OTT Means the Next Step Forward in Tele­vi­sion

In the past, tele­vi­sion always func­tioned in a linear fashion, and always via a middle man. Re­gard­less of whether it was cable, satellite or IPTV, a provider would always make content available through its own in­fra­struc­ture. This meant that with tra­di­tion­al tele­vi­sion, for example, the cable provider did the in­stal­la­tion and the user could only see what the cable TV was currently broad­cast­ing. What that was exactly and when it could be received was and still is partly decided in classic top-down fashion. OTT – the ab­bre­vi­a­tion standing for over-the-top – is bringing about longer-term changes to this system.

With the in­creas­ing­ly large band­widths of Internet con­nec­tions and the switch from ISDN to DSL standards, the es­tab­lished cable TV found a com­peti­tor in IPTV. Internet Protocol Tele­vi­sion (IPTV) was the first step for telecom­mu­ni­ca­tions providers in expanding their TV offerings, from options such as the replay function, to time-shifted broadcast viewing, to increased broadcast offerings as well as trans­ac­tion­al video on-demand (VOD). Yet even this new Internet tele­vi­sion was only available via a middleman. In this way the largest IPTV providers, such as Hulu, YouTube TV and DirecTV Now only offer their internet-based tele­vi­sion via pro­pri­etary devices such as set-top boxes and receivers.

A further de­vel­op­ment in IPTVs are the so-called OTT services. OTT means over-the-top and refers to content that is offered by means of an Internet con­nec­tion, without the Internet provider itself having any influence or control over the content. This means OTT services are in­de­pen­dent from in­fra­struc­ture providers. Some of the most well-known OTT TV providers on the market are Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, YouTube and HBO Now. In order to be able to use streaming services, users only need to have an Internet con­nec­tion, and, as is generally the rule, install the app for the re­spec­tive OTT TV provider. Through the app you can then stream your preferred content at any time, any place and with any Internet-capable end device.

Whether its sports reports, films, series, live-streams of video games or video on-demand: Users have complete control over the TV and can customize the TV reception to their personal TV habits. Where many IPTV providers have a small, pre-filtered selection of video on-demand titles, over-the-top offers its users enormous libraries with thousands of content options that can be accessed at any time.

OTT TV providers make content available to users via streaming. The databases for OTT TV providers such as Netflix and Amazon are located on central servers. Should a user decide to stream a specific film, then the data is trans­ferred to them in IP packets. This will only be used by OTT as a transfer in­stru­ment. And because the internet provider ul­ti­mate­ly only accepts the transfer of data packets, no legal liability arises for them with respect to the content being used.

So that most memory-intensive content can be streamed in HD quality, a stable and high-per­for­mance Internet con­nec­tion is required between the broad­cast­er of the OTT content and the receiver. This is because if the data transfer rate is too low or if the DSL network is over­loaded, it can result in reduced quality or video in­ter­rup­tions during the stream.

Because the displays for modern smart­phones have an in­creas­ing­ly higher res­o­lu­tion in recent years, a not in­signif­i­cant portion of OTT use now also occurs via smart­phones.

Thanks to good network con­nec­tions, however, the reception of OTT content is no longer an obstacle. Unlike with IPTV, users are no longer bound to a specific device as a reception medium. Each end device with an Internet con­nec­tion can receive OTT app content. Whether it’s a tablet, laptop, notebook or computer, users have the choice of when and where they stream their favorite content.

Fur­ther­more, the OTT provider apps can also be installed directly onto a smart TV. If the in­stal­la­tion doesn’t enable the smart TV’s technical features, users can quite easily retrofit their devices with TV sticks. Amazon’s Fire TV stick, for example, can be connected to the tele­vi­sion via a USB slot and allows users access to a series of pre-installed OTT apps.

A special feature con­cern­ing the reception and avail­abil­i­ty of most OTT content is the fact that the content delivery is tailored to each country. The Netflix library in the US, for example, has different content available to the library in France. Ul­ti­mate­ly, the libraries for each country are unique. Because private TV channels, cable providers and operators of national pay TV sometimes purchase the broad­cast­ing rights for specific films, series or sporting events for periods of up to several years, many OTT services are presently not allowed to broadcast such content in the countries in question. For this reason, OTT services read the user’s IP address. This indicates the country in which the user is located. Should the right of use for the cor­re­spond­ing film be re­strict­ed in the country in question, or should country-specific laws prevent their broadcast, the content will not be played for this user.

OTT now also contains high-quality provider-created content. Netflix, Amazon and Hulu have long since become some of the most important film and series producers.

Thanks to OTT, the com­pe­ti­tion has become so strong that tra­di­tion­al TV channels have to fight against dwindling viewer numbers with linear TV offerings. How seriously the old channels and IPTV providers are taking the com­pe­ti­tion from OTT can be seen in their responses. In the US, for example, private media companies such as Warn­er­Me­dia and NBCU­ni­ver­sal now work with their own streaming platforms.

OTT has already changed the TV habits of many people. The fact that private tele­vi­sion stations are also adapting their for­mat­ting and offerings to the changed habits of the Internet user shows in which direction Internet-based tele­vi­sion will develop going forward. If and when cable, satellite and IPVO become obsolete, however, can be difficult to predict. However, it remains certain that the Internet will also bring about long-term changes to the tele­vi­sion industry.