Live Stream Vs. Ustream
Livestream and Ustream are competing Web streaming service providers. Using any video camera and microphone connected to your computer and one of the services, you can broadcast streaming video over the Internet. Livestream and Ustream differ in what features are available for free and which they charge for, and they use different pricing structures.
Other People Are Reading
-
Video Capabilities
-
Ustream and Livestream differ in the number of video broadcasting and editing features they offer to free and paid users. Livestream's free Procaster accounts offer multiple camera support, picture-in-picture broadcasting and three dimensional layouts and titling in the ad-supported accounts. Ustream only supports multiple cameras, picture-in-picture, titles and layers for the paid Producer Pro and Producer Studio users. Both allow you to archive broadcasts for on-demand video and to choose videos to play when you aren't streaming live, allowing you to create an online station that is always active.
Viewing Options
-
Livestream and Ustream offer hosted channel pages where viewers can watch your broadcasts and embeddable players you can put on any website. Both also offer premium customers programming tools they can use to develop custom players that are free of the service's branding. Livestream also promotes third-party extensions that help you display your Livestream videos on other platforms. Livestream offers unverified and verified free channels along with paid services.
-
Viewer Limits
-
Livestream unverified free channels are limited to 50 concurrent viewers while verified accounts have no limit. Verified accounts are checked for copyright violations, compliance with Livestream's Terms and Conditions and complete information in the channel's description. Ustream doesn't have a verification process for free channels and doesn't impose a limit on the number of concurrent viewers.
Social Features
-
Ustream and Livestream both have chat rooms and social features that allow viewers to interact while watching your stream. Ustream has a chat room and a "social stream" that shows posts made via Twitter that mention the show. Livestream has similar features but also offers a Facebook application that lets people watch and chat about your streaming video on Facebook.
Price and Monetization
-
Livestream and Ustream both offer free, ad-supported and paid, premium streaming services. At the time of publication, Ustream offers ad-free broadcasting beginning at about $100 a month for 100 viewing hours, while Livestream's ad-free broadcasting services starts at $350 a month but covers 3,000 ad-free hours. Ustream also charges for its Producer Pro and Producer Studio applications, while Livestream's only desktop application, Procaster, is free.
-
