Quality issues hamstring live-streaming uptake
Details
Michelle Clancy
| 18 September 2019

The proliferation of mobile devices and internet connectivity has created a global live-streaming video boom presenting new opportunities yet quality issues persist says a survey of US consumers from Agora.

The report found that nearly three-quarters of users may be familiar with live streaming but there’s still much room for improvement in the minds of the user. Issues like lag, buffering, and poor audio and video quality plague all forms of internet-based video communications, and live streaming is no exception. It still remains the biggest barrier to widespread consumer adoption. Nearly two-thirds of this group people found experiences to be lacking.

About half (54%) of consumers said they would use live streaming video to watch and interact with their favourite personalities and brands; and, 44% of consumers say they prefer live content over pre-recorded content.

A full 72% of consumers are familiar with live-streaming video platforms/features like Periscope, Instagram Live, Facebook Live, Livestream and YouTube. Two-fifths of consumers have engaged in live streaming on one of the major platforms. Of those users, 68% watched public streams, and 32% hosted their own live streams.

The report also showed that in all forms of Internet-based live video, live streaming was plagued by issues like lag, buffering, and poor audio and video quality. AS many as two-thirds of people who have tried live streaming rate the experience as mediocre or lacking. Only a third said they have had great experiences with live streaming.

“As mobile processing power and internet speeds increase, users will consume more live video content, which will inevitably change consumer behaviour, from the way people shop to the way they engage with brands and personalities,” the Agora report noted. “App developers and service providers must address the internet lag and audio/video quality issues associated with both video calling as well as live streaming. Video calling and live streaming can serve a number of industries across many verticals, but before these forms of communications are widely adopted by the private and personal sectors, the quality and scalability problems must be addressed.”