Overview Internet Television
In 1900, Nikola Tesla predicted that radio would carry moving pictures around the world and make information democratic. In 1939, television was only distributed by radio on 82 UHF and 12 VHF channels. In 1965, cable began, making more channels available to subscribers connected by cables with less noise. Around 1970, satellite, or Terrestrial television systems began. Internet television began around 1980, and does not rely on channels and time slots with the content chosen by the broadcaster. Internet television allows viewers to choose the show they want to watch from a library of shows. The primary models for Internet television are streaming Internet TV or selectable video on an Internet location, typically a website.
Today -- with the increase in Internet connection speeds, advances in technology, the increase of total number of people online, and the decrease in connection costs -- it has become increasingly common to find traditional television content accessible freely and legally over the Internet. In addition to this, new Internet-only television content has appeared which is not distributed via cable, satellite, or terrestrial systems.
The medium supports very broad variation, allowing for copy protected streams or streams that can be recorded. Sources of Internet TV can be free, subscription- or fee-based, or supported by advertisements.
The barriers to wider adoption of Internet television in the past have been streaming technology and bandwidth limitations. The bandwidth issue primarily meant that streams were using low bandwidth and that resulted in poor quality. The BBC's Dirac project seeks to address the technological barriers by creating a scalable, high-quality, free codec for streaming video content over the net.
As Internet television becomes more pervasive, some companies have made efforts to develop the transmission of existing pay-TV channels to regular TV sets over the net, while retaining control over how the medium is used. Such control is required in order to protect existing subscription and pay-per-view business models. Additionally, there are the copyright issues associated with the distribution of all media. The challenges lie in seeking to maintain the protections of a copyright and the revenues associated with it, while moving to another delivery model for video.
Internet Video on Demand (VOD) offers a different approach, and it is interactive, requiring the viewer to select specific videos to watch. The usage of internet protocols to provide two-way communication will also open the way for interactivity with the video content, for example making it possible to choose between multiple camera angles, vote on an interactive TV show while watching it, or order a product sample. [source]
Today -- with the increase in Internet connection speeds, advances in technology, the increase of total number of people online, and the decrease in connection costs -- it has become increasingly common to find traditional television content accessible freely and legally over the Internet. In addition to this, new Internet-only television content has appeared which is not distributed via cable, satellite, or terrestrial systems.
- Internet television utilizes the connections of the Internet to deliver video from a source to a target device. Some of the ways in which Internet delivered television is used include:
- watching on a regular TV (via a direct connection from a computer or a Set-top box), or on a computer, or on a portable device (such as a mobile phone)
- showing a channel 'live' (like regular TV), or allow the viewer to select a show to watch on demand ("Video-on-Demand" or VOD).
- viewing anything from low budget, home camcorder productions to expensive professional productions
- Interactive advertising
The medium supports very broad variation, allowing for copy protected streams or streams that can be recorded. Sources of Internet TV can be free, subscription- or fee-based, or supported by advertisements.
The barriers to wider adoption of Internet television in the past have been streaming technology and bandwidth limitations. The bandwidth issue primarily meant that streams were using low bandwidth and that resulted in poor quality. The BBC's Dirac project seeks to address the technological barriers by creating a scalable, high-quality, free codec for streaming video content over the net.
As Internet television becomes more pervasive, some companies have made efforts to develop the transmission of existing pay-TV channels to regular TV sets over the net, while retaining control over how the medium is used. Such control is required in order to protect existing subscription and pay-per-view business models. Additionally, there are the copyright issues associated with the distribution of all media. The challenges lie in seeking to maintain the protections of a copyright and the revenues associated with it, while moving to another delivery model for video.
Internet Video on Demand (VOD) offers a different approach, and it is interactive, requiring the viewer to select specific videos to watch. The usage of internet protocols to provide two-way communication will also open the way for interactivity with the video content, for example making it possible to choose between multiple camera angles, vote on an interactive TV show while watching it, or order a product sample. [source]
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