The concept of NFTs has been around since the 2014s but it wasn’t until 2017 that projects like 

 started to create traction for NFTs. Jumping to 2021, NFTs took off like wildfire. They started being referenced in pop culture, mainstream media, and they influenced the concepts that many hackathon projects were based on.

The technology for creating NFTs has come a long way and is now more accessible to developers and non-developers alike. Along with the creation of NFT marketplaces such as 

, anyone can mint their own NFTs and sell them.

When minting video NFTs, a major factor to consider is the file size. Livepeer Studio solves this issue when using the 

. This SDK will transcode the video to the proper file size utilizing the 

 as well as leveraging the layer 2 solutions of 

 to reduce the cost of transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. Using the SDK makes it easy and more affordable to create video NFTs.

In this tutorial, we will utilize Livepeer Studio’ 

 tool to create our own NFT that can play a video.

Before we get started, here is a checklist of items required for this tutorial. Instructions on how to get and install these items will be provided in the steps that follow.

*This is an example video that will be used, there are other free videos available at 

☑️ Add Polygon Mumbai testnet to Metamask wallet

* If you need a step-by-step process for getting a free account and the API key, visit the

For this example we will use this video: 

If you do use one of your own, make sure it is in a .mp4 format.

Install Metamask (if you do not already have one)

 and download the browser extension. For this tutorial, we will use the Chrome version, but a  Firefox version is also available.

Once downloaded, you should see the Metamask logo in the extension menu

We need to configure the Polygon network to the Metamask wallet. For this tutorial, we will use the Polygon testnet called 

Minting NFTs has a gas fee associated with them, so we need to add funds to our wallet. Since we are using the Mumbai testnet, we will need to get some 

. If you are using Polygon’s mainnet, you can find the 

Paste in your wallet address and you should receive some test MATIC token

Click the submit button and a confirmation window should pop up

Click confirm and a message should appear stating the transaction went through

Your wallet should be funded with some test MATIC tokens

*If you want to have video-nft available as a command on your machine, you can also install the CLI persistently with 

, and after that just call video-nft from anywhere to run it.

The file should be in this directory, use the following command to view

Copy and paste the API key that you got from 

Type in the name of the video file, for this example, it is

Provide the name you want to give the NFT, you can use the file name to name the NFT but in this example, we will use 

In this example we will not customize our metadata so select 

 for customizing the metadata for the NFT

A message should appear that states the export is successful along with the metadata and our URL for minting

Copy and paste the URL from the previous step into a browser window

A Livepeer Studio site should appear with a Mint a Video NFT pop up

Metamask browser extension should open and ask the account to connect to

Select the account with the funded testnet MATIC and connect it

Once connected, the pop up should have the 

 and the message box should state that you are connected to the Polygon Testnet

Metamask browser extension should open and ask to confirm the transaction fee

You should see the minting in progress in the message field

Once the minting is completed, it should provide a link to OpenSea testnet where you can view your Video NFT! For example:

https://testnets.opensea.io/assets/mumbai/0xA4E1d8FE768d471B048F9d73ff90ED8fcCC03643/56

Congratulations! You have minted a video NFT using Livepeer Studio 

Using the Video NFT is a great way to get started with being able to upload video NFTs. If you want to upload videos and do not want to mint NFTS, Livepeer Studio also has Video on Demand where you can do just that.

Check out Video On Demand

How to Analyze Livepeer Video Engagement Metrics with Timeplus

 Lenstube offers video on demand for both long-form and short-form videos

web3 social platform for video sharing built on Lens Protocol

 is a web3 social platform for video sharing that combines the best of traditional video-sharing platforms with the latest web3 functionalities. Whether you're a professional creator or an amateur, Lenstube gives you the ability to upload and monetize your video content with ease. Currently, Lenstube offers video on demand for both long-form videos and short-form videos.

Lenstube sets itself apart from traditional video-sharing platforms by incorporating web3 features such as connecting to a crypto wallet, enabling creators to receive tips in MATIC coins, collecting videos as NFTs, and charging membership fees for subscribers. These features are made possible through Lenstube's implementation of various web3 technologies, including Livepeer, Arweave, IPFS, and Lens. By utilizing decentralized technologies, Lenstube is revolutionizing the way creators can share and monetize their content, and provides a new and exciting way to engage with their audience.

 founded Lenstube with the goal of creating a decentralized video sharing platform for content creators. The idea for Lenstube came about after Sasi saw some of his favorite creators, who were creating and teaching web3, being unjustly removed from traditional web2 platforms. This led Sasi to understand the importance of web3 for content creators, and the significance of permanent data storage and content ownership. With this in mind, Sasi set out to create his own web3 video-sharing platform. The first step in this process was to find a video-on-demand service that transcodes and serves video from Arweave.

“I knew that creating a video delivery infrastructure and transcoding videos would be a significant challenge, and I definitely didn't want to spend all my time and resources on these technicalities, especially in the early stages of development. Luckily, I discovered Livepeer on the sponsor list of one of the EthGlobal hackathons. Livepeer provided exactly what I needed to move Lenstube forward, and integrating it into my platform was one the first, and easiest, decisions I made.”

