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10 Reasons Why You Should Be Using a Live Broadcasting Platform

10 Reasons Why You Should Be Using a Live Broadcasting PlatformIf you are looking to provide live streaming content to your fans or customers, you have likely been following the advances in the video streaming industry. Thanks to a wide range of video streaming providers and lightning fast Internet speed, it is easier than ever to broadcast live streaming content to your fans or customers. Partnering with a high-end streaming provider like TikiLIVE can give you a leg up on your competitors in a number of areas, which we will discuss in this article.

1. Mobile Capabilities

Walk down any busy street in America and you will see scores of people, young and old, glued to their mobile phones. Because of this, it is no surprise that studies recently showed that more people are accessing the Internet from mobile devices than from physical computers. Therefore, it is imperative that your video content be accessible across all types of devices. TikiLIVE offers full HTML5 compatibility, which allows your content to be viewed on smartphones and tablets as well as computers and set top boxes.

2. Robust Analytics Platform

When you are creating content online, you need to know how well your content is connecting with your viewers. Through powerful analytics, you can see how many views each of your videos is receiving and during which times of the day your content is being accessed the most. This can allow you to constantly tweak your content strategy according to the needs of your viewers.

3. Reliable Content Delivery Network

If you are not familiar with a content delivery network, it is a network of servers that evenly distributes Internet traffic based on demand. A CDN is invaluable for a company that releases a video that instantly becomes viral. TikiLIVE offers one of the most powerful content delivery networks in the industry; one that will not let you down when your content becomes extremely popular.

4. Social Media Integration

Social media networks like Facebook and Twitter offer excellent platforms that can be used to generate buzz around your content. Using TikiLIVE allows you to instantly share your content across multiple social media networks. With TikiLIVE sharing your content across social media networks is as easy as clicking a button. You no longer have to worry about forgetting whether you shared something to your Facebook or Twitter page.

5. WordPress Module

Another avenue that can allow you to spread the word about your live video content is through your website. In the past, embedding videos into your website was cumbersome and required you to have a level of coding knowledge that was difficult for a beginner to master. With TikiLIVE and WordPress you can easily integrate all of your video content into your website with a few clicks of the mouse. With millions of people using WordPress as the backbone of their websites, the experts at TikiLIVE understood that it made sense to allow website owners to easily embed their video content directly into their website.

6. Easy to Use Interface

A provider can have the most powerful infrastructure on the planet, but if the user interface is not easy to use, people will typically look somewhere else to host their videos. TikiLIVE understood this principle and has worked extremely hard to ensure that our interface is user friendly for even the most novice computer users. On top of that, should you have any questions at anytime, you can contact TikiLIVE by phone, email or live chat. Does your current video content provider offer this level of support?

7. IPTV Integration

More and more Americans are cutting the cord when it comes to their cable providers and are utilizing internet based media providers like Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime.Consumers are using set top boxes from manufacturers like Roku that allow them to view all of their digital content on their television. TikiLIVE understands that the television market is changing and offers full Roku support so that your content can be seen alongside the big players like Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon.

8. White Label Options

Ready to launch your own IPTV network? Let TikiLIVE show you how with our white label services. We allow you to completely brand your content with your logos and color scheme to ensure that your video content looks professional. Leave the infrastructure to the professionals at TikiLIVE and focus on making your brand look appealing to your users.

9. Monetization Capabilities

As your content becomes more popular, you will most likely be interested in ways that you can generate income from your brand’s popularity. With TikiLIVE there are a variety of ways that you can make money from your content including, charging for tickets to your live video streaming events as well as allowing users to purchase pay per view tickets after your event has been completed. Think about the possibilities of being able to monetize your live events as well as generate income through pay per view events for years down the road.

TikiLIVE also integrates with a variety of advertising platforms such as Google AdSense.

10. Cloud Based Video Encoding

With our proprietary Monster Encoder, you can upload your content in a variety of formats, and let TikiLIVE handle the complicated encoding. With our encoding technology your content will be instantly accessible on iOS, Android and set top boxes. TikiLIVE handles all of this complicated encoding effortlessly in the cloud so you can focus on what matters – creating great content.

Have You Seen Enough? Ready to Contact TikiLIVE?

If you have seen enough and understand how TikiLIVE can take your live video broadcasting to the next level, contact us today at 305-289-4557.If you still have a few questions that need to be answered, contact us by phone or setup a live chat with one of our expert technicians. We are confident that after speaking with one of our technical support representatives about our product, you will be a TikiLIVE user for life! We look forward to showing you exactly what TikiLIVE can do!

How to Streamline Your Company’s Conferences and Eliminate the Hassle of Travel

How to Streamline Your Company’s Conferences and Eliminate the Hassle of TravelWith the emergence of high-speed Internet access around the world, distance is no longer as much of a factor when it comes to running a business.  Businesses around the world are using the advantages of broadband Internet to save money when it comes to running a business.  Companies are learning that having a large office building centralized in one area is no longer always profitable.  With remote access technology, employees are able to work around the world as if they were all in the same office building.  This opens up all sorts of opportunities and ways for businesses to save money.   Companies that are able to stay nimble and cut costs are better positioned to succeed over the long haul.

In the past, companies with multiple locations have used conferences to convey information to employees and to help launch new products and services to an entire company.  While these conferences are often thought of as a mini-vacation for employees, they are extremely expensive for employees.  When you consider the travel expenses including hotels, airfare, food and facility rental, putting on a conference is no small feat for a growing company.  For a company with a large number of employees, conferences can easily cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

There has to be a better way!

