We’ve rolled out a major upgrade to how product videos are delivered across the Punchmark platform, and it’s one that quietly solves a lot of the pain points retailers and vendors have run into with large, high-quality video files.
Product videos now use modern streaming technology, the same approach used by platforms like Netflix and YouTube. Instead of forcing a customer’s device to download an entire video file before it can play, videos begin playing almost immediately and continue streaming in the background. In short, video playback is now faster, smoother, and more reliable, especially for large files.
Why this matters
If you use detailed product videos or GemLightbox captures, you’ve probably seen the downside of traditional video files. Large videos can take several seconds to load before anything happens, and that delay is even more noticeable on mobile connections.
With streaming in place:
- Videos start playing almost instantly
- Mobile performance is significantly improved
- Bandwidth is used more efficiently, helping reduce unnecessary load and buffering
This is a meaningful improvement for shoppers who expect product videos to feel as fast and seamless as the rest of your site.
What’s changing right now
Much larger upload limits
You can now upload videos up to 500 MB. This is a big increase from the previous limit and makes it far easier to publish high quality product walkthroughs and detailed GemLightbox videos without having to aggressively compress your files.
Automatic streaming conversion
There is no change to your workflow.
Upload videos through POS or SiteManager the same way you always have. Behind the scenes, the system automatically converts each video into multiple streaming-optimized versions, including 480p, 720p, and 1080p.
Your site will automatically serve the best version for each visitor based on their device and connection.
Existing videos continue to work
You do not need to re-upload anything.
When an existing video is viewed, the system checks to see if a streaming version already exists. If it does, that version is used. If it does not, the original video is served immediately and a streaming version is created in the background.
This ensures there is no interruption to your current content.
What’s coming next
Once we’ve completed our stability checks, streaming support will be expanded beyond product videos. This will include banner videos, videos on static pages, and any other locations where video appears across the platform.
We will also begin background conversion of existing video libraries so that older videos are gradually upgraded to streaming versions automatically. No action will be required on your part.
A small note on caching
In rare cases, some older cached videos may require a cache refresh so a browser can request the new streaming version. For most stores, this should not be noticeable at all.
This release is designed to be invisible in your day-to-day workflow while delivering a noticeably better experience for your customers. Faster playback, better mobile performance, and support for higher quality video all come together to make product videos far more effective on your site.