Interest in streaming platforms is growing as they allow users to quickly access exciting video and audio files. It is estimated that the OTT market could reach $332.5 billion by 2025. You must conduct regular testing for your streaming platform to be competitive and provide quality services to customers. It will allow you to identify the slightest errors that can lead to a deterioration in the quality of service.
Benefits of Testing
Has it ever happened that you went to a streaming site to watch your favorite movie, and the broadcast is interrupted all the time, or the spinner constantly spins, and the video does not play? Usually, in such cases, you refuse to use this platform and go to competitors. If you do not want to lose customers due to technical problems, you should conduct comprehensive OTT testing testfort.com/ott-testing to identify and fix bugs in time to avoid problems in the future.
Many people think that testing should only be done during the development phase of a streaming platform. However, you must understand that for your business to thrive, and you must add new features that can lead to specific problems. In addition, with an increase in the number of users, the load on the software increases, which can significantly affect the performance and stress resistance of the platform. We recommend regular testing to ensure that your software will work correctly.
Each streaming platform constantly monitors the number of users and how much time they spend watching videos. If you notice that these numbers have dropped significantly over the past month, this is a strong signal that you should get tested.
What types of testing should be used?
Today we want to discuss which video streaming test cases you need to use to be sure that you provide quality services and your business will continue to grow successfully.
UX/UI testing
First, you must ensure that it is easy and convenient for users to use your website or mobile application. Particular attention should be paid to the quality of the interface and navigation. There should be a few pop-ups or ads that cover essential buttons. You also need to install a search engine here to make navigation easier.
OTT industry trends indicate that platforms are becoming more and more multinational. It will be good if the site is available in several languages, maximizing the audience.
Plan/Subscription Tests
Most platforms offer their customers different subscription fees, which can vary in price, quantity, and quality of video and audio files. During testing, you need to make sure that regardless of the plan. Each client will receive high-quality services.
It will also be good to ensure users can access your subscription resource from any device (smartphone, tablet, computer, or smart TV). Thus, you must ensure that your software works well on different operating systems.
Stream testing
Users mustn’t have to wait for a long time for the video to load. To ensure that the video works correctly, you must conduct streaming testing. It will also ensure that your customers can watch videos without interruption.
Safety
OTT platforms store much information about their users (bank accounts, user browsing habits, what devices they use, and more). This data must stay in the right hands. So, you need to perform specific tests to ensure that attackers cannot break your code and get customer data.
Performance Testing
As your business grows, so does the number of users. Many have faced a situation where online stores do not open during seasonal sales (for example, during the Christmas holidays). The same thing happens with streaming platforms. Often on weekends or holidays, we notice that some streaming platforms perform worse. So, you need to check the security on peak days when the number of customers is very high.
What is better: automatic or manual testing?
Today there are two main types of testing – manual and automatic. Ideally, both tests should be used to ensure the platform works correctly.
Typically, manual tests are used to test the interface and user experience, while automated tests are ideal for checking technical data.
After you have completed both types of tests, the tester prepares the terms of reference for the programmers. They should make edits and fix bugs. After that, you need to retest to ensure that the fixes were performed correctly and did not lead to new problems. Since the cost of testing is high enough, only manual testing can save money.
