Entertainment can go hand in hand with education and value proposition to the real-life scenarios
We were introduced to the concept of NFaStudios as something that can fill the void between entertainment and education. According to Angelo, the founder of NFAStudios, a lot of entertainment is just about passing some time, there is nothing like a learning curve in them. He had something unique in his mind. He was looking for a solution not just enough to serve the purpose, but also to propose a value in the regular life of his viewers.
Angelo found the Netflix business model, quite competent to serve what he has been aiming for. His focus was on creating and as we quote, “an on-demand commercial-free viewing rather than live, ad-supported programming.”
The rapid change in the internet and on-demand video scenarios has propelled a need to disseminate content full of entertainment and knowledge. The traditional video channels and platforms find it difficult to accommodate the required genre of content. In particular, many big platforms have their own guidelines and policies, which refrain from contents of a certain kind and with some unique propositions.
For example, people see politics as taboo and political leaders as just some vague speakers. It is because common people do not understand politics and its importance in society. The NEWS channels present political speeches with spices and many adulterations. The common audience hardly gets the gist of what those speeches mean to them. There could be many reasons why the common audience must gain raw access to these educational speeches.
Political videos are just the highlight of what more Angelo wanted to display to his audience. He understood the advantages and power of good video content that can educate and entertain at the same time. The result was strong opinions formulating the path to do what other popular platforms are afraid of doing.
The Content Objective
It was well important to have an idea of the kind of kind content Angelo wanted to have on the platform. Knowing this was important as it helped us preparing the first draft of the prototype. Considering the business plan, we could conclude that Angelo wanted to launch a video-on-demand service that would-
Let creators do what others are afraid to do.
Give small and talented creators a platform.
Give a platform to the influential content in its raw form without any adulteration.
Extend the array to include ‘Originals’ in the latter part of the business development.
Stream educational content rather than streaming unorganized live content or sports event.
Let viewers experience the spiritual and motivational speeches from real influencers.
The challenge
The business part and content curation were quite challenging for the client. However, for us, the only preliminary challenge was to fit our turnkey solution “Netflix Clone” into his business model. Luckily, the client wanted a similar platform like Netflix with the subscription model of revenue generation.
We had developed the Netflix clone -“StreamView” in response to various past queries for a Netflix-like VOD solution. No doubt, people wanted so, as Netflix is the first globally recognized VOD service with more than 103.95 million subscribers worldwide. We found our Netflix clone script best suited for the requirements. However, we were also required to do some modifications-
A fit Originals-The client wanted the ability to scale up the solution to fit “Originals” and many other types of content in the latter parts of the business development. In short, he wanted a solution fit enough to scale up the content and subscribers to count as the business grows.
Global Standards– The expected challenge was tailoring our existing script to let content creators have a platform for displaying video content and making it available for seamless, secure, anywhere-in-the-world access by the NfaStudios subscribers and content partners.
Registration Flow-The base script supported both subscription and pay-per-view model. Hence, the script did not come with the “Registration Flow’ of access to the videos. The client just wanted the subscription model and intended to allow access only after subscribing to the plans, just like Netflix.
Subscription Plans-Though the StreamView script already had the option to support multiple subscription plans, the challenge was to limit them to two plans with the client’s preferred plans. It just required some easy modifications in the existing codes.
Auto Renewal-Next challenge was to implement a Netflix like free trial and Auto-renewal logic. The aim was to let users subscribe to the free trial with a selected plan, and then auto-renew the next month’s subscription with the same plan. Like Netflix, we were also supposed to let the subscribers cancel the subscriptions anytime.
Categories on Homepage-The StreamView script, by default, supported the display of categories on the homepage. However, the displayed categories were not in harmony with the categories listed on the menu, they also had some additional categories. We had to synchronize the menu categories with the ones shown on the homepage, that too in identical order after listing the default categories above them.