Live Video Streaming of Your Company’s Conferences

Thankfully, with advances in live streaming technology, conference expenses no longer have to break the bank.  Companies are able to partner with a company like TikiLIVE to easily stream their live video content to employees around the world.  This means that travel expenses are effectively eliminated and employees can participate in the conferences from any location in the entire world.  No longer do companies have to worry about expensive airfare or accommodations by choosing to stream company conferences.

Advantages of Using TikiLIVE to Stream Your Company’s Conferences

TikiLIVE is a robust Content Delivery Network that eliminates the distance between you and your employees.  No longer do all of your employees have to be located in the same city as your headquarters.  Using productivity tools like TikiLIVE, you can easily disseminate important information to all of your employees at a moments notice.  Below are some of the reasons why choosing TikiLIVE to stream your company’s conferences will be a wise move.

  • Supports the new h.265 codec – TikiLIVE now offers support for the new h.265 codec, which offers huge opportunities for your users.  The h.265 codec is thought to be twice as efficient as the h.264 codec.  This means that the size of 720p and 1080p content is much smaller, which is good news for content that is being delivered over the Internet.  This allows your viewers to more quickly access your content even when Internet speed is in question.
  • Mobile Friendly Access – More people are now accessing the Internet from their smartphones than from PCs.  This means that if your video content is not able to viewed on mobile devices, you are missing out on a huge segment of the population.  Thanks to HTML5 technology and TikiLIVE, all of your content will easily be viewed across all mobile devices.  Whether your employees are viewing your live streaming content from their smartphones, tablets, or PCs, they will have no issues with viewing your streaming content.
  • Live or Recorded Content – TikiLIVE allows you to stream live or prerecorded content to your employees.  This way you can record your conferences to allow employees who could not attend to watch the videos at a later time.  Recording video content can also allow you to create a video library, which can be a great training tool for new hires.
  • Low Initial Costs – With TikiLIVE, the costs to stream your content online are manageable.  With TikiLIVE and HD Wave, you can stream content to your employees with a standard PC or even a mobile phone if absolutely necessary.  TikiLIVE allows you to create professional video content with relatively low overhead.
  • Robust Infrastructure – TikiLIVE is a streaming provider offering a top notch content delivery network to ensure that your users are able to access your content at anytime, from anywhere.  As more and more employees access your content online the speed and quality of the video can become compromised.  TikiLIVE ensures that this does not happen.   We understand that businesses rely on our infrastructure and we therefore work tirelessly to ensure that our delivery network is always reliable.
  • IPTV Capabilities – Not only can your employees view your content through their mobile devices and PCs, but they can also view your content on their TV.  Using a set top box like Roku, your employees can tune in to your company’s conferences from their TV.  You can setup your own channel on Roku’s interface to allow your employees to keep up with all of the latest company news with ease.

Increase Your Company’s Bottom Line With Live Streaming

The economy is tough and businesses are looking at every expense with a fine-toothed comb to try to reduce expenses wherever possible.  Using live streaming technologies, companies can save significant money when it comes to organizing conferences as well as other company meetings and announcements.  No longer does a company have to spend significant money flying people around the world for conferences and training.  TikiLIVE allows you to remove location as a barrier that separates your employees.

Need More Information?  Contact TikiLIVE Today

If you are looking for a way to reduce travel costs for your employees to and from company conferences and other activities, TikiLIVE may be your answer.  To learn more about our wide array of services, give one of our customer service representatives a call today at 305-289-4557 or start a chat online.  We will happily answer any questions that you may have and show you how we can help you save money by providing our high quality streaming services for your business.  Most of our clients are blown away with the wide array of applications for our services after signing up.  We look forward to working with you soon to improve communication across your entire company.

Stream HD Audio to Any Device with TikiLIVE: iPhones, Android Phones and Tablets – Oh, My!

Stream HD Audio to Any Device with TikiLIVE: iPhones, Android Phones and Tablets – Oh, My!The rise of streaming audio on the Internet has led listeners to search for something new beyond the tired AM/FM radio paradigm. The Morning Zoo, Two-fer Tuesdays, All-Request Rock Blocks…these familiar radio standbys have become so clichéd that they have become shorthand for cheesy, uninspired broadcasting. With so many music and podcast options on the Internet, which listeners can take with them on mobile devices everywhere they go, there’s no need to settle for being tied to traditional terrestrial radio any longer. Listeners can seek out audio content that offers them something new, and Internet broadcasters can play music that reflects their true personalities.

Fortunately, 21st-century technology has done away with the need for aspiring DJs to align themselves with traditional radio stations. Gone are the rigid, mainstream formats, office politics, and graveyard shifts that broadcasters formerly couldn’t avoid in their radio careers. The Internet has leveled the playing field and made it possible for anyone with a computer or mobile device to become a broadcaster, without having to invest in expensive equipment or obtain an FCC license. And just as it does for video, TikiLIVE can get your HD audio content delivered to mobile devices worldwide quickly, easily, and dependably, thanks to our Better Than Radio module.

Reaching Listeners Around the World Has Never Been Easier

Getting your radio station started really is just as easy as signing up for TikiLIVE’s Better Than Radio service. From there, it’s just a matter of:

  • Creating your channel (or channels)
  • Uploading your HD audio files to the TikiLIVE Audio Library
  • Creating playlists for your audio, and then
  • Going live.

