العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
EspañolVIDEO ON DEMAND
(Redirected from Video On Demand)
'Video on demand' ('VOD') systems allow users to select and watch video and clip content over a network as part of an interactive television system. VOD systems either "stream" content, allowing viewing in real time, or "download" it in which the program is brought in its entirety to a set-top box before viewing starts. The latter is more appropriately termed "store and forward". The majority of cable and telco based VOD systems use the streaming approach, whereby a user buys or selects a movie or television program and it begins to play on the television set almost instantaneously.
Often, nowadays, the term encompasses a broader spectrum of delivery devices, referring not only to set-top-boxes but also computers, mobile phones and indeed any system that can receive on-demand audio-visual content over a network.
Download and streaming video on demand systems provide the user with a large subset of VCR functionality including pause, fast forward, fast rewind, slow forward, slow rewind, jump to previous/future frame etc. These functions are usually referred to as "trick modes". For disk-based streaming systems which store and stream programs from hard disk drive, trick modes require additional processing and storage on the part of the server, because separate files for fast forward and rewind must be stored. Memory-based VOD streaming systems have the advantage of being able to perform trick modes directly from RAM, which requires no additional storage or CPU cycles on the part of the processor.
It is possible to put video servers on LANs, in which case they can provide very rapid response to users. Streaming video servers can also serve a wider community via a WAN, in which case the responsiveness may be reduced. Download VOD services are practical to homes equipped with cable modems or DSL connections. Servers for traditional cable and telco VOD services are usually placed at the cable head-end serving a particular market as well as cable hubs in larger markets. In the telco world, they are placed in either the central office, or a newly created location called a VHO or "Video Head-End Office".
The first commercial VOD service was launched in Hong Kong around 1990. The technology was not mature, Video CDs were much cheaper, and pay TV was not common in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Telecom lost a large amount of money and the service was acquired by Pacific Century Cyberworks in 2000, who subsequently discontinued it.
VOD services were first offered in Hawaii by Oceanic Cable, January 2000, but are now available in all parts of the United States. Streaming VOD systems are available from cable providers (in tandem with cable modem technology) who use the large downstream bandwidth present on cable systems to deliver movies and television shows to end users, who can typically pause, fast-forward, and rewind VOD movies due to the low latency and random-access nature of cable technology. The large distribution of a single signal makes streaming VOD impractical for most satellite TV systems; however, EchoStar recently announced a plan to offer video on demand programming to PVR-owning subscribers of its DISH Network satellite TV service. After the programs are automatically recorded on a user's PVR, he or she can watch, play, pause, and seek at their convenience. VOD is also quite common in more expensive hotels. VOD systems that store and provide a user interface for content downloaded directly from the Internet are widely available.
In 1998, Kingston Communications became the first UK company to launch a fully commercial VOD service and the first to integrate broadcast TV and Internet access through a single set-top box using IP delivery over ADSL. By 2001, Kingston Interactive TV had attracted 15,000 subscribers. After a number of trials, HomeChoice followed in 1999, but were restricted to London. After attracting 40,000 customers, they were bought by Tiscali in 2006. Cable TV providers Telewest and NTL (now Virgin Media) launched their VOD services in the United Kingdom in 2005 in attempt to snatch subscribers from the country's leading pay TV distributor BSkyB whose satellite-based network is unable to offer such a service. BSkyB responded by launching ''Sky by broadband'', which was later renamed ''Sky Anytime on PC''. The service went live on 2 January 2006. The ''Sky Anytime on PC'' uses a legal peer-to-peer approach, based on Kontiki technology, to provide very high capacity multi-point downloads of the video content. Instead of the video content all being downloaded from Sky's servers, the content comes from multiple users of the system who have already downloaded the same content. Other UK TV broadcasters have implemented their own versions of the same technology, such as the BBC's iPlayer, which has been in the ''trial'' stage since 2005, and Channel 4's 4OD (4 On Demand) which launched in late 2006.
According to the European Audiovisual Observatory, 142 paying VoD services were operational in Europe at the end of 2006.
