It’s been a busy two months since we first launched our HTML5 beta for mobile delivery  and we are celebrating our latest milestone of 200 active beta users on the program right now. We are opening the door a little more to allow a growing number of users on the beta as well, so if you previously weren’t accepted please feel free to submit another application as all existing DaCast users on a plan (Streaming Monthly Plans or Pay As You Go bandwidth) will be allowed access.  If you haven’t signed up for the beta, please check our community beta topic for how to apply or go directly into your account, click HELP and then SUPPORT and submit a ticket asking to be put on the beta program.

That out of the way, let’s talk about the future of the beta. While the beta has been extended past our original projections, and we would like to very kindly thank everyone for their fantastic feedback as it has helped us improve and shape the final product, we are now looking toward the end of “stage 1″.

Stage 2 is what we are calling a public beta, meaning everyone has it (no need to apply) and while there might be still somethings to improve we are comfortable from a quality assurance point of view to put our name on it. The reason we are still calling it a beta, though, is because it’s becoming clear that our paywall monetization features (i.e. Pay Per View and Subscriptions) are going to take more time to refine as part of their own project and part of some exciting developments, that we will mention in more detail soon.

Next up, I also want to highlight a recent feature that is beta ready: packages. This is certainly one of the more complex components of the DaCast system we have had to update for HTML5. First, as is common with many applications, the desktop version is very different from the mobile version of packages. So let’s first highlight the improvements from our old desktop offering, which includes thumbnails, faster content switching  from the selection bar, a short summary in the selection and the ability for pause to… well pause the video rather than stop the video so it will now show a freeze frame rather than a black screen.

The HTML5 version is a little different, featuring the video selection that appears on top of the video, in a transparent layer, for the user to select from using touch controls. Once more a thumbnail is provided to help make the selection easier.

Packages were one of the main hurdles in getting this project to the next step, and we have video playlists and website referral restrictions on tap next to push out before we get to stage two with the public beta.

With the last shades of Winter behind us, and Spring in the air, we are reminded of what comes with summer: graduation. In fact how could we at DaCast forget? We have quite a few schools with us, from Ernest Hemingway Elementary to Chaminade High School,  and this time of year we always see an uptake in those interested in doing graduation ceremonies at all levels, including from community college to grad school.

Being once in a lifetime events, graduations are perfect for a live video streaming venue. One that taps into friends and relatives that maybe can’t attend, either due to limited spacing or living far away from the future graduate, who can partake in the celebration thanks to a live broadcast.

DaCast makes it easy to present those graduation video streams directly from school websites as well through easy to use embed codes for video. In fact, you can even share those graduation streams directly on a school Facebook page as well for others to watch. On the flip side, the graduation stream can also be presented securely if preferred,  locking down content to only specific pages and ensuring it isn’t shared outside of intended parties through secure video hosting.

DaCast also has experience working with schools, and while the system is setup around a self-service environment  where someone can quickly login, put a credit card on file and start streaming… we have staff available to arrange proforma invoicing and traditional check payments for Annual plans and Pay As You Go pricing. Giving you enough services to stream a graduation and beyond, if you so choose.

Not only that, but come graduation time, DaCast will be fully mobile compatible. We already have our HTML5 Beta in place right now, letting existing DaCast users to try out these exciting new features right now. While we mentioned in the last newsletter that this was coming into production sometime this Spring, I feel confident going on record saying we are preparing to roll this out late this month.

So by the time graduations do roll around, viewers can enjoy the live streaming feed from any number of devices, from iPhones to video game consoles. All from a single stream given to DaCast that is transformed for mass compatibility across a wide range of desktop browsers, mobile phones, tablets, consoles and more. This includes both live and on demand video streaming as well.

DaCast is excited to announce our first beta since our launch in 2010. The subject is, fittingly, the most requested feature since we have launched: HTML5 streaming with support for mobile devices, including iOS and later versions of Android such as Jelly Bean and Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS).

So how does the beta work?

On Monday, March 18th, 2013:  login to your DaCast account, go to the help tab, and click  Support. Then create a ticket for a “Beta Application”. An account manager will then review the request and make the necessary steps to set you up.