Your channels can be anything you want them to be; they can showcase different genres, eras, artists, themes, and many other options. You can embed your channels into your WordPress site, and if you don’t have one, TikiLIVE will provide a WordPress site to you, so your station has a home base on the web.

With your channels ready to go, your next step is to upload your HD audio files. Once this is done, you can edit library information such as artist, track, and album names, genre, release date, and other data. TikiLIVE’s robust infrastructure hosts your HD audio in its Audio Library and streams it on demand, at any time anywhere in the world, without dropping, stuttering or buffering.

With your HD audio uploaded, you then create your playlists. Your My Playlists page in TikiLIVE enables you to create new playlists as well as track previously created ones with information you can add to them: date created, title, length, number of files, the channel the playlist was used on, and more. Once created, playlists can be edited as well as deleted.

From there, all that remains is to go live, and enjoy your new career as an Internet DJ!

HTML5 Encoding Takes You to Any Device, Anywhere

Not only does TikiLIVE make starting your own HD audio channels easier than ever, but it gives your audio the potential to reach more people and more places than ever before. With TikiLIVE’s HTML5 encoding, your streaming audio can be played back on any type of mobile device without any type of playback or compatibility issues, be it Android, iPhone, Windows tablet, or iPad. With these mobile devices now such a big part of everyday life, in all the things we do and the places we go, broadcasting to these devices makes so much more sense than the old way of broadcasting. TikiLIVE gets your HD audio to everywhere people work and play, all over the world.

Broadcast on Your Radio Channel

You can become a professional DJ from the comfort of your own home.

TikiLIVE has integrated third party applications like Virtual DJ, Winamp or SAM broadcaster that allow you to stream live using a microphone and audio media from your computer. You can broadcast on your radio station directly from your bedroom and create interactive shows with your listeners.

Facebook Makes Your Channels Easy to Find and Share

While it’s hard to say how many people actively search for new channels of streaming audio content on their mobile devices, the number of people who use their devices to engage with social media sites such as Facebook is staggering. That is why TikiLIVE gives Better Than Radio channels the ability to broadcast to Facebook and potentially reach its millions of users around the globe. For your broadcast channels, you can provide an embed code so users can share your channel to their sites or social media profiles as well. With so many Facebook users on the planet, people won’t have to go out of their way to discover and engage with your HD audio broadcast on their mobile devices because Facebook places your channels right in front of them and lets them share your channels with their friends.

Radio Channels Statistics Give You the Breakdown

Once your audio channels are live, you’re going to want to know which content is getting the most traction, and when. TikiLIVE’s Radio Channels Statistics page lays it all out for you, by channel and time period. See which of your playlists are getting the most plays, what size of audiences you’re reaching at which times of day, and how much bandwidth they are using. This information can help you learn which channels need tweaking to deliver the content you’re getting the most success with, and which playlists to consider shelving. This data is also invaluable in the event that you seek sponsorship for your radio channels. Potential underwriters are going to want to know which channels are reaching the most people, at which times. When you consider the number of iPhones, Android phones, and tablets your HD audio channels can reach, these statistics may very well pleasantly surprise you, and possibly even astonish you.

Let TikiLIVE Be Your HD Audio Partner

As with its high-definition video services, TikiLIVE is available to support you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help you get your HD audio channels up and running. We are here to ensure that your audience has the highest quality listening experience available, whether from a Mac or PC or from a smartphone or tablet. Let us help you in your quest to reach listeners around the globe with HD audio channels that represent the true you, not some commercial entity employing you. Get started today and contact us if you have any questions!

Broadcasting Software to Stream Live HD Sporting Events

Broadcasting Software to Stream Live HD Sporting EventsIf you are a fan of any type of sporting event you have likely seen the increase in the amount of live streaming coverage that is provided online. ESPN has been a big trendsetter in this area and has several networks that are streamed entirely online. This allows ESPN and other broadcasters to still broadcast many of the smaller market sporting events to rabid fans across the country.

You may think that you have to have a huge following like one of the big television networks to stream live HD sporting events, but with emerging technologies this is no longer the case. Thanks to the availability of high speed Internet access almost anywhere, anyone can be up and running with a live streaming sports broadcast in no time at all.

If you are deciding to stream a live sporting event there are several things that you should keep in mind to ensure that your viewers are able to sufficiently experience your broadcast. Failing to deliver on these key points can drastically affect the number of people that will want to watch your broadcast.

Connection Speed

When you are streaming video live, connection speed is very important. We often think about connection speed only being important for the viewer, but it is also equally important for the person or group of people who are creating the streaming content. There is nothing more frustrating than sitting at home trying to stream a video that will simply not load due to buffering or other connection issues. Don’t make the mistake of relying on a spotty Internet connection when you are shooting your live HD sporting event.

High Quality Video Camera

While it is true that you can stream video from something as simple as a smartphone, this is not recommended for live streaming of HD sporting events. Smartphones have their place when it comes to video, but a high quality video camera is a much better fit when high-speed sports action is involved. You will want a camera that offers high-powered zoom, low light sensitivity, optical image stabilization and a high quality LCD screen. There are a variety of cameras that can meet your needs that may cost a bit more, but will be well worth it when it comes time to stream your content.

