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Indian Satellite Television Channels

[edit] Lists of Television Channels

There are currently 515 over-the-air and satellite television channels available in India.[1] Hindi television channel have the highest market share and are available throughout the country. In addition to that, numerous regional channels are available for selective regions.

[edit] Major Networks

[edit] Regional Networks

[edit] International channels broadcast in India

[edit] HD channels broadcast in India

  • DD HD
  • StarPlus HD
  • STAR Gold HD
  • STAR Movies HD
  • Star cricket HD
  • Star world HD
  • Discovery HD
  • Discovery Science HD
  • NatGeo HD
  • Movies Now HD
  • Espn HD
  • Sony HD
  • UTV Stars HD
  • NHK World HD
  • TravelXp HD
  • Zee tv HD
  • Zee Cinema HD
  • Ten Cricket HD
  • MTunes HD

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/2377-mn-dth-subscribers-by-june-2010-trai/111180/on
  2. ^ express news tv

[edit] External links
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

A television program (television programme in the United Kingdom, Ireland and many Commonwealth countries), also called television show (in the United States), is a segment of content, which is intended to be broadcast on television. It is the product of a television production—or the filmmaking process. It may be a one-time broadcast or part of a periodically recurring series.

A television series that is predetermined to be broadcast as a set number of programs is usually called a miniseries or serial (although the latter term also has other meanings). A short-run of a series lasting less than a year is known as a season—though in the United Kingdom and (some of) the rest of the PAL countries, the term series is used. This season, or series, usually consists of 12 to 26 installments in the United States, but in the UK there is no defined length. The US-industry practice tends to favor longer seasons than those of some other countries.

A single program of a series is called an episode. A one-time broadcast may be called a "special", or particularly in the UK a "special episode". A television movie ("made-for-TV movie"), or in the UK a television film, is a film that is initially broadcast on television rather than released in cinemas or direct-to-video, although many successful TV movies are later released on DVD.

A program can be either recorded—as on video tape or other various electronic media forms—or considered live television.

[edit] Program content

The content of television programs may be factual—as in documentary, news, and reality television, or fictional—as in comedies and dramas. It may be topical—as in the case of a local newscast and some movies, or historical—as in the case of many documentaries and fictional series. They could be primarily instructional or educational, or entertaining as is the case in situation comedy and game shows.

A drama program usually features a set of actors in a somewhat familiar setting. The program follows their lives and their adventures. With the exception of soap operas, many shows especially before the 1980s, remained static without story arcs, the main characters and the premise changed little. If some change happened to the characters lives during the episode, it was usually undone by the end. (Because of this, the episodes could be broadcast in any order.) Since the 1980s, there are many series that feature progressive change to the plot, the characters, or both.

Common television program periods include regular broadcasts (like news), series (usually seasonal and ongoing with a duration of only a few episodes to many seasons), or miniseries, which is an extended film, usually with a small predetermined number of episodes and a set plot and timeline. Miniseries usually range from about 3 to 10 hours in length. In the UK, the term "miniseries" is only usually used in reference to imported programmes, and such short-run series are usually called "serials".

Older American television shows began with a title sequence showing opening credits at the bottom lower third of the screen during the beginning, and included closing credits at the end of the show. However, beginning in the 1990s some shows began with a "cold open", followed by a title sequence and a commercial break. Many serial-type shows begin with a "Previously on..." (such as the series 24) introduction before the new episode. And, to save time, some shows omit the title sequence altogether, folding the names normally featured there into the opening credits. The title sequence has not been completely eliminated, however, as many major television series still use them.

While television series appearing on TV networks are usually commissioned by the networks themselves, their producers earn greater revenue when the program is sold into syndication. With the rise of the DVD home video format, box sets containing entire seasons or the complete run of a program have become a significant revenue source as well. Many of the prime-time comedy shows and Saturday morning cartoons were digitally remastered for United States television around mid-May 2008, as there will be more original and reissued DVD sets of television programs containing either entire seasons or complete series to come.

