With the outbreak of the 2020 pandemic, the mad rush to experiment with audio-video began: new software was needed to organize streaming of online events, and it was needed as soon as possible.

This has led to new tools taking hold in families, schools and professional environments: platforms for organizing meetings and online broadcasts with live chat have taken up the challenge, and despite initial setbacks and technical glitches, they have managed to perfect themselves to this day.

As the revolution in private communications continued, the corporate world began to ask itself: How can you make these online events more professional?, for example by replacing the logos of proprietary platforms with your own corporate brand? 

But above all: how do you really ensure the safety of participants? 

In this article, after a bit of technical background, we will see what software is needed to manage an online event, which can meet the needs of companies but also of public and private institutions; we will finally propose the Pizero Design solution, which we thought of as integrated, professional, customizable, secure and easy to use.

Let’s start with some technical details on how live video works.

Digital Event vs Virtual Event

We have now become accustomed to video chats on Whatsapp and live social media, which twenty years ago would have been defined as "virtual events". However, technological progress has led us to make a distinction: a live Twitch broadcast or a webinar are not virtual events, but digital events.

The chain of information, sharing and receiving the message has been fully digitalized, and is visible to the general public in 2D.

The term "virtual event", which we once used very liberally, has now come to indicate a 3D event: for example, an interactive fair or a showroom, which allow the user to access with digital devices. augmented and virtual reality, such as immersive screens or a 3D viewer.

That said, let's clarify that in this article by "online events" we mean digital events, such as webinars, conferences, and any 2D interaction.

The two softwares needed to manage an online event 

1) Streaming Software

Streaming is defined as the ability to transmit a recorded video to different media players, with a delivery method that involves the release and decoding of one data packet at a time.

In essence, when we record a video with our cell phone and stream it live on Facebook, YouTube or Twitch, the person viewing the video (client) receives the transmission of small clips, which his end device decodes and re-encodes in sequence, allowing him to view the video without interruptions.

The streaming media file is located in its entirety on a remote server, but is only sent a little at a time, in order to allow a much more agile and rapid fruition mode than the classic download.

The two most popular streaming protocols today are:

• TCP (Transmission Control Protocol): This opens a secure connection between the server and the client. It is a slower but more reliable transmission, used by security platforms and most video streaming platforms;
• UDP (User Datagram Protocol): Data packets are smaller, but the protocol is unable to “recover” lost data packets, and the final playback quality suffers.

What does "Buffering" mean?

How many of us have watched a streaming video and suddenly found the video blocked with the “buffering” icon? Buffering is actually a system that should prevent interruptions: this tool allows our devices to load data packets in advance, which our device needs during network drops, to continue playing the video without any apparent interruptions to the online event.

When buffering is slow, perhaps because the server that transmits the video and the final device are far away, there is nothing to do: the video freezes.

To overcome this problem, you will need to use CDN (Content Delivery Network), servers that shorten the length of the signal and limit interruptions.

Streaming software is a fundamental tool for ensuring successful online events, because it allows for rapid and real-time reception of information.

However, today, relying solely on streaming software is no longer sufficient: companies and individuals have a strong need, especially for information material such as conferences, webinars and training courses, to record a video of the event online and save it to your device, or send it to customers for download.

Here comes the second fundamental tool for managing a digital event: registration.

2) Recording software

Verba volant: those who want to organize a webinar or a conference usually need not only to share a video with all interested customers, but also to record the video and keep it in memory. Sure, you can do it yourself by recording the screen of a computer that is streaming the event, but the result is often not very professional.

And then, why go through extra steps when there are integrated and much smarter recording software?

So make sure you choose an online event solution that includes remote or cloud video recording, and easy sharing via email, WeTransfer, Whatsapp, Telegram, and the like.

Other important tools for an online event

1) Screen Sharing

For professional presentations Screen sharing is the game changer: In addition to the clarity that slides can have, there is also the possibility of “guiding” the user through a real tutorial.

Screen sharing is possible by inserting your desktop device as the source for sending data through the output channel you have chosen for streaming. In this case, you do not need to integrate specific software, but rather You should look directly for streaming and recording software that also includes screen sharing.

But be careful: train your speakers well on how to use screen sharing, because it is usually the least automatic activity to learn, especially for those who are not digital natives.

2) Live chat tools

Live chat is a tool that was created for social communities, but today it is also well suited to professional online events. Your customers or spectators will be able to comment in real time on what you are saying, an indispensable feature if you want to keep the audience engagement high.

