Okast
Highlight:
- 41% reduction in buffering
- 230% increase in customers
- 70% of new customers coming for the Live Event capabilities
The Overview
Video streaming has advanced at an incredible rate in recent years, making it possible for everyone from global broadcasters to small content creators to connect to inform, entertain, and educate audiences in the highest quality streams imaginable. The rapid evolution of video streaming means today’s tech-savvy audiences no longer tolerate poor image or audio quality, and it’s something OKAST understands, which is why it’s always striving to offer its creators the best possible viewing experience.
OKAST is a leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) cloud-based streaming platform that streamlines access to Live, VOD, and FAST distribution and monetization to content creators, producers, and distributors. OKAST provides the complete streaming architecture to its global customer base, comprising of concerts, theatres, gyms, film distributors, corporates, institutions, and TV channels. Following the rapid growth of OKAST, which sees it publish to over 450 platforms worldwide, it decided to utilize Bitmovin’s Player and Live Event Encoder deployed on Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud to deliver flawless playback in a live environment anywhere in the world.
The need for speed and scale
Bitmovin and OKAST’s collaboration began when OKAST chose to replace its existing player with Bitmovin Player. OKAST provides streams to a vast range of devices and platforms, so it needed a robust player to offer the seamless experience required to meet its customer’s expectations. OKAST’s previous player caused numerous issues because it could not deliver streams to several vital platforms, including Chromecast. It was also challenging to do ad insertion, and the user interface was difficult to customize. The issues from the previous player negatively impacted OKAST’s customers, and it decided to evaluate other vendors on the market to find a more flexible player that could scale more quickly.
Delivering peace of mind
OKAST chose to test the Bitmovin Player due to its history of pioneering video streaming innovations, its respected roster of customers. It found everything – from the player itself to the expertise and support provided by Bitmovin’s solutions team – of much higher quality and decided to make the switch. OKAST implemented Bitmovin Player successfully in just a couple of weeks.
“Bitmovin is renowned in the video streaming industry for its products that outpace its competitors in terms of scale, quality, reliability and flexibility,” said Cédric Monnier, CEO of OKAST. “Bitmovin was first choice after we evaluated vendors. Since then, the Bitmovin Player has empowered us to scale faster and more easily. We’ve gained more time, money and peace of mind because it doesn’t require continuous monitoring like our previous player.”
Following the successful deployment of the Bitmovin Player, OKAST became one of Bitmovin’s first customers to use the Bitmovin Live Encoding, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) application running on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud. Bitmovin Live Encoding addresses the need for high-quality live streams by optimizing Live to VOD workflows, ensuring live streams are available for on-demand playback immediately after the stream has ended. Customers have the option of running Bitmovin Live Encoding as a multi-tenant SaaS or as a single-tenant SaaS in their own AWS account.
“Our creators view live streaming capabilities as essential because it unlocks a new level of interactivity and engagement that’s just not possible with other content types,” said Cedric Monnier, CEO of OKAST. “We chose Bitmovin’s Live Encoding because the Bitmovin brand is synonymous with innovation in video streaming, which now includes live. Bitmovin Live Encoding is the most resilient solution on the market, empowering our creators to build more meaningful relationships with viewers and maximise the reach of their content among new audiences.”
A successful partnership
Following OKAST’s success with the Bitmovin Player and Live Encoding SaaS, OKAST has seen a 41% reduction in buffering and a direct impact on ROI, with a 230% increase in customers and 70% of new customers coming for the Live Event experience. The partnership continues to evolve, with OKAST eager to expand its collaboration with Bitmovin and its ability to support its content when it transitions from HD to 4K and beyond.
“The Bitmovin team are pleasant and trustful to work with, and I cannot wait to see where our partnership goes next!” concluded Cedric Monnier, CEO of OKAST.