Streaming or VOD - which feature is right for me?
TicketCo Media Services consists of a live streaming and a video on demand feature, built on broadcasting grade technology from Amazon Web Services. When you live stream or upload your content to TicketCo Media Services, the content is encoded and made available on a CDN to support potentially millions of viewers.
These two features, Streaming and Video on Demand, both work in slightly different ways. In this help article will we explain the distinctions and similarities between these two features, so that you can choose the best feature for you and your ticket buyers.
Streaming |
Video on Demand |
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How to set up | For more help regarding how to use the Streaming feature, please see this article. | For more help regarding how to use the Video on Demand feature, please see this article. |
In essence... | Ticket buyers tune into an online event at a specific time. It is available to view once only, and viewers will not be able to pause, rewind or fast forward. This is similar to watching a show live on TV. | Ticket buyers watch the content on demand - that is to say they can watch the online event at different times within a given time frame, and they will be able to re-watch multiple times within that period. |
What equipment will I need? |
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When do ticket buyers tune in? | Ticket buyers must tune in at the time the stream starts (or ideally at least 15 minutes before). They will not be able to watch the show from the beginning if they tune in late. |
Ticket buyers can tune in from the date that you have set up under "Valid from". They will then be able to re-watch the show multiple times within the time period you have set up under "Expiry". If your event is valid from 10th December, and the expiry is 10 days, then ticket buyers can start watching from the 10th, and keep watching until the 20th. |
Important to note... | Just as when you watch a show on your TV, where some broadcasts are live and some are pre-recorded, it is possible to stream both live and pre-recorded content on TicketCo Media Services. If you stream a pre-recording event, note you will still need to broadcast the event live via broadcasting software. | As this is an on demand product, all ticket buyers are purchasing access to the show within a given time frame. This time frame must be minimum 1 days. If you do not want your video viewed multiple times within a certain period, you should consider streaming instead. |
Can I combine streaming and VOD? | You could stream your event first, and as long as you record the stream, you could then set up a separate VOD event to sell access to the recording. | You could stream your event first, and as long as you record the stream, you could then set up a separate VOD event to sell access to the recording. |
How can ticket buyers view the online event on their TV? |
Apple TV Android TV Amazon Fire TV Chromecast
Using HDMI from PC to TV |
Apple TV Android TV Amazon Fire TV Chromecast
Using HDMI from PC to TV |
How can ticket buyers view the online event on their PC? |
By using the link in their tickets, or going to ticketco.tv and entering their reference code |
By using the link in their tickets, or going to ticketco.tv and entering their reference code |
Can we implement geo restrictions? |
Yes! Use the "Geo-restrictions" tab to select the countries you want your content to be available in. |
Yes! Use the "Country List" settings in your VOD ticket types to select the countries you want your content to be available in. |
What category should I use on my ticket types? |
Live stream |
Video on Demand |
Do I need to upload my content to TicketCo in advance? |
No. You will stream your content live via broadcasting software instead. Just make sure you have activated the streaming channel under "Technical information". |
You will need to upload your content to TicketCo (under the "Files" tab in "Organizer Settings"); however, you can start selling VOD tickets before your content is uploaded. Just make sure that you have "Video on Demand" registered on your ticket types. We advise uploading the content minimum 24 hours before your "Valid from" date. |
Do TicketCo need to activate this for me? |
Yes. We will need to activate access to this feature for you if you have not used it before. Contact us on support@ticketco.net. |
Yes. We will need to activate access to this feature for you. Once activated, you can started uploading your content and selling your VOD tickets. Contact us on support@ticketco.net. |
Closed captions - am I able to use this feature? |
No. For live streams there are no closed captions available. The nature of the streaming of live events prevents usage of a CC file. You can, however, insert the desired text directly into the stream in the production environment. |
Yes. The VOD feature supports closed captions. In order to use them you need to upload video file and closed captions file at the same time (both files should have the same name). Supported format for CC is SRT. |