Imagine this. You are waiting to play the videos that you saved in Dropbox. The “loading” wheel has been spinning for the last 7 minutes. And at the end of all this waiting, all you see is a message – “Can’t Play Video”. It’s downright irritating, right? We feel the same too!
And there can be many reasons behind this. You might have issues with the internet. Sometimes your browser may be the reason.
But many times, it is the video file itself! Yeah, you guessed it right – Dropbox does not support all the video file types! And when you try to preview a video file format that is not supported, you will face the issue of video not playing.
And guess what, you will even face issues with HEVC files! In case you are using non-apple devices, you can preview them but they won’t open. So, you will have to convert them manually. And as we all know, HEVC codec is extremely common when you are dealing with business or streaming videos.
And this is not the only reason why you should avoid using Dropbox for business video management. There are many more too! In this blog, we will discuss all of them. And after that, we will tell you about a better Dropbox alternative that is built for enterprise video management! So, let’s get started.
Need A Better Solution Than Dropbox for Business Video Management? Try Muvi Flex Now!! Click Here To Get Started. Why Dropbox is Not Suitable for Business Video Management?
So, we all are acquainted with Dropbox in 2024. But do you why and how it was started? That’s quite an interesting story. Drew Houston often used to forget his USB flash drive while he was at MIT. This made him think – why can’t we store our files online?
So, within just two weeks, he came up with the first working prototype of Dropbox – an internet-based file storage service. The purpose was to let anyone store any file online so that they can access it anytime from anywhere, without the need to carry a USB flash drive!
And why are we telling you this story now? To make you realize that Dropbox was never made to cater to businesses! And when you try to use it for business video management, it becomes an even bigger trouble!
Dropbox Video Loading and Management Issues
Firstly, Dropbox does not support all video file types and sizes. Dropbox does not allow you to preview video files bigger than 100GB.
Here’s a list of file types allowed for preview:
.3gp | .3gpp | .3gpp2 | .asf | .avi | .dv | .m2t |
.m4v | .mkv | .mov | .mp4 | .mpeg | .mpg | .mts |
.mxf | .ogv | .rm | .ts | .vob | .webm | .wmv |
Source: Dropbox Help Article
But, the mentioned .mp4 and .mov files do not mean HEVC files. I mean yes Dropbox openly says it does support HEVC too, and non-apple devices do not support it. But it is also true that Dropbox will request you to manually convert your HEVC videos.
Similar is the case with HEIF files too, that come with the extension .heic. Dropbox will blame it on your device. But at the end of the day, you will have to face the hassle of manually converting them.
And there are categories of the supported file formats for each subscription type. So, the final list of supported file formats will depend on the Dropbox plan you have purchased.
And there’s another strange issue that you might face while sharing files on Dropbox. Let’s assume that you are a Dropbox basic plan user. So, by default, you can’t preview the .mxf files. But the Dropbox Professional plan users can.
Now suppose you have shared a .mxf file with a Dropbox professional plan user. And you are guessing that person will be able to preview it. But guess what, that person won’t be able to preview that file!
So long story cut short, Dropbox is not enough for business video management. You will need a better platform that is built for enterprise video management!
A Better Dropbox Alternative for Enterprise Video Management
If you are looking for a Dropbox alternative for enterprise video management, we are here to make your search easier! Presenting to you Muvi Flex – the advanced secured enterprise video hosting and management platform that is designed to cater to all your business needs.
From multi-DRM security, geo-blocking, and anti-screengrab to built-in encoding and transcoding with multiple encoding profiles and multiple video format support, Muvi Flex has got everything covered!
You can upload your video in whatever format you want. Muvi Flex will automatically convert it into file formats suitable for playbacks across different devices. You can also customize the video player and add your brand logo and other brand elements.
You can embed these videos on your website and apps. When you need to share the videos, just generate HLS links and share them with your intended viewers. You can also create customized playlists and share the playlist via HLS link.
Key Features of Muvi Flex
Let’s now take you through some of the key features of Muvi Flex:
- Cloud Hosting and CDN: With built-in CDN, Muvi Flex is well-versed to handle all your traffic peaks. You can enjoy unmatched scalability and performance.
- Multi-DRM Protection: With built-in support for multi-DRM encryption, Muvi Flex ensures the highest level of security for your content. Combined with anti-screen grab, geo-blocking, VPN detection, firewalls, and access controls, Muvi Flex ensures to prevent every possible attempt of piracy.
- Playlist with HLS Output: You can create multiple customized playlists and share them with your audience via HLS URL.
- Customizable HLTML5 Video Player: Muvi Flex offers a fully customizable HTML5 video player. You can add logos, adjust color schemes, and modify controls to customize its look and feel.
- Analytics and Reports: Muvi Flex’s analytics dashboard offers detailed insights into different engagement metrics like views, watch hours, and user behavior like demographics, devices, etc.
- Multiple Encoding Profiles: Muvi Flex offers multiple encoding profiles. So your videos can be delivered in different resolutions and bitrates.
- Multi-Format Support: Muvi Flex offers support for multiple video formats. Also, you can upload your videos in any format as they will be auto-encoded.
How To Start Using Muvi Flex
Using Muvi Flex for enterprise video management is easier than you think! Just follow the steps given below:
- First you need to sign up with Muvi Flex. Click here to complete your sign up process and start your 14-day free trial.
- Next you need to add your content. To do so, login to Muvi Flex, and go to the Content Management → Content Library. You will get a “Add Content” button. Click on that to add new content.
- To manage your content better, you can also add categories. To do so, go to “Manage Category” section add new categories, or edit old categories.
- If you want to embed your videos to your website, you can do that via “Embed Code”. In the content library, you will see three dots in the extreme right side of each of your content. Click on the three dots and then click on share. You will get multiple share options. From there, click on “Embed Code”. Copy it and use it to embed your videos.
- You can also share your vidoes via “HLS Feed URL”. You will get the HLS URL option in the share option itself. Click on it to generate a sharable HLS URL for your content. Copy the link and share it with your viewers.
Wrapping Up
Dropbox is definitely useful for storing and managing regular documents and files online, but it is not sufficient for enterprise video management. If you are looking for a good Dropbox alternative for your business videos, then Muvi Flex is definitely the perfect solution for you.
And you can try Muvi Flex for FREE for 14 days, to try it first hand. No need to add any credit card details. Just click here to fill up the sign up form and get started!
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