can cause embarrassing live streaming failures that can hurt your reputation, revenue, and, most importantly, your audience experience.

7 Live Streaming Platform Features Worth Considering

Constant Buffering

One of the most common issues faced when live streaming a video is that of buffering. In fact, video buffering continues to remain the most pressing issue, impacting 44% of online video consumers, according to the most recent Limelight Networks’ (now Edgio) The State of Online Video report.

Buffering ruins the streaming experience and leaves viewers angry and frustrated (Buffer rage). After all, no one loves to wait when instant gratification has become a thing. It usually happens due to the viewer's poor, unstable Internet connection, leading to significant load times and buffer rates.

Poor Stream Quality

Poor stream quality is one of the biggest turnoffs for your audience looking for a reliable live stream viewing experience. According to TechRadar, more than 50% of viewers will stop watching a bad-quality stream within 90 seconds, if not less.

Like the constant buffering issue, this issue can also arise due to poor Internet bandwidth conditions at the viewer’s end. Other than that, it can also be because of the low-quality hardware used to stream the live video.

Latency Issues

According to the Streaming Video Technology Alliance (SVTA), latency issues result in viewers getting annoyed and never coming back. For live streaming videos that demand real-time audience interaction, such as training and learning sessions, high latency can be a big bummer for both you and your audience. This will result in an uninterested audience and will yield less than desirable results for your training program.

High latency, causing a delay of more than 12 seconds, is usually due to the absence of a robust enterprise content delivery network (eCDN). Just like you travel down the road, the data also travels a set path. The longer the path, the greater the delay (or latency).

Live Stream Not Playing

In several cases, the live stream might not be playable on your viewer’s device. This is due to the device being unsupported and incompatible with the streamed video format. For instance, a live stream created from an Apple device might not play on an Android device.

Experiencing this issue is like your organization yelling at the audience, “YOU DO NOT MATTER AT ALL.” Do you want to have this kind of problem? Absolutely not. This is why it is worth considering the live streaming platform features you need to have to avoid this issue and other challenges related to video streaming.

Network Overload

The network over which your live stream is being transmitted to your viewers can experience strain. This usually happens when your audience happens to join from a single region. In that case, a rise in the number of viewers will result in significant network overload, causing your live stream to crash.

One way to avoid network overload is to have a load-balancing application in place. Usually coupled with a CDN, this can help distribute the Internet traffic over multiple servers so that no single network gets strained.

Live Streaming Platform Features in a Nutshell

By now, you might have realized the importance of critically thinking about the live streaming platform features you need. After all, it is important to ensure a reliable and smooth streaming experience for the viewers. After all, not putting thought into what capabilities you need to have in your live streaming platform can lead to a significant blow in the form of a frustrated audience not coming back, a bad reputation, and lost revenues.

Dealing with live streaming challenges requires robust live streaming software packed with essential features. Having essential features, such as low-latency streaming, adaptive bitrate streaming, support for major CDNs like Akamai, Fastly, CloudFront, etc., a fallback mechanism for backup live streams, live interactivity and engagement with the audience, format-agnostic streaming that plays on any device, and secure live streaming, can help you ensure fail-safe streaming – stress-free.

EnterpriseTube Live Streaming Platform Features for Reliable Streaming

EnterpriseTube comes action-packed with all the features you need to get your live streams up and running. These features include low-latency streaming, adaptive bitrate streaming, CDN support, fallback mechanism, live interactivity, and more.

Visit our live streaming page to know more about what EnterpriseTube has to offer to make your live streams effective.

You can also sign up for a 7-day free trial or book a demo to see live streaming in action.

People Also Ask

Which is the best live streaming platform?

EnterpriseTube is considered one of the best live streaming platforms. EnterpriseTube live streaming platform features include adaptive bitrate streaming, format-agnostic streaming, secure live streaming, etc. These features make EnterpriseTube a reliable choice for a reliable and smooth live streaming experience.

What is the best protocol for live streaming?

HTTP Live Streaming, or HLS, is considered the best protocol for live streaming. The reason it is regarded as the best because HLS can deliver video on almost any device.

What is adaptive bitrate streaming?

Adaptive bitrate streaming is a form of video streaming. It allows you to adapt your stream according to Internet bandwidth limitations. Adaptive bitrate streaming works by creating multiple renditions of your video in 240p, 360p, 480p, 720p, 1080p, and other resolutions. The resolution automatically lowers to prevent the stream from disruption in case your viewer's Internet connection drops.

What is white label streaming?

White label streaming refers to the streaming of live and on-demand enterprise video content on a brandable platform. In EnterpriseTube, you can add logo, font, colors, custom URL, and thesaurus. You can even apply custom CSS and category branding.

What is the best codec for live streaming?

H.264 is considered the best and the most popular codec for live streaming, according to multiple reports. However, in some cases, you might need to use advanced codecs to enhance the live stream quality. You should look for a live streaming platform that supports a range of file formats. EnterpriseTube offers 255+ file formats.