Television has changed throughout the years, from wholesome family sitcoms and dramas of years ago, to the reality shows of today. When watching television became popular in the mid-20th century, the whole family watched one set together. Also, many channels have deviated from their original programming focus throughout the years because of channel drift.

Most television networks throughout the world are 'commercial', dependent on selling advertising time or acquiring sponsors, broadcasting executives' main concern over their programming is on audience size or eyeballs. Once the number of 'free to air' stations was restricted by the availability of channel frequencies, but cable TV (outside the USA, satellite television) technology has allowed an expansion in the number of channels available to viewers (sometimes at premium rates) in a much more competitive environment.

[edit] Genres

See also: List of genres#TV genres and Category:Television genres

[edit] Scripted entertainment

[edit] Unscripted entertainment

[edit] Informational

[edit] Development

[edit] United States

A person decides to create a new television series. The show's creator develops the show's elements, consisting of the concept, the characters, the crew, and various actors (in some cases, "big-name" actors). They will then offer ("pitch") it to the various networks in an attempt to find one that is interested in the series and order a prototype first episode of the series, known as a pilot.

To create the pilot, the structure and team of the whole series needs to be put together. If the network likes the pilot, they will "pick up" the show for their next season (UK: series). Sometimes they will save it for "midseason" or request rewrites and further review (known in the industry as "Development hell"). And other times they will pass entirely, leaving the show's creator forced to "shop it around" to other networks. Many shows never make it past the pilot stage.

If the show is picked up, a "run" of episodes is ordered. Usually only 13 episodes are ordered at first, although a series will typically last for at least 22 episodes (the last nine episodes sometimes being known as the "back nine", borrowing the colloquial golf term).

The show hires a "stable" of writers, who usually work in parallel: the first writer works on the first episode, the second on the second episode, and so forth. When all of the writers have been used, the assignment of episodes continues starting with the first writer again. On other shows, however, the writers work as a team. Sometimes they will develop story ideas individually, and pitch them to the show's creator, who then folds them together into a script and rewrites them.

[edit] United Kingdom

In contrast to the US model illustrated above, the UK procedure is operated on a sometimes similar, but much smaller scale.

The method of "team writing" is employed on some longer dramatic series (usually running up to a maximum of around 13 episodes). The idea for such a programme may be generated "in-house" by one of the networks; it could originate from an independent production company; it will sometimes be a product of both. For example, the BBC's long-running soap opera EastEnders is wholly a BBC production, whereas its popular drama Life on Mars was developed by Kudos in association with the broadcaster.

However, there are still a significant number of programmes (usually sitcoms) that are built around just one or two writers and a small, close-knit production team. These are "pitched" in the traditional way, but since the creator(s) will handle all the writing requirements, there will be a run of six or seven episodes per series once approval has been given. Many of the most popular British comedies have been made this way, including Monty Python's Flying Circus (albeit with an exclusive team of six writer-performers), Fawlty Towers, Blackadder and The Office.

[edit] Production

Main article: Television production

The executive producer, often the show's creator, is in charge of running the show. They pick the crew and help cast the actors, approve and sometimes write series plots (some even write or direct major episodes). Various other producers help to ensure that the show runs smoothly.

As with filmmaking or other electronic media production, production of an individual episode can be divided into three parts. These are:

[edit] Pre-production

Main article: Pre-production

Pre-production begins when a script is approved. A director is chosen to plan the episode's final look.

Pre-production tasks include storyboarding, construction of sets, props, and costumes, casting guest stars, budgeting, acquiring resources like lighting, special effects, stunts, etc. Once the show is planned, it must then be scheduled; scenes are often filmed out of sequence, guest actors or even regulars may only be available at certain times. Sometimes the principal photography of different episodes must be done at the same time, complicating the schedule (a guest star might shoot scenes from two episodes on the same afternoon). Complex scenes are translated from storyboard to animatics to further clarify the action. Scripts are adjusted to meet altering requirements.

