Singapore is a cosmopolitan city that is rapidly moving towards the next phase of technology. Many projects have been done to enhance the living standards for the citizens. Live video streaming Singapore can contribute to these projects and enhance the standard of living for the citizens of Singapore. With the option of missing an event that an individual is interested in being very minimal, it does provide a greater sense of satisfaction for everyone living in Singapore. This spans from streaming a live football match happening in the UK to a live coverage of the new National Library opening. At the same time, it will increase the awareness of activities happening in other parts of the world. This will fuel Singapore’s reputation of being a city that is actively involved in events of different sectors. Last but not least, video streaming is part of a new media industry that is rapidly growing into a multibillion-dollar industry. It would be a viable solution to prepare/build the infrastructure to educate students to be skilled in video streaming and providing a platform for the industry in Singapore.
Live video streaming (LVS) is the technology that allows us to broadcast live video and audio content over the internet. It could be as simple as a video camera and microphone or as advanced as a professional video camera, which also means having a stream that is live or on-the-fly. This allows the end user to view video content anywhere in the world, as it is happening. In other words, even if I am halfway across the world, I will not miss important events from the country that I am interested in.
Overview of Live Video Streaming
But with the emergence of Web 2.0, this trend is likely to change. The new generation of internet users has a different perception of the internet, and the idea of entertainment is becoming more interactive. Most traditional sports or news websites have static content and use text and images to describe an event. With increasingly sophisticated technology and accessibility of the internet, many users prefer to watch video content regarding the specific event. Live video streaming can provide such an interactive and enriching experience. With traditional online video streaming, the internet user must search for the event using a search engine and browse through the content on the website. But live video streaming can send out a notification to the users who have subscribed to the event and allows the users to view the live video content from the notification without visiting the website. This increases user engagement and also gives the users a sense of the latest happenings. This technology is becoming popular in Singapore where users are always on the move and prefer to have bite-size information. Live video streaming allows users to watch the content anywhere, and they can still keep updated with the latest happenings in events. With bandwidth improvement and affordable wireless internet and web-capable mobile devices, live video streaming is likely to become the norm for internet users to view live video content.
Live video streaming allows consumers to watch live videos over the internet in real time. The users can view the live video from any part of the world. Live video streaming is different from on-demand video streaming. In the traditional online video streaming scenario, the video files are saved on a server and the user has to download the entire file prior to viewing the video. In live video streaming, live video content is encoded and broadcast simultaneously, and the data is deleted once it is played without saving the content onto a server. Currently, in on-demand video streaming, Adobe Flash and Microsoft Windows Media Player are the most commonly used internet video streaming technologies.
Importance of Live Video Streaming in Singapore
Singapore has always been a country on the forefront of technological trends. The country’s heavy investment in technology for business and pleasure means that streamed video in general has a high level of exposure and attention. However, the real boon to live video streaming would be in 2015 when the country claimed the title as the location with the fastest average internet speed. With this, Singaporeans now have unrivaled access to all forms of streamed video, and this has not gone unnoticed by corporations who are now looking to approach their markets in newer and more engaging ways. For the everyday Singaporean, it is especially relevant as the country’s demographic means that the use of mobile devices to access media is incredibly high. The youth and young adult market, who are already incredibly intertwined with internet culture and trends, are now looking to mobile devices as a way of primary access to media. Livestream live stream video has been identified by many as the next big thing in online media, and Singapore is ready for it.
It is crucial to make a distinction between traditional forms of video and live streamed video. The former has been long established in all forms of media ranging from television to newspapers. The latter, however, is a brand new way to experience video that has shown tremendous market and consumer potential. Compared to traditional video, streamed video (particularly live streamed video) has a certain dynamic to it that makes it stand out amongst different forms of media. For example, in games, many streamers are able to interact with and engage their viewers in real time, often taking communication and discussion to a more personal level. It is the sense of real-time interactivity that makes live streamed video incredibly engaging for the consumer. This can be seen on websites such as Facebook and Twitter, that utilize the perhaps most engaging form of live streamed video, known as webcasting.
Popular Live Video Streaming Platforms in Singapore
The Singapore government, in an effort to move towards a more technologically advanced society, student learning, and cultivating a skilled and connected society, have introduced various programmes to encourage the use of technology and its integration into everyday lifestyle. One of the initiatives is the national broadband network (NBN), a high-speed 10Gbps network that is being spearheaded by Platform B, a technological startup company with deep roots in research and development. Platform B has developed a low latency video transmission system that includes the cascade coding type FEC to guarantee robustness and quality of delivered video even during adverse network conditions. This will most probably add value to their already existing software used in video streaming of underwater and wildlife research studies, which aired video content resulting from their observations.
