Entertainment and online streaming services are becoming increasingly popular leisure. In the past two years, the majority of Australians have chosen to spend their free time in front of a screen as a result of the growth of streaming services.
Not only that, Aussies choose to shop through live streaming platforms, play video games, and stream YouTube TV in Australia with the best VPN.
Whether you’re an influencer in the industry of creating content, or an audience who fancies streaming, it might be hard to choose the best streaming platform.
Top 13 User-friendly Features of the Best Streaming Platforms 2022
The streaming platform you should subscribe must have these features and functionalities:
Video Hosting Features
With the help of a video hosting platform, you can easily upload, store, and manage all of your video content. With this feature, content creators can focus their efforts on the creation and can delegate the rest to the streaming platform.
Now, video hosting features allow you to modify the design and vibe of your videos, ensuring that your videos play seamlessly on all browsers and devices and provide marketing choices
Tools for Encoding and Decoding
To ensure that you can play videos across a wide range of devices, streaming platforms must encode and transcode them into different formats. You should seek a service that supports cloud video transcoding if you want consistent resolution.
User-friendly Interface
Consumers value simple navigation of their media. No one wants to become lost in a forest of menus and submenus. Every streaming service should prioritize creating an easy-to-navigate interface.
YouTube TV, for example, has the most user-friendly interface. Most of the parts are white or light gray, giving the design a clean look. Even better, you can turn on dark mode in the settings. In the top-right corner, you can find a search bar that lets you find content easily.
Security
Today, there is an abundance of readily available material. However, this also increases vulnerability to attacks from third parties.
One of the best choices is a premium VPN that can protect your online privacy and disguise your location. With the best encryption, your online presence is undetectable to outside parties. Plus, you can stream geo-restricted channels in Australia with a VPN-enabled US IP address.
Low Latency Streaming
People want to get the whole feel when they watch a live stream. If the content takes a long time to load or if the movie keeps buffering, it’s a buzzkill.
With a low-latency streaming solution, your viewers can enjoy the content to its fullest. For live programming, you want as little latency as possible. However, for professional broadcasting, low-latency video streaming is a must.
Accessibility
Not all streaming platforms are accessible across devices and OS.
A streaming platform is user-friendly if it supports media streaming devices such as Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and some smart TVs. Plus, they must allow simultaneous connections and multiple account setups.
Mobile Apps
The convenience of streaming live streams while on the go is a major selling point of streaming platforms.
The mobile app must have a similar appearance and functionality to the desktop. Also, with the best streaming platform, you can navigate through the mobile app without confusion as to the buttons and tabs.
Video Content Management
Every streaming service needs a content management system (CMS). It facilitates content categorization and the creation of a streamlined setting for all the films you provide.
People can organize their own collections of videos, find interesting new videos to watch, and have instant access to their recently watched videos with the help of a video content management system.
DVR Features
DVR functionality in YouTube TV is superior to that of other streaming platforms. For instance, you can store as many episodes and movies as you like on its DVR. In addition, nine months of recordings are kept for playback later.
In addition, with its 4K Plus upgrade, you may save recordings to watch later without an internet connection. That is something we haven’t seen on any other streaming TV service we looked into. In addition to pausing, rewinding, and fast-forwarding recordings, you can also skip to certain timestamps or topics.
Exclusive Programming
The most user-friendly streaming platforms offer different channels for news, sports, entertainment, nature, and more.
With more than 90 channels available, YouTube TV easily outperforms its rivals. In comparison to other streaming services, it has one of the most extensive channel lineups. First, there are the regional stations, and then there are the national networks like ABC, FOX, CBS, and NBC.
Other sports channels on YouTube TV besides the broadcast affiliates are ESPN, CBS Sports, MLB Network, NFL Network, NBC Sports, and NBA TV.
Updates and Fixes
Providing a great experience for users is an ongoing process. Since the competitors never rest, streaming sites should stay ahead in the game.
The best streaming platforms get feedback from users, provide regular app updates, and maintain a support chat system. You can contact a live chat for easy support when troubles arise.
Allows for Family Sharing
You can enjoy a streaming platform at BEST if it allows family sharing that facilitates simultaneous use. During our tests with YouTube TV, a “family” can have a maximum of six accounts, and each member can have their own YouTube TV subscription.
With this feature, members can benefit from personalized recommendations and DVR scheduling via their individual accounts. Note that with the best VPN, you can stream YouTube TV in Australia with a maximum of three simultaneous connections.
Kids Profile and Parental Controls
Streaming platforms are age-restricted, and content may be dangerous to your children. In this light, a streaming platform should have parental controls and the option for a “kids” profile.
Set up parental controls on your child’s device to make sure they only stream age-appropriate content. Worth mentioning is that YouTube TV added a channel called “YouTube Kids,” which has content for kids and enforces YouTube’s rules about what they can watch.
Conclusion
The best streaming platforms must have user-friendly features for audiences and content creators alike. These features include video hosting features, security, tools for decoding and encoding, low latency, parental controls, exclusive programming, accessibility, and video content management, among others.