Some shows have a small stable of directors, but also usually rely on outside directors. Given the time constraints of broadcasting, a single show might have two or three episodes in pre-production, one or two episodes in principal photography, and a few more in various stages of post-production. The task of directing is complex enough that a single director can usually not work on more than one episode or show at a time, hence the need for multiple directors.

[edit] Principal photography

Main article: Principal photography

Principal photography is the actual filming of the episode. Director, actors and crew will gather at a television studio or on location for filming or videoing a scene. A scene is further divided into shots, which should be planned during pre-production. Depending on scheduling, a scene may be shot in non-sequential order of the story. Conversations may be filmed twice from different camera angles, often using stand-ins, so one actor might perform all their lines in one set of shots, and then the other side of the conversation will be filmed from the opposite perspective. To complete a production on time, a second unit may be filming a different scene on another set or location at the same time, using a different set of actors, an assistant director, and a second unit crew. A director of photography supervises the lighting of each shot to ensure consistency.

[edit] Post production

Main article: Post-production

Once principal photography is complete, producers coordinate tasks to begin the video editing. Visual and digital video effects are added to the film; this is often outsourced to companies specializing in these areas. Often music is performed with the conductor using the film as a time reference (other musical elements may be previously recorded). An editor cuts the various pieces of film together, adds the musical score and effects, determines scene transitions, and assembles the completed show.

[edit] Distribution

Main article: Broadcast syndication

After production, the show is turned over to the television network, which sends it out to its affiliate stations, which broadcast it in the specified broadcast programming time slot. If the Nielsen ratings are good, the show is kept alive as long as possible. If not, the show is usually canceled. The show's creators are then left to shop around remaining episodes, and the possibility of future episodes, to other networks. On especially successful series, the producers sometimes call a halt to a series on their own like Seinfeld, The Cosby Show, Corner Gas, and M*A*S*H and end it with a concluding episode, which sometimes is a big series finale.

On rare occasions, a series that has not attracted particularly high ratings and has been canceled can be given a reprieve if DVD sales have been particularly strong. This has happened in the cases of Family Guy in the US and Peep Show in the UK.

If the show is popular or lucrative, and a number of episodes (usually 100 episodes or more) are made, it goes into broadcast syndication (in the USA) where broadcast to the program rights are then resold.

[edit] Seasons/series

The terminology used to define a set of episodes produced by a television series varies from country to country.

[edit] North American usage

Main article: Serial (radio and television)

The term "series", in North American usage, refers to a connected set of television program episodes that run under the same title, possibly spanning many seasons. A new series is often ordered (funded) for just the first 10 to 13 episodes, to gauge the audience interest. If it is "picked up", the season is completed to the regular 20 to 26 episodes. The term "midseason replacement" usually refers to an inexpensive short-run (10–13 episode) show designed to take the place of an original series which failed to garner an audience and has not been picked up. The term "series finale" can lead to confusion outside of North America. A series finale means that the show will no longer be produced, and thus will be the final episode for that series (in the UK, it would mean the end of a season).

In North America the term "television season" is used inconsistently. A "full season" typically runs from September through May, with a hiatus between December and February. This broadcast programming schedule typically includes 20 to 26 episodes. A full season is sometimes split into two separate units (confusingly also termed seasons) with one before and one after the hiatus. These smaller "seasons" usually contain half the number of episodes (10–13).[citation needed]

In the 2000s, these shorter seasons have been referred to as ".5" or half seasons, where the run of shows between September and December is labeled "Season N", and the second run between February and May labeled "Season N.5". This is typically done to increase DVD sales of the show. The distributor will release the first half of the season in stores just before the second half first airs, in order to increase interest in the season's second half. Examples of this would be the science fiction remake Battlestar Galactica, its prequel Caprica, ABC's FlashForward, and NBC's Heroes.

[edit] UK and Australia usage

In the United Kingdom, on the ABC in Australia and in other countries, these sets of episodes are referred to as a series.

