Streamlab – Video Streaming WordPress Theme

Opening uploads to users changes your job

A video site can work in two ways. In one, you choose every movie, series or clip, and your work resembles a TV programmer's. In the other, registered users upload their own, and your work becomes watching what arrives.

The upload page looks like one more feature, but it turns the site owner into a moderator. Every video from someone else is published under your brand, and someone has to decide what stays. Streamlab, by gentechtreedesign, allows both models: it is a WordPress theme for movie, TV show and video sites, with a dedicated page for user-generated content, which you can leave unpublished.

Movies, TV shows and videos in one catalog

• Three content types managed with the MAS Videos plugin, which lets you add and edit them just like posts.
• Import from YouTube, Vimeo and OMDB.
• Home pages for movies, TV shows and videos, and several color demos.
• Grid and sidebar pages for each type, plus a mega menu.
• 6+ banner styles and 3+ box styles for presenting content.
• Dedicated Elementor widgets for video content.
• Pagination, load more or infinite scroll in listings.
• Options to hide seasons, episodes, release year and social share buttons.
• Blog with several layouts and newsletter sign-up through MailChimp.

What a registered user can do

Streamlab brings playlists for movies, TV shows and videos, a wishlist and a user library. It also lets you restrict content so that only account holders get access, and registered users can upload their videos from the dedicated page.

If you open that upload, keep two things in mind. You need a written rule of what you accept and someone to apply it. And the recommended minimum for upload_max_filesize is 64 MB, a small figure for a video file, so test with a real file before announcing it and adjust that limit on your server if needed.

Hosting and charging are up to you

The theme presents video, but its features do not include external storage, quality conversion or a delivery network. If titles come from YouTube or Vimeo, that service handles playback and applies its own terms.

Nor do its features include a payment gateway or subscription billing: the pricing page in the demo leads to a registration page, not a payment. If your idea is to charge for access, you will have to add a membership plugin and check that it works with the content restriction.

Also, the theme is not optimized for Gutenberg: pages are worked on with Elementor.

Seven plugins and six steps to open the catalog

Streamlab Core, MAS Videos, Elementor, One Click Demo Import, Redux, Contact Form 7 and WP ULike are the required plugins. On the PHP side, these minimum values are requested: memory_limit of 128 MB, upload_max_filesize and post_max_size of 64 MB, and max_execution_time and max_input_time of 300.

1. Set those values on the server before installing.
2. Install the theme and activate the required plugins.
3. Import the demo in one click.
4. Load a few real titles from YouTube, Vimeo or OMDB and review how they look.
5. Decide whether you open the upload page and what content you restrict.
6. Hide in the options what you do not use, such as seasons or release year.

Other screens to compare

Vodi also relies on MAS Videos and adds automatic structured data to its pages, with 47 Gutenberg blocks if you prefer that editor. WowTube allows for monetization through subscription, pay-per-view or advertising, plus a catalog with live broadcasts.

Also worth a look are Streamit and StreamVid, two themes in the same field.

Before building your video library with Streamlab

Can users upload their own videos?

Yes, registered users can, from a dedicated page. You can run the site without opening that option to the public.

Is it only for movies?

No. It covers movies, TV shows with seasons and episodes, and standalone videos.

Can I limit content to account holders?

Yes, it brings content restriction for user-only access.

Does it include subscription billing?

Its features do not include subscription billing. That takes a separate membership plugin.

Can it be edited with the block editor?

It is not optimized for Gutenberg. Its video widgets are for Elementor.