You might remember VidCaster, the San Francisco–based startup that provides professional video distribution tools but with a super simple user interface. In our initial coverage of the company, we likened it to a “Tumblr for video.” At that time the company was still in private beta, working out the kinks and trying to make its platform even easier to use and understand. But now it has pulled the beta tag off its product and is making it available to anyone who wants to sign up.
VidCaster’s big value proposition — and its competitive advantage against some of the larger online video distribution platforms, like Brightcove or Ooyala — is that it combines all the tools one might need to set up a video page and archive, without requiring all the usual necessary technical expertise used to deploy those sites.
Typically online video platforms really only provide the video player and distribution engine needed to get things started, but it’s up to the customer to actually create, develop and maintain the web pages that those videos show up on. VidCaster takes away that pain by providing an all-in-one dashboard for creating video sites, with customizable landing pages, archives and video player. It also includes built-in social sharing tools to integrate with a customer’s Twitter or Facebook campaigns.
Vidcaster is aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, and those that want to use video for marketing but for which video distribution isn’t a core competency. A good example is Airbnb, which has used VidCaster to power its Airbnb TV site to explain what Airbnb is all about and what kind of listings are available in various cities around the world. (Think Cribs for online apartment rentals.)
It’s priced for the small and medium-sized business market as well: Its entry-level plan starts at just $39 a month for 10 GB of storage and 50 GB of bandwidth used each month. Price plans go up to $249 a month for a Pro account that includes 125 GB of storage and 750 GB of bandwidth, with a standard plan of $99 a month for 40 GB of storage and 250 GB of bandwidth. That’s well below some of its bigger competitors, and could provide a decent value for companies looking for a drop-dead simple way to jump into video distribution.
I like the simple approach of VidCaster. Looking forward to looking into their service a bit more in depth.
I’ve played around a lot with VidCaster–not only is it fun to use, but their team is responsive and helpful. Highly recommend it!
Congratulations! VidCaster is a great product.
Thanks, all! We’re excited about the public launch, the response has been very positive so far. A few more announcements in the works in a month or two, stay tuned!
Love it! Great job Kieran & team!
Overpriced.
How so???
A similar service, ooyala (that techcrunch uses for it’s tech videos) STARTS AT 500$ per month!
i think the concept of short term rentals is really cool and innovative. i tried to use airbnb once but was very upset because my host cancelled on me 2 days before i was due to travel. i tried to ask airbnb for help but they could only offer me a place that cost twice as much. ended up begging a friend’s friend to let me stay with him, which was weird, obviously. anyone know any better short term rental sites? i still love the concept of living like i stay in that city.
try roomorama. I’ve used them for a while now and I have never had anything like that happen to me. I like their customer service better than airbnb too.
Vidcaster really is the Tumblr for videos, and I can see more and more users flocking to it with video blogging taking off in this decade. The platform also allows for clickable links from inside the videos, so if you are running a video review blog or website, then you can embed your affiliate links within the video, and convert your visitors to buyers and earn commission that way.