Australian television does not follow seasons in the way that US television does. So there is no "Fall Season" or "Fall schedule", for example. In Australia, a batch of episodes will still sometimes be called a "season" as per American terminology, although the UK term "series" is also used. For many years popular night time dramas in Australia would run much of the year, and would only go into recess over the summer period (December–February) where ratings are not taken. Therefore popular dramas would usually run February–November each year. This schedule was used in the 1970s for popular dramas including Number 96. Neighbours and other dramas continue this routine as at 2010. Australian situation comedy series usually have seasons of about 13 episodes, and might premiere at any month between February and November.

British shows have tended toward shorter series in recent years. For example, the first series of long-running science fiction show Doctor Who in 1963 featured forty-two 25-minute episodes, which had been reduced gradually to fourteen 25-minute episodes in 1989. The revival of Doctor Who has comprised thirteen 45-minute installments. However, there are some series in the UK that have a larger number of episodes, for example Waterloo Road started with 8–12 episodes but from series three onward, it increased to 20 episodes, and season seven will contain 30 episodes. Recently, American non-cable networks have also begun to experiment with shorter seasons for some programs, particularly reality shows such as Survivor. However, they often air two seasons per year, resulting in roughly the same number of episodes per year as a drama.

This is a reduction from the 1950s, in which many American shows (e.g., The Twilight Zone) had between 29 and 39 episodes per season. Actual storytelling time within a commercial television hour has also gradually reduced over the years, from 50 minutes out of every 60 to the current 44 (and even less on some networks), beginning in the early 21st century.

[edit] Japanese usage

The Japanese have sometimes subdivided television series and dramas into kūru (クール?), from the French term "cours" for "course", which is a three-month period usually of 13 episodes. Each kūru generally has its own opening and ending image sequence and song, recordings of which are often sold. The number of episodes permitted per season ranges from three to 65. (See also Japanese television programs.)

[edit] Running time

In the United States, in general, dramas usually last 44 minutes (an hour with advertisements), while sitcoms last 22 (30 with advertisements). However, with the rise of cable networks, especially pay ones, series and episode lengths have been changing, with 55–60 minutes per episode, and shorter seasons overall.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links
 
 
 

 

This is a list of television channels broadcast in Hindi language.

[edit] Major Entertainment Television Networks

Name Notes
Colors Owned by Viacom 18.
Imagine TV Owned By Turner Broadcasting System.
Sahara One formerly known as Sahara TV & Sahara Manoranjan.
Sony Entertainment Television Owned by Sony Corporation.
STAR Plus Owned by Star Tv, a Subsidiary of News Corporation.
STAR One Owned by Star Tv.
Zee TV owned by Zee Network.

[edit] Other Entertainment Networks

Name Notes
9X
ETV Major television network in India. Each state has its own local version of the channel.
STAR Utsav Reruns shows from STAR Plus and STAR One.
Zee Next reruns shows from Zee TV
DD National

[edit] Children's Programming

[edit] Movies

Name Notes
INDIA TALKIES free to air 24 hours Hindi movie channel
UTV Action owned UTV Network
Enterr10
Filmy also known as Sahara Filmy
Manoranjan TV free to air 24 hours Hindi movie channel
SET Max owned by Sony Entertainment Television
UTV Movies owned by United Television
STAR Gold owned by STAR India Pvt Ltd
B4U Movies
Zee Action owned by Zee Network
Zee Cinema owned by Zee Network
Zee Classic owned by Zee Network
Zee Premiere owned by Zee Network
UTV Bindass

[edit] Music

[edit] News

General news

Name Notes
Aaj Tak owned by TV Today Network
Sudarshan news
CNEB
DD News owned by Doordarshan
IBN-7 owned by Network 18
Khoj India Shows 24 hours of discovering India
India TV owned by Rajat Sharma
Raftaar News An initiative of Raftaar Productions Ltd, New Delhi
Live India
NDTV India owned by New Delhi Television
India News
News 24 owned by Broadcast 24
Sahara Samay owned by Sahara Group
STAR News owned by STAR tv
Zee News
TOTAL TV Regional News Channel
A2Z News
CHANNEL 1
s7 News
D7 News
GNN News