Lenstube's partnership with Livepeer has been a vital component of the platform's success. Currently, all videos on Lenstube, whether they are long or short form, are powered by Livepeer. This means that Livepeer handles all the technical aspects of video delivery, such as ingesting, processing, and transcoding. This has afforded Sasi and the Lenstube team the freedom to focus on other important growth areas, like attracting new creators to the platform and improving user experience.

“Working with Livepeer has definitely been a great experience, and we receive tons of support from the team. Recently, Livepeer launched a feature that displays view counts beneath the video player. We were able to implement this feature pretty quickly, and the team was available to answer any questions we had. Although, most of the time we don’t really need the support, as the guides and docs for the Livepeer SDK and API are awesome.”

Today, Lenstube is thriving and making significant strides in its development. The platform has reached notable milestones, such as surpassing 10,000 video uploads in December 2022, averaging more than 1,000 daily sessions, and reaching more than 50,000 average monthly users in January 2023. These milestones demonstrate the effectiveness of the Lenstube team's efforts and the growing appeal of the platform among content creators and viewers alike.

Lenstube boasts a user-friendly interface that includes all of the features commonly found on traditional web2 video sharing platforms. The front page prominently showcases the most recent and popular short-form (Bytes) and long-form videos hosted on the platform, which can be filtered by video category for easy browsing. Users can log in with their Lens handle on the top right corner of the page. Additionally, various exploration tools can be found on the left-hand menu bar for easy access.

Bytes are short-form, vertical videos that are similar to TikToks and YouTube Shorts. Users can scroll through a feed, like and dislike videos, subscribe to channels, and share Bytes via URL or embed videos directly on websites. Additionally, Bytes can be easily shared on Lenster, Twitter, Reddit, and LinkedIn.

Sasi and the Lenstube team have recently made a concerted effort to develop the Bytes feature. This effort was motivated by the increasing popularity of short-form videos on web2 platforms. Not only do short videos have high user retention rates, but they also provide creators with an effective way to capture an audience and lead them to content on other platforms.

“In my opinion, short-form videos are one of the most effective ways to share content with a wide audience, and they offer creators greater opportunities for engagement. We predict that the use of short-form videos as NFTs will become a popular trend in the web3 community."

Do you want to build your own web3 short-form video app? Disrupt TikTok with this 

 walking through the key components of building a social app with quick, bite-sized video.

Lenstube also enables creators to upload long-form, horizontal videos that are similar to standard YouTube videos. In addition to features found on Bytes, these long-form videos also include view counts, video descriptions, and a comment section.

Every video hosted on Lenstube is equipped with a variety of web3 features. These features not only enable content creators to earn revenue from their videos, but also provide fans with a way to support their favorite creators. This is what sets Lenstube apart from traditional web2 video sharing platforms. Some of the web3 features that Lenstube offers include:

Mirroring across Lens, with custom referral fees

Default sharing of all Lenstube videos across Lens ecosystem apps

Lenstube’s frontend was built using Next.Js, an open-source React framework for web applications. Lenstube uses Apollo Client to manage local and remote data, and to fetch data and do mutations through the Lens Protocol’s GraphQL backend.

Middleware is like a “software glue” that acts as a bridge between different technologies, tools, and databases so they can be integrated into a single system. Lenstube uses Lens Protocol’s indexer for its middleware, and this indexer streamlines data between Lens contracts and viewers. The Lens indexer is a GraphQL server that listens to events from Lens contracts and stores the data into a database. This indexer enables viewers to quickly and efficiently access video data, which leads to a better user experience.

Lenstube’s backend consists of four main components: Livepeer, Arweave, IPFS, and Lens

Lenstube uses Livepeer to process and play back video. Livepeer is a protocol built on Ethereum that distributes video transcoding work throughout its decentralized network. The protocol provides cost efficient, secure, and reliable infrastructure. Livepeer's mainnet launch took place in 2018 and the network now processes millions of minutes of video each week.

Lenstube stores its video files on Arweave and IPFS, web3 protocols that offer data storage on decentralized networks. Arweave and IPFS offer permanent and immutable data storage, and anyone can store data in the networks or offer storage space, without there being a centralized point of failure.

Lenstube uses Lens for its social graph. The Lens social graph is fully composable, open source, and decentralized. This helps transfer full rights and complete ownership of content into the hands of creators.

Sasi intends to improve the Lenstube platform by adding new features, with the primary objective of providing exceptional user experience and boosting user engagement on the platform. Furthermore, Sasi is currently building a mobile application that specifically caters to short-form videos, which will be released soon. This further solidifies his belief that short-form videos represent a rapidly expanding area in the video industry and is positioning Lenstube to capitalize on this growth potential.

If you’re a developer that would like to build your own web3 video app, check out these 

 to get started. If you have any questions about building, 

Lenstube is a web3 social platform for video sharing that combines the best of traditional video-sharing platforms with the latest web3 functionalities. Whether you're a professional creator or an amateur, Lenstube gives you the ability to upload and monetize your video content with ease. Currently, Lenstube offers video on demand for both long-form videos and short-form videos.

How Lenstube Changed Video Sharing in Web3

Livepeer Livepeer Studio’ makes minting video NFTs easy with the Mint a Video NFT tool

How to mint a video NFT using Livepeer Studio + Polygon