Reliable Content Delivery Network

For streaming live events online, there is not much that is more important than the content delivery network that is used to disseminate your content out to the masses. Think of a content delivery network as the backbone upon which people will access your content. This backbone must be able to deal with constant spikes in traffic without causing added buffering or interruptions. A content delivery network such as TikiLIVE will grow as you grow, intelligently scaling as the demand for your streaming content increases. This allows you to focus on creating high quality live streaming sporting events without worrying about how the content will be seen and heard by the masses.

Multiple Encoding Options

Another important feature to consider when you are choosing a content delivery provider is the types of encoding options that are supported. Thanks to TikiLIVE’s Monster Encoder, you can upload files in a variety of formats and allow TikiLIVE’s servers to do the dirty work of encoding the content so that it is viewable across a multitude of devices.

User Friendly Interface

When choosing a content provider, you want to work with a company that offers a user-friendly interface that is easy for even a novice videographer to use. TikiLIVE offers a web based, extremely user-friendly portal that gives you the ability to upload and access all of your video content. Not only can you upload and view all of your content, but you can also access TikiLIVE’s robust analytics platform to see how well your videos are performing. Having this added level of analysis can really allow you to find areas of improvement and tweak your video content based on what your viewers prefer to see.

Mobile Friendly Options

When you are streaming live HD sporting events, you must not forget about your mobile audience. If you go to any public place across America you will see scores of young people as well as adults glued to their smartphones. Many of these individuals are watching videos – some of them are likely even watching live sporting events. If you are not catering to this audience, by some accounts you could be losing half your audience from the start.

Don’t make the mistake of starting out significantly behind the curve in terms of viewership. Utilize a platform like TikiLIVE, which offers full HTML5 compatibility for all of your video content. This simply means that your content will be viewable on any device whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, PC or even IPTV devices from manufacturers such as Roku.

Social Media Sharing Capabilities 

Another important consideration to think about with your video content is how easy will it be to share across your social media networks. Social media is an incredible marketing tool when used effectively. If you have a loyal social media following, your fans will be more than willing to watch your content and likely share it with their friends and family. With TikiLIVE, sharing your content on popular social media networks like Facebook and Twitter is as easy as clicking a button. Be sure not to miss out on this integration when you begin streaming live HD videos.

Are You Ready To Broadcast Live HD Sporting Events? 

Streaming sporting events online is both relatively inexpensive and a lot of fun. If you are ready to partner with a content delivery network that will take you to the goal line and beyond, give TikiLIVE a call today at (305) 289-4557. With years of experience helping our customers’ stream live events online, we would be more than happy to answer any questions that you may have. We offer support over the phone as well as through email and live chat on our website.

 

Create a Private Live Streaming Channel on Roku

Create a Private Live Streaming Channel on RokuIn the not too distant past, people who wanted options for what to watch on television had to buy into expensive cable and satellite packages that made them pay for dozens, if not hundreds, of channels they didn’t want. Now, those days are gone. With the rise of IPTV providers like Roku, all viewers need is an Internet connection and an inexpensive set-top box to view the channels they want and ignore the rest.

Viewers have long wished to break free from the annoying and expensive world of satellite and cable television, and now that Roku makes that possible, people are flocking to the platform. The company has sold over 10 million of its streaming Roku players, making it the future of living room entertainment.

Using a Roku set-top box, viewers can access streaming content from a host of Roku partners in the form of Roku channels. It only makes sense for TikiLIVE, a service firmly planted in the future of streaming media, to work with Roku. Together, the two give users the best independent broadcasting options you can imagine. With TikiLIVE taking the hassle out of streaming and Roku making widespread distribution simple and affordable, you are left to worry only about creating the best content for your target audience.

Already, Roku has attracted the heavy hitters in online video. Companies like Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, HBO Go, and Hulu Plus have channels available on Roku. We know that TikiLIVE users can only benefit from having their live streaming channels right alongside these streaming all-stars in a Roku user’s channel list.

Furthermore, Roku’s live streaming channel function allows broadcasters to decide who can find their TikiLIVE channel. Because viewers must search for your live stream using the linking code you control, the stream is as private as you make it. If TikiLIVE streamers want their entire audience to know how to find their Roku channel, the streamer can publicize it freely. If TikiLIVE streamers would rather have only a small group of people see the stream, perhaps in the case of an employee training session, the linking code can be emailed to that exact group of people alone.

Easy as 1-2-3-4

Creating a private live streaming channel on Roku is an easy, four step process that will make your content available in minutes. Users just need to follow the steps below.

1. Sign in to your Roku account

To create your private live streaming channel on Roku, you first need to be signed up. Go to Roku’s sign in page and enter your account email and password in the text fields on the left side of the screen. If you do not have an account, create a free and secure Roku account on the right.

2. Add the TikiLIVE application

Once signed in, Roku allows users to add a private channel to their Roku player that is not listed in the Roku Channel Store. To add TikiLIVE, go to Roku’s TikiLIVE add page and type the linking code you received from the content provider into the text field. Then, click the “Add Channel” button below the field. If done correctly, you should see a confirmation page that informs you TikiLIVE has been added.

Private channels typically show up on your Roku player within 24 hours. If you would prefer to see your TikiLIVE channel immediately, refresh the channel lineup by entering and exiting the Roku Channel Store on your Roku player. Then, continue to step three.

3. Add the TikiLIVE channel

To add the TikiLIVE channel, go to the Channel Store on the Home Menu of your Roku Box. If the TikiLIVE channel has not yet appeared, refresh the channel lineup by exiting the store and then entering it again. Once the TikiLIVE channel appears, add it to your authorized channels on the Roku player.

