Category Archives: Private Media Channel

On the night of March 16, 2014, Niche Video Media updated the Private Media Channel to version 1.3.2. This is now the fifth version of the Private Media Channel since we first launched in May 2013, which only illustrates our devotion to creating the best video hosting services available. With every version, we incorporate new features that make the channel easier to use, more efficient and a better product for our customers.

Some of the enhancements you can expect to find in version 1.3.2 include:

• New method to monetize your videos -Our flexible platform now offers another charge model “Charge for subscription to the Channel.” Charges are set on Global Roles and can be paid monthly, quarterly, or annually.
• External users can be invited to join a community from said community - External visitors can now be directly invited from the Manage community page. They will receive an email with a link to the Register page. Once they fill out a form with basic information, the site administrators are notified and can then take the appropriate next step based on the charge model activated for the channel.
• One click to manage subscriptions - The Dashboard will now have an icon for “Subscriptions to Approve.” This page will display all users who have requested subscription to various communities. Now administrators and community managers will have the convenience of approving users to various communities all from one single page.
• New email templates - There are new and modified email templates for events such as an email to users letting them know their subscription was rejected, email to users thanking them for upgrading their subscription, email for inviting external users from the invite button with no role and more.
• Community managers now have permission to edit the community -The default community manager role will now include the Edit community permission. When this feature is released, any community role that includes the Manage Membership permission will also get the Edit Community permission automatically. You will need to manually remove this permission from your community management roles if this is not your intent.

These are a few examples of the updated and added features of version 1.3.2 of our Private Media Channel. Of course the best way to understand all of the upgrades of the new version is to experience it yourself. Contact us for a demonstration or free trial and see how our video hosting platform can benefit your business.

At Niche Video Media, we have many ideas of how our Private Media Channel can be beneficial for your company. We also provide many opportunities for you to monetize your videos. Yet, we always love when a client comes to us to use the Private Media Channel in an innovative way that never occurred to us before. This recently happened with a limousine company.

As a limousine company, a large portion of their business is transporting people to and from the airport, and as an added service, they wanted to offer their patrons the opportunity to video chat with someone from the back of the limo. Of course, this service would not be limited to those who are on their way to the airport, but it would seem that it would be most applicable in that scenario.

Take for example a businessman on his way to meet an international client, and he is getting ready to board a 10 hour flight. He has the opportunity to hold a teleconference from the back of the limo to ensure he gets every bit of information he needs for this client before he boards the flight. This way, when he lands, he can greet the client fully informed.

This also provides a security feature for parents who have sent their child off to travel on his/her own for the very first time as they can run through everything one more time before he/she gets to the airport. In keeping with the family theme, a group of teenagers heading to prom could connect with the girl’s father who lives in another city and would otherwise have missed the opportunity to see her off.

Of course, the live video chat from the back of a limo is most fun for bragging rights. This would give you the chance to say good-bye one more time to everyone who is not joining you on the fabulous tropical vacation you are taking during the middle of winter. Or, the group of guys headed to Vegas for a bachelor party have a final opportunity to tease the one guy whose wife would not let him go.

This limousine company created a fun and inventive way to use the Private Media Channel and profit from it. Think of the many creative ways can you come up with for your business to use videos and give yourself an edge over your competition. Click here to begin your free trial today.

One of the clients in our portfolio is a $3 billion international company. Needless to say, they are a leader in their industry, and that role comes with certain demands and expectations. It is on their shoulders to set the standard for exceptional products, and it is also their responsibility to introduce new innovations to the market, or they might lose their status. As a result, their research and development department spends each day designing, building and testing new technologies in an attempt to continuously improve their current products as well as create new ones.

One of the most important tasks of the R & D department is communication. The team must be in constant contact with each other in order to offer ideas and question the design. However, if the entire team is not in the office, how can they offer feedback on a design they cannot access? The innovation department must also collaborate with other departments in the company in order to gain design approval, which can be a long, tedious, and iterative process.

Our client uses their Private Media Channel to make the communication process dramatically more efficient. The team shares new videos of the design and receives immediate feedback as our Private Media Channel can be accessed by any device. They no longer have to wait until everyone has returned to the department in order to start updating it. Once the prototype is ready for approval, the R & D team uses videos once again to present the model. The approval board gets a detailed tour of the product as well as a demonstration of its uses, and they can express their suggestions and concerns. By the time the prototype is sent for approval, it has already been through the editing process several times.

This company has found a way to use our Private Media Channel to shorten the time from concept to market. When you are an industry leader, it is little things like this that help maintain your status. With a shorter cycle time, you are able to put new products in the market faster and more efficiently than your competition.