Entertainment news

Name Notes
E24
Lehren
NDTV Imagine Showbiz
ZOOm shows 24 hours Bollywood news and gossips
UTV STARS Official Channel of Bolywood

Business news

Name Notes
BIZZ News
CNBC Awaaz
Zee Business owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises

Political news

Name Notes
Rajya Sabha Tv shows political issues of Indian states
Lok Sabha TV formerly known as DD Lok Sabha

Other news

Name Notes
Azad News
Jain TV
P7 News
Tez part of TV Today Network, sister channel of Aaj Tak
VOI (TV channel) owned by Triveni Media Limited, also known as Voice of India
D7 News

[edit] Health & shopping

Name Notes
Care World
Star CJ Alive
Shakti TV
HOME SHOP 24X7 24hrs Tele Shopping Chennel

[edit] Sports

[edit] Religious

Name Notes
Aastha TV Socio-Spiritual-Cultural Network in Hindi Language
Sanskar TV
MH1 Shraddha
Sadhana (Tv Channel) DEVOTIONAL/SPIRITUAL/BHAKTI/RELIGIOUS NEWS TELEVISION CHANNEL in Hindi Language
Om Television
Pragya
Dharm TV DEVOTIONAL/SPIRITUAL/BHAKTI/RELIGIOUS TELEVISION CHANNEL in Hindi Language
Paras TV DEVOTIONAL / RELIGIOUS TELEVISION CHANNEL in Hindi Language
Sanatan TV DEVOTIONAL CHANNEL in Hindi

[edit] See also

List of television stations based in Mumbai

[edit] External links
 
 
 

 

 

 

Internet television (otherwise known as Internet TV, or Online TV, and not to be confused with Web television or Internet protocol television (IPTV), is a digital distribution television service distributed via the Internet. Some Internet television is known as catch-up TV. It has become very popular with services such as BBC iPlayer, 4oD, ITV Player (also STV Player and UTV Player) and Demand Five in the United Kingdom; Hulu and Revision3 in the United States; Nederland 24 in the Netherlands; ABC iview and Australia Live TV in Australia; SeeSaw; RTÉ Player in Ireland; and Tivibu in Turkey. See List of Internet television providers.

Contents

[hide]

[edit] History

Greek internet television Tvonline created by Film Director Angelos Diamantoulakis, is the first web TV in the world. It was built in 2005.[1][2][3]

[edit] Concept

Internet television allows the users to choose the program or the television show they want to watch from an archive of programs or from a channel directory. The two forms of viewing Internet television are streaming the content directly to a media player or simply downloading the program to the user's computer. With the "TV on Demand" market growing, these on-demand websites or applications are essential for major television broadcasters. For example, the BBC iPlayer brings in users which stream more than one million videos per week, with one of the BBC's headline shows The Apprentice taking over three percent to five percent of the UK's internet traffic due to people watching the first episode on the BBC iPlayer. Availability of online TV content continues to grow. As an example, in Canada as of May 2011 there were more than 600 TV shows available for free streaming, including several major titles like Survivor, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.[4]

Every night the use of on-demand television peaks at around 10 pm,[5] Most providers of the service provide several different formats and quality controls so that the service can be viewed on many different devices. Some services now offer a HD service along side their SD, streaming is the same but offers the quality of HD to the device being used, as long as it is using a HD screen. During Peak times the BBC iPlayer transmits 12 GB (gigabytes) of information per second.[6] Over the course of a month the iPlayer sends 7 PB (petabytes) of information.

