2012 Readers' Choice Awards: Voting Now Open
With more than 280 nominees across 25 categories, the 2012 Streaming Media Readers' Choice Awards is going to be our biggest ever, and beginning today, you can cast your vote for the products, services, and companies that you feel are leading the way forward for online video.
Unlike our other awards programs, which rely on our editorial and publishing staff's evaluation, these awards are decided by the people who really matter—the end users who are creating the content, encoding and transcoding the files, and making sure it gets to viewers on whatever device they wish to watch, wherever they wish to watch it. With new categories this year for field encoder, telco CDN, front-end optimization, transparent caching, and more—in addition to the return of the DRM category (didn't see that coming, did you?)—you've got more choices than ever.
Vote in as many—or as few—categories as you like. Once all the votes have been collected and voting closes on October 15, you'll receive an email asking you to confirm your vote. This prevents against automated ballot-box stuffing.
And if you see a company or product that's missing, or perhaps your company's product is listed in the wrong category, please contact us at readerschoice@a4group.net and we'll make the addition/change promptly.
Thank you to our sponsors: Wowza Media Systems, Digital Rapids, Livestream, and Telestream.
Check the categories below, and cast your vote today! Click here to vote.
Best Streaming Innovation 2012
Which product, technology, or service most changed the streaming landscape in the past year?
Best Online Video Content Company
Which company is creating the most innovative, impressive, and entertaining original content?
Best Online Video Technology Company
Another industry-wide category, designed to highlight the technology company that made the biggest splash and is poised for long-term success
Cloud Encoding/Transcoding Service
Who's got the best SaaS for encoding and transcoding video, in terms of quality, turnaround time, and service?
This year, we're separating the content delivery network category into two categories to reflect the changing CDN landscape. This category is for non-telco CDNs.
Which telco CDN is outperforming the others in terms of QoS and customer service for OTT video delivery?
Desktop Video Editing Software
What's the best software for editing video on the desktop, in terms of power, speed, options, and UI?
DRM/Access Control Solution
As premium content owners try to reach more devices, they need more nuanced approaches to digital rights management and access control. Which solution offers the best experience for the content owner and the consumer?
Encoding Software (Desktop)
It doesn't seem fair to pit enterprise-grade encoding solutions against single-workstation software, so in this year's awards we're breaking down encoding software into two categories. Which desktop encoding software offers the most options, easiest-to-use interface, and highest-quality results?
Encoding Software (Enterprise Class)
What's the leading enterprise-grade encoding software, in terms of performance, output quality, quality control options, format support, expansion options, programmability, and other variables?
The last 12 months has seen an explosion in encoding hardware designed for use in the field, including cellular link aggregator solutions. Which one is shaking things up the most?
Hardware Encoder (On Demand)
What's the best hardware designed for on-demand (non-live) encoding?
This category is for hardware encoders specifically designed for live encoding.
Live Video Streaming Service
Cloud platform for streaming live content
As cable companies look to increase and improve their over-the-top offerings, what solution are they turning to?
Multi-Screen/OTT Solution for Content Publishers
When content publishers look for an end-to-end solution for getting their content on multiple devices, where do they turn?
Premium white-label or branded video publishing platforms designed for use by SMBs, enterprise, and entertainment organizations.
Portable Live Streaming Appliance
A step or two up from cellmuxes but still mobile, these hardware solutions enable webcasting virtually anywhere, offering camera switching, transitions, effects, and more.
Reporting and Analytics Solution
Solutions for delivering video viewership and/or QoS reporting and analytics, whether standalone or as part of a larger offering
Search and Discovery Platform
Solutions that utilize metadata, speech/facial recognition, or other methods to help users easily find the video they're looking for or to find viewing recommendations based on their personal information
Solutions for delivering audio and video files to listeners and viewers, regardless of delivery protocol
Transparent Video Caching Solution
Who offers the best solution for transparent caching of video content on a delivery network
Video Advertising Management Platform
Platforms that perform ad insertion and offer pre-built placement options and success tracking
Video Advertising Network
Companies that help brands execute video campaigns via online publishers
Webcasting/Presentation Solution
Services or products that capture video and audio, combine with slides and images, and deliver to online viewers in an interactive environment with Q&A, surveys, etc., live and/or on demand.
[Note: When we solicited nominations, we included four categories that are not represented here. Those categories didn't produce enough nominations to warrant inclusion in the final voting.]
Companies and Suppliers Mentioned