In recent years, there is a rising buzz around the terms ‘OTT’ and ‘IPTV’. And you may be using at least one among them on a daily basis. Theaters and traditional cable TVs with fixed streaming schedules are not only the options for watching your favorite content. So, it’s time to take a deeper look into IPTV & OTT and find which is best for you.
In this article, we will discuss both the technologies, their services, differences, upsides and downsides, with the focus of keeping you informed about which one of them suits you well.
Let’s get started!
What is IPTV?
IPTV refers to ‘Internet Protocol Television’ that delivers television content via the internet, rather than through traditional means like cable or satellite. In this type of service, a private managed network delivers a variety of channels and on-demand content via a set-top box.
Here are quick-details about the functionality of an IPTV service.
How Does IPTV Work?
To use an IPTV service, you’ll basically need an internet connection and hardware like a set-top box or software like IPTV apps offered by the provider. Once you’ve set the prerequisites, this is what happens at the backend:
- The TV content delivered by the provider is broken down into negligible data packets.
- Through internet, the packets are transmitted to the your device.
- Your set top-box or IPTV app receives the data packets.
- The device/ app decodes the IPTV signals and reassembles them.
- Finally, you’ll be able to watch the TV content along with accessibility features like play, pause, rewind, forward and stop.
IPTV : Benefits & Drawbacks:
Pros
- Ease of Use: Since IPTV delivers content over a set-top box or an app, you’ll be able to watch TV content with complete ease and convenience.
- Extensive Content: Whether it is your favorite TV channels or movies/ shows on-demand, you have it all in IPTV.
- High-quality Video: Since the content is transmitted over a managed network, rather than a private network, quality of videos is usually high.
- Interactive Features: Trust me, you’ll not miss the perfect scene or the game-changing moments of a match. IPTV renders a complete viewing experience with features to pause, rewind or fast forward a content.
Cons
- Demographic Limitations: Since the service requires a managed network, IPTV is not yet available in several countries / areas.
- Cost: You may need to spend on the set-top box and the service. Apart from this, you might have to pay additional charges to access on-demand content.
- Streaming Limitations: This depends on the IPTV provider you choose. A few of them do not provide wide varieties of content, like other streaming services offer.
What is OTT?
OTT, or Over-the-top refers to the service that lets you watch TV programs, movies and other video content over the internet, instead of traditional cable channels or satellite. Netflix and Hulu are perfect examples of OTT services that have become a part of several audience’s lives already.
Let’s look into how OTT services work.
How Does OTT Work?
To use an OTT service, you’ll need an internet connection and the app belonging to the specific OTT provider. When you have them all, this is how OTT works at the backend:
- You need to install an OTT app or access their platform.
- Select the content of your choice, by searching the name of the show or movie.
- The streaming signal reaches your device. It can be a Mobile, Computer, Tablets, Ipad’s or Smart TVs.
- The selected content starts playing.
- You can now pause, rewind or forward, additionally add them to your Wishlist or mark it as favorite to enjoy a more customized streaming experience.
OTT : Benefits & Drawbacks:
Pros
- Subscription Cost: When compared to traditional cable channels, OTT subscriptions are much cheaper.
- Personalization: You can customize channels and shows for each member of your family and get personalized recommendations based on the viewing history.
- On-demand Content: You’ll be able to leverage movies and TV shows without any schedule limitations.
- Device Flexibility: Watch your favorite shows anytime, and on any device – smartphones, TVs and Tablets.
- No Contracts: In general, you need not sign up for any long-term subscriptions to avail OTT services. Therefore, you can easily cancel or upgrade as per your needs.
Cons
- Dependency Of Network Stability: In case your internet connection is weak and unstable, it might affect the quality of content delivered.
- Compatibility: Even today, many OTT services do not stream on all devices. A few of them impose additional charges or subscription upgrades to avail the content.
- Limited Live Streams: When compared to traditional cables the number of live streams available in OTT channels are relatively few in number.
- Ads: Several OTTs now avail businesses to advertise their products/ services in-between a show or movie. This may affect the viewing experience of the audience.
Differences Between IPTV and OTT Streaming:
- Content Delivery And Network
| IPTV | OTT |
| More consistent and reliable since the service is managed by a private content delivery network | Might fluctuate based on the internet connection stability and device capabilities |
- Component Requirements
| Component | IPTV | OTT |
| Internet Connection | Yes | Yes |
| Set-top box/ IP based TV | Yes | No |
| Router | Yes | No |
- Type of content
| Content | IPTV | OTT |
| Electronic Program Guide (EPG) | Yes | No |
| Time-shifted television (catch-up) | Yes | Some Services |
| Live linear television | Yes | Some Services |
| Video-on-demand (VOD) | Yes | Yes |
| Live TV | Some services | Services |
4. Quality Of Video Streams
| Quality | IPTV | OTT |
| Audio Quality | High | Depends on network stability and device capability |
| Video Quality | High | Depends on network stability and device capability |
| Content Delivery Network (CDN) | Private | Private |
IPTV Vs OTT: Which Is Best For You?
Now that you know the primary differences between IPTV and OTT services, their merits and demerits compared, it is now time to decide on which streaming service works better for your business.
How Will OTT Work For Your Business?
As a business, OTT is a great option for streaming video content over the internet. Your audience can enjoy streaming experience without signing up for any kind of long term contracts or agreements. This keeps your platform wide open for user conversion. Also, if you are a business looking to expand your horizon with complete control over content distribution and monetization, OTT can surely make it an ideal choice.
Overall, OTT is best for businesses that aim at delivering content to a wide audience base flexibly and in a more cost efficient manner.
How Will IPTV Work For Your Business?
IPTV is impressively beneficial if you are looking to deliver high-quality video content. You’ll need to work with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to deliver content over a secure, controlled network. The ISP will allocate a specific bandwidth to your service, with which you can deliver top-notch audio and video quality, with almost zero-lag. This ensures your users get a reliable and consistent content delivery, elevating chances to stick to your service for a longer period.
All things considered, IPTV is comparatively a more professional, consistent and wisest choice for delivering a seamless streaming experience to users.
Conclusion
In summary both IPTV and OTT have their own upsides and downsides when it comes to streaming content. IPTV provides a high-quality viewing experience, but limits opportunities to content creators since a partnership with an ISP is a standard regulation. Whereas, OTT is a great choice to monetize but has impediments like unstable quality. Ultimately, the choice between IPTV and OTT solely depends on the specific need of your business.
Found this article helpful? Let us know which of these streaming services you prefer in the comments below!