Speaking of their competition, can you imagine what would happen to this $3 billion company if these videos were distributed freely on the Internet? The videos they make include specific details about proprietary information, sometimes about innovations that will revolutionize the industry. Of course, their competitors would love to get their hands on these videos, meaning video hosting sites without any security measures, like YouTube and Vimeo, are completely useless for this purpose. Other sites that offer some security measures would also be inappropriate. With our Private Media Channel your videos will not be shared or accessed by anyone who does not have permission. This $3 billion company trusts us with the next generation of their competitive future, and you can trust us to keep your information private as well. Contact us to start your free trial.

While doing some research online, we recently stumbled upon 6 Places to Host Your Business Videos from Andrew Follett. This is such a interesting topic of conversation and one that creates a lot of buzz. In fact, we have even touched on this topic before. So what is it that makes the subject of enterprise video collaboration so significant?

Well, for one thing there are so many options available to businesses. Follett describes six places, but even says in his article that there are hundreds. What is even more fascinating is that even with hundreds of options, each video hosting service is still unique - whether it is the price, the services, the features or security, no two video hosting services are the same. Finding the service that gives your business everything it needs for the right price can be quite the challenge.

The first video hosting service on Follett’s list is YouTube, and since it is free of charge, you can’t beat the price. However, we need to make it clear that this post is all about business videos. Business videos are professionally produced, typically requiring a rather large investment of both time and money. You do not want your investment freely available on the Internet for anyone to download and take credit as their own. Security is even more important if your video contains proprietary information that could erode your competitive advantage if it were to be exposed.

With security a top priority for businesses, we can take YouTube off of the list, but we also eliminate the free options. Most services charge based on the number of videos you upload, whether paying a monthly fee for a specific video limit or actually paying per video uploaded. In fact all of the services that Follett listed use this payment model. It seems like a logical way to bill your business, but take a moment to consider the variety of videos your company uses. While some reach a broad audience, some are being sent specifically to one client or one team. And, whether your video is being seen by 10,000 people or just one person, you are being charged the same. Your videos also range in length and size. A 30 minute HD video is a much larger file than a 2 minute video, but you are going to pay the same for each one - that doesn’t seem fair.

One of the ways that Niche Video Media sets itself apart from the myriad of other hosting services is our easy, low cost billing plan. Instead of charging per video, we charge based on the number of monthly views and storage. With four different pricing packages beginning at just $29 per month, you are sure to find the right level of service to fit your company and your budget. And if your enterprise is bigger than can fit in our pricing plans, we offer custom Enterprise-level pricing tailored specifically to your needs. Contact us to start your free trial and get started today!

With the rise in popularity of teleconferencing and the use of videos, company conference rooms seem to be needed less and less with each passing year. Sure, the conference room is the perfect setting for client and company meetings when each participant lives locally, but for the clients and employees that are out of state or even in another country, why invest the money in a face to face meeting if it is no longer necessary? Instead of paying for flights, hotels, food and transportation, you can simply set up a video conference for everyone and bring individuals who are thousands of miles apart together for a business meeting.

You may be thinking that even when utilizing video streaming services that a conference room is still necessary. Where else would you set up the multitude of equipment required to host a teleconference? The solution to this question is simple – updates in software and services mean you do not need to invest thousands of dollars into professional video equipment to host a video conference.

While teleconferencing has been made easier than ever to use, the big question is whether or not corporations should adopt the use of video solutions. A recent survey from Wainhouse Research shows how young employees expect their companies to offer alternative business practices. According to their survey, 75% of companies feel pressured to offer mobile solutions and 55% are being urged to deploy video solutions. If the new generation of corporate America has these expectations of their company, don’t you think that your clients  have the same expectations?

The business model is changing, and the companies who do not embrace the evolution will find it difficult to maintain a competitive edge in their industry. Our Private Media Channel makes it simple for you to adopt these new practices with minimal effort. Our live streaming add on service means you can host teleconferences with the simple click of a link. In addition, your users may use any device, a tablet, smartphone, laptop, etc., to participate in the meeting. However, with our Private Media Channel, you are not only getting live streaming, but also a video hosting channel where you can store videos and files to share with your employees and clients. The channel offers secure collaboration, meaning all of your files can only be accessed by the users you allow and they can offer feedback. In addition, we offer white label hosting so that your channel remains in your brand.

We are not saying to get rid of your conference room just yet, but use our Private Media Channel to meet the expectations of your clients and employees. Contact us to get started with your free trial.

