In recent articles I have been reviewing BlueJeans Primetime for Facebook Live streams.
In this article I am going to cover features that would enhance the platform for live video producers and marketers. I passed these recommendations to the head of international marketing and the product manager for BlueJeans Primetime about ten days ago and decided to publish my recommendations here as I have also previously been approached by other live stream providers for insights on their platforms. During the trial period they are actively seeking input from users. I will publish that list in a separate article. Note: this article was originally 30 recommended updates an has been extended since writing it due to my experience of using the trial of the product.
This is the fifth in a series of articles about using BlueJeans Primetime for Facebook Live streaming which I have been testing for my Live Stream Insiders shows. At the time of writing this article, there is no pricing available for the product.
This article is based on an evaluation of BlueJeans that I have independently carried out using the free trial for the product and is influenced by my background in live event production and hosting and speaking through webinar platforms and live stream platforms for over sixteen years and nine years respectively.
You can contact me privately to discuss live stream training and mentoring programmes and services.
There are a number of features I would like to see which I have already provided in feedback to the international head of marketing and the product manager of BlueJeans Primetime as during their trial period they are actively seeking input from users. I will publish that list in a separate article.
Note: I produce and moderate my own shows but I have had years of experience doing so and multi tasking for live stream production. It is recommended that you work with someone to produce your show for example training a member of your team.
Read my previous articles about Blue Jeans Primetime and watch the live show I did with the product manager for Primetime:
- An introduction to BlueJeans Primetime for Facebook Live
- How to join a live stream on BlueJeans Primetime as a guest or attendee on your desktop or mobile
- Learn about BlueJeans Primetime from the product manager Pashmeen Mistry who joined us on the Live Stream Insiders show
- Watch the segment from the live stream where discuss the target market for BlueJeans Primetime
- Learn how to get started as a moderator of a Facebook Live show using BlueJeans Primetime
- Fifteen reasons you should consider using BlueJeans Primetime for Facebook Live
- 30 features that would make BlueJeans Primetime a more powerful platform for live streaming.
Recommendations for Enhancements to BlueJeans Primetime for Facebook Live
Of great importance to live stream producers is a reliable and stable platform and that seems to be the case for BlueJeans Primetime. Where the audio and video quality is not as you might expect I have found it is usually due to the users hardware, internet capacity, or the use of third party tools such as ManyCam which conflict with BlueJeans.
In addition responsive customer support is essential – my personal experience has been good, though this week there has been an unsatisfactory waiting time for questions to be responded to (6 days) which I am guessing is due to the demands on the customer support team due to all the new users.
The current platform as it has been developed is very good and these are enhancements that would make it more powerful – note I updated this article following reviewing a new app for Facebook Live which has some features I had not included in the original list of 30 features for enhancing BlueJeans for Facebook Live:
- A notice for people coming on screen so they know their image will be shared – such as is provided when using Hangouts on Air
- A notice that checks people have the right to share content such as video content on Facebook – this could be for uploaded video and videos they may choose to share through their browser. The provision of this notice would help educate the users of the platform. Many people are not aware of the issues relating to copyright and live streaming and Facebook is deleting live streams for copyright breaches.
- Advise attendees and participants that they do not have to add their email address to join a live stream – there also seem to be some glitches with people trying to join as an attendee in a green room for an event post a show when trying to access on an iPad from the experience of people watching my weekly Live Stream Insiders show
- Providing separate video files of each participant on screen – this would enable show producers to easily edit should they wish to do so when repurposing replays
- Eliminating the lower third on the video when screen sharing or making it smaller as it takes up about a firth of the screen and can obscure the lower part of the speakers face
- Muting of the audio stating the event is recording at the beginning and end of the event and showing a visual notification to all speakers and the moderator – though I have not usually noticed this in the Facebook Live stream replay
- The ability to adjust the level of the volume of the video when playing a video in a live stream and the presenter is talking over it rather than just muting it
- The ability to adjust the level of the volume of the video when playing one in the live stream – currently there are no controls to do this
- Moderators being able to join and start a show from mobile devices
- Live streaming from Android as a participant and moderator
- The ability to view attendees on video to check their audio and video is working before you promote them to being on camera – this is also important to ensure that their background and surroundings comply with your live video brand guidelines
- Access to mp4 and wav audio files for ease of re-purposing of content to audio podcasts which would also tap into a new audience
- The ability to access a recording where it shows the recording of the screen not just image captures as ‘chapters’ alongside the video of the speakers
- Custom lower thirds that can be used or variations on the current lower third with peoples names on it
- Brand watermarks on channels or no watermark but being compliant with Facebook terms of service for live video
- The ability to share your mobile phone in the live stream rather than having to use third party tools to reflect your phone onto a screen which can then be shared – this is a service provided by some live video platforms
- The ability to pre-schedule the Facebook Live and being able to use the embed code – the feature of scheduling live streams for Facebook Pages has recently been made possible and they are rolling out the API to third party providers
- Updating the Facebook Live API execution so that it allows for geographic and demographic targeting
- Integration with CRM tools as provided by some live video platforms
- Detailed analytics, such as who were the most engaged people in the Facebook Live stream (some tools have been developed for this for platforms such as Periscope)
- The ability to promote someone from presenter to moderator
- The ability to share video or images as an introduction to a live stream without the moderator or presenters on stage – when the moderator is off camera such as at the beginning of a show you still see a small black video place holder
- A countdown timer for the show so people can gather in advance of the event starting
- Direct uploading to YouTube and Vimeo etc of the replay
- The ability to upload audio not only video to play in the live stream
- Interactive polls for use with the attendees
- A green room always open for tests rather than having to create an event to test
- Updates about new features being actively shared to users
- A reward or affiliate programme to encourage users to promote the platform
- Early adopter pricing when the product is finally available for use as has been offered by many live video platforms
- RTMP access for streaming to other platforms or easy integration of streaming to platforms such as YouTube and Periscope
- Easy social sharing when the event is live – and including the option to share an image of the live stream for example in a Twitter card
- Screen sharing that is areas of the screen not only the full screen
- The ability to post messages on the screen easily for example calls to action that appear when the speakers are still on stage rather than having to move to a screen share
- Being able to view the Facebook comments posted within the BlueJeans app – watching Facebook comments on desktop is glitchy and I usually watch and comment in my live streams using my phone
- Comments from Facebook being able to be shown on screen – I know of a number of live stream apps and products for Facebook Live that provides this already
- The option to show comments from viewers on the Facebook Live stream to help build engagement with your audience.
What other additions would you like to see BlueJeans Primetime for Facebook Live introduce that would enhance the experience for you as a producer and for your guests and audience?
Probably the biggest missing for me at the moment – and probably other live streamers – testing the platform is the price of BlueJeans Primetime for Facebook Live.
Some people continue to miss-quote the price even to the disadvantage of BlueJeans – I heard from one live stream producer that because people are being frightened off by what they perceive is the price based on inaccurate information, they have picked up new live stream production contracts.
But for some of us there is the question about how far in advance do we dare plan to schedule live streams with guests as we do not know if the price will be prohibitive for the platform once they announce it.
I also think that for others the fact that they have to wait two weeks for access to BlueJeans having received the training on the platform is frustrating. Let’s hope they get their teething problems resolved and that BlueJeans fulfills it’s potential of being a very powerful live stream platform. After all it would probably not take too much for other platforms such as GoToWebinar or Zoom to integrate with the Facebook Live API.
Image credit for the screen shot used in the Pinterest image BlueJeans live stream with Guy Kawasaki. All other images created by Krishna De all rights reserved.