4. Run the TikiLIVE application

The final step to broadcasting your TikiLIVE streaming feed on Roku is to run the TikiLIVE application. Select the TikiLIVE channel from your Roku player channel list and click “go to channel.”

These easy steps should get TikiLIVE broadcasters up and running on their Roku players in no time.

Smooth Viewing Experience

Best of all, creating a private live streaming channel on Roku opens up a world of possibilities for TikiLIVE users. Thanks to TikiLIVE’s Adaptive Bitrate Streaming for Video-on-Demand, your Roku viewers can expect an uninterrupted viewing experience with far less loading time, buffering, and unexpected skipping than other streaming services provide. Our adaptive bitrate streaming starts TikiLIVE at the lowest bitrate so viewers aren’t stuck watching a load screen. Then, TikiLIVE continually monitors the viewer’s connection, adjusting on the fly to keep the stream from skipping and buffering. The resulting stream is smooth and enjoyable for viewers, and right on their home television thanks to Roku.

Fantastic Customer Support

With TikiLIVE, customers receive expert and individualized support from our TikiLIVE help desk staff. In addition to our frequently updated list of how to optimize new TikiLIVE features, our support page has a chat window that allows users to ask questions quickly and easily. Users can also search the comments section on our help desk page to find staff solutions to similar problems. Finally, the help desk live support events provide easy-to-follow tutorials for TikiLIVE streamers. And since we provide our users with the ability to do 24/7 streaming, it’s only fair that our knowledgeable customer service staff is on hand to answer your questions at all times, day or night. You create the content. Let TikiLIVE and Roku take care of the rest. Give TikiLIVE a call today at 305-289-4557 to see how you too can tap into the bright future of high quality streaming audio and video.

How Professors Can Maximize Student Engagement with TikiLIVE

How Professors Can Maximize Student Engagement with TikiLIVEThe 21st century classroom no longer has four walls. Thanks to current technology, a professor has the potential to teach students anytime and anywhere provided they have a device that supports video playback. Professors who take advantage of this technology gain significant benefits in reaching more students and keeping them more connected to what’s going on in the classroom. A content delivery system such as TikiLIVE makes it easy for professors to achieve these benefits at a manageable cost.

Fit Your Course Into Any Schedule, Any Location

Professors who leverage video technology in their classes, such as live streaming and recorded view-on-demand lectures, make it possible for students to enroll in their classes who might not otherwise be able to: full-time workers, parents, the mobility disabled, and others who need flexible schedules. A content delivery provider makes it possible for students to keep up with their classes asynchronously, without having to be tied to a university-set schedule. For traditional students, streaming audio or video of class lectures can give them the flexibility to succeed in classes while fitting them into a schedule that works for them, all while avoiding traffic and parking hassles, overcrowded computer labs, and uncomfortable classrooms.

Archive Your Lectures and Other Course Media

Your students lead busy lives, and for many, success in your course means being able to go back over lectures at a time that fits into their hectic schedules. Others may want to review lectures they already attended to reinforce the material or study for an exam. TikiLIVE makes it easy to archive audio and video files of your course lectures for students to view or review on demand.

With TikiLIVE’s cloud-based encoding, your video content is rendered for playback on virtually any device, including computer desktops/laptops, tablets, smartphones, even channels you can create for set-top boxes such as Roku. In addition to live and recorded lectures, TikiLIVE can host your course’s supplemental audio and video materials as well, making it possible for your students to watch a video you’ve selected for the course without having to switch away from the context of the course material.

This archiving of course lectures and materials can aid student retention in your classes, as students won’t feel penalized for missing a lecture and can easily go back and review material they may have missed, rather than resigning themselves to never catching up and dropping out of the course.

Host Guest Lecturers Without the Airfare and Hotel Bills

One of the most exciting parts of being a university student is getting the opportunity to learn directly from recognized experts in the course subjects. Before video streaming technology, a professor’s ability to invite guest lecturers to speak to their classes was constrained by the campus’s location, by the speaker’s travel schedule, and by the department’s budget for covering the speaker’s travel expenses. A content delivery system such as TikiLIVE removes all of those barriers to hosting first-rate guest speakers for your class; TikiLIVE’s mobile broadcasting feature makes it easy to broadcast live video from the speaker’s location without any specialized equipment on the speaker’s end – all they would need is a smartphone or tablet and a 3G, 4G or Wi-Fi connection.

Professors who adopt the TikiLIVE platform in this way can also use it to attend virtual meetings and give guest lectures in other classrooms themselves. Hosting guest lecturers give your students a sense of the “real-world” applications of your course material and are a great way to strengthen your students’ connections with the subject. TikiLIVE makes these connections happen without the travel hassles and expense.

Integrate with Social Media

Like most people today, students spend time connecting on social media – not just with their friends, but with their interests as well. With so many students already comfortable with and spending time using Facebook and Twitter in their daily lives, it just makes sense to integrate those tools into a course to generate discussions and share ideas. TikiLIVE includes a comprehensive set of tools for creating a presence across social media for your course and facilitating student and faculty interaction. Create Facebook and Google+ groups and a Twitter feed for your course, and TikiLIVE allows you to update all of these social feeds simultaneously to reach all students at their preferred social media sites.

You can also highlight videos from your archive by posting them to YouTube and embedding them in Facebook posts or tweets. TikiLIVE also includes a live chat feature where you can set virtual “office hours” and respond to your students’ questions and concerns, as well as a message center where you can host threaded discussions about the course’s subject matter. These tools also foster camaraderie among your students and can facilitate their creating study groups or setting up one-on-one meetings, regardless of their location.