Requirements: Automatically fulfilled by the default Script
In addition to the modifications and tailoring required to the existing Netflix clone script, the client also served us with many other requirements. Luckily, our existing script had most of them already. Here are a few of the fulfilled requirements for reference-
The implementation
Requirement-
The central part of the initial multimedia strategy involved streaming video-on-demand. Coupled with Streamhash’s Netflix clone, the first strategy to scale up the platform and let subscribers across the planet access them was automatically fulfilled by the default script.
As the IT team initiated to gather business requirements, the project broadened beyond the initial impressions where we aimed to cover the entire spectrum of a VOD business with a more sophisticated user experience. The client’s intention to scale up the content in later parts and redesigning the interface to match the brand’s identity was our first priority-
Technology Utilized-
Bootstrap as Frontend Framework.
Nginx Server For Streaming Video
API Documentation.
DigitalOcean Server for Hosting.
Google Cloud Messaging.
YouTube Player.
Angular JS for Frontend UI.
REDIS Server and Queue Concept for Compressing and Converting Video Resolution.
PayPal Payment Gateway Integrated.
BitBucket for Version Control.
Facebook API Integrated.
JW Player.
Laravel 5.2 as Backend
MYSQL to Save Data.
SMTP to Emails.
Google API.
Process and Approach
Design
Angelo needed a powerful design and development for a streamlined user experience. Our aim with designing principles focused on –
Building and managing a huge database of subscriber profiles and video content.
Ensuring seamless interaction between subscribers, high-quality videos, and corresponding membership plans
Ensuring safer online transactions with a secure payment gateway.
Streamlining the website flow according to the Registration flow model.
Keeping the fundamentals in our sense, we advanced with the initial designing phase. The style and design preference focused on keeping the brand identity proficient, refined and trustworthy. Hence, with mutual consent, we settled on the color pallet, which was a mix of black, light blue, and white. Blue is the color of the sky. It is frequently associated with depth and stability. The color also displays the NFAStudio’s unique proposition and creative content base. Thus, after numerous trials, we finalized the pallet and implemented a clean and balanced UI matching the brand identity and contemporary design requirements.
Prototype
We started with HTML as the base code and came up with a blueprint of the website. This helped us to clear the doubts, as we came across some further requirements after discussing the prototype. Finally, we ended up with our final website design after understanding the precise needs.
Development
It is important to comprehend the ever-changing needs of a VOD platform. Hence, we assigned the project to a dedicated 8-member team-
One Project Manager
One Technical Architect
One quality Analyst
Two website developers
One website designer
One Android developer
One iOS developer
Each member was precisely briefed about the project. We focussed on stressing the fact that the client needs a flexible and scalable platform for onboarding users from across the USA and other parts of the world in the latter parts. Moreover, we also customized the registration flow to work only according to the subscription-based model (no access to the website without a subscription). Without any scope for compromise in the user experience and scalability, the development team finally came up with the actual script.
Testing
Post-development phase, the eight-membered team started testing the whole project, while they were managing the workflow through the Trello board. After each phase of the Manual, Functional, and automated testing, the project manager and Technical architect would check for the quality and enhancement possibilities. Taking the feedbacks, the development team would again work on the rectifications and transfer the task to the testing team.
After some repeated cycles on the grounds like Stream quality, integration and user experience trials, etc. we came up with the beta phase of the project.
The Beta Phase
We piloted a marketing cum live testing campaign through Native Advertising. The campaign targeted around 4500 users. The live user analytics and feedback helped us to test our project in a crucial real-life environment, different from what we tested on our systems.
We also organized a tech talk where we explained and tested the project with 40 men and women from our workspace. Based on the feedback and analytics, we further fine-tuned the functionalities and optimized the user experience.
Mobile Apps
Based on the development done on the web version of the platform, we came up with the mobile apps for both Android and iOS devices. We synchronized both the mobile apps to the web version in terms of–
Content synchronization
User Synchronization
Special care: While developing this multi-device VOD platform, we took special care to make sure that the following requirements are rigorously fulfilled:
A user can gain access corresponding to the subscribed plan.