Before 2006, most catch-up services used peer-to-peer (P2P) networking, in which users downloaded an application and data would be shared between the users rather than the service provider giving the now more commonly used streaming method. Now most service providers have moved away from the P2P systems and are now using the streaming media. The old P2P service was selected because the existing infrastructure could not handle the bandwidth necessary for centralized streaming distribution. Some consumers didn't like their upload bandwidth being consumed by their video player, which partially motivated the rollout of centralized streaming distribution.[7]

[edit] Market competitors

Many providers of internet-television services exist including conventional television stations that have taken advantage of the internet as a way to continue showing programmes after they have been broadcast often advertised as "on-demand" and "catch-up" services. Today, almost every major broadcaster around the world is operating an internet-television platform.[8] Examples include the BBC, which introduced the BBC iPlayer on 25 June 2008 as an extension to its "RadioPlayer" and already existing streamed video-clip content, and Channel 4 that launched 4oD ("4 on Demand") in November 2006 allowing users to watch recently shown content. Most internet-television services allow users to view content free of charge; however, some content is for a fee. Other internet-television providers include Been TVAustralia Live TV SeeSaw, ITV player, TVCatchup, Demand Five, Eurosport player, iSTATION TV and Sky Go.

[edit] Access/usability

The ability to access internet television is heavily dependent on internet-streaming speeds. This limits adoption in many countries, as broadband penetration is limited; in the European Union only twenty-five percent of consumers had access to Broadband internet in 2010.[9] Using an Internet service provider, something which is common in many homes in the developed world, the user simply enters their chosen website address. For example, bbc.co.uk/iplayer or http://video.pbs.org . If the user has no select preference of streaming service, the name of a chosen television programme can be inputted into a search engine followed by a phrase such as "online streaming" or "watch on the net". Accessing television on the internet has never been so simple, due to this usability of streaming services has had to be improved to maintain the simplicity of the process. Upon selection of a programme and website, the user may have to wait a few seconds or minutes to allow their desired programme to stream. A process called buffering allows the programme to run in one smooth showing as opposed to stopping and starting to allow the programme to stream.

[edit] Control

Controlling content on the Internet presents a challenge for most providers; to try to ensure that a user is allowed to view content such as programmes with age certificates, providers use methods such as parental controls that allows restrictions to be placed upon the use and access of certificated material. The BBC iPlayer makes use of a parental control system giving parents the option to "lock" content, meaning that a password would have to be used to access it. Flagging systems can be used to warn a user that content may be certified or that it may be post watershed for a programme. Honor systems are also used where users are asked for their dates of birth or age to verify if they are able to view certain content.

[edit] Archives

An archive is a collection of information and media much like a library or interactive-storage facility. It is a necessity for an on-demand media service to maintain archives so that users can watch programmes that have already been aired on standard-broadcast television. However, these archives can vary from a few weeks to months to years, depending on the curator and what programme it is.

For example, the BBC iPlayer's programmes are in general available for up to seven days after their original broadcast.[10] This so called "seven-day catch-up" model seems to become an industry standard for internet-television services in many countries around the world.[11] However, some programmes may only be available for shorter periods. Others, such as Panorama are available for an extended period because it is a factual programme and is highly watched and so is worth the extra money needed to host it for longer.

In contrast, 4oD channel 4's on-demand service[12] offers many of its much-older programmes as well that were originally aired years ago. An example of this is the comedy The IT Crowd where users can view the full series on the internet player. The same is true for other hit channel 4 comedies such as The Inbetweeners and Black Books.

Having an extensive archive, however, can bring problems along with benefits. Large archives are expensive to maintain, server farms and mass storage is needed along with ample bandwidth to transmit it all. Vast archives can be hard to catalogue and sort so that it is accessible to users.

The benefits in most cases outweigh these problems. This is because large archives bring in far more users who, in turn, watch more media, leading to a wider audience base and more advertising revenue. Large archives will also mean the user will spend more time on that website rather than a competitors, leading to starvation of demand for the competitors.

[edit] Broadcasting rights

Broadcasting rights vary from country to country and even within provinces of countries. These rights govern the distribution of copyrighted content and media and allow the sole distribution of that content at any one time.

An example of programmes only being aired in certain countries is BBC iPlayer. Users can only stream content from the BBC iPlayer from Britain because the BBC only allows free use of their product for users within the UK because those users pay a television license to fund part of the BBC.