A Powerful Education Tool at an Affordable Price

To all appearances, your university may appear to have deep pockets with its well-funded sports teams and new building construction, but the reality for academics is often that you’re expected to continue delivering a world-class educational experience in the face of ever-shrinking operating budgets. TikiLIVE enables you to reach greater numbers of students worldwide without investing in specialized video equipment or pulling together disparate recording, streaming, playback, and social-media components, while greatly reducing your department’s travel expenses. TikiLIVE seamlessly integrates all these components under one virtual “roof,” at a price point that is well within most budgets.

Let TikiLIVE Help You Connect with Your Students

With TikiLIVE as your partner in education, you give your students more options than ever before for connecting with your courses – and with each other. We also give you first-class support to help keep your content delivery system running dependably to its fullest capabilities.For more information on how TikiLIVE can work for you, give us a call today at (305) 289-4557 or fill out our online contact form. We look forward to helping you create and run your 21st-century classroom.

TikiLIVE Upgrades to a Complete Bootstrap Design

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TikiLIVE first upgraded to a Twitter bootstrap layout when we upgraded our platform’s front end in version 4.0. Now, moving forward to version 5.0.14, the front end, back end, and admin area of TikiLIVE are all built on a completely responsive template, allowing users to access contents from anywhere on the site, from any device.

Over a year ago, TikiLIVE was first upgraded to a bootstrap design only on the front end of the site where users could browse, search, and watch content through the simplistic and responsive view on mobile devices and browsers. But now, we have extended this capability far beyond just the front end where users, viewers, and administrators can now enjoy the ease of use through a completely responsive TikiLIVE design.
 

Front End

With a social open end ID, new or existing users can sign into their TikiLIVE account using Facebook or Twitter for easy setup, login, and access. Signing up by linking your social media account eliminates the need of having to input a fair amount of the required information, decreasing the already speedy process greatly. Plus with integration of two of the most popular social media networks of today, users can expand their reach by seamlessly posting their content elsewhere online for an expanded viewer audience.

Content pages will automatically conform to any device you are on whether it’s a desktop browser, mobile phone, or tablet. Data is displayed in the format best suited based on your screen size while still making content look great.
 

Back End

The back end for users and administrators has finally been upgraded to a bootstrap template just like the rest of TikiLIVE was, so now even managing content can be just as simple as viewing it from any screen on any device.

From the user backend, the screen will respond to your device and screen size. Menus collapse to provide more main screen room, content aligns so it’s easier to read and access, and in-page scroll options have been added to allow more content available on your screen for managing your channels. The same goes for the admin area of the site where administrators can enjoy the ease of access that comes with a bootstrap design.
 
 
It just goes to show that a responsive template can be used by all users of the site, not just viewers, but broadcasters, visitors, and administrators too. No matter what device or which browser you are on, TikiLIVE will look great from all ends with its completely incorporated responsive bootstrap design.

You can try TikiLIVE for free by visiting TIKILIVE.com. For more information on TikiLIVE itself and the different services we offer, you can fill out our online CONTACT US form, or call our offices at 305.289.4557.

How You Can Connect with Believers (and Seekers) in a Meaningful Way Using TIKILIVE

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In a time where war and violence is apparent in far too many places, it is important to find ways to reach both believers and seekers in non-traditional ways. When getting boots on the ground may be difficult due to political turmoil, there are other ways to get your message out to the masses. Thanks to advances in technology, churches and other religious organizations are able to provide information and support to anyone around the world via the Internet.

One of the leading providers of streaming technology for religious organizations is TikiLIVE, which offers a robust solution to deliver both streaming video and audio to a large audience. In this article we will discuss how TikiLIVE can allow any organization to reach those in need regardless of geographical barriers.

Worldwide Reach

By partnering with a strong content delivery network such as TikiLIVE, you can reach anyone in the world with an Internet connection. Whether you are looking to grow your church in a different part of the country or the world, or you are looking to reach those in need – TikiLIVE can help. By showing God’s word to those in need whether they are believers or non-believers, you could possibly change their lives in ways they could never imagine.

Reach the Unchurched

Many people are simply intimidated by the church. They may have had a bad experience with a certain church or religious leader in their past and have essentially vowed to never set foot in a church again. By streaming your content you can still offer an olive branch to those who are not quite ready to physically be in the confines of a church. You can show them that your church is different than what they remember and that all are welcome within your congregation whether attendance is virtual or physical.

Capture Your Mission Work

Some of the most important work of a church is the mission work performed in the community as well as in other parts of the world. By capturing your mission work on video, you can share it with congregation members or visitors online. This allows you to show the fruits of your labor to both visitors and members in the church who were not able to participate. These powerful testimonials can help to increase the amount of participation the next time you plan to go on a mission trip. These messages can also show visitors that you are a church focused on serving those in need as opposed to only focusing on the needs of the church itself.

