As the Azure Media Services’ retirement approaches in June, 2024, finding a new and suitable option has become crucial. This blog is your guide to discovering alternatives that smoothly take over from Azure, ensuring your video services continue without a hitch. Whether you're looking for affordability or powerful features, let's explore different options to find the best fit for your business.
Azure Media Services retirement: Why is it closing down?
According to Microsoft's global lead for media and entertainment, Simon Crownshaw, the decision to shut down Azure Media Services comes after a thorough review of their media infrastructure, customer feedback, and the evolving landscape of media services. He also mentioned in his Linkedin post that while Azure Media Services offered a range of powerful features and functionality, they have found alternative partner-based solutions that better align with their specific requirements and objectives.
With this big step from Azure, the next step for users of Azure Media Services is to migrate their content to another service provider before June, 2024. This means that after June,
- Customer videos and associated files that are stored in the customer's Azure Storage account will remain unaffected by the retirement.
- All account data, including streaming endpoints, live events, and asset metadata, will be deleted as part of the retirement process.
List of top 5 Azure Media Services alternatives
With just three months left for the retirement, let us look at the best alternatives available to migrate your video content from Azure.
1. api.video
If you compare pricing, ease of migration and encoding speed, api.video ranks on the top as an Azure Media Services alternative. Take a look at its features.
Simple migration process
Azure Media Services migration process can be a daunting task for some, but api.video simplifies it to ensure a smooth transition. The platform offers a user-friendly Import Tool that streamlines the migration of existing video content. By providing clear documentation and support throughout the migration journey, api.video minimizes the complexities associated with moving from one service to another.
Zero-cost encoding
One of best things about this Azure Media Services alternative is its cost-effective approach to adaptive bitrate encoding. Unlike some other platforms, api.video does not charge you for adaptive bitrate encoding, making it an attractive option for content providers looking to optimize video quality across different devices and network conditions. With zero encoding fees, you can easily test their API by uploading your videos through their Sandbox account - which is absolutely free to sign up for.
Developer-friendly integration
api.video offers a developer-friendly environment that facilitates seamless integration into existing applications or services. The platform provides extensive documentation, code examples, and API references, empowering developers to quickly and efficiently incorporate video functionality into their projects.
Full-fledged support
api.video also offers extensive support to help you migrate your videos from your Azure. So, if you face any trouble using their import tool, their support team is easily available via chat or call to resolve your issues.
Key points:
- Migration Process: Easy migration through an Import Tool.
- Pricing: Pay-as-you-go model for pricing. Enterprise plan available for enhanced support.
- Video Processing and Encoding: Encoding speed is twice of that of Azure Media Services.
- Ease of Use: Super easy documentation and a sleek dashboard. Suitable for developers and non-developers alike.
- Scalability: In-house infrastructure that can scale to meet large volumes of content.
2. VPlayed
Ranked at #2 as an Azure Media Services alternative, VPlayed has a video player that you can tailor to suit your needs and also offers advanced security and analytics.
Customizable video player
VPlayed has a customizable video player, allowing you to mould the appearance and functionality of the player according to your specific branding and user experience requirements. This customization extends to player skins, layouts, and interactive features.
Advanced security of vidoes
With its multi-DRM support, access control, and AES encryption, VPlayed provides top-tier security for video-on-demand and livestreaming.
Clean analytics
VPlayed includes a sophisticated analytics dashboard that delivers insights into viewer behavior, engagement patterns, and content performance. The analytics dashboard covers key metrics such as view counts, user demographics, and playback quality.
Key points:
- Migration Process: Complex migration process.
- Pricing: Pricing structure available for various business sizes.
- Video Processing and Encoding: Unified cloud video transcoding solution.
- Ease of Use: Slightly complicated to use for beginners.
- Scalability: Scalable to suit different business sizes.
3. Axinom
Often undermined as a potential Azure Media Services alternative, Axinom is easy to get started with and has some good features.
Scalable video infrastructure
Axinom has a scalable video infrastructure, designed to accommodate growing demands for video delivery. The scalability of Axinom's solution ensures that your platform can efficiently handle an increasing number of users, content assets, and concurrent streaming sessions.
Content management and delivery
Axinom provides an integrated content management and delivery system, streamlining the end-to-end process of managing and delivering video content. From content creation and organization to distribution and playback, Axinom's solution offers a unified platform for efficient content workflows.
Security and rights management
Axinom places a strong emphasis on security and rights management, offering robust tools to safeguard video content and manage access rights. This includes Digital Rights Management (DRM) capabilities, encryption standards, and secure playback protocols.
Key points:
- Migration Process: You may require specialized knowledge for migration.
- Pricing: Usage-based-pricing that is available for various business sizes.
- Video Processing and Encoding: Offers cloud-based scalable encoding.
- Ease of Use: More suitable for users with advanced technical skills.
- Scalability: Scalable solution for enterprise-level needs.
4. Bitmovin
Bitmovin is an Azure Media Services alternative that offers simple video workflows and decent video encoding for both live and on-demand content.
Live encoding
Built upon the file-based Bitmovin VOD Encoder, Bitmovin has a Live Encoder which is a resilient live video streaming software platform that takes RTMP, SRT or Zixi inputs and outputs to HLS and DASH for delivery to digital streaming services.
Multi-DRM support
Bitmovin addresses content protection through its support for multiple Digital Rights Management (DRM) solutions. This multi-DRM support ensures that your video content remains secure, preventing unauthorized access and distribution.
Key points:
- Migration Process: Migration of content may be time-taking.
- Pricing: Pricing differs with variation in quality of videos.
- Video Processing and Encoding: High-performance video encoding and adaptive streaming.
- Ease of Use: Interface may be perceived as complex for some users.
- Scalability: Cloud-native infrastructure for scalability.
5. Wowza
Another good alternative to Azure Media Services, Wowza adheres to a SaaS model, serving as a platform for the hosting and distribution of live streams, on-demand videos, and audio content.
Low-latency streaming
Wowza excels in providing low-latency streaming solutions, ensuring minimal delays between content generation and its delivery to end-users. This feature is crucial if you have real-time applications, live broadcasts, and interactive content where reduced latency significantly enhances the viewing experience.
Comprehensive analytics
Wowza provides robust analytics tools that offer in-depth insights into the performance of your video streams. These analytics cover various metrics, including viewer engagement, geographic distribution, and playback quality.
Key points:
- Migration Process: May require additional configuration for smooth migration.
- Pricing: Pricing increases with variation in the quality of videos.
- Video Processing and Encoding: Robust live streaming capabilities with advanced processing.
- Ease of Use: Interface may be perceived as complex for some users.
- Scalability: Known for scalability particularly in live streaming.
It’s not too late to choose a streaming solution that meets all your needs and leaves you feeling optimistic about the road ahead. Start by considering your immediate needs and identify the solution that best meets them. And remember to confirm with your new provider in advance, the overall cost, effort and time that you will need to dedicate to the process.
api.video offers migration of your video content without charging any encoding fees. You also get dedicated support from the api.video team to map your content from the previous provider. Sign-up for a free sandbox account to try out api.video’s video API, or talk to our team to learn more about the migration.
