Digital Media Concepts/Odysee

The multimedia platform Odysee is a rebranding of "lbry.tv" in late 2020, and media uploaded to "lbry.tv" was moved there.

Type of site	Online multimedia platform
Languages	Multiple
Registration	Optional
Current status	Active

Since the average end user is interested in the practical use of the site rather than the technology used on the back end (e.g. blockchain), this resource reviews the functional benefits and disadvantages compared to other platforms.

Features

Essential

• Uploads can be audio-only and photos as well, not only videos.
• Custom URLs for uploads. Those URLs conveniently are case-insensitive.
  • The URLs are in the format /@ChannelName/customURLstring. If it is the first item with that string as the custom URL, /customURLstring without the channel name will be reserved.
• Browser compatibility: As of June 2022, the site works in Firefox 56, a version from mid-2017.
  • In comparison, BitChute does not even work in Firefox 66 from 2019 and gets stuck on the splash screen that covers an already loaded page, apparently due to a JavaScript dependency that was developed without regard to browser compatibility.
• Visible ratings, both positive and negative. Since YouTube's hiding of dislike counters, this is no longer a given.
• Uploads that were interrupted due to an internet disconnection or browser crash can be resumed rather than having to start from the beginning.

Auxiliary

• User interface for zooming into photos.
• Simple and quick creation of sub-channels.
• Media can be transferred between channels.
• Picture-in-picture player allows browsing the site while watching simultaneously.
• The picture-in-picture player can be arbitrarily moved. Those of YouTube and Dailymotion can not.
• Picture-in-picture player works in mobile view, albeit very small.
• High thumbnail resolution. Thumbnails are limited to 5 MB in size, but not by resolution. This allows for good-quality cover art on audio items.
• Option to upload media as "Anonymous", meaning not visibly associated with a channel.
• Videos are directly listed in the search suggestion menu.
• Download button: Media can be directly downloaded without the need for any external tools.
• Segmented buffer bar: shows the segment of each buffered section. No other major video platform is known to have this feature.
• Items can be viewed as a vertical list and as a shelf-like grid. (see also: Web Design/Layout toggle)

Weaknesses

These weaknesses are few in number, but individually essential.

• Limited transcoding. Some videos have a quality selector, but it is unknown how to enable it.
  • Without transcoding, the user needs to watch at full resolution, which demands more bandwidth and battery power on mobile devices, and strain a mobile data plan.
• No conversion. The user needs to convert the video to a common format before uploading.
  • The site recommends the MP4 container with H.264 video and AAC audio.
• Resource-heavy: Visual effects like blurred backgrounds and transition animations may be visually appealing, but are a burden on the battery of portable devices, and cause sluggishness on lower-end smartphones.
  • In comparison, BitChute and the mobile front end of YouTube are much more lightweight.
• If a custom date for an item is specified, the actual upload date is nowhere visible as of September 2022. The custom date is shown on the item's watch page and in lists instead of the actual upload date.
• Thumbnails of items are only stored and served in the "WEBP" format, even on browsers that do not support WEBP.