All the various programming in a video content archive.
If you have a number of older videos just sitting around, what can you do with them? Is there a way to extract value from them? And if so, how can you maximize that value?
Before trying to maximize the value of your older video content, you first need to archive that content. How you set up your video content archive will determine how you can best maximize its value.
Key Takeaways
A video content archive stores older programming that is no longer being used but still has value.
By archiving potentially valuable content you enable re-monetization by selling or licensing that content.
Create a video archive that is inclusive, secure, and easy to access.
When you catalog your archive, you can identify potential buyers and licensees and extract extra value from that content.
Why Should You Archive Your Video Content?
Nielsen reports that over 817,000 unique program titles are available on streaming services today. This barely scratches the surface of the total number of movies and TV shows that have been created in the past 100 years. The Internet Movie Database currently lists more than 14 million titles in its database, most of which are not yet available for streaming.
These titles hold value, and viewers want to watch every single one of those unavailable titles. Program creators can extract value from these older movies and programs by creating an easy-to-catalog and easy-to-access video content archive. This approach provides several distinct benefits, including:
A single source of truth for all your archival content
Freeing up space for current production storage
Reducing storage costs
Preserving valuable media long term
Easy identification of content for selling, licensing, or otherwise re-monetizing
What is a Video Content Archive?
A video content archive is a digital repository for preserving video files that still have value but are no longer regularly used. It differs from a backup, which simply duplicates in-use files as a safety feature in case of damage or emergency. Archive stores older files that you don’t need daily but may be accessed in the future.
Backup vs. archive
10 Best Practices for Getting the Most Value from Your Video Content Archive
Follow these best practices to build a more usable video content archive and re-monetize the content stored there.
1. Archive More, Not Less
The first step in creating a video content archive is determining which content to archive. In general, it’s better to archive more content rather than less. You never know who might want to re-use any given program in the future, so keeping everything is preferable to purging content you think might not generate any interest in the future.
2. Disc, Tape, or Cloud?
What media should you use to archive your video content? There are three main choices for long-term archival storage: hard disk, linear tape-open (LTO) tape, and cloud-based storage.
Hard disk storage offers fast access times but has a limited shelf life (no more than five years) and is relatively costly. LTO tape is relatively low cost and will last for decades but takes longer to access. Cloud-based storage is probably the most convenient (especially for third parties accessing your content) and costs next-to-nothing to set up, but it suffers from higher long-term costs and slower access times.
Knowing this, most companies use either LTO tape or cloud storage for their archival activities. Hard disk storage is better suited for production, while cloud storage is better for sharing content with other parties.
Comparison of disk, tape, and cloud storage.
3. Secure the Archive
To guard against malicious actors stealing or damaging your archived files, or even holding them for ransom, you should employ rigid cybersecurity protocols. This includes encryption, firewalls, anti-malware tools, and Zero Trust user access.
4. Build in Redundancy
You don’t want to archive all your old content and then find it wiped out by accident, disaster, or cyberattack. Build redundancy into your archival plans to maintain a backup of your archived files.
5. Choose the Right Video Codec
In what format should your store your archived video files? Given how fast file standards change in the video industry, there is no universal solution guaranteed to last for decades. That said, you should encode your files with a codec that:
Is lossless
Is widely used
Offers a large number of migration tools for file conversion
And, if the codec you initially chose later becomes obsolete, plan to convert your archived files to a newer codec.
How to preserve and archive digital photos, videos, and documents.
6. Use Descriptive Filenames
You need to make it as easy as possible to find the right files when another party wants to use them. One way to do that is to use a consistent and easy-to-understand file naming system. Users should be able to determine at a glance what program they’re looking at.
7. Include Useful Metadata
Another way to make archived files easier to find is to attach descriptive metadata to each file. This metadata should include information such as the program’s name, length, format, and maybe even key director and key cast.
8. Enable Easy Search and Retrieval
With the right metadata attached, it becomes easier to search for specific programs. Your archive needs to include a robust search function so you can search for programs by name and other key criteria.
9. Catalog Your Content
Just archiving your old content isn’t enough. You need to have an up-to-date list of everything you have archived. You’ll never extract value from your archive if you don’t know what you have and what value it might hold.
10. Identify Potential Customers—Then Start Selling
Your archived videos will just sit there, gathering digital dust, unless you promote them. You need to work assiduously to determine what third parties might be interested in the content you own and then actively promote that content to potential buyers and licensees. That’s how re-monetization occurs.
Turn to Penthera for an Improved Viewer Experience
Whether you’re building a video content archive or licensing content from another company’s archive, you need to ensure the highest quality viewing experiences for viewers. Penthera provides solutions to streaming video publishers to mitigate common technical issues and provide high-quality experiences. For example, PlayAssure preloads video content to decrease rebuffering and video quality issues, while Penthera Download enables fast video downloads on various mobile platforms. To ensure the highest possible viewing quality, turn to the streaming video experts at Penthera.
Contact Penthera today to learn more about streaming video quality.
