The Future of Streaming – IPTV and OTT Services

Not long ago there were only a few ways to get news and entertainment programming on private televisionsets when networks connected to their subscribers either by cable or satellite connection broadcasting both recorded and live programmed shows. 

Broadcast networks had the responsibility of distributing their programmed media content, and the customers tuned-in with their analog televisions to catch the broadcast signals to enjoy news and entertainment programming. 

They used and still use two analog systems to catch the programming signals: Cable television which used physical coaxial cables, to connect their television to the relay broadcasting location, and satellite TV, where the programming signals in the form of radio waves was beamed and relayed via a communications satellite to private satellite dish connected to home television sets.

The old system is being replaced by a better digital system with the introduction of IPTV and OTT platform services. 

The old system principally relied on broadcasting news and entertainment content in real-time from studios and relay signal distribution centers. 

The new digital systems of IPTV and OTT services operate by transferring curated packets of data or content, from the creator or distributer’s servers to the subscriber’s smart device at anytime or anyplace, on their request. 

The process is known as an Internet protocol, the same system that works great in loading website content, sending or receiving emails, and storing data or content to private database managers or data clouds.

The transition from the old analog systems to digital platforms like IPTV and OTT platforms has brought about many changes, the main being the quality of programming content. 

The popularity of the two digital systems has brought in a revolution in the development of smart devices like high-resolution smart TVs, tablets, and phones. 

Since customers can consume their digital content anywhere, and anyplace of their choice, electronic device manufacturers are catching up by providing compatible hardware, software, and media server.

The benefits provided by these two futuristic systems are numerous. Other than providing a very high quality of media content they are relatively easy to install, operate, and use. The main benefits being:

Exceptional Quality of Digitally Streamed Content

The development of fiber optic infrastructure has benefitted both the IPTV systems and OTT platforms. The fiber optic technology has outperformed any other technology in the past couple of decades. The superior and unmatched bandwidth fiber optic cables provide for the transfer of data and content outperforms the traditional copper and DBS cable system. 

Now, high-quality, uncompressed, and original high definition content can be digitally transmitted over long distances. This has led to the widespread adoption of IPTV systems and OTT player over the analog television broadcast systems. 

It is now common to find Hotel IPTV and Hospital IPTV systems installed in all the hospitality and healthcare institutions, respectively. It does not take a lot of effort or expense to upgrade their existing system to IPTV systems as they just need CAT5/CAT6 or quality fiber installed for Internet protocol (IP) data transmission.

The Ease of Installation and Use

Both the IPTV and OTT platforms need simple but technologically advanced systems installed at their headend. These systems work great for longer periods, consume very low- energy, and are easy to maintain. 

Compared to the bulky energy-consuming, high-maintenance broadcast systems, the new digital transmission systems at source takes up less space, make almost no noise, and uses the optimal amount of energy. These digital platforms are easily customizable to suit the needs of both the content creators and their core subscribers. 

Other than being very easy to install and use at both ends, it also brings down the cost of building and installing a reliable media content streaming system.

The benefits provided by OTT platform can vary from IPTV systems as the former is a low-cost flexible model, very easy to operate and manage by content or service providers, while the latter provides better quality of streaming service, with interactive features that help to monitor and respond to their subscribers’ requests in real-time.

Intuitive Platform and User- Friendly Interface

Since the whole digital process is so designed that all the equipment at the headend and the end-consumer communicate using the digital operational Internet protocol, it is easy to control and maintain the entire streaming system. 

Both IPTV systems and OTTPlayer systems are so designed, that the consumer can access all their content on their smart devices which have built-in user-friendly interfaces.

At both ends, the operator and the consumer end can be easily maintained and monitored using smart digital devices. The intuitive platform hasa user-friendly interface at both ends of the system. 

Reliable and Stable Quality of Content

Both the OTT and the IPTV system transmission platform is not affected by signal interference which has always plagued the analog broadcasting system. Once the infrastructure like high-speed fiber optic cable is in place both the system delivers high-quality Audi-Visual content on any compatible smart device anytime. 

The uninterrupted and high-quality media content delivered on the digital platform makes them the media streaming system of the future. 

The quality of the content delivered on the system can be assessed by the quality of the internet service and the specifications of the consumer smart device.

Built-in Diagnostic Tools

The operators of both IPTV and Ott systems can easily identify and solve any issue when it occurs, as the problem can easily be detected at the headend. 

In rare instances when the transmission quality falls below the standard, the digital system is quick to identify the problem issue. It not only pinpoints the cause of the issue but also comes up with appropriate solutions to manage it.

The end-customer has a seamless experience while enjoying their favorite content over both the digital systems.

Unlike the old analog system which took hours and days to fix once any part of the broadcast transmission and distribution broke down, digital systems like IPYV systems and OTT players can detect and solve issues almost instantaneously. 

Managing Multiple HD Channels

The IPTV system especially can manage multiple high definition channels at the same time without any loss of quality of the service. The headend can decrypt all the incoming signals and send relevant content to multiple smart devices at the same time.

There is no requirement at both the headend and the consumer end of complex analog modulators and decoders to manage the broadcast signal.

This feature of the new IPTV system makes it suitable for installation in hotels and other institutions managing content over multiple digital devices.

Hotel IPTV and HospitalIPTV systems rely on local media server to stream multiple high definition content to many devices without the need of a cabling system or a broadcast network.