Thanks to current technology and our Internet connections, video playback in the form of movies and series has changed a lot in recent years. Streaming content has become the main option for many users around the world, although there are different ways to access all of it.
For years one of the most common alternatives to reproduce all kinds of multimedia content is through what is known as IPTV services. This is a concept that comes from the acronym Internet Protocol Television and is actually a technology that is responsible for distributing the video signal through broadband connections over IP.
What are IPTV services
Surely many of you have a service of these characteristics without knowing it, since it is used by many ADSL and fiber operators to distribute their television services. For all this, on many occasions a decoder is used that receives the contents so that we can see them on TV. Likewise, we can also use different mobile applications or PC programs to reproduce all these IPTV contents.
We also have the possibility of contracting IPTV services independently from the operators through a content provider. This gives us the opportunity to access television channels from around the globe generally distributed in the H264 video format. We can also find some of these platforms that send us the signal in MPEG-4 format. In addition, these services make use of IP servers to send different video streams simultaneously.
All this allows the corresponding IPTV platforms to allow the bidirectional flow of content, control session data, customer billing, etc. But we must not confuse these IPTV services that we have just described with those known as OTT. Hence, below we are going to explain the difference between the two so that you are clear about the video streaming platform that interests you the most.
Differences with OTTs
We already told you before that today we have the possibility of reproducing this video content through different sources and platforms. Therefore, we must be very clear that on the one hand we have the aforementioned PTV services and on the other, those known as OTT. To begin with, we will tell you that the second modality refers to streaming platforms as well-known at the moment as Netflix, HBO Max either Disney+.
Although at first both systems can lead us to confusion, in reality they are not the same nor do they work the same. And there are some important differentiating aspects between these two methods. For example, it is important to know that IPTV services make a reservation of bandwidth in order to guarantee the quality of transmissions by the client.
On the contrary, in those known as OTT or Over the Top, this connection bandwidth reservation does not exist. Thus, the video traffic from these services is confused with the rest of the Internet traffic. In this way, OTTs work independently from the telephone operator. We have the possibility of accessing this content from any connection regardless of the provider through viewing the applications and my web services offered by these Netflix-type companies.
