Over the last few years, the new paradigm of OTT (Over-the-Top) television has been supplanting traditional cable TV as the primary viewing source for consumers. In this blog, we are going to discuss OTT meaning and some common industry-related terms!
RELATED: WALKING THE WALK OF OTT TRANSFORMATION
OTT Meaning & Related Terms Breakdown:
OTT Definition | What Does Over-The-Top Mean?
Over-The-Top refers to the delivery of TV and film content (as a standalone product) via devices connecting both the Internet and the television. In short, Over-The-Top implies that OTT devices have to go “over” the cable box to give users access to TV content. There are three primary OTT connections:
- Connected Devices like streaming devices (i.e., AppleTV, Roku), smart TVs (i.e., LG, Samsung), and gaming consoles (i.e., Xbox, PlayStation).
- Popular Subscriptions and Free Streaming Services, i.e., Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney +, Youtube TV, Playstation Vue, Pluto TV, and more.
- TV Apps accessible via Internet-connected TVs, i.e., A&E, Watch ESPN, CNN, etc.
Other OTT Variants:
- OTT App – An application that allows users to stream videos via the Internet.
- OTT Infrastructure – The infrastructure such as encoding and content delivery network that enables delivery of OTT.
- OTT Platform – Software and/or hardware that enables the delivery of a specific service and associated features in the video medium. (i.e., the Struum service uses a platform built on cloud-based Gen5 Architecture).
- OTT Streaming – Includes Netflix, YouTube, and other Internet-based video consumption.
Glossary of OTT-Related Terms
Cloud-Based Architecture
Cloud Video Architecture enables efficient, scalable video distribution using online servers to store video files and gives viewers access regardless of their locations and/or their devices. Advantages of cloud-based services:
- Enables scalability of video distribution systems without the need to invest in new hardware.
- Extensibility to quickly deploy new features.
- Ability to have the latest solutions without hardware upgrades.
- Providers can leverage existing cloud spends.
- Flexibility to adapt business models to changes in the market.
Content Delivery Network (CDN)
A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a network of proxy servers and their data centers. With its servers’ and data centers’ geographical distribution, a CDN distributes the OTT service spatially relative to viewers with high availability and uncompromised streaming quality. CDNs are serving many sectors of the Internet content, including:
- Social Media
- Live/On-Demand Streaming Media
- Applications (portals, e-commerce)
- Web Objects (graphics, texts, scripts)
- Downloadable Objects (software, documents, media files)
Digital Rights Management (DRM)
Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a way to protect digital copyrighted works. It comprises a set of access control tools to restrict the use and distribution of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works (i.e., software, multimedia content, etc.).
Learn more about the United States’ Digital Millennium Copyright Act here!
High Definition (HD)
High Definition refers to high-resolution video displays spanning more than 720 pixels wide. HD typically signifies 1080-pixel-wide (1080p) videos.
HTTP Live Streaming (HLS)
HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) is an adaptive protocol delivering live and on-demand streaming content. HLS is HTTP-based, meaning it leverages HTTP technology for bitrate streaming video and audio data from media servers to viewers’ screens. Developed by Apple Inc. and released in 2009, HLS was the most popular streaming format in 2019, as surveyed in an annual video industry survey. Support for the protocol is widespread in:
- Mobile Devices
- Web Browsers
- Media Players
- Streaming Media Servers
