Consumers use a wide range of video-enabled devices to watch more than just movies, TV shows and funny clips. Video is equally well suited for a variety of other messages – the key is the quality of the videos and the right way to address the target group.
Company and product presentations, application scenarios, explanatory videos, employer branding campaigns, etc. – all this content can be attractively prepared and tailored to different target groups using video on demand. Ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) is a common means of financing this content. According to the industry association Bitkom, ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) is growing rapidly. To keep viewers happy on a variety of playback devices, the quality of the videos is crucial for publishing companies. However, the term “quality” encompasses more dimensions than most people initially realize.
## Just a question of resolution?
When you think of video quality, the first thing that comes to mind is resolution or image sharpness. A resolution of 4K is understood to be a high quality standard. However, most providers do not yet support streaming 4K video content because the data volumes are too large for currently available data transmission and would tend to worsen the user experience – due to buffering and jerky playback. Image sharpness is therefore only one of several quality characteristics.
## “Content loading”
Delays in video loading have a direct impact on abandonment rates. Services such as news sites often lose users to buffering during playback. This problem is so significant even for leading players like Netflix that they are trying to monetize loading times with the help of advertising. If AVOD providers can combine smooth playback of content with high-quality advertising blocks, they have achieved their goal in terms of quality.
## Lack of scalability
Providers are aware of the need for scalable solutions for the various formats and forms of content. As a result, proprietary streaming formats such as RTMP and RSP have disappeared from the market in recent years. At the same time, new formats such as HLS and DASH – which are based on open protocols such as HTTP – have been established to provide the necessary scalability. We also expect these formats to continue to gain ground as a result of support for initiatives such as the Streaming Video Alliance. The extinction of a few more formats will further consolidate the market.
## Flash players are becoming less important
The decline in Flash offerings is an important milestone for the scalability of high-quality AVOD. Many web browsers now support open broadcasting standards. These make it possible to deliver premium content without Flash Player. As a result, all platforms are relying on open standards and increasingly avoiding plug-ins and proprietary formats. These are important developments for improving the user experience on the back end as well.
## The battle against ad blockers
The final crucial component of AVOD’s user experience is the cloud. This is because ad blockers currently have a massive impact on AVOD revenues in the market. According to a Pagefair analysis, 29 percent of all VoD users in Germany alone used an ad blocker last year. By using the cloud to deliver advertising content (via the SSAI solution), publishers can not only bypass ad blockers but also improve playback quality.
## Making the right investments
Consumers have the right to click away from video ads that are annoying, intrusive or just plain bad. At the same time, companies have the right to finance their elaborately produced content through advertising. Quality is the key to reconciling the interests of both groups. For ad-supported video on demand to work, two criteria are essential for publishers:
A player that loads quickly, enables smooth streaming and thus prevents playback interruptions and increases interaction with the user.
Outsourcing the entire advertising decision logic to a server using an SSAI solution that combines everything in the cloud, overrides ad blockers and simplifies content customization for all end devices.
These investments improve the quality of the user experience, promote consumer interaction and thus increase the revenue of the publishing company. For example, the use of videos can be an effective way for companies to deliver content to different groups and make it available at all times via a range of devices.
