Microsoft Stream has undergone a transformation to provide businesses with a more modern and intuitive video streaming platform. In this insight, we’ll explore the new features of Stream in SharePoint, including enhanced security and analytics, mobile playback, and the ability to create custom video portals. 

Stream Start Page 

With the new Stream Start page, you can easily find your videos and ones shared with you. This feature is a significant improvement from Stream classic, where you could only view videos that you uploaded from the Start page. Additionally, you can now view recommended videos on the Start page. 

Video Storage and Permissions in SharePoint 

When your Stream videos are migrated into SharePoint, they will now be stored within a Document Library on a specific site, just like any other type of file. This means permissions for video files are now managed through your typical SharePoint site permissions on the site where the video files are located. You can use sharing links to share videos with people in your organization, guests, and/or external users, just as you would with other files. 

Playlists and Video Organization 

Another exciting feature is the ability to create playlists in M365, allowing you to organize a collection of videos. This gives users a similar experience to the 'channels' used in Stream Classic. Playlists are just another form of a SharePoint list, so while your video files will be stored within Document libraries on a site, they can be organized and displayed nicely in groups using playlists. 

Enhanced Security and Analytics 

With Stream on SharePoint, you can also better secure your files with the ability to apply DLP & Retention policies or sensitivity labels to protect video files that were not supported in Stream Classic. Stream on SharePoint also provides administrators or content owners with more advanced video analytics, allowing you to see different metrics such as average time spent accessing a container, individual users who watched, view and visitor trends over time, and which part of the video was viewed, which were not previously available in Stream Classic. 

Mobile Playback and Custom Video Portals 

Stream in SharePoint now allows video playback in both the Teams and OneDrive for business mobile applications. Previously, video playback was only supported for the SharePoint mobile app in Stream Classic. A custom 'video portal' can now be created using SharePoint communication sites and modern web parts. 

Enhanced Video Description and Search 

With the videos being stored in SharePoint, you can search videos via metadata such as title, description, transcript, chapters, etc. in the M365 search screen. Stream videos stored in SharePoint will now support hyperlinks, bullet lists, italics, and bold (rich text editing) in the video description. 

Audio File Playback in Stream 

Lastly, audio files uploaded to SharePoint use the same player that videos do. You can set a custom thumbnail and chapters for audio files just like you can for a video. Microsoft Stream has become the ultimate video streaming platform for businesses, providing an all-in-one solution for video hosting, sharing, and management. 

Full list of new features: