Streaming Video - Past, Current & Future
Past - History
1) 1997 : Real Networks ( started by ex-Microsoft Rob Glaser ) launched the first video streaming.
A baseball game was streamed between the Yankees and Seattle Mariners - on September 5th, 1995.
2) 1997: Microsoft introduced DirectShow, which allowed streaming media and then later merged into Windows Media Player. ASF File format referred to as Multiple Bit Rate ASF allowed storage of multiple video and audio tracks in a single file.
DirectShow became a standard component, when Windows launched Windows 98.
3) 2002 : Adobe announced the unified streaming format - which merged the Web and Streaming Media for the 1st time. This product took the industry by storm however had issues relating to bandwidth, scalability & reliability.
4) 2007 : A Company named Move Networks ( later bought by EchoStar ) invented the HTTP based adaptive Streaming. This Startup used the standard HTTP protocol to deliver media in small chunks.
5) 2008 : Microsoft launched Smooth Streaming Technology now based on plain HTTP protocol.
6) 2010 : Adobe joined the party in 2010 with HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS).
7) 2012 : a new standard was born – Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP, known as MPEG-DASH.
CURRENT SITUATION - WHAT IS HAPPENING IN VIDEO STREAMING ?
Netflix
Netflix becomes the first Video Streaming Company to air original programming to end Customers.
Back in January 2013, Netflix released its original program House of Cards, starring Kevin Spacey.
Netflix released the much-anticipated fourth season of “Arrested Development” on May 26. There has been a tremendous positive response to this release.
YouTube
During the recent I/O conference, Google announced that its live streaming service will allow operators to broadcast live content to viewers on all devices. Some 53 paid channels have been added to the YouTube website, as part of the YouTube partner program. A small group of partners will also offer paid channels on YouTube with subscription fees starting at $0.99 per month.
ABC News 24 is planning to stream news broadcast live on YouTube.
Amazon
Amazon, a key player in Video Streaming services is planning to air original programming to end-users. Amazon announced multi-year deal with Viacom to bring 4000 more TV episodes to instant video customers. Amazon announced last week that it's creating five original TV series including a political comedy with John Goodman.
Amazon seems to be interested in adding market share at this point of time and has a well thought out long term strategy in this space. Amazon is said to be losing between $500 Million to $1 Billion a year on Video Streaming however is making consistent efforts to provide the best value for its prime customers.
Hulu
Hulu has gained rights this year to stream current-season episodes from Nickelodeon and CBS.
Among the other Nickelodeon shows available on the streaming site are Robot & Monster, The Penguins of Madagascar, The Legend of Korra and the recently rebooted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Hulu's revenue in 2013 grew 65% to $695 million compared to last year. However Hulu has not been able to make more profit considering it spends lots of money in purchasing content.
Dish
Dish is one traditional satellite provider, who has spent good amount of efforts in streaming video through its products and services as DISH Anywhere, and Hopper with Sling.
Video Streaming Market Share
According to a survey released Tuesday by Sandvine, Netflix has 32.3 percent of the market share, while YouTube has 17.1 percent, Hulu has 2.4 percent, and Amazon has 1.31 percent.
Apple iTunes
Apple is THE most prominent player in Online Music, Video and Video On Demand business.
iTunes has a market share of 45% in the Music & Video On Demand market space. iTunes Store is the 2nd fastest growing revenue stream with a quarterly revenue of $4 Billion. According to reliable reports, Apple is building a new Set-top box device for live TV broadcast. Apple will be one of the most formidable player on Video Streaming in the near and long term future.
FUTURE OF VIDEO STREAMING
According to a Insight Research Report, Streaming Video and Music will generate $70 billion in revenue over the next six years.
The current Subscription Model on Video Streaming will continue to be prime business model beyond 2013. A new monetization model beyond the traditional and subscription service may arrive after few years.
MPEG Dash seems to be the future of online Video Streaming. A list of 60 big Companies such as Adobe, Microsoft, Qualcomm,
Akamai, Ericsson, and Viacom are investing in the Mpeg Dash. DASH allows not only adaptive streaming, but it can also carry
multilingual audio tracks and closed captioning. The stream can also
have Digital Rights Management (DRM) encryption that protects copyrighted video
from potential video pirates.
Traditional Cable and Satellite Companies like Comcast, Dish and several others are already adopting to the Video Streaming's future. These Companies are complimenting their traditional service with other new services and solutions built on video streaming protocols.
It seems to be seen whether the Streaming Services will eventually kill the traditional TV however this is the direction it is heading as of right now.
There is one sure winner here. The Customer.
Note : My sources to this blog are other news articles and blogs written on Online Video & Video Streaming. My goal is to present all the facts in this specific format in addition to sharing my knowledge in this space.