The total number of simultaneous logins is limited as per the subscription plans.
This is similar to Netflix’s maximum number of allowed simultaneous logins.
It means that if a user subscribes to a plan that offers only one login at a time, he or she cannot log in on the laptop if already logged on to the mobile app.
Outcome
As of today, the stable versions of the website and both the mobile apps are live. They are performing well and attracting many users. The service is currently offering the base subscription for $9.99/MONTH with a cancel anytime facility.
The Live Android and iOS Apps in Official App stores
The subscribers can access the content from anywhere: Mobile, tablet, or desktop.
The business is steadily growing its roots. With certain unique propositions like the only subscription-based video streaming platform to offer access to historical lectures by The Honourable Minister Louis Farrakhan. It is also offering some Premium Original Content related to politics. The most recent breakthrough shows such as 40 Miles, How to eat to live, and Food Nation are responsible for attracting an array of new users to the platform.
As of now, the NFA Studios has acquired more than 4000 subscribers in about three months. It offers both monthly and yearly plans, with an additional free trial period. The trial subscribers can choose to-
Continue with the selected plan after the free trial.
Change the plan while renewing the subscription.
Cancel the subscription any time, without any commitment.
As of Feb 2021, NFA Studios now has over 20k paying subscribers which roughly translates into a revenue of around $400k – $500k.
The client speaks and as we quote
When asked the Founder of NFAStudios on his experience with StreamView and StreamHash, here is what he says:
Question 1: What made you start NFAStudios?
We started NFAStudios because we felt it was a void in what we call “Edu-tainment”, or being educated and entertained at the same time. A lot of entertainment is just that, entertainment. People are being entertained but walking away with nothing that enhances them as a person. We want to entertain but also teach and help people learn, enhance themselves, their lives, those around them, and walk away better people.
Question 2: What makes NFAStudios stand out from the crowd?
NFA Studios stands out because we are doing what others are afraid of or unable to do. And that provides entertainment that not only entertains but raises the quality of life of the viewer.
Question 3: Who are NFAStudios customers?
NFA customers are people of all ages, races, and religious backgrounds, who want a different alternative from the entertainment currently provided by mass media.
Question 4: How did you find StreamHash?
We found StreamHash by googling “Netflix style website themes”. It took us several weeks of searching to find the best match for us but the best ended up being StreamHash
Question 5: What challenges were you experiencing prior to purchasing our product or service?
We experienced many challenges prior to purchasing StreamHash. Other developers we contacting said they could do the job but in reality, when we hired them, they fell short of what they promised. Or if they could develop the site we wanted there styling and design were not up to par. We experienced this with several different software development companies.
Question 6: How were the initial conversations with the StreamHash Sales team? Can you specify how easy it was to gather requirements and kick off the project?
StreamHash has an exceptional sales team! We got on the phone with them and within a day or so we were up and rolling. There sales team is very friendly and easy to work with and answered all our questions which made it very easy for us to move forward.
Question 7: How was your experience with StreamHash during the development process?
For the past few months since the soft-launch of our site, we have been working closely with the StreamHash tech team on the development of our site. The StreamHash team makes the development process very enjoyable. They are great at communication, usually responded immediately to any questions or concerns. And when matters are pressing they do not hesitate to get on a Skype call to solve the issue. Working with the StreamHash tech team on the development of our site has been AMAZING, to say the least! This is just the beginning of a great partnership; we hope to continue to work with StreamHash on this project and future projects.
In today’s virtual industry you have so many things to choose from that often it gets you into a state of dilemma. Such is the demand for a VOD platform, which has fused the digital and physical world in a manner where one has become dependent on each other.
If you are commencing video content in this digital or machine influenced era your audience will be looking up to you and will be asking for answers as to how comprehensively you have “tuned in” to a broadcast which your spectators would rate as commendable.
They will also be looking into the specks as to whether you have fulfilled their demands of having a colossal archive from where they would be able to select from.
