This is the second part of a series of articles where I explore websites in the blockchain ecosystem which are actually useful in their own right and have crypto rewards as part of their charm (see the first article here). I believe this is an interesting way to introduce new people to the crypto-space, something that is usually a thorn in the side of most in crypto who want to broadcast its benefits. If you are already part of the space, think this article as a tool in your toolkit to show others.

Lbry

When it comes to watching videos, Youtube is the default place to go, but lately their curation practices have prevented us from accessing interesting content. As a consequence many other small platforms took in that content and traffic. Lbry.tv uses the blockchain to index the videos and it's decentralized in nature (the videos are held by the creators and users). The decentralized format makes the content impossible to delete once uploaded. Of course there are rules for uploading content and people need to adhere to them. Yet those rules are related to legal issues and not ideology, so Lbry holds now most of the alternative views in many different subjects. 

The same people created Odysee. I don't really understand the difference between lbry and Odysee. I think the blockchain ecosystem allows to create many different platforms and this was created to  encourage developers. 

An interesting feature I've seen in Odysee, but not Lbry, is that it allows to synchronize the content with Youtube, so content creators only upload once. In my personal view this feature will not be held in the long run because it gives YT the upper-hand in terms of publishing, but it's an awesome solution for content creators with big libraries, as the content is migrated automatically. I didn't do it, so I can't give any details about the small print. I have seen it mentioned in the Corbett Report and then saw the feature when uploading videos in Odysee.

Lbry admits different types of media, not only video. I have seen articles and pdfs. 

The uploaded videos can go under the channel's name or as anonymous (double-check this when uploading to avoid making mistakes), and the content can be free or have a price in LBC, the native token. 

The token

Lbry's token is called Lbry Credits (LBC). The system rewards both for content upload and to watch videos. The reward system for creators is described here:

https://lbry.tv/@lbry:3f/creatorrewards2020:3

and for watching videos the rewards system can be seen in the profile tab.

The system gives random rewards for watching videos (0.25 LBC min), for creating a channel, for inviting people and other options I haven't fully explored. 

Lbry is my main video platform for crypto and alternative media. The fact that it gives rewards is an interesting plus. Embedding these videos in blogs is not as efficient in terms of speed as YT at this time.

Theta

Theta is at the same time a video streaming and video uploading platform. In my opinion it's functionality is even better than Twitch--that allows for only clips, but they get deleted in time. The environment is sleek and it allows for creators to broadcast messages to subscribers and/or followers, what is a powerful tool.

It broadcasts NASA tv all day long and there are many game and crypto streamers as well. 

Theta rewards for creating content, generating engagement, and for participation. The streaming channel is not created automatically, it has to be requested, but it's an easy process.

The search feature for videos is not that good, so it has little chances of replacing Lbry or Youtube anytime soon.

The token

The coin is called Tfuel.

Here is a detailed explanation of how the rewards system work: https://community.theta.tv/tfuel-advanced-faq/#howwhen-do-i-receive-token-earnings

People receive Tfuel by watching the streams and sharing clips with other peers inside a peer group. The benefit is received only when the person sees the content sent and the “transaction” is registered in the blockchain. The way the peer groups work is still a mystery to me, they are not created by the users but by compatibility parameters decided by the system.

Overall the rewards system is not too appealing to me at this stage as a user. But the streams work pretty well, the streams are in the blockchain instead of being deleted after a while. This added to the possibility to upload videos as well, in my personal view makes this platform a winner. If I were to start streaming I would consider this option over Twich.

As in Lbry, Theta has a decentralized group giving space and bandwidth to broadcast the streams. It works with a dual system of mining, and it's an interesting business opportunity as the hardware requirements are reasonable.

The only thing that makes me doubt about Theta is that it has huge big tech support. So I'm not sure it will be able to stay decentralized and independent in the long run.

Overall these two platforms are strong contestants in terms of usability and content. I believe that if the mainstream websites keep going in their curating frenzy they will become the next MySpace and these two properties are strong contenders to become front runners.