Video on demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films without a traditional video playback device and a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of over-the-air programming was the most common form of media distribution. As Internet and IPTV technologies continued to develop in the 1990s, consumers began to gravitate towards non-traditional modes of content consumption, which culminated in the arrival of VOD on televisions and personal computers.[1]
"VOD" redirects here. For other uses, see VOD (disambiguation).
Unlike broadcast television, VOD systems initially required each user to have an Internet connection with considerable bandwidth to access each system's content. In 2000, the Fraunhofer Institute IIS[2] developed the JPEG2000 codec, which enabled the distribution of movies via Digital Cinema Packages. This technology has since expanded its services from feature-film productions to include broadcast television programmes and has led to lower bandwidth requirements for VOD applications. Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. subsequently launched the Digital Cinema Initiative,[3] in 2002.
Television VOD systems can stream content, either through a traditional set-top box or through remote devices such as computers, tablets, and smartphones. VOD users can permanently download content to a device such as a computer, digital video recorder (DVR) or a portable media player for continued viewing. The majority of cable and telephone company–based television providers offer VOD streaming, whereby a user selects a video programme that begins to play immediately, or downloading to a DVR rented or purchased from the provider, or to a PC or to a portable device for deferred viewing.
Streaming media has emerged as an increasingly popular medium of VOD provision. Desktop client applications such as the Apple iTunes online content store and Smart TV apps such as Amazon Prime Video allow temporary rentals and purchases of video entertainment content. Other Internet-based VOD systems provide users with access to bundles of video entertainment content rather than individual movies and shows. The most common of these systems, Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, Max and Paramount+, use a subscription model that requires users to pay a monthly fee for access to a selection of movies, television shows, and original series. In contrast, YouTube, another Internet-based VOD system, uses an advertising-funded model in which users can access most of its video content free of cost but must pay a subscription fee for premium content. Some airlines offer VOD services as in-flight entertainment to passengers through video screens embedded in seats or externally provided portable media players.[4]
Functionality[edit]
Downloading and streaming VOD systems provide the user with features of portable media players and DVD players. Some VOD systems store and stream programmes from hard disk drives and use a memory buffer to allow the user to fast-forward and rewind videos. It is possible to put video servers on local area networks; these can provide rapid responses to users. Cable companies have rolled out their own versions of VOD services through apps, allowing television access wherever there is a device that is Internet capable. Cable media companies have combined VOD with live streaming services. The early-2020s launches of apps from cable companies (e.g. NBC's Peacock, CBS's Paramount+) are attempts to compete with Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) services because they lack live news and sports content.[5] Streaming video servers can serve a wide community via a WAN but responsiveness may be reduced. Download VOD services are practical in homes equipped with cable modems or DSL connections. Servers for traditional cable and telco VOD services are usually placed at the cable head-end, serving a particular market and cable hubs in larger markets. In the telco world, they are placed in either the central office or a newly created location called a Video Head-End Office (VHO).
Role of peer-to-peer file sharing[edit]
Peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing software allows the distribution of content without the linear costs associated with centralised streaming media. This innovation proved it is technically possible to offer the consumer potentially every film ever made, and the popularity and ease of use of such services may have motivated the rise of centralised video-on-demand services. Some services such as Spotify[34] use peer-to-peer distribution to better scale their platforms. Netflix was reported to be considering switching to a P2P model[35] to cope with net neutrality problems from downstream providers.
Types[edit]
Transactional[edit]
Transactional video on demand (TVOD) is a distribution method by which customers pay for each piece of video-on-demand content.[36] For example, a customer would pay a fee for each movie or TV show that they watch. TVOD has two sub-categories: electronic sell-through (EST), by which customers can permanently access a piece of content once purchased via the Internet; and download to rent (DTR), by which customers can access the content for a limited time upon renting.[36][37] Examples of TVOD services include the Apple iTunes Store and the Google Play Store, as well as VOD rental services offered through multichannel television (i.e., cable or satellite) providers.
Premium[edit]
Premium video on demand (PVOD) is a version of TVOD which allows customers to access video-on-demand content several weeks or months earlier than their customary TVOD or home video availability – often feature films made available alongside, or in place of, a traditional release in movie theaters – but at a much higher price point. A version of the model was tested in 2011 by American satellite TV provider DirecTV under the brand name "Home Premiere", which allowed viewers to rent select films from major studios for US$30 per rental as soon as 60 days after they debuted in cinemas, compared to 120 days for the regular TVOD window; this version only lasted a few months.[38][39]
PVOD made a return during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting global closures of cinemas. Certain films that had already been released including The Invisible Man were quickly also released on VOD platforms for a higher rental price than usual, while other films including Trolls World Tour were released simultaneously on PVOD and in drive-in theaters, or in some cases directly to PVOD only.[40]
In most cases, these PVOD releases are offered through most of the same platforms as traditional TVOD, but at a higher price point, typically about US$20 for a 48-hour rental;[40] this offering has again been branded as "Home Premiere" by some studios and platforms. Disney used the September 2020 release of the live-action remake of Mulan to launch a related model called Premier Access; this requires customers to pay a premium fee (approximately US$26–30 depending on country) on top of a subscription to the Disney+ streaming service, but they then retain access as long as they maintain their subscription (for Mulan, this was effectively a 90-day rental, as the film became available to all Disney+ subscribers at no extra charge in December).[41]
It has been reported that the pandemic had contributed to a transformation in movie distribution in favor of PVOD over traditional movie houses, as studios were able to realize 80% of revenue through PVOD versus 50% of traditional theater box office receipts. Theater owners including AMC and Cinemark, as well as suppliers including IMAX and National CineMedia, all experienced significant drops in revenues during shutdowns related to COVID-19.[42]