Please note, space is limited. The DaCast staff will be prioritizing based on your account level and how long you have been an active DaCast broadcaster.

The beta includes support for both live and on demand content. Some features, such as video monetization, will not be available over the beta channels (don’t worry, it will still work on older Flash channels so you can feel safe using the beta even if you monetize).

The beta will be functional to your viewers, meaning you can broadcast the content to your own audience from your own website. In addition, beta channels will be converted into regular channels following the end of the beta, so those who get attached to their new streams don’t have to worry.

To stay up to date on what features are included on the beta and development progress, and how the HTML5 channels work, please follow the active topic on our community that has full details. The topic also explains how to use the beta, and the difference between a beta channel and an existing Flash based channel over our services.

We also ask that all beta participants please submit feedback about performance of the new HTML5 channels. To do this, after March 18th, please use the company update on our community.

First of March, and already a blog post from us.

I would like to thank everyone, first off, for their participation in our List of Compatible Cameras for Live Streaming on our community. We sounded out the call for our users in our February Newsletter, and as of writing this there are almost 80 replies in the topic. So thanks everyone.

Part of that Feburary offer was a gift of 20 GB of streaming bandwidth (for use on Live Streaming or Video on Demand) for participation in the topic, and I’m happy to announce we are extending that offer past February through March 8th. So please feel to mention what camera and capture card setup you are using to claim a reward. On the same foot, if you are just getting started, feel free to use the list as a fail safe guide on what camera or capture equipment to look into buying.

On the same token, I would also like to announce that we are going to try and increase the venues that we accept broadcaster feedback. Sometimes this will be community threads like the compatible camera list, and we will try to run offers for participation, while other times it will help develop and shape the platform.

As an example of the latter, we are seeking feedback for a farther out feature, as a few have asked how they might be compensated if they refer someone else to the DaCast Streaming as a Service platform.

The new year has just started, and we are already seeing shake ups in what we like to call the ‘Streaming industry’. While last year Ustream’s Watershed closed its doors to new users, this year we have already seen a far more severe industry impact with the announcement that Stickam is shutting down.

Stickam served a very real, and quite large, niche in doing video channel blogs as more personal messages to fans and other venues. Having been around since 2005, they have built up quite a fandom of their own for the live blog service, and their closure leaves a void not quite serviced by others like Ustream, while they saw a lot of downtrodden outcry when Stickam closed in February this month with not a lot of advance warning.

While DaCast has always honed in on a professional, “SaaS”, white label platform that feels at odds with Stickam’s model, we have still been in contact with users this week searching us out for a replacement for Stickam. Looking to use their live content on their own website, a key difference in us compared with services like Livestream, and wondering about our future stability. Older DaCast users might find this last question a little odd, but it’s worth addressing in a formal blog due to how often we have been asked this week.

While I don’t want to drum up how long DaCast has been around and our full history, I can safely say that DaCast isn’t going anywhere. Our model has always been on catering a professional audience willing to pay for a top of the line, live and on demand distribution service, catering both for free content or to be a maverick by selling video content through Pay Per View with a Paywall.

Current DaCast price matrix

Our goal has always been to make our services affordable, and we meticulously track the market to make sure we stay  at the top. We are SaaS through and through, though, and with having over 19,000 users we have been in a very comfortable position for quite awhile thanks to our approach, while still able to offer some hands on support that you won’t get with others without dropping $400 or so a month.

DaCast’s goal is not to try to make money from our users through ads or other indirect means that require incredible volume, in fact we made a major pivot away from video ads already, but we charge an up front fee that allows us to keep our quality of service high while funding future developments.

While seeing a big player in any market close up shop sometimes causes a shakeup, DaCast has a completely different model and we aren’t going anywhere. In fact, although I teased it already this week, we have some major developments coming in the next few months. We plan to have an incredible quarter one, with one of the achievements we are swearing up and down to have being support for iOS devices (so not just Video on Demand on mobiles, but live video on iPhone and iPad as well)… and be able to reach even more as well (hey, I have to leave some sort of surprise about our upcoming features!).

So stay tuned to our blog for more video streaming news.