We are pleased to announce the launch of version 1.3.1 of the Private Media Channel™. The newest version includes a myriad of updates and improvements to make the channel easier to use. We continuously try to improve and update our technology to ensure we stay on the cutting edge of the industry. By listening to the suggestions and concerns of our customers, we are able to make updates to the channel that will genuinely improve their experience with our company.

We have updated the Private Media Channel™ to include features like the ability to schedule a video broadcast. Now, authors can now schedule a video to begin at a certain time, so that all users will see the same content at the same time no matter when they click “Play.” Also, unknown users can now register on the login page. The administrator can approve or deny their request for access, but this increases the reach of each channel since users no longer need an invitation to join. Some of the other enhancements include limiting users in the community scroll, the ability to change the author on content, recording the date that the terms and conditions agreement was accepted, sending ad-hoc emails to community members and more.

Version 1.3.1 of the Private Media Channel™ continues to give customers secure video hosting services with the latest technology improvements. Customers maintain control over who has access to their videos, and no one can download or share these files without permission. Meeting all needs for online video content, Niche Video Media® offers their customers the ability to upload their videos to their channel or broadcast live using the add-on live streaming video services.

The demand for online videos grows on a daily basis. By 2016, online viewers are expected to reach 1.5 billion each day. With this extraordinary growth rate of videos, the different ways to capitalize on them will grow and adapt as well. Currently, everyone is trying to figure out which way is the best way to make money off of videos. In The future of video monetization is unlike anything we’ve seen yet, Iddo Shai implies that there are three different choices video producers have:

• Make access to your videos free but have ads
• Pay-as-you-go model similar to iTunes, Amazon Prime and Vudu
• Monthly subscription like Netflix and now even YouTube

While all three of these are popular options today, the big question is which one will outshine the others as the demand for videos continues to grow over the coming years. It’s definitely a hard question to answer as each model has their own advantages and disadvantages but, as technology improves and consumers get more Internet savvy, the need for security will only increase. Thus, the market will rely heavily on DRM (Digital Rights Management) technologies.

DRM technologies are a vital part of enterprise video collaboration. Corporations use videos for everything from training to research and development. Many times these videos contain sensitive information that cannot be shared globally. Providing the perfect solution, DRM technologies allow companies to share their videos with a designated audience. No one can access or download the files without permission - keeping all propriety information secure.

It’s hard to say if pay-as-you-go or subscription will outshine the other since both are popular with consumers and businesses. The obvious solution should be for DRM technologies to offer both options for their customers.  However, most do not even offer any monetization options, and if they do it is one or the other, not both. Basically, the future of video monetization will be in the hands of the hosting services who are willing to adapt and change to the growing demands.

Niche Video Media is already changing to the growing demands of the industry. Not only are we are one step ahead of the rest by offering several monetization options for your videos, but we do not take any portion of your profits (even Shai’s article says most companies collect 10 to 30 percent of the transaction fee). You get to keep your money and you can choose your method of monetization: pay as you go or subscription. Also, your users can pay monthly, quarterly or annually. By giving you security as well as options, Niche Video Media is the future of video monetization, and you can get started today with a free trial.

We’ve already discussed the different ways to monetize your videos, but we feel the need to elaborate a little more on one of these topics - subscription. Finding the perfect fit in regards to video hosting services can be rather difficult. It is a pretty rare occurrence to find a company that allows you to have subscribers to your videos. Then, when you find one of the few companies that does, they usually want to take a piece of your profit. If you are already paying to host your videos, then why should you have to pay for your subscribers?

The ideal solution would be a web hosting service that allowed you to establish your own rules when it came to subscribers. You could decide how much to charge and when to charge. Do you want your users to pay a monthly fee and have unlimited access to your videos? Would you rather have users pay for each video? Or do you want to create a mixture, allowing some visitors a monthly fee and others a pay-per-use agreement? You should have the freedom to establish these parameters on your own and not be confined to the regulations of your hosting service.

Well, we are happy to tell you that Niche Video Media provides all of these services and more. The monetization between you and your user is entirely yours, we do not collect any of that payment. Even better, you have the control to create your own pricing method and can charge when:

• A user joins your channel
• A user views a video
• A user subscribes to one of your communities
• A user clicks on a video by one of your providers

Where most companies only offer one or two ways for you to monetize your videos, we off 8 - 4 subscription based and 4 ad based. You also can choose how often you collect a payment from your subscribers - monthly, quarterly or annually. In addition our white label hosting ensures your users will not see a charge from Niche Video Media, but from your company name. And, we offer payments through PayPal, Stripe or Authorize.net, whichever you prefer.