Platform A is a software utility that is quick to gather attention and buzz because of the growing popularity it receives in Singapore. The platform provides a series of tools and solutions to assist users in making channels and functional videos. Seeing that the younger population in current times have been mirroring South Korea’s KPOP trends and absorbing their culture, many students have expressed keen interests in using this platform to emulate broadcasting and reality TV shows as part of their extracurricular activities. With the prosumer Production Switcher feature, students can make broadcast TV quality content and the platform has plans to include further tools that enable manipulation of video and sound.
Promoder has been making headlines in the field of live streaming in Singapore. This live video production company has made great efforts to position themselves in order to take advantage of the growing demands in the use of video streaming for events. They have been deploying proprietary technology that includes both hardware and software utilities in order to capture visual information and broadcast it in real time. They have since adopted real video streaming providers as a method of distribution for their events. An example of such was at the 28th SEA games when they used YouTube to broadcast live a 360 degree view of their opening ceremony content.
Platform A
There is a catch: the free service is only provided as a trial, and the trial length may vary. After the trial finishes, the user will be required to purchase a package. These packages are sold as a set amount of viewer hours (e.g., 1000 viewer hours, where one viewer watching for one hour would use 1 viewer hour) that do not expire. This has a downside in which if the user does not have viewers (and money isn’t an issue), they will still be required to pay for the hours. Step pricing is used for higher viewer hours, and the more hours that are purchased at once, the cheaper the rate is. Viewers are still able to watch content beyond the purchased viewer hours.
Platform A provides a simple interface that is easy to use, and the user is provided with a high amount of customization. Videos are distributed through the Akamai CDN for high quality and high reliability. Features include automatic stream testing, on-site chat, moderation, DVR, custom branding, mobile delivery, and a plugin that allows a subscriber to notify their users when they go live. An API is also provided for this plugin to further customize its function. Videos can be archived by the included VOD service, and a new feature in the future will allow the user to download their videos. With all these features and constant updates, Platform A does not restrict any of these functions in a pricing tier.
Platform A is a royalty-free, web-based live video streaming service that provides means to show live events on the internet using a camera and a computer. It provides a platform for the broadcaster to show their content to the rest of the world through a customizable embedded player on their own site. This can be done for free, or removable ads can be shown, or a premium, which gives no ads and higher video quality, can be purchased.
Platform B
In the recent final BU8201 module project, our team decided to select Facebook Live as our study platform because the world is moving towards live video streaming and many social media platform is going towards that direction. With this platform, our team is able conduct a live video streaming to the audience. It is a good way to engage the audience and interact with them at the same time. And this might be the future tools in teaching if the live video streaming are to be done in a professional way in academic after improving the features of live video streaming from social media platform now. With more interaction, it will be more fun and easier to get the message across to the audience. One morning, Mr Neil Koh have decided to conduct a live video streaming on Facebook Live to showcase to everyone on how to make a simple fusion dish and his own creation. The reason he choose to use Facebook Live Video Streaming service is because it is a powerful way to communicate and interact with his entire audience. His audience are able to see and listen to what he say as if it is in a real life situation. This are way much better compared to blog and photo as blog and photo only able to expressed 20% of the entire situation. While the live video streaming allow his entire audience to interact with him by asking question and leaving a comment on the comment area. At the end of the live video streaming, he can answer all his audience question on the spot which make the communication to be clear and effective. Although Mr Neil Koh have a better understanding on Youtube live video streaming as he is a youtuber, he still choose to use Facebook Live Video Streaming to conduct this activity and he mention that the reason for this is because Facebook Live are able to reach to a wider audience compared to Youtube live video streaming. As we all know, the world are indeed shifting towards social media platform, and Facebook are very well known in the entire world. Now let’s not talk about comparing between Facebook and Youtube as both are great live video streaming platform. However Facebook Live Video Streaming is a better choice to reach local audience and Facebook user as most of the people nowadays are either using 3G or 4G, and it is more convenience to watch live video streaming using mobile phone. In addition, before the live video streaming start, Facebook Live will automatically send a notification to user and this will serve as a reminder to user compare to Youtube user need to setup a reminder manually.