VOD services are available in many other parts of the world as well. The ANYTIME service provides VOD to cable providers in Taiwan and to TransACT Communications in Australia. TransACT also operates its own VOD services including sports and adult content. Two different VOD companies on opposite sides of the globe use the same name, ReelTime. In the U.S.A. ReelTime.com operates a streaming VOD service, using P2P technology, available worldwide. The Reeltime.tv service in Australia provides both VOD (Download to Rent) and Download to Own (burn to own DVD, PC and Portable device) services nationally throughout Australia, and offers full feature length Hollywood and independent movies and TV episodes.
It is possible to implement VOD using methods such as bandwidth skimming, which can deliver O(log n) scaling as the number of users increase.
Recently, VOD has been utilized in advertising, as Comcast Spotlight has begun offering on-demand commercials. These are up to 10 minute features on a particular business or event, available to consumers whenever they are looking for more information instead of the business or event trying to generalize information for the entire viewing public[1].
Five major vendors supply server systems for cable and telco VOD, including Motorola On-Demand Solutions (formerly Broadbus Technologies, Inc.), TANDBERG Television (Part of the Ericsson Group), SeaChange International, Concurrent Computer Corporation and C-COR. Collectively, these vendors represent more than 80% of the world-wide cable and telco server deplyoments.
'Near video on demand' (NVOD) is a pay-per-view consumer video technique used by multi-channel broadcasters using high-bandwidth distribution mechanisms such as satellite and cable television. Multiple copies of a program are broadcast at short time intervals (typically 10–20 minutes) providing convenience for viewers, who can watch the program without needing to tune in at a scheduled point in time. This form is bandwidth intensive and is generally provided only by large operators with a great deal of redundant capacity.
'Push video on demand' is a technique used by a number of broadcaster on systems that lack the interactivity to provide true video on demand, to simulate a true video on demand system. A push video-on-demand system features a Personal Video Recorder that automatically records a selection of programming, often transmitted in spare capacity over-night, for the user. The user can then watch the downloaded programming at a time of their choosing. As content occupies space on the PVR hard-drive, downloaded content is usually deleted after a week to make way for new programmes. The limited space on a typical PVR hard-drive means that the flexibility and selection of programmes available on such systems is much more restricted than true video on demand systems.
Examples of push Video on demand services include the UK based Top Up TV Anytime and the forthcoming ''Sky Anytime TV'' service for BSkyB's digital satellite service Sky Digital. Foxtel have successfully launched a Push video on demand service, however it is only available on its iQ PDR.
★ Adult Swim Video
★ Akimbo
★ Amazon Unbox
★ Anime Network on Demand
★ Arts Alliance Media
★ Astound Broadband
★ Australian Broadcasting Corporation
★ BBC
★ Bright House Networks
★ Broadbus
★ BT Vision
★ Cablevision
★ C-COR
★ Charter Communications
★ CinemaNow
★ Cogeco Cable
★ Comcast
★ Concurrent Computer Corporation
★ Cox Communications
★ Deutsche Welle
★ EchoStar Communications Corporation
★ Elion Enterprises Limited
★ EZTakes
★ Foxtel
★ Filmklik
★ HBO
★ glowria
★ Tiscali TV
★ Imagenio
★ iN DEMAND
★ Insight Communications
★ Jaman
★ Liberty Global
★ Mediacom
★ Movielink
★ MTNL
★ n
★ RCN Corporation
★ Rogers Cable
★ ReelTime.com
★ reeltime.tv
★ SaskTel
★ SeaChange International
★ Shaw Communications
★ Síminn
★ Suddenlink Communications
★ Sky Anytime on PC
★ TELE-TV
★ TELUS
★ TF1Vision
★ Time Warner Cable
★ TransACT
★ TVN Entertainment Corporation
★ Verizon FiOS
★ Vidéotron
★ Videoplay
★ Virgin Media
★ Vongo
★ WWE_24/7
★ YouTube
★ HOT - Israel
★ Wide Open West
★ YTV
★ Triple play
★ Vodcast
★ Pay-per-view
★ Comparison of video services
★ Push_video_on_demand
★ Nothing to Watch on TV? Streaming Video Appeals to Niche Audiences (NY Times, August 6, 2007)
★ Google entering video-on-demand business (CNet News.com, January 6, 2006)
1. "Interactive - VOD" ''Comcast Spotlight website'', retrieved October 05, 2006
'Video on demand' ('VOD') systems allow users to select and watch video and clip content over a network as part of an interactive television system. VOD systems either "stream" content, allowing viewing in real time, or "download" it in which the program is brought in its entirety to a set-top box before viewing starts. The latter is more appropriately termed "store and forward". The majority of cable and telco based VOD systems use the streaming approach, whereby a user buys or selects a movie or television program and it begins to play on the television set almost instantaneously.