Abundant broadcasters looking to concoct a video on demand platform are completely mindful that the circumstances are changing in their industry every second, yet many have eased back when they needed to respond to these progressions. Some are as yet stuck in the outlook of only five years back when telecasters were as yet ready to manage calendars for their groups of audience.
It is not at all shocking that there is a solid hunger among broadcasters to ‘catch up’ with their groups of onlookers and to begin addressing the significant difficulties that the alternating viewer requests display.
Wouldn’t you like to know the things that have altered the broadcasting industry? Of course, you do. Let us discuss this as a priority.
One can define broadcasting as a one-to-many model, where onlookers assume a simply aloof part. An entire biological system of equipment and work processes grew up through the years to nourish this once-effective and ever-predominant model. In any case, in the last 5-10 years, things have quickly changed. Furthermore, the pace of progress has gotten numerous broadcasters wanting to commence a video on demand platform on the jump.
Advanced video, video-on-request (VOD) and TV Everywhere (TVE) administrations have detonated onto a large number of stages and gadgets.
These administrations give watchers extreme control over where, when, and how they could watch content. In only a couple of years, the conventional models appear to be obsolete and are currently attempting to stay aware of innovation, client desire, and web-scale content conveyance.
All of a sudden, the gizmo utilized by an audience, alongside the source telecaster, are optional to the genuine substance which is on offer.
Together with video on demand platform, content produced by client and infringement are changing the substance of video amusement. More than 500 million YouTube channels compete with other interpersonal organizations against customary configurations.
Due to this clients are ending up progressively baffled at the test of finding pertinent substance and are moving over to administrations like Netflix.
The prominence of online video platform utilization with a high social remainder is epidemically expanding. Continuous games, reality appears, shows, sitcoms, and kids’ projects are among the most mainstream sorts in social TV today.
This prompts a progression of focused situations between all the significant players, including content suppliers, content packages, designing organizations, gadget makers, innovation organizations, organize administrators, and publicizing organizations.
Organizations and broadcasters are redoing their offerings to take into account the movements of the direct broadcast which is getting to be plainly littler as the greater part of material progress toward becoming on-demand.
There are some challenges you have to face while starting a subscription VOD platform. Quite a few of them would be:
Promotions
Implementing VoD endorsement additions has not been culminated and most systems are not willing to be problematic without the correct arrangement. On account of cable lines, the conveyance of VOD promotions is in the hands of cable providing organizations. With the integration of set-top boxes, there is a requirement for a limitation for dynamic VOD endorsement for the crosswise institutionalization over set-top boxes.
Another hurdle you might be facing is the way that implanted business inventories ordinarily run for only a month implying that promoters need to endure for a contracted period before having the capacity to evacuate an advertisement that isn’t faring admirably.
Content
Business initiating video on demand platform need to remember that buyers are lurking here and there for better substance disclosure through their companions utilizing social TV and second screen applications.
After we upgraded from analog to computerized TV broadcasting which got a taste of progress, smart TVs by creators, for example, Samsung and Sony immediately picked up a lot of fame for enabling clients to make utilization of the implicit Wi-Fi to talk with friends over Facebook or searching other stuff over a search engine while watching a program.
Genuine Presence of Multi-Platform
Your audience would today need vast control over their video utilization. The availability of substance over assorted stages has been one of the key factors in driving VoD development.
The absence of implanting substance over second and third screens can upset the development prospects.
Engagement
Civil computations have prompted the runaway achievements of VoD such as like House of Cards and Game of Thrones. It is vital that developers should be enticed and captivated through promos and trailers to keep the buzz on for their content.
The absence of it will mean tumbling appraisals and watchers moving on to another online video platform which would have an archive consisting of better and buzzing substance.
Innovation
Any VOD platform should re-find themselves now and again with UI changes, library name change arrangements, a better substance security practices and introduce free streaming. Netflix as of late abandoned its party UI, after detailed research, to refine and facilitate its substance so that it becomes discoverable to the viewers.
