Video has been the core source of entertainment for people but there are different ways of delivering the content to the end users to entertain them, especially online video streaming. IPTV vs OTT is amongst the most debated topic since there are only minor differences that make them different from each other. This entertainment industry is full of acronyms on which IPTV and OTT are much more confusing to people. Both of them work with the internet to deliver the content to the viewers. Yet there are many differences in the mechanisms used for delivering the content to the end users.
During this time, it becomes inevitable to understand what are they, how they work, and the major differences between them to get a clear understanding of why they are considered different from each other.
Online Video Streaming Platform: What The Statistics Have To Say?
Online video streaming platform has grown manifold. It generates massive internet traffic since visuals catch more attention than written content. This is due to the fact that human eyes are attracted to movement and the visual movement that video content produces naturally draws the attention of the human. According to the data provided by Statista, the digital media market in India is valued at more than 300 billion Indian currency in 2021. It is going to reach around 537 billion Indian currency by 2024.
All this data shows how the growth will be seen in online video streaming in India. It all can be presented in the growth seen in the revenue segment of online video streaming in India. The revenue of OTT platforms in India is expected to reach a market volume of around US$3.76 billion by 2027 and is expected to show a growth of 8.23% annually.
Online Video Content Delivery: IPTV vs OTT
The most common way of delivering online content is through IPTV and OTT. Both techniques deliver the content using internet protocol and hence are similar in that sphere. however, there are much more differences between these two as they are built differently and deliver the content a little differently. Let’s understand what is IPTV and OTT.
What Is IPTV?
The full form of IPTV is “Internet Protocol Television” or “Internet-based protocol television”. It streams the video content from a designated ISP. It limits access to the content but improves the quality of experience for the viewers. It is a digital television that delivers live content and on-demand content via the web but in a controlled manner. The content is delivered over a controlled or privately managed network. It could be a LAN, WAN, or an ISP network. Above all, it offers enhanced security.
How Does IPTV Work?
Video streamed via IPTV is stored on servers that distribute copies of videos to different viewers. It all starts when the viewers want to play the content. The video content is sent using the multicast methods. With this method, data is transferred to a number of recipients simultaneously rather than sending individual copies to every viewer. IPTV utilizes the bandwidth and network infrastructure.
What Is OTT?
The full form of OTT is “Over-the-top” which provides content over the internet. OTT platforms provide a library of on-demand and live content that can be accessed over the internet. OTT content can be accessed on any device including smartphones, smart TV, laptops, tablets, or video consoles with a reliable internet connection. There is no dedicated network for delivering the OTT content. It is available on an open network.
How Does OTT Work?
OTT platforms do not have specific distribution circuits as used in IPTV. It delivers the content to the end-users on request via unicast. Unicast is a one-to-one transmission of the content to the viewers that streams the content to a single viewer on request. ISPs are still valuable to OTT platforms since they provide infrastructure to the hosting solutions to stream the content to the end users making the delivery of the content yet they do not have the right over the content, video delivery, and viewing of the online content.
These are the core methods of delivering the content over the internet yet are different from each other. In short, IPTV and OTT are a lot different from each other and these are the methods that are popularly in use to entertain people over different platforms.