Video-On-Demand
From Isopedia
Technical Information
Video on Demand (VOD) is a service that allows users to select and watch videos of their choice from a wide range of programming that’s stored on a remote server. This service occurs over a network and is completely interactive, meaning that it enables the users to pause, stop, rewind and fast forward the video at any time, similar to the function of a VCR. VOD systems can be viewed in two different contents, stream form, which is when the user can view the video as it is being downloaded, or download form, in which the user cannot view the video until it has been fully received from the remote system. In addition, streaming video servers can be put on either Local Area Networks (LAN), which would cover small local areas like a home, college or small office building, or Wide Area Networks (WAN), which cover wide geographical areas. However, it is more beneficial to use LAN’s because their response rate is much faster enabling a more satisfying experience for the users considering that streaming video systems are more complex and therefore require more effort from the server as well as a larger network bandwidth. On the other hand, download video systems are more commonly used in homes that possess cable modems or DSL lines because they are not as complicated in that they do not require as much work from the server. VOD services have gained widespread appeal, especially among cable providers who have adopted this service to send movies and television shows to their customers by using the large bandwidth and fast response rate of cable technology to their advantage.
Historical Information
The first Video On Demand service that was made available to the public appeared in Hong Kong in the early 1990’s. Many companies around the world abandoned VOD early in its development due to the belief that it would not be profitable. Both Hong Kong and Singapore embraced VOD early on believing that the technology could be extremely useful to users while being profitable to the providing company. Two companies involved in the early development of VOD were Hong Kong Telecom and Singapore One. When Video On Demand emerged commercially its technology was still in early development, thus video DVDs remained the preferred method of viewing movies at home. Comcast Corp., which is the largest provider of cable-TV services in the United States, launched a commercial VOD service in 2002. Since its launch in 2002 Comcast Corp. has served over one billion VOD programs to its customers.
References
http://informitv.com/glossary/vod/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_on_demand
http://www.usvo.com/history.htm
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