Certain subscription VOD platform such as Netflix and Amazon has their pros and cons. This does not mean you cannot trust these organizations that bring you the best video content for the most economical price.
STREAMVIEW is one such solution which would let you create an unblemished video on demand platform in return for a price which you would have never imagined.
Being an absolute white-labeled solution this enterprise helps to create a Netflix like venture if required. The unscathed script of Streamview which can be a clone of any VOD platform as requested by the customer has been attracting audiences from corners of the world since its advent.
The scalability and the personalization properties allow concocting an impenetrable bond between the customer and the admin. Even your audience would have enough control over their video consumption. You can now modify the front desk user interface by the addition of certain notable features in the mobile application of the business.
Most importantly, for a subscription VOD platform, you can also take the aid of Streamview in designing a payment wallet of your choice. The payment wallet to be integrated will certainly be a robust and secure platform and enhance the confidence of the customer. Just in case you are looking for a solution which would curtain the challenges faced while formulating a vod platform you can definitely switch your focus over to one of the best solutions available in the market which is Streamview.
There is certainly no living soul dwelling on this planet who does not want to witness their most treasured flicks and television series as per their convenience. Video on Demand is one such gem which allows an individual to do so. Also summarized as VoD in the industry it has quite similar features to that of a DVR service where recording and halting any content for later use is viable. VoD services represent a “Pay-Per-View” model which is administered by “OTT streaming service providers”. Users will definitely have to pay for the services and will be enjoying these benefits without any complication.
Amazon used to lead the domain of subscription video on demand services. Each year yields trillions of viewers and Amazon continues to beat their own records time to time. Currently, Netflix has become the torchbearer in the subscription video on demand domain. Netflix has allured abundant viewers enough to achieve a 10% more of the market share than Amazon. Certain solutions such as StreamView even commit in the deliverance of a Netflix like website or an unblemished clone of it.
The British regulatory board coined as the “Office of communications”, has listed the top notch subscription video on demand services in their decreasing order where the archive is led by Netflix with more than 65 million subscribers worldwide. Amazon Prime ranks second with around 40 million subscribers followed by Hulu with as few as 9 million subscribers. Sky Now TV is in the building process and still attracts around 750,000 audiences from all across the globe. With the advent of VoD services TV sets are becoming extinct while set top boxes are barely put to effect. A primary difference between a conventional cable service provider and platforms like Netflix and Amazon is that the latter does not have to be in anguish of uploading entire schedules over numerous channels which is a must for cable TV service providers. Netflix while collecting greater revenue than Amazon also have been bidding insurmountably every time. Barring all these factual information Amazon Prime still has been competent enough to carry forward a budget of £160 for a short span of three years.
Previously, Subscription Video on Demand services availed a drawback where the content could only be projected over a PC or a laptop. With the inauguration of IPTV the hindrance was cut short and later on it became viable for household purposes as well. Technologies such as Chromecast by Google and Fire Stick by Amazon act as hotspots or wireless devices allowing viewers to watch their favorite shows by on their Television with a better picture quality at ease. Subscription video on demand has become so popular in due time that even TV service providers have come up with the idea of providing Netflix to customers as a scheme of their amalgamation. The Chrome Cast dongle is certainly a boon to the ones who are familiar with the Television and not modern gizmos such as a laptop or an ipad. Analysts realize that with a minimalistic speed of about 23Mbps in the UK viewing SVOD on multiple devices might end up in buffering issues as well as the content might as well get pixilated. For subscription video on demand services the broadband must hoist a speed of 100Mbps or more or else need to be in an environment driven by jazzed-up WIFI bandwidths for its imminent growth.
As SVOD services commenced it engrossed 3% of the total UK inhabitants towards it in the year of 2014 while the rest was preoccupied with the notion of live TV and on-demand television. In this generation SVOD has become an integral form of witnessing TV shows and movies which chiefly stream US TV shows. Prevailing cable TV service providers are accomplished rivals of these video on demand services. These associations have finally come up with the idea of providing YouTube for free along with a TV including recording features.
