David Farnor | On 30, Sep 2017

Vimeo is entering world of live-streaming, with the launch of Vimeo Live this week.

Live video has become an increasingly big part of the online video arena in recent years, as Facebook and YouTube support for live-streaming has supported everything from events to Q&As. This year, live video was the number one request for a new feature among Vimeo users, and so the site is now catching up.

Vimeo Live consists of a new set of membership plans that provide professional live streaming capabilities through the Vimeo platform.

The service offers full HD 1080p and cloud transcoding, so viewers can enjoy video across devices, while companies or broadcasters can add their own colours and logo to the player and embed it anywhere. It also supports any RTMP encoder, for maximum compatibility, as well as audience chat, real-time stats and advanced analytics for post-event videos. Users can edit and replace post-event video files in up to 4K, spread out with up to 5TB of storage, and sell videos after the event, as a rental, purchase, or subscription.

As part of the launch, Vimeo has also confirmed that it will acquire Livestream, one of the veterans of live-streaming. The deal is expected to close in the coming months.

“We understand that professional live streaming is complex and stressful, and that’s why we are teaming up with Livestream,” Anjali Sud, CEO of Vimeo, wrote in a blog post announcing the launch. “Today, they power over 10 million events a year, and have built a suite of innovative products ranging from the world’s most versatile live event camera, to live production software and switchers, to production services to ensure your event goes perfectly. Once our acquisition is completed, these products will become part of a single powerful live offering, giving you all the tools you need to capture, edit, broadcast, and archive your live events in one workflow.”

“Over the next few months we intend to bring a new level of quality, convenience, and craft to live video. And we’ll be able to move faster and smarter with the combined force of two companies, who share the same passion for helping storytellers do their thing,” she added.

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