Platform C
Platform C has a catchy tagline. This tagline helped them a lot to attract new users. So, what is the tagline? “Come for the cats, stay for the empathy.” What a unique tagline. Users these days love to see cats or any cute animals on the internet. With this kind of tagline, Platform C is indirectly saying that users can come to see something cute with cats and then they will feel the empathy, so they will stay to watch more live video streaming on Platform C. They are trying to touch the user’s feelings with the tagline. It is also said that Platform C staff believe in non-violent communication, talking things out, and empathy is the key. They are the only live streaming platform that shares revenue with non-profit animal rescue sanctuaries and organizations. It shows that they care about animals and will provide the best for them. With this good intention, it will surely attract more animal lovers to see cute animals on Platform C because they know that they indirectly help the animals by watching the live video streaming. Users can also chat with other viewers who are watching the same live stream video with the chat room feature. Any user can post a comment to the live streamer and have a discussion with other viewers. This also can help in improving the user’s social skills by making a lot of friends from all of the live stream videos. Platform C is currently focusing on PC games and DOTA 2 is the main game that users can find here. For those who don’t play DOTA 2 or don’t understand the game, DOTA 2 is a free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game and a sequel to the Defense of the Ancients (DotA) mod for Warcraft III. From the OurCrowd Funding, they managed to hire two professional commentators and this will be the first step to make DOTA 2 an e-Sports game in Singapore. These two professional commentators are the well-known fire-KS and GoDz. With the existence of professional commentators, it will make the DOTA 2 game on Platform C become more interesting to watch.
Benefits of Live Video Streaming in Singapore
Cost-effectiveness Mobile cam and streaming devices are starting to become more commonplace today. Depending on the type of video you are looking to produce, this can be an inexpensive way to produce a high impact video. Smartphones with high quality cameras and microphones are capable of creating a high quality stream. Alternatively, professional video production with live switching is also a cost-effective method, it provides real-time professional video to your viewers, eliminating post-production time and cost.
Enhanced engagement and interaction Being in a live environment significantly increases audience engagement. The transparent and authentic nature of live video creates an immediate and direct connection with the audience. Viewers are much more engaged when they can see a live event, as opposed to one that has been edited. They are also more likely to stay with the video for a longer period of time. Using live streaming, you can easily create a Q&A session, interview, workshop or seminar, which adds an extra level of engagement for those who are attending.
Increased audience reach From small businesses to large corporations, every organisation is looking for an opportunity to reach a larger target audience. Live streaming transcends geographical barriers, allowing you to reach a potentially global audience. Archived footage can also be edited and reused at a later date, further extending its reach.
Increased Audience Reach
The benefit of increased audience reach is a key reason to consider utilizing a live streaming solution. Live streaming enables you to reach and engage a much larger audience than traditional media. According to a recent survey conducted by Newlio, social media videos, including live posts, are viewed 8 billion times per day. YouTube has over 1 billion users. Of those users, one-third of all internet users are on the platform. Those are numbers businesses simply cannot ignore. Traditional events and sports matches are only able to accommodate the number of people that can physically attend. Live streaming allows you to scale that event to thousands or millions of additional viewers. This creates a significant opportunity to monetize the event through sponsored ad rolls and affiliate marketing. The ability to use remarketing ads to stay in front of your video viewers is an incredibly powerful tool. By adding a pixel to your site, you can serve ads on Facebook to all users who visited your site after Facebook, and to a custom audience of video viewers. You can also serve YouTube TrueView ads to users who have watched your videos or visited your site. This is a great way to turn viewers into site visitors and site visitors into customers. The ability to build retargeting audiences with video viewers is still a largely untapped resource and represents a lot of potential for countless businesses.
Enhanced Engagement and Interaction
Engagement and interaction are the fundamental components necessary to create a successful event, regardless of the size and scope. It is especially important for a business event as it can determine the effectiveness of the message delivered. In SG, event engagement is lacking, with the majority choosing to stick to traditional events. The reach is not entirely there due to the lack of interest, resulting in poor turnout. This is due to SG event participants not being fully engaged, which makes them less likely to attend or come in with an open mind, often already speculating the event as another run of the mill. This is where live video streaming can be the solution. With easy access to participants’ PCs, public, or smartphones, live streaming content can be viewed in the comfort of their own environment. It is a great way to make your call to action, having a Q&A session in real time to answer questions people may have. In addition to that, you can gather responses from viewers with increased participation using low-cost giveaways. Viewers will feel more engaged with more direct interaction. A good example would be a game; many gamers feel more engaged in a multiplayer setting as compared to single player. This is due to the more direct interaction between other players and a more lively environment. With live video streaming, it can create the same effect.