On the other hand, Netflix has initiated exemplary TV series with the likes of “Breaking Bad” and “House of Cards” which had taken out the world by storm. Such flicks which are viewed by audience worldwide every single day has been quite an outstanding subsidy which aided in the growth of the subscription video on demand business. Netflix has spawned TV spectacles and manifestations in such a way that even legendary shows such as “Friends” have also been facing serious competition. Even without broadcasting Sports events or News, Netflix earns revenue which remains a delusion for most of the VoD applications.
Questions like “how to create a video on demand website” have been fired from time to time as people got indebted to Netflix and Amazon Prime. Multi National Industries are also looking to create Netflix clones so that their business is kick-started at a totally different level. One such turnkey solution is StreamView which would create a VOD website following the Netflix business model. StreamView initiates a Netflix clone with an economical expenditure and customizable features. Everything which Netflix contains will be present in the clone. In case of any other extension required by the appealer it will be added to the script as a supplement. Here at StreamView the HTTP format is being converted into HSL and RTMP so that it works on iOS and Android devices. Videos will play without any delay, lag and will be deprived of buffering. A Linux operating system is the imperative platform where the Netflix business model or the Netflix clone will be launched. The code used must be nothing other than PHP.
One can always bank upon their own selves for the initiation of such a venture but taking up things on your own won’t help you save a buck. You will have to spend dreadfully. Rather than doing that you can also rely on services such as StreamView who would embrace your assignment and create immaculate business models at a much lower rate. Coding is carried out by languages such as PHP and NodeJS for an effortless way to launch online rather than counting on CMS such as WordPress. Introducing unruffled and stellar themes for videos and galleries enhances aesthetic management. Some plug-ins qualified to handle websites with video content are popularized as well. Other factors include transcoding which is again a transcripting process along with customizations for video players which have been put to effect.
North America used to be the harbinger for Video on Demand services but now Asia Pacific has also come forth with challenges demanding progress. According to reports Wireless broadband will be enduring a compelling slam from 32% infiltration in 2016 to a 63% infiltration by 2022. Limited bandwidth will be bearing a stagnant growth which would be slower than that of unlimited bandwidth incursion. The research on subscription video on demand included 15000 correspondents from countries such as Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. Hong Kong leads the race with 72% of their population depending on video on demand with Australia behind them with a community of 56 percent who are indebted to subscription video on demand. The present day witnesses at least 78 percent of the American population obligated to avail at least a single OTT service. In the year 2014 around 90 percent of the U.S population were looking forward to subscribe to cable. However, the statistics dropped unbelievably and later on in the same year the count had depreciated to 79 percent. The E&M industry is in a state of constant change with spectators doubting the worth of paid TV subscription.
On embracing independent blueprints studios and networks wills surely pave a path towards the betterment of the industry. The ones who have actually prospered from such ventures are studios since their hunger for a superior content is never slackened. Video providers need to acquire information as to how the Digital Music market has been able to entice a humongous number of admirers. This might take time, but considering the rate at which the video on demand industry is booming this would not be a gruesome task. Learning how to harmonize depth which signifies that for each viewer there must be an appealing content and also studying the ways by which the viewers could experience a flawless content is a crucial task going forward. Traditional video circulators must consider creation of additional divisions, must pertain to cost cutting schemes and must also assimilate bundles of OTT services which enjoy access to broadband.
In conclusion it is convincible that the digital media world exclusively depends on its fans or viewers. Subscription video on demand services had been launched in order to impediment piracy. Watching your favorite shows for free must be brought to a standstill since this is not profitable for the team toiling day on day to release their content. With Netflix business model and clones of video on demand services created by different software solutions it is certainly feasible to watch your favorite movies and TV shows without any hardship. Together we can draw a borderline which will end piracy which is a colossal crime in the Video streaming industry.
