Mogulus, the live internet broadcasting platform, announced today a new pro service. The company, that provides superior feature set to ustream and blogtv, revealed a new feature set, including HD streaming, optional ad free service, private channels, white label player. Pricing starts at $350 per month, which includes 25GB storage and bandwidth. Also, all free channels will have ads now.

It is a logical step for the company targeted more professional live broadcasters then their competition. Also, charging per bandwidth brings some business sense to the live broadcasting market.

My friend Jeff wrote about one of the most interesting products in Israel - BlogTV. BlogTV enables users to stream live shows from their webcam to the internet, and 3G phones. It has advanced features such as multicam support. Does it ring a bell? Did anybody say Ustream? Yes, both companies have similar products technically, though Ustream is a bit behind from feature perspective (see my previous post detailing missing features in Ustream). Ustream is the new kid on the block - while BlogTV exists for years. As Ustream features covering all basic functionality of its predecessor, we see another example of technology being a sidekick to the main show - marketing and strategy.

There is a major difference between the companies - while Ustream enables users to embed their player in their own website, BlogTV requires viewers to login and watch the content in their portal. It is not a technical barrier - embedded players are yesterday's news. So, again, it is only a business question.

I am not sure that this is the right approach to this segment. For years BlogTV was a place where adults showed their days (and nights) to the public, kids showed their face with music in the background and that's it. The reason is lack of context.

Ustream enables me as a blogger to add another dimension to my work, and serve as another item in my multimedia toolbox. I am not sure that this is the case for BlogTV. The simplest proof to that is that I know BlogTV for ages, but only when I played with Ustream a bit, I fully understood the potential of Personal Broadband Broadcasting. It was great to see Jeff's stream from his lecture in Stockholm as part of his post describing the event itself. It is true that I still go to both Ustream and BlogTV sites to watch interesting shows, but it is less compelling for me as a potential broadcaster who is interested to enrich his offering with new content types.

So, my personal conclusion is - if you love your stream, set it free!

He also believed in setting things free...

Technorati Tags: BlogTV, Broadcast, Ustream, Live Broadcasting, Marketing, Strategy, New Media, Personal Broadband Broadcasting Platforms

In my previous post I've discussed Ustream as broadcasting democratizer.

But, in order to create a real alternative to live TV shows, we need several features that are missing in that platform today. I like Ustream, but like in any other web based business, if someone else will provide these features, I will switch without hesitation.

Having said that, we might be able to find hacks that will enable us to do these things without modifying their system.

And please, don't suggest solutions that cost zillion dollars - we are trying to find cheap ways to look like the big guys.

This is what I am missing:

1. Use green screen on the fly - I have a boring wall in my home studio. If I can green screen it and add a picture of Tel Aviv, it will look much more professional

2. Add video clips on the fly - I want to add, while in a live broadcast, external clips. For example, do a news show, and add a related pre-produced news clip.

3 . Add cameras, and switch between them on the fly - can be useful for both studio shooting and cooperating with other producers and reporters around the globe

4. Add soundtrack and call-in capabilities - so we can have a proper talk show, with professional soundtrack.

If Ustream execs are reading this blog - I'd love to hear your plans about these features. If any of their competitors has a better solution - let's hear about it.

The rest of us - let's see how we can do it on our own. If you have ideas on how to solve these problems, feel free to comment or contact me directly.

UPDATE: Chris Yeh from Ustream just left a comment below. Highlights: They are working on it, going to offer 3rd party plug-ins, there is no time frame yet for the features, but they see feature 3 on my list as top priority. Thanks Chris, I appreciate the quick response.

But let's keep looking for ways to these things.

Let's do all of the above - with one PC