Cost-Effectiveness
It is evident that with the right choice of technology, video streaming will prove very affordable relative to other comparable communication methods, with cost savings coming in many forms, whether it be travel expenses saved or a net present value calculation compared to an existing system.
However, cost-effectiveness in terms of finance is not the only consideration when evaluating the comparative expense of two differing communication methods. It is suggested that analyzing communication using a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) model is often a more accurate means of making comparisons. This is an assessment tool that takes into account all aspects of a communications system, including costs, planned and unplanned expenses, as well as intangible benefits and disadvantages. These can be used to calculate a net present value, giving the best means of direct comparison. Russ (2004) has stated that the TCO of video streaming relative to its benefits will be very low compared to other forms of communication and will become even more cost-effective as the technology progresses.
The second benefit, cost-effectiveness, comes up frequently in the literature. It is often cited as a major reason for its competitive advantage over traditional communication methods such as sales meetings, conferences, training, and others, along with the cost of video production coming down considerably with the advent of newer and better technologies. While these are all valid points, more qualitative evidence is required for the claim. Wrate (2000) has suggested that streaming video can certainly save on travel costs for nationally and internationally dispersed employees who are required to attend important meetings and conferences. This view is supported by the results of a case study conducted by Fletcher and Bailey (2003), which showed that GE Access, a US-based software sales and marketing organization, saved between $300,000 and $500,000 in corporate meeting expenses using video streaming technology to deliver their message.
Real-Time Analytics
A great feature of real-time analytics in live video streaming is the ability to monitor viewer engagement. A spike in viewer numbers could be a result of a marketing activity during the event, social media conversation about your event, or an interesting piece of content within the video. It is a simple way to see if your event is gaining momentum and if viewer interaction is having an effect.
Such analytics provide insights that are otherwise inaccessible. In the past, knowing the effectiveness of an event was subjective and often related to the amount of sales or leads generated. There was no way to know how an individual reacted to a piece of marketing material or if it even reached them. With analytics from live video streaming, you can watch how an individual from your target market reacts to your event and measure its impact. If your event isn’t having the desired effect, analytics allow you to quickly make changes to your content in a cost-effective manner.
Real-time analytics during live video streaming in Singapore allow you to monitor the effectiveness of your event. You can see how many people are watching at any given time, where they are from, how long they stay, and when they leave. This gives you an idea of the type of content your viewers are interested in, which in turn allows you to tailor future marketing efforts.
Challenges and Considerations for Live Video Streaming in Singapore
Broadcasters should also be aware of the Media Development Authority’s (MDA) regulations. This may affect the type and content of the video which you are hoping to broadcast. Failure to comply with the broadcasting regulations may result in fines or a take down of the video. An example of a technical requirement would be the recent regulations imposed on news websites to obtain a license. The regulations are aimed to get news websites to be more responsible with their reporting, and the more controversial requirement of a performance bond, would work to prevent websites from defaming anyone in order to protect public interest in Singapore’s social order.
For a smoother streaming experience, companies should consider renting a Content Delivery Network. CDNs work by distributing your content to a server closer to the user’s location. This would mean more efficient data transmission and also a lower latency. A lower latency attracts a higher viewer retention rate, considering that studies have shown that an online viewer’s attention span is short, and that the threshold for a viewer to switch off a video in frustration is 2 seconds of waiting for content to load. Considering a provider like Akamai, which has a large server presence in Singapore would be a good choice.
A person should also be aware of copyright and intellectual property issues. This is especially crucial if the person is hoping to broadcast corporate events in Singapore, given the strict enforcement of rights and also a better developed understanding of copyright laws by corporations. Failure to acquire explicit permission to broadcast an event may result in legal consequences.
Internet connectivity is still considered relatively high in Singapore, depending on the choice of service provider. As technology progresses, there is a promise of better quality streaming, but the current issue lies with latency which can greatly affect the viewing experience. High latency would mean greater waiting time for buffering and also higher chance of an interrupted stream. This may affect a person’s willingness to continue viewing the stream.