When it comes to managing your subscriptions, Niche Video Media allows you to make all of the decisions. Call us to set up your free trial today.

If you want your video to reach every corner of the world, then putting your video on YouTube would be the ideal choice. Of course, you lose control over who has access to your video, who can download your video and who can re-purpose your video, but it is the best forum to reach a large number of people – it is the #3 site in the world, after all. However, how can you make money off of your video if you upload it to YouTube for free? YouTube will run ads during your video to profit that you could also benefit you financially, but those ads could also lead your audience to a competitor’s site. Well, thanks to Frank Besteiro and his article Four Simple Strategies for Monetizing Your Video Content, we can share a few ideas:

While these are great suggestions for monetizing your video, the first three require you to approach big companies and convince them that your video is worth their investment and reaching an audience that would interest them. If you don’t have the capital to do the market research necessary to gain sufficient data, then you likely won’t find a company willing to invest.

If you want to maintain the rights to your video, then charging for a subscription is the optimal choice. According to Besteiro, there is not sufficient data to prove how successful subscription services are for making money. However, as long as you choose an appropriate video hosting service, a subscription will ensure your video remains in your possession. You will have control over who has access to your video and no one will be able to download it. Yes, you are sacrificing the quantity of people viewing your video, but this method comes with a few advantages of its own:

• You will be able to target a specific audience to get quality viewers
• You establish yourself as an expert in your industry whose knowledge and advice is worth paying for
• You can incorporate other methods of monetization – product placement, sponsorship, pre-rolls – in addition to the subscription fee to maximize your profits

One thing is clear, there are many options when it comes to video monetization. Anyone interested in pursuing the subscription route should take a closer look at our Private Media Channel. We take Besterio’s monetization models a step farther and provide you with a multitude of options. You can charge when a user joins your channel, a user views a video, a user subscribes to one of your communities, a video producer uploads video and/or when a user clicks on a video by one of your providers. By using PayPal, we make charging for access to your videos easy for users and for you. We also have the option to use Stripe or Authorize.net, if you prefer them over PayPal. We can even use Stripe to charge the customer and PayPal to receive the funds, or vice versa. Our Private Media Channel gives you the flexibility to monetize your video content in a way that you feel comfortable. Contact us to get more information about monetizing your video content and start your free trial.

Most small businesses rely on a web hosting service, like WordPress or HostGator, for their website. This is a wonderful service as it is inexpensive and keeps the business from having to worry about all of the technical aspects of having your own website. However, it does mean that you are sharing a server with many other companies throughout the country or even the world. This is not necessarily a bad thing, except for when you want to incorporate videos.

As you know, videos are some of the biggest files in terms of size - even weighing over 100 MB. Most web hosting services have a maximum file limit that your HD videos will not meet. Even if you are able to get the file uploaded, it will likely still result in many problems. Visitors will make comments like “all I see is a black box” or “I can’t get the video to play without stopping,” and you can forget about the video streaming on mobile devices. These complications arise from the fact that you are exceeding your allotment of bandwidth. Your shared hosting server gives you a certain amount of bandwidth based on your average monthly traffic, and inviting many people to view a video that the same time quickly consumes all of it.

What are your options?

• Not use videos - This is definitely not the right option as videos have been proven to be the most effective marketing tool a company has. They are also great for training purposes, virtual tours and so much more.
• Host your own website on your own server - For small businesses this could be more complicated than you think. First, it is expensive. Second, you are opening yourself up to a lot of IT problems that you will require you to either hire an in-house IT person or find a company that provides immediate service.
• Invest in a 3rd party video streaming service - This is the best option! Hiring a 3rd party video hosting service is the answer to all of these problems. You can upload your videos, as many as you want, and send them to whomever without any negative effects on your website. Even better, if you find a company that offers white label hosting, your videos will be on a webpage with your branding and logos, meaning visitors will not even realize they have left the site.

Many people choose YouTube as opposed to investing in a video hosting service, but YouTube has its own list of complications. First, you are sharing your videos with the world and giving them permission to do whatever they want with them. You have no control over who views them, downloads them and claims them as their own. Second, YouTube puts ads in the video that will draw your audience to a competing site. Lastly, there is no method for collaboration.

Our Private Media Channel™ offers secure video hosting for businesses. With our security features, no one can view or download your video without permission. Users can access videos and files from any device and will be able to seamlessly stream the video. We also offer the white label hosting so that when users are viewing your files, they see your branding. When it comes to using videos for your business, our Private Media Channel is the best option for sharing them while keeping them safe. Contact us to start a free trial and see for yourself.

 photo credit: kino-eye via photopin cc