Vote Now in the 2015 Streaming Media Readers' Choice Awards
Voting is now open for the 2015 Streaming Media Readers' Choice Awards, the only awards program in which the winners are decided by the people who matter most—you, the end users.
In our 9th annual awards, we're featuring 29 categories, as detailed below, including a new category for OTT Platform for MSO and MVPD. We accepted nominations from both end users and vendors themselves, and our editorial team will evaluated all the nominations to make sure they are appropriate for their respective categories. If you feel we're missing a product in any category, email us at readerschoice@518331.com, and we'll consider adding it.
Voting will conclude on October 1. After we close the voting, we'll send a confirmation email that voters must respond to in order for their votes to be counted. On October 15, we'll announce the finalists—the top three vote-getters in each category. In a change from previous years, companies will not be able to solicit their employees to vote for their nominees; we don't want this contest to be decided based on the number of employees a company has. Also, any company found offering an incentive for voting for them will be disqualified.
CLICK HERE TO VOTE
The winners will be announced November 18 at Streaming Media West, which once again is being held at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa in Huntington Beach, California. This year's awards are sponsored by Epiphan Systems, Elemental Technologies, and Teradek. Winners will be featured in an article in Streaming Media magazine and StreamingMedia.com, as well as our Streaming Media Xtra newsletter.
If you'd like to see what companies took home Streaming Media Readers' Choice Awards in 2014, look to our list of winners. Last year we received more than 30,000 votes.
The categories below are listed in alphabetical order.
Audio Mixer
Pro audio mixers have become indispensable tools for live producers, especially for live streams, where audiences are likely to be much more forgiving of subpar video than a muddy audio mix.
Capture Card
Today's capture cards are more robust and powerful than ever before. Which one is offers the most bang for the buck?
Cellular Bonding Solution
Presenting a useful way to broadcast from the field, cellular bonding solutions have taken off for live or on-demand coverage.
Closed Captioning Solution
Closed captioning isn't just a good idea; in many cases, it's the law. Making it simple and accurate is crucial.
Cloud Encoding/Transcoding Service
Who's got the best SaaS for encoding and transcoding video, in terms of quality, turnaround time, and service?
Content Delivery Network
CDNs get one category this year, as we erase the distinction between telco and non-telco.
Desktop Video Editing Software
What's the best software for editing video on the desktop, in terms of power, speed, options, and user interface?
DRM/Access Control Solution
As premium content owners try to reach more devices, they need more nuanced approaches to digital rights management and access control. Which solution offers the best experience for the content owner and the consumer?
Education Video Platform
Educational institutions have unique requirements and face distinct challenges when it comes to publishing video. Which video platform works best for schools and universities?
Encoding Software
We're combining the desktop and enterprise-class encoding categories this year, as we search for the best overall encoding software.
Enterprise Video Platform
When large organizations look to create their own internal YouTube or other company-wide video solution, this is the platform they should look to first.
Field Recorder/Monitor
Since so many of these products perform both functions, we've combined recorders and monitors into a single category this year.
Hardware Encoder (On-Demand)
What's the best hardware designed for on-demand (non-live) encoding?
Hardware Encoder (Live)
This category is for hardware encoders specifically designed for live encoding.
Live Video Platform
Which live video platform leads the way in terms of features, functionality, and usability?
Media & Entertainment Video Platform
Which online video platform allows studios and other publishers to best manage and distribute their video programming? (Note that this year we've added a separate category for "OTT Platform for MSO and MVPD.")
Media Server
Recognizing the best hardware or software solution for delivering audio and video files to listeners and viewers, regardless of delivery protocol.
Multi-Language Solution
The audience is global, so choose a solution that can remove the barrier of language.
OTT Platform for MSO and MVPD
As MSOs and MVPDs deliver more over-the-top content, they're looking to more robust and functional solutions than traditional media and entertainment video platforms can offer.
Portable Live Streaming Appliance
These hardware solutions enable webcasting from virtually anywhere.
Reporting & Analytics Platform
These solutions deliver video viewership and/or quality of service reporting and analytics, whether standalone or as part of a larger offering.
Search & Discovery Platform
These solutions use metadata, speech and facial recognition, or other methods to help users easily find the video they're looking for or to discover recommendations based on their personal information.
Transparent Video Caching Solution
Who offers the best solution for transparent caching of video content on a delivery network?
Video Advertising Solution
This is what pays the bills: these platforms and tools offer ad insertion and offer pre-built placement options and success tracking, or help brands execute video campaigns via online publishers.
Video Camera (Less than $2500)
Video Camera (More than $2500)
It all starts with the camera, and this year we're including them in the Readers' Choice Awards, broken into two categories by price.
Video Switcher/Mixer
Viewers demand broadcast quality in live online video events, and these appliances make it possible.
Webcasting/Presentation Solution (On-Premises)
These in-house solutions capture video and audio, combine it with slides and images, and deliver it to online viewers in an interactive environment with Q&A, surveys, and more.
Webcasting/Presentation Solution (Cloud)
Webcasting and presentations are a big area this year, so we've broken the category into local and cloud solutions.
Related Articles
The readers have spoken, and today we presented the awards at Streaming Media West. Here's the online video industry's cream of the crop in 31 categories.
19 Nov 2014
Companies and Suppliers Mentioned