The challenges and considerations for live video streaming in Singapore are similar to those faced by others in different parts of the world. These challenges arise over internet connectivity, as well as copyright and intellectual property issues. Interestingly, Singapore’s nature as the hub in the Southeast Asia region means that it has a greater degree of broadcasting regulations to comply with as compared to neighboring countries. Being aware of the challenges and considerations would better prepare a person in their efforts of live video streaming in Singapore.
Internet Connectivity
The average connection speed for Singapore more than doubled from 2007 to 2011, and yet it measured in at 1494 kbps, significantly slower than the global average. A video stream generally should be at least 500 kbps to be viewed in any meaningful capacity, and often videos are streamed at much higher qualities. This means that there is a large portion of the Singaporean population that may not be able to receive streams smoothly, and some may not be able to view them at all. Further complicating this issue is the large proportion of the elderly in Singapore. While modern Singaporeans may be quite computer literate, the older generation may have more trouble. In 2010, only 19.6% of Singaporeans were over the age of 55. While this statistic may not seem significant, it is important to note that the life expectancy in Singapore is 82 years, and has been rising. This means that a larger portion of the population is older, and thus less Internet savvy.
It may seem that Singapore, as a first-world country, would be an ideal location for live streaming events. While this is true in many ways, it is not without its pitfalls. There are several considerations to take into account before deciding to implement a live streaming event, and our project has uncovered some important issues. Firstly, limitations in the area of Internet connectivity can cause problems for potential video stream consumers. These limitations are due in part to Singapore’s youth as a nation state. While great advances have been made since the nation’s independence in 1965, Singapore is still a relatively small country with an infrastructure that is not as well established as that of larger nations. The implications for Internet connectivity are that in comparison to many western nations, Singapore’s Internet services are quite slow and less reliable. It was reported by the Economist in 2011 that the global average for Internet connection speed was 1833 kbps (kilobytes per second).
Copyright and Intellectual Property Issues
In consideration of the above, it is clear that the requirements to prevent copyright infringement are potentially onerous and costly for anyone providing live video streaming services in Singapore. This is reflected by the fact that many forms of content are not available for viewing in Singapore due to restrictions put in place by rights owners. An example is the recent measures taken by UEFA to block its Champions League and European football content from being accessed by users of VPN services. This was an attempt to enforce regional restrictions negotiated with television rights holders. The prevention of cross-border access and the use of geolocation to block access from specific countries are further complicating factors for live video streaming service providers.
Generally, the service provider or ISP is not responsible for transmitting content that infringes a copyright unless it has been notified by the copyright owner and fails to remove the material. According to the Info-communications Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), ISPs are exempted from liability for copyright infringement as they are considered mere conduits transmitting material for their users. This is providing that they have no knowledge of the infringing material and are not able to gain from it. Although this limitation of liability is good news for ISPs, the downside for anyone hoping to provide live video streaming is that the service provider is required to take measures to disable access to the infringing material. This would likely include a requirement to monitor content and implement measures such as IP address blocking. This is potentially a complicated, expensive, and futile exercise if the infringing material is being provided by a user of a different ISP.
Video streaming inherently infringes copyright. In the case of live video streaming, it is often impossible for streaming companies to procure the rights to the material. The result is that live video streaming service providers will almost certainly face legal action for the material that their users are making available to the public. An example of this is the Recording Industry Association of America’s attempted lawsuit against internet radio station Altnet for the transmission of copyrighted material.
Technical Requirements and Equipment
High-end solutions will have various redundancy built-in to ensure that the stream can continue with the least possible level of downtime. Redundant encoders and redundant internet connections are a must to ensure continuity of the stream.
Other viable solutions can be an entire turnkey system comprising a laptop with a video capture card and rack-mounted encoder connected to a camera or video output. Higher-end systems are complicated digital switchers and studio setups. All of these options need to have support for the desired streaming protocol and need to have a good enough internet connection because the reliability of the connection is as vital as the quality of the video codecs in terms of providing exceptional streaming.
Live video streaming requires a variety of equipment and software, and solutions might differ from one company to another. However, a standard regulation is that the less complex the solution, the lower the cost related to it. For the moment, the least difficult choice is the usage of a PC and webcam with encoders at the PC. These can be easy, free programs and are ideal for personal use or small corporations. However, the quality of the video and audio can suffer, and they can be very complex for someone who isn’t as technologically proficient as others.