Often, nowadays, the term encompasses a broader spectrum of delivery devices, referring not only to set-top-boxes but also computers, mobile phones and indeed any system that can receive on-demand audio-visual content over a network.
| Contents |
| Functionality |
| History |
| Usage |
| Near video on demand |
| Push video on demand |
| List of notable video on demand providers |
| See also |
| Further reading |
| Notes |
Functionality
Download and streaming video on demand systems provide the user with a large subset of VCR functionality including pause, fast forward, fast rewind, slow forward, slow rewind, jump to previous/future frame etc. These functions are usually referred to as "trick modes". For disk-based streaming systems which store and stream programs from hard disk drive, trick modes require additional processing and storage on the part of the server, because separate files for fast forward and rewind must be stored. Memory-based VOD streaming systems have the advantage of being able to perform trick modes directly from RAM, which requires no additional storage or CPU cycles on the part of the processor.
It is possible to put video servers on LANs, in which case they can provide very rapid response to users. Streaming video servers can also serve a wider community via a WAN, in which case the responsiveness may be reduced. Download VOD services are practical to homes equipped with cable modems or DSL connections. Servers for traditional cable and telco VOD services are usually placed at the cable head-end serving a particular market as well as cable hubs in larger markets. In the telco world, they are placed in either the central office, or a newly created location called a VHO or "Video Head-End Office".
History
The first commercial VOD service was launched in Hong Kong around 1990. The technology was not mature, Video CDs were much cheaper, and pay TV was not common in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Telecom lost a large amount of money and the service was acquired by Pacific Century Cyberworks in 2000, who subsequently discontinued it.
VOD services were first offered in Hawaii by Oceanic Cable, January 2000, but are now available in all parts of the United States. Streaming VOD systems are available from cable providers (in tandem with cable modem technology) who use the large downstream bandwidth present on cable systems to deliver movies and television shows to end users, who can typically pause, fast-forward, and rewind VOD movies due to the low latency and random-access nature of cable technology. The large distribution of a single signal makes streaming VOD impractical for most satellite TV systems; however, EchoStar recently announced a plan to offer video on demand programming to PVR-owning subscribers of its DISH Network satellite TV service. After the programs are automatically recorded on a user's PVR, he or she can watch, play, pause, and seek at their convenience. VOD is also quite common in more expensive hotels. VOD systems that store and provide a user interface for content downloaded directly from the Internet are widely available.
In 1998, Kingston Communications became the first UK company to launch a fully commercial VOD service and the first to integrate broadcast TV and Internet access through a single set-top box using IP delivery over ADSL. By 2001, Kingston Interactive TV had attracted 15,000 subscribers. After a number of trials, HomeChoice followed in 1999, but were restricted to London. After attracting 40,000 customers, they were bought by Tiscali in 2006. Cable TV providers Telewest and NTL (now Virgin Media) launched their VOD services in the United Kingdom in 2005 in attempt to snatch subscribers from the country's leading pay TV distributor BSkyB whose satellite-based network is unable to offer such a service. BSkyB responded by launching ''Sky by broadband'', which was later renamed ''Sky Anytime on PC''. The service went live on 2 January 2006. The ''Sky Anytime on PC'' uses a legal peer-to-peer approach, based on Kontiki technology, to provide very high capacity multi-point downloads of the video content. Instead of the video content all being downloaded from Sky's servers, the content comes from multiple users of the system who have already downloaded the same content. Other UK TV broadcasters have implemented their own versions of the same technology, such as the BBC's iPlayer, which has been in the ''trial'' stage since 2005, and Channel 4's 4OD (4 On Demand) which launched in late 2006.
According to the European Audiovisual Observatory, 142 paying VoD services were operational in Europe at the end of 2006.
