What is the difference between a Video On Demand Stream and an Online Course?

This is a question we get quite often.

By definition, the video on demand stream is simply a stream of exactly what is on a DVD. DVDs are limited to how much video content will fit on a DVD disk. Usually 3 to 3 ½ hours is the limit. Online courses have no limit to the content. A perfect example is our online scent detection course which has 24+ hours of training information.

In addition, it is much easier to find and review content in an online course than it is to find material in a DVD or a video stream. One only needs to try to find 3 or 4 minutes of video content in the middle of a 3 hour DVD or video stream; it will drive you nuts going forward and backward with your DVD player to find what you want.

Our online courses are organized into modules, and then segments to a module. It only takes seconds to find and review material in an online course.

We do have a nice feature in our video streams called “NOTES”. This is very similar to a post-it note or bookmark. The viewer can pause the stream at any point in the video. When they click the NOTE tab, they get a pop-up in which they can write comments on why they paused the stream at that point. There can be as many notes as you want in a stream. Then, when the viewer comes back in a week or a year, they can see their list of notes (with descriptions). If they click on any note the video stream will instantly start to play from that point. This also makes reviewing much easier (assuming the trainer creates a series of NOTES).