OTT is the abbreviation of " Over the Top ", which refers to the provision of various application services to users through the Internet. This application is different from the communication service provided by the current operator, it only utilizes the operator's network, and the service is provided by a third party other than the operator. At present, typical OTT services include Internet TV services, Apple App Store and so on.
The term comes from sports such as basketball, and means "over-the-top pass," which refers to basketball players traveling back and forth over their heads to reach their destination.
Internet companies use the broadband networks of telecom operators to develop their own businesses, such as Google, Apple, Skype , Netflix , and QQ in China . Netflix web video and apps in various mobile app stores are OTT . Many OTT service providers provide services and billing directly to users, making operators a mere "transmission pipeline" and cannot touch the huge value of transmission in the pipeline at all.
In the field of communications, OTT refers to the provision of services including text messages, voice and even video with the help of operators' network services. In the TV field, OTT TV provides TV programs to users through the operator's network. Internationally, OTT TV transmits integrated services such as IP video and Internet applications through various network viewing terminals (TVs, computers, Pads, smartphones, etc.) facing users through the public Internet.
Different from traditional analog cable TV and classic digital TV, both OTT TV and IPTV broadcast video content through IP network, but IPTV and OTT TV still have essential differences in many aspects. In my country, based on the national conditions and the influence of some policies, the differences between domestic OTT TV and IPTV are mainly reflected in the following points.
lcontent provider
Due to policy restrictions, the operation of IPTV and OTT TV requires relevant licenses issued by relevant departments.
At present, the content provider licenses for IPTV include Shanghai Media, CCTV International, Southern Media, and International Radio.
The content providers of OTT TV are Internet integration platform licensees, including 7 companies including Wasu, Bestcom, and Southern Media.
lbusiness operator
The business operation of the IPTV service is undoubtedly the responsibility of the telecom operator.
The OTT TV service is provided by 7 Internet integration platform licensees. After the user rents the operator's broadband service, the OTT service will not bring other benefits to the telecom operator.
lThe internet
The dissemination of IPTV TV content is based on the dedicated network built by telecom operators. The initial investment is large, but the network bandwidth and video quality are guaranteed for users.
The dissemination of OTT TV only needs ordinary public broadband Internet as the foundation, and a certain bandwidth is required to ensure the quality of video service. In the next few years, optical networks will greatly improve broadband Internet bandwidth, which will largely guarantee the video quality of OTT TV and even high-definition OTT TV.
lterminal
The terminal of IPTV is the operator's collection of STB + ordinary home TV. Because IPTV set-top boxes are generally presented by operators when users handle services, the cost is low, and they need to cooperate with IPTV private networks, so their openness and operability are limited, and most of them are non-intelligent set-top boxes.
The terminal of OTT TV is OTT set-top box + display screen (TV, computer, Pad, mobile phone, etc.), and the set-top box can even be placed in the TV. Currently, the more popular mainstream set-top boxes are basically hardware manufacturers and seven licensees that have obtained licenses to launch smart set-top boxes that bind services and hardware.
lvideo coding technology
IPTV video uses H.264 video encoding technology.
The video of OTT TV supports a variety of video codec technologies according to the terminal configuration such as set-top box. Compared with IPTV video, the bit rate is lower, and there is an adaptive function to keep the service uninterrupted in a poor network environment.