Stream Sermons Live

One of the most popular uses of TikiLIVE for churches is to stream sermons. This allows churches to reach people all over the world with the word of God. With TikiLIVE you can easily reach those who may not have an opportunity to hear a sermon for a variety of reasons:

  • Members bound to their homes – Many churches have a small contingent of members who are sometimes referred to as “shut ins” and are not able to attend church due to physical problems or declining health. With TikiLIVE, these members can simply turn on their TV, computer, tablet or smartphone and listen to your message. This allows them to feel connected to the church even when they are confined to their homes.
  • Church members in the military – When your military church members are stationed around the world, you can still connect with them through TikiLIVE. They may not be able to catch every Sunday’s service, but knowing that they can watch the message later through on-demand viewing of your content should give them peace of mind.
  • Members who are out of town – Whether your members are out of town for vacation or business, with TikiLIVE they do not have to feel like they missed your service. Streaming allows them to view your sermon as if they were in their usual pew on Sunday.

Reach the Masses – Wherever They Are

One of the primary goals of organized religion is to reach both members and non-members wherever they are. This means both physically and spiritually. TikiLIVE allows you to reach the masses whether they are in the building or anywhere in the world. In fact, because of TikiLIVE’s HTML5 technology, you can reach people even if they are not in front of their computer. TikiLIVE offers full support for TV viewing as well as smartphones and tablets. This means that you can now truly reach anyone wherever they are in body and in spirit.

Stream Other Church Events

When most churches think of video streaming, they only think of streaming their normal church services. This is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the opportunities that a church can see from streaming. Think about streaming Bible Studies, Vacation Bible School, Sunday school classes and so much more. Any event that is happening within the church can be streamed to those who are not able to attend. This can really increase the exposure that your church has to its own congregation members as well as to others within the community and beyond.

Open the Doors of Your Church Wider with TikiLIVE

As a church it is your desire to be inclusive of as many people as possible. This can be difficult when you are bound to the confines of the four walls of a sanctuary. Using streaming technology can allow you to go beyond the walls of your church and reach those who may be hiding in the shadows. Every religion is focused on reaching the unreachable and helping the needy. With TikiLIVE, you can begin to reach some of those people who may not feel comfortable stepping foot inside a church. For more information on how your church can reach those in need through streaming services, give our office a call today at 305-289-4557.

Why Did Apple Have Video Streaming Issues During The Big iPhone 6 Announcement?

Why Did Apple Have Video Streaming Issues During The Big iPhone 6 Announcement?Apple has been in the news lately, but unfortunately not all of it has been for good reasons. Apple is legendary for keeping the details of their new product launches under wraps until a big event which usually takes place at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters with incredible fanfare. This year was no different as the world watched to find out if Apple could continue its success of releasing incredibly innovative products that take the market by storm.

Public Relations Woes for Apple

Unfortunately, the timing of the September 9th event was not the best. Apple is still recovering from a public relations nightmare after several high-profile celebrities had intimate photos stolen from their phones. Apple was initially accused of being at fault because of a vulnerability in their iCloud platform. While this initial accusation may not have been true, it still created negative press for Apple in advance of their big product announcement.

After this public relations stumble, you would think that Apple would want their big product launch to go off without a hitch. Since not everyone can travel to Cupertino to hear about the new Apple products in person, many Apple lovers around the world were poised to watch the event unfold online. Apple planned for this and touted a slick countdown on their website in advance of the 1pm Eastern start time.

A recent ZDNet article pointed out that Apple struggled to reliably stream their product launch event, which showcased the new iPhone 6 and Apple Watch. What Apple touted as “the biggest advancement in the history of iPhone” turned out to be an announcement that was only appreciated by the few attendees at the event. Apple has been a master at drumming up interest and buzz when it comes to their products. While this worked when the cell phone market was more fragmented, today Apple is forced to show off bigger and better products each and every year. The jury is still out as to whether the iPhone 6 and the Apple Watch will have the kind of effect on the mobile market that the previous generations of iPhones have had. One thing for certain is that Apple should invest in better streaming technology to ensure that next year’s event is reliably streamed to Apple techies around the globe.

Why Did Apple Fail At Streaming Their “Big Event”?

While there are countless stories about Apple’s new products, few have gone into detail about why Apple failed to stream this event on the web. According to Apple, they have been working on building a robust, internal content distribution network. However, for this event they chose to not use their own content distribution network and decided to use Akamai, who has been Apple’s content distribution partner for quite some time.

Due to changes in how the video player worked on Apple’s home page as well as how storage was setup on Amazon’s S3 cloud infrastructure, severe issues were seen by users attempting to stream Apple’s event.

Dan Rayburn who runs a popular blog titled Streaming Media was quoted in the ZDNet article as saying, “it does not appear that a lack of capacity played any part in the event not working correctly. Apple simply didn’t provision and plan for the event properly.”

What Does This Mean for Apple Going Forward?

Unfortunately with this digital hiccup coupled with the iCloud problems from last week, Apple is not exactly looking like a technology leader. In today’s fast paced business world, perception is a huge part of the success of a company. While Apple obviously is sitting on a huge pile of cash and is not going anywhere anytime soon, they still should look at these public relations problems as issues that need to be addressed to further strengthen the Apple brand. The absolute last thing that Apple wants is for the media to be talking about iCloud problems and video streaming issues after the launch of their hottest new products of the year as opposed to the new products themselves.

Is Apple Ready to Run a Content Delivery Network?

The real question after all of this is whether Apple is ready to run a content delivery network that can handle millions of users at a time and securely handle all of this incredibly sensitive information? If you base your opinion solely on the issues that have taken place over the past few weeks, the answer to this question seems to be a resounding no.

What Are Your Options When It Comes to Video Streaming Providers?