Live chat is usually handled through RTMP (Real Time Messaging Protocol), which gives an online event all the immediacy of a physical event: this is why, after the pandemic, we witnessed a real boom in social media that allowed live video chats, as a real-time tool to comment on, exactly as happens for an in-person event.

3) Chat rooms

Finally, in a professional online event, it is often necessary to be able to divide groups of users into interest groups. For example, in a conference with several speakers, the ability to organize the event into rooms allows the audience to listen to one person rather than another, maximizing the audience and professionalizing its target.

It is obviously fundamental know how to effectively manage the different chat rooms, avoiding overloading the server you are using and always giving the impression to the public that everything is happening smoothly.

How to choose software for an online event?

If you have some IT experience, you can combine several existing software and create your own customized solution.

Or, there are several integrated software solutions, which make your life easier and allow you to perform different functions. The choice depends on the needs of the individual company or individual.

It is clear that for a young and small startup, the speed of streaming and a low budget can count a lot.

Instead, for prestigious institutions such as a university, a professional association, a body or an institution, it might be preferable to choose a customizable solution with a a staff to manage the workflow during the online event.

Having on-site support staff is also essential to “coach” speakers if the webinar is being held between people who are not in the same room.

The importance of security

Finally, to make a choice of the right software you need to consider the security options. The largest and most used platforms are unfortunately more often the target of hacker attacks, such as 500 Zoom users' credentials stolen in April 2020.

With the same level of security and bug-free performance, a smaller platform could guarantee:

• greater personalization
• more timely attention from the platform technicians
• greater cybersecurity

The best solution for a professional and personalized online event

After carefully observing the needs of a diverse audience of professionals, we decided it was time to develop an integrated solution for live video, more secure and scalable, and that offers a private and therefore more secure connection for individual users.

It was born from it Live Video Software by Pizero Design, the first program designed for companies and organizations that want to manage their online meetings and events in a smart and professional way.

The Pizero Design solution includes:

1) The "Live Event Webapp" module

This module allows:

• to pre-load event users, or to make it possible to register for the event online
• to create one or more rooms with real-time group chat and private one-to-one chat between users of the same room
• to have a customizable user profile with profile picture, resume/bio and links
• to moderate messages: you can register "moderator" users who can delete unwanted messages and/or block users
• to have a file repository, from which event attendees can download files: very useful for holding event program, or academic papers and documents, recordings, archives and so on
• In addition, the web app allows you to integrate a video streaming in each room: you can use a public service (for example Youtube) or manage the streaming directly via the "streaming" module referred to in point 2.

2) The "Live Streaming" module

It is a real-time video streaming server, built on Amazon AWS or Microsoft Azure infrastructure, that enables high-performance, low-latency, WebRTC-compatible streaming.

This module allows for multiple simultaneous streams, and has the advantage of being:

• scalable
• white label - so there will be no logos or brands of third party services
• private - so only users attending the event will be able to see the stream

You can use this tool in conjunction with a live broadcast software, such as StreamYard, or any other app that works with the RTMP standard. For example, you can connect a smartphone with a free app, which in a few seconds transforms the smartphone camera into a device for streaming audio and video to an unlimited audience of people. 

What is the difference between this solution and...

Youtube?

Streaming on Youtube requires using the video player with the Youtube logo. Our Pizero Design solution is fully customizable with the customer's logos and colors, and appears as a proprietary software.
Additionally, streaming on YouTube allows anyone with the link to view the stream, so it is not suitable for paid events.

Streamyard?

Streaming on Streamyard does not allow viewers to interact with each other – and the speaker – in real time.

Facebook Live?

Streaming on Facebook requires people to have a Facebook account and connect to a personal page or profile to view the stream. It is therefore not suitable for professional settings.

Vimeo Premium?

Vimeo Premium requires a subscription of over 800 euros per year, each event has a limit of 100 participants, and does not include all the real-time functions of our WebApp.

Eventbrite?

Eventbrite includes many interesting features, but it implies the need to publish the event on an Eventbrite page. Our solution, on the contrary, in addition to being white label and completely customizable, can be installed on an ad-hoc domain (e.g. www.mioevento.it).

How much

The price is divided into:

• Web App License - You pay a one-time fee to install and customize the Web App.
• licensing and infrastructure costs for the video streaming part - The cost of the streaming component depends largely on the number of concurrent streams (it's one thing to have a single stream even if it lasts the whole day, it's another to have 5 concurrent streams to show 5 different rooms), the length of the event and the number of participants.

Do you want to know something more?

Contact us to get a quote!

If you already have institutional channels through which to promote the event, Pizero Design adapts to this need. Alternatively, we also provide an advertising and promotion service through SEO-oriented articles.