Usage
VOD services are available in many other parts of the world as well. The ANYTIME service provides VOD to cable providers in Taiwan and to TransACT Communications in Australia. TransACT also operates its own VOD services including sports and adult content. Two different VOD companies on opposite sides of the globe use the same name, ReelTime. In the U.S.A. ReelTime.com operates a streaming VOD service, using P2P technology, available worldwide. The Reeltime.tv service in Australia provides both VOD (Download to Rent) and Download to Own (burn to own DVD, PC and Portable device) services nationally throughout Australia, and offers full feature length Hollywood and independent movies and TV episodes.
It is possible to implement VOD using methods such as bandwidth skimming, which can deliver O(log n) scaling as the number of users increase.
Recently, VOD has been utilized in advertising, as Comcast Spotlight has begun offering on-demand commercials. These are up to 10 minute features on a particular business or event, available to consumers whenever they are looking for more information instead of the business or event trying to generalize information for the entire viewing public[1].
Five major vendors supply server systems for cable and telco VOD, including Motorola On-Demand Solutions (formerly Broadbus Technologies, Inc.), TANDBERG Television (Part of the Ericsson Group), SeaChange International, Concurrent Computer Corporation and C-COR. Collectively, these vendors represent more than 80% of the world-wide cable and telco server deplyoments.
Near video on demand
'Near video on demand' (NVOD) is a pay-per-view consumer video technique used by multi-channel broadcasters using high-bandwidth distribution mechanisms such as satellite and cable television. Multiple copies of a program are broadcast at short time intervals (typically 10–20 minutes) providing convenience for viewers, who can watch the program without needing to tune in at a scheduled point in time. This form is bandwidth intensive and is generally provided only by large operators with a great deal of redundant capacity.
Push video on demand
'Push video on demand' is a technique used by a number of broadcaster on systems that lack the interactivity to provide true video on demand, to simulate a true video on demand system. A push video-on-demand system features a Personal Video Recorder that automatically records a selection of programming, often transmitted in spare capacity over-night, for the user. The user can then watch the downloaded programming at a time of their choosing. As content occupies space on the PVR hard-drive, downloaded content is usually deleted after a week to make way for new programmes. The limited space on a typical PVR hard-drive means that the flexibility and selection of programmes available on such systems is much more restricted than true video on demand systems.
Examples of push Video on demand services include the UK based Top Up TV Anytime and the forthcoming ''Sky Anytime TV'' service for BSkyB's digital satellite service Sky Digital. Foxtel have successfully launched a Push video on demand service, however it is only available on its iQ PDR.
List of notable video on demand providers
★ Adult Swim Video
★ Akimbo
★ Amazon Unbox
★ Anime Network on Demand
★ Arts Alliance Media
★ Astound Broadband
★ Australian Broadcasting Corporation
★ BBC
★ Bright House Networks
★ Broadbus
★ BT Vision
★ Cablevision
★ C-COR
★ Charter Communications
★ CinemaNow
★ Cogeco Cable
★ Comcast
★ Concurrent Computer Corporation
★ Cox Communications
★ Deutsche Welle
★ EchoStar Communications Corporation
★ Elion Enterprises Limited
★ EZTakes
★ Foxtel
★ Filmklik
★ HBO
★ glowria
★ Tiscali TV
★ Imagenio
★ iN DEMAND
★ Insight Communications
★ Jaman
★ Liberty Global
★ Mediacom
★ Movielink
★ MTNL
★ n
★ RCN Corporation
★ Rogers Cable
★ ReelTime.com
★ reeltime.tv
★ SaskTel
★ SeaChange International
★ Shaw Communications
★ Síminn
★ Suddenlink Communications
★ Sky Anytime on PC
★ TELE-TV
★ TELUS
★ TF1Vision
★ Time Warner Cable
★ TransACT
★ TVN Entertainment Corporation
★ Verizon FiOS
★ Vidéotron
★ Videoplay
★ Virgin Media
★ Vongo
★ WWE_24/7
★ YouTube
★ HOT - Israel
★ Wide Open West
★ YTV
See also
★ Triple play
★ Vodcast
★ Pay-per-view
★ Comparison of video services
★ Push_video_on_demand
Further reading
★ Nothing to Watch on TV? Streaming Video Appeals to Niche Audiences (NY Times, August 6, 2007)
★ Google entering video-on-demand business (CNet News.com, January 6, 2006)
Notes
1. "Interactive - VOD" ''Comcast Spotlight website'', retrieved October 05, 2006
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.
psst.. try this: add to faves