It can be unnerving for consumers when events like this take place that put the reliability of a global brand in question. Thankfully when it comes to video streaming providers you do have options. Content providers like TikiLIVE exist solely to disseminate audio and video content to users across the world through a robust content delivery network. Providers that focus on live streaming and nothing else are much more apt to handle huge spikes in traffic than companies that are only providing video streaming as an auxiliary service.

Lessons Learned from Apple’s Streaming Issues

Apple has done a lot of things right over the past several years. It’s hard to believe that at one point Apple was a struggling company focused only on extremely high priced computers. Today, Apple is the dominant leader across multiple facets of the technology industry. While these successes should be applauded, it seems that even Apple has a thing or two to learn about live video streaming.

Don’t Repeat Apple’s Streaming Mistakes – Contact TikiLIVE Today!

If you have mission critical video or audio that must be streamed reliably online, look no further than TikiLIVE. We offer a robust content delivery network that is positioned to handle your content – no matter the amount of users who choose to access it. We understand that your livelihood is often riding on whether your content is accessible and we do not take this responsibility lightly. Contact us online, or give our video streaming experts a call today at (305) 289-4557 to discuss your needs. We look forward to working with you soon!

Why You Should Broadcast Your School’s Professional Training Sessions

Corporate employeeIf you are looking at ways of handling your school’s professional training sessions, you have several options. You can obviously require that everyone come to a certain location or you could look into live streaming options, which could offer many benefits for your school. Take a look at how streaming your training sessions can be advantageous compared to requiring everyone to travel to one location.

Access from Anywhere

One of the primary benefits of streaming your training sessions is that your participants can be anywhere. This offers you the flexibility of only having to deliver the training material once and distribute it to as many participants as necessary. Your participants will appreciate being able to access your training sessions from their homes or offices as opposed to having to travel to your location.

Catalog Training Sessions for Future Reference

The problem with many training sessions is that the instructors fly through the material and at the end of the session many people may still need a refresher on the majority of the material that was covered. By streaming training sessions, you can record your sessions automatically to be viewed later. This allows those who were not able to attend or want a refresher to be able to easily access the training material again and again. Imagine being able to sit a new hire down with all of your cataloged training material as opposed to “learning on the job.”

Reduces Costs

As education budgets continue to shrink year after year, schools have had to look at creative ways to cut costs. Online training sessions are a great way to reduce costs related to travel, lodging, and meals. These costs can be extremely taxing for schools around the country and with streamed training you can completely eliminate these costs all together. Simply stream your training sessions from a central location and all of your participants around the country or even the world can watch with ease.

Easier To Standardize Training

If your school does not have a standardized training program, new hires may learn different things based on the informal training that they receive. This can lead to issues with enforcing school policies because everyone is not trained in the same manner. By broadcasting all of your training sessions and making them available to all new hires, you instantly create a training program that is easy to follow and is consistent across the board. Should you run into issues with any of your personnel you can easily reference the training material as evidence of your school’s policies. This can help to eliminate problems that arise without standardized training.

Device Independent

Another benefit of streaming your training content online is that not only can your participants access your content from any location, they can also access it from any device. This means that even if they do not have access to a computer, they can view the sessions on a tablet or smartphone. This will give your participants no excuse when it comes to attending the school’s training sessions. Most streaming providers offer the ability to access content across all types of devices.

No Constraints on Number of Participants

When you are planning in-person training sessions, you typically have a maximum number of participants based on your location constraints. By streaming your training sessions, these constraints are eliminated. Video streaming allows you to provide training to as many participants as possible. No longer do the costs increase astronomically as your participant list grows. Streaming offers you an extremely cost effective way to provide training to an unlimited number of people who are interested in your material.

Retain Employees

Studies have shown that training helps to increase loyalty and creates a better relationship between the employer and employee. By investing in your employees, you can help them to gain new skills, which in turn will make them appreciate the opportunities that they have received from you as an employer. Too often we think that investing in training will result in employees leaving for “better opportunities,” but studies show that this is not the case. In a University of Rhode Island study, Scott Brum found that “Job search, retention, employee’s desire and intent to leave, and attitude toward the organization can all be improved with a strategy that seeks to enhance employee commitment.”

Ready to Broadcast Your Training Sessions? Choose TikiLIVE!

Training your employees is extremely important, but if not done efficiently it can be quite expensive. Investing in a streaming provider can allow you to cut your costs and actually increase the effectiveness of your training. TikiLIVE offers a full suite of products and services that allow you to provide content to your participants.

  • Stream from Any Device – TikiLIVE offers full HTML5 compatibility that allows you to record video from any smartphone or tablet. This gives you a huge advantage when you need to record training sessions in unconventional locations.
  • Robust Content Delivery Network – Regardless of where your users are located, TikiLIVE has invested in a top-notch content delivery network, which is meant to minimize lagging and connectivity issues that have become a common problem with other streaming platforms. TikiLIVE understands the need to provide top-notch service to our customers and we are constantly working to ensure that your content is always available.
  • Available Customer Service – TikiLIVE also understands that getting started with live streaming may take a bit of time, which is why we’re always here to help. This way you do not have to be stuck waiting for a response to an issue that could really be giving you problems. We are committed to providing exceptional service to our customers and feel that this is one of the areas that allows us to separate ourselves from our competitors.

Ready To Take The Leap? Call TikiLIVE Today!

For more information about how you can stream your next training session with TikiLIVE, give us a call today at 305-289-4557. We’ll be happy to discuss exactly how TikiLIVE can help solve some of the training dilemmas.