Broadcasting rights can also be restricted to allowing a broadcaster rights to distribute that content for a limited time. Channel 4's online service 4oD can only stream shows created in the US by companies such as HBO for thirty days after they are aired on one of the Channel 4 group channels. This is to boost DVD sales for the companies who produce that media.

Some companies pay very large amounts for broadcasting rights with sports and US sitcoms usually fetching the highest price from UK-based broadcasters.

[edit] Profits and costs

With the exception of Internet-connectivity costs many online-television channels or sites are free. These sites maintain this free-television policy through the use of video advertising, short commercials and banner advertisements may show up before a video is played. An example of this is on the abc.com catch-up website; in place of the advertisement breaks on normal television, a short thirty-second advertisement is played. This short advertising time means that the user does not get fed up and money can be made on advertising, to allow web designers to offer quality content which would otherwise cost. This is how online television makes a profit.

[edit] Technologies used for Internet television

The Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) consortium of industry companies (such as SES Astra, Humax, Philips, and ANT Software) is currently promoting and establishing an open European standard (called HbbTV) for hybrid set-top boxes for the reception of broadcast and broadband digital television and multimedia applications with a single-user interface.[13]

Current providers of internet television use various technologies to provide a service such as peer-to-peer (P2P) technologies, VoD systems, and live streaming. BBC iPlayer makes use of the Adobe Flash Player to provide streaming-video clips and other software provided by Adobe for its download service. CNBC, Bloomberg Television and Showtime use live-streaming services from BitGravity to stream live television to paid subscribers using a standard http protocol. DRM (digital rights management) software is also incorporated into many internet-television services. Sky Go has software that is provided by Microsoft to prevent content being copied. Internet television is also cross platform, the Sky Player service has been expanded to the Xbox 360 on October 27[when?] and to Windows Media Center and then to Windows 7 PCs on November 19[when?]. The BBC iPlayer is also available through Virgin Media's on-demand service and other platforms such as FetchTV and games consoles including the Wii and the PlayStation 3. Other Internet-television platforms include mobile platforms such as the iPhone and iPod Touch, Nokia N96, Sony Ericsson C905 and many other mobile devices.[14]

Samsung TV has also announced their plans to provide streaming options including 3D Video on Demand through their Explore 3D service.[15]

[edit] Website vs. applications

The main problem with on-demand video services that are applications on desktop computers is getting users to download them and register. It is far easier for a user to simply log onto a webpage without registering than to have to spend time registering and downloading often large programs.

However, applications are more powerful in that they can manage the downloading of content far better and these programs can usually be watched offline for thirty days after downloading.

[edit] Stream quality

Stream quality refers to the quality of the image and audio transferred from the servers of the distributor to the home screen on a user.

Higher-quality video such as video in high definition (720p+) requires higher bandwidth and faster connection speeds. The general accepted kbit/s download rate needed to stream high-definition video that has been encoded with H.264 is 3500, where as standard-definition television can range from 500 to 1500 kbit/s depending on the resolution on screen.

In the UK, the BBC iPlayer deals with the largest amount of traffic yet it offers HD content along with SD content. As more people get internet connections which can deal with streaming HD video over the internet, the BBC iPlayer has tried to keep up with demand and pace. However, as streaming HD video takes around 1.5 gb of data per hour of video it took a lot of investment by the BBC to implement this on such a large scale.[16]

For users which do not have the bandwidth to stream HD video or even high-SD video which requires 1500 kbit/s, the BBC iPlayer offers lower bitrate streams which in turn leads to lower video quality. This makes use of an adaptive bitrate stream so that if the users bandwidth suddenly drops, iPlayer will lower its streaming rate to compensate for this.

