Video Streaming App Development: Key Features, Architecture, and Costs

Video streaming services are becoming more and more popular. According to Statista, the global digital video audience will reach almost 3.5 billion by 2023.

It is not surprising – with the spread of high-speed Internet and mobile devices, watching and creating streaming video has become more accessible and affordable.

Many users want to not only consume content but also create it.

Thus, the creation of applications for video streaming is becoming a popular thing.

Critical features for video streaming 

Onboarding

Onboarding is vital. New users should learn about your streaming app before they start using it.

Registration

Registration through your video streaming application should also be as simple as possible for the user. If a new user cannot do this within a few seconds, they may get frustrated and leave.

Watchlists

Once you establish what one of your app’s users likes to watch, the recommended watchlist feature comes in handy. It is also essential here to produce a selection that meets the tastes of your user.

Ratings

This feature helps users to leave feedback on the broadcasters they like. Based on these reviews, you’ll be able to determine how popular each broadcast is and know which guests to invite.

Search and discovery

Your application must have a content search function. Create a search box on the first screen so users can visit your app to find something specific.

Downloads

Uploading videos to local storage is handy for travelers and passengers without a stable internet connection.

Subscription

The subscription should show users what options they have to interact with your video app. It will enable customers to choose what suits them.

Video streaming application architecture

Specific mobile app development solutions are used to develop a streaming video service.

One of the essential features of a video streaming application is the creation of video streaming without delay.

There should be a thriving technology ecosystem to facilitate data analysis and algorithms to customize such services.

Cost of developing a video streaming application

Forbes writes that creating a minimum viable product (MVP) can be cheaper if you use applications that clone Netflix and allow you to customize the code for your personalized platform. There is no universal solution here. Therefore there is no average price.

At the same time, you can significantly reduce the app development cost by ordering development from experienced specialists, for example, at https://mlsdev.com/blog/app-development-cost. This option is considered the best for startups with a limited budget. It can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000. Still, it can bring you the investment and income to fully develop video-on-demand applications later.

Conclusion

If you want to be in line with services like Netflix or YouTube, you must work hard. However, the popularity of such services will only grow, hence the demand for them. There will always be a need for newer and more recent video streaming apps. So if you have a goal and a reliable development team – you can also be successful in this area.

Author’s bio: Anastasiia Lastovetska is a technology writer at MLSDev, a software development company that builds web & mobile app solutions from scratch. She researches the area of technology to create great content about app development, UX/UI design, tech & business consulting.