IPTV/OTT: Technology Benefits & Developmen Predictions

Classical IPTV has been on the market for a long time, since about 2005. In order to strengthen their positions in the market, large broadband operators began to provide so-called services with Triple Play (Internet access, IPTV, telephony), taking subscribers from cable operators.

To provide IPTV services, the operator needed to deploy an interactive television platform, the main components of which are:

  • service management system (Middleware);

  • Content protection system (CAS/DRM);

  • Video on Demand (VoD) system;

  • Subscriber equipment (STB).

When using IPTV technology, TV channels were received from the satellite, transformed into digital form (IP multicast streams), encrypted (CAS / DRM), and transmitted over the existing IP network of the telecom operator to the subscriber to the set-top box (STB). To transmit one SD channel, a bandwidth of at least 2 Mbps is required, and to transmit a channel in HD, from 8 to 15 Mbps.

This technology has a number of advantages, such as no restrictions on the number of broadcast channels, broadcasting of channels in HD quality, the ability to provide video-on-demand (VoD) services, a network video recorder, time-shifting, an interactive TV program guide (EPG), additional interactive services (news, maps, photos, polls, chats, voting, channel sorting, search, parental control, reminders, social networks).

The disadvantages of this technology are high requirements for the operator's network for the transmission of TV channels (the operator's network had to support the transmission of IP-multicast traffic), providing a communication channel to the subscriber of at least 100 Mbps, the inability to provide IPTV services outside the network telecom operator. At the same time, the operator's service provision area directly depends on the coverage area of ​​the operator's IP network.

At present, there are a large number of video-on-demand service companies on the Internet, and they also use OTT platforms. Monetizing services through the use of an advertising and subscription model allows companies to expand their content library and attract more and more new users. So what is OTT technology and why has it become popular?

OTT technology in a nutshell

OTT (Over the Top) technology has become widespread in the provision of video services over the Internet and is part of IPTV technology. The term OTT means the delivery of a video signal to a user's set-top box (computer, mobile phone, tablet) over an uncontrolled Internet network.

The basic principle of the technology is that the video signal, whether it is a TV channel or video on demand, is delivered to the subscriber regardless of what network he is currently on and what channel speed is available.

At the same time, the subscriber can consume services and content on a TV that supports SmartTV technology, on a regular TV set-top box connected to the TV, on a tablet or smartphone running iOS or Android. Thus, a new paradigm of content consumption is being implemented "watch what you want, when you want, and on what you want!"

To solve problems with the delivery of a video stream over an unmanaged network, the technology of adapting the content quality to network bandwidth (Adaptive Bit Rating - ABR) is used. The use of ABR technology avoids fading or loss of image quality.

All this has become possible thanks to the emergence of new transcoding technologies that support ABR technology. The dynamic content quality adaptation system adjusts the video broadcast to the available channel rate and if the channel rate decreases, it switches to a video stream with a lower stream. The main popular protocols that support ABR technology are Apple HTTP Live Streaming (HLS). It is this protocol that is supported by the main manufacturers of equipment and software for transcoding content.

Focus on OTT

Telecom operators began to study and implement this technology to provide services outside their networks. After all, selling video-on-demand content and subscribing to TV channels and premium content can bring additional profit to operators. Telecom operators have come close to using a new advertising model for them.

Television and media companies see this technology as an expansion of the broadcasting zone by delivering content to any point on the Internet. They have a unique opportunity to bring content over the Internet to almost any user in the world. By increasing the audience, TV companies can earn more using the advertising monetization model they are familiar with.

Prospects for the development of OTT technology

OTT technology has great prospects for development and application by various market players: media companies, channels, telecom operators, content providers, Internet portals. OTT can be considered as another evolutionary model for the development of IPTV and technologies for delivering video content over the Internet. The main advantages of OTT are adaptability, accessibility, convenience, and ease of use on any type of subscriber device. IPTV/OTT provides a new round of technology development and service provision, the introduction of new advertising monetization models, and hence additional income for all participants in the TV industry.


Read more: Smart TVs: Features and Benefits

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