This diagnostic tool offered on the BBC iPlayer site measures a user's streaming capabilities and bandwidth for free.[17]

Although competitors in the UK such as 4oD, ITV Player and Demand Five have not yet offered HD streaming, the technology to support it is fairly new and widespread HD streaming is not an impossibility. The availability of Channel 4 and Five programs on YouTube is predicted to prove incredibly popular as series such as Skins, Green Wing, The X Factor and others become available in a simple, straightforward format on a website which already attracts millions of people every day.

[edit] Overview of Platforms and availability

Service Supporting company/companies Regional availability Website-based Windows application Mac application Linux application iOS[disambiguation needed] application Android application Console application TV set application Set Top Box application
BBC iPlayer BBC UK Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[18] Wii, PS3 Samsung, Sony Virgin Media On Demand, Freesat
Tivibu Argela TR Yes Yes Yes Yes Argela Android Player Pending None Ttnet on Demand
Sky Go Sky UK & Ireland Yes Yes Yes Yes Xbox 360
ITV Player ITV UK Yes Yes Yes Yes PS3 Virgin Media On Demand
VuNow Verismo Networks World Yes VuNow Service
ABC iview Australian Broadcasting Corporation Australia Yes iPad Samsung, Sony
4OD Channel 4 UK & Ireland Yes Yes Yes PS3 Virgin Media On Demand
SeeSaw Arqiva UK Yes Yes Yes
Hulu FOX, NBC Universal, ABC,.. US Yes Yes Yes Yes PS3, XBOX360 Samsung, Vizio
RTÉ Player RTÉ Ireland Yes Yes PS3
TG4 Beo TG4 Ireland/Worldwide Yes
TV3 Catch Up TV3 Ireland Yes Yes

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Greek Newspaper "Eleftherotypia"
  2. ^ Tv Show "Double Click" in Greece
  3. ^ Greek Newspaper "Eleftheros Typos"
  4. ^ 'Streaming Guide' List of Online TV Shows in Canada, 05/16/2011 'Streaming Guide' List of Online TV Shows in Canada.
  5. ^ BBC iPlayer 'risks overloading the internet', The Sunday Times, 04/10/2008 News article regarding BBC iPlayer internet traffic.
  6. ^ BBC iPlayer – Stats and Facts, 12/05/2009 Brief blog style entry on BBC iPlayer traffic per month.
  7. ^ iPlayer uncovered: What powers the BBC's epic creation?, 08/05/2009 CNet interview with iPlayer boss Anthony Rose, mostly on iPlayer 3.0
  8. ^ Internet television platforms around the world International TV Explorer
  9. ^ "Broadband penetration in Europe – Google Public Data Explorer". Google.com. http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=l6t8doc0rch3u_&ctype=l&strail=false&nselm=h&met_y=i132&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=country_group&idim=country_group:eu&tstart=1167609600000&tunit=M&tlen=36&hl=en&dl=en&iconSize=0.5&uniSize=0.035. Retrieved 2011-01-02. 
  10. ^ BBC iPlayer Help BBC iPlayer
  11. ^ International TV Explorer International Television Expert Group
  12. ^ "Channel 4's home page for channel 4 programmes on demand". Channel4.com. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/4od. Retrieved 2011-01-02. 
  13. ^ New European Initiative Merges Television with the Power of the Internet (Press release). HbbTV Consortium. August 27, 2009. http://www.hbbtv.org/news/HBBTV_PR_Final.pdf. 
  14. ^ "Info page detailing all platforms iPlayer works with". Bbc.co.uk. 2010-05-15. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/where_to_get_iplayer. Retrieved 2011-01-02. 
  15. ^ ["http://www.twice.com/article/468711-Samsung_To_Do_3D_VOD_Streaming.php"Samsung To Do 3D VOD Streaming, May 24, 2011
  16. ^ BBC iPlayer goes HD, adds higher quality streams, releases iPlayer Desktop out of Labs, BBC Internet Blog, 20/04/2009
  17. ^ "BBC web page which runs a diagnostic of internet download speeds for streaming remotely". Bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/diagnostics. Retrieved 2011-01-02. 
  18. ^ https://market.android.com/details?id=bbc.iplayer.android

[edit] External links

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