Video on Demand (VOD): Perspectives, Benefits, and Key Technologies

In the era of rapid internet technology development and growing demand for quality media content, the concept of VOD (Video on Demand) is taking center stage. This technology has revolutionized the way video content is consumed, providing viewers with unprecedented freedom of choice and convenience.

Video on demand allows users to watch their favorite movies, series, shows, and other video materials at any convenient time on any device with internet access. It's no longer necessary to adapt to the TV broadcasting schedule or wait for a specific time to watch content. You simply need to visit the VOD platform, select the content you're interested in from an extensive library, and enjoy watching.

It's not surprising that "video on demand" technology has become a key element in the modern media industry. Major market players such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu are actively developing their VOD services, attracting millions of subscribers worldwide. Local providers and telecom operators are also joining the race, offering their own VOD platforms to their customers.

In this article, we will examine in detail what Video on Demand (VOD) is, what types and usage options exist. We'll look at the main stages and technologies that enable modern VOD systems. We'll pay special attention to the benefits of Video on Demand for businesses and end users. We'll also show what role the innovative Flussonic Media Server product plays in building advanced VOD solutions.

Contents

• What is Video on Demand
• How VOD Technology Works
• Benefits of Video on Demand (VOD) for Users and Businesses
• Technical Aspects of Creating a VOD System
• The Role of Flussonic Media Server in VOD
• Who Should Implement VOD
• Trends and Development Prospects
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is Video on Demand

Video on Demand (VOD) is a technology for delivering video content over the internet that allows users to watch movies, series, TV shows, and other video materials at any time and on any network-connected device.

Unlike traditional linear television, where viewers are forced to watch programs at scheduled times, Video on Demand offers complete freedom in content selection and viewing control. The user decides what and when to watch, can pause the video, rewind, and replay favorite moments.

There are several basic models for providing VOD services:

• TVOD (Transactional Video on Demand) - purchasing or renting individual content units, such as movies or series episodes, for a specific fee.
• SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand) - access to a content library for a monthly or annual subscription. Prominent examples are Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu.
• AVOD (Advertising Video on Demand) - free content access for the user, monetized through advertising. Examples: YouTube, Crackle.
• PVOD (Premium Video on Demand) - early access to premium content (films) at a higher price before release on other platforms.

The largest global VOD services, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, have audiences of hundreds of millions of subscribers and offer exclusive original content.

Local players are also actively developing VOD platforms. Among well-known Russian services are Kinopoisk HD from Yandex, ivi, OKKO, Wink from Rostelecom, more.tv from MTS. Practically every major telecom operator and pay TV provider has its own VOD service as a supplement to its main services.

How VOD Technology Works

Video on demand is a complex system that includes a set of technologies and processes for capturing, processing, storing, and delivering video content to the end user. Let's look at the main phases of the operation of a VOD platform: Content capture and preparation. At this stage, video materials from various sources (movies, series, TV programs, user-generated content) are prepared for placement in the VOD system. Content can be delivered on physical media or via communication channels in the form of files.

1. Encoding and packaging. The source video files are encoded into formats suitable for online streaming (for example, H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, AV1) using adaptive bitrates. This allows automatic adjustment of video quality to the channel bandwidth and ensures an optimal user experience. Media files are packaged into special containers (MPEG-DASH, HLS) and encrypted by a DRM system to protect them from unauthorized access.
2. Uploading and storage. The prepared files are uploaded to a distributed network of servers or to the cloud storage of the VOD platform. Specialized content management systems (MAM, CMS) are used to manage large volumes of media data. They allow cataloging, indexing videos, managing metadata and access rights.
3. Content delivery. When a user requests a specific video through the VOD service interface, the system locates the corresponding files in storage and directs the request to distribution. A key element of the infrastructure is CDNs (Content Delivery Networks) - geographically distributed networks of servers that ensure fast content delivery to users worldwide. Thanks to CDNs, the video is played with minimal delay and buffering.

For seamless transmission of adaptive streaming video in real-time, two key standard protocols are widely used today:

• HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) - developed by Apple, supported on all major platforms and devices. The video stream is divided into small fragments in MPEG-2 TS format and delivered via the HTTP protocol.
• MPEG-DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP) - a more universal standard using a fragmented MP4 container. It allows flexible configuration of adaptive streaming and DRM protection.

Thus, modern VOD systems are based on a complex technology stack that includes content management systems, video encoding and packaging, CDN networks, intelligent algorithms for streaming video delivery, and mechanisms for monetization and content protection. This enables users to have convenient access to huge libraries of quality videos on any device.

Benefits of Video on Demand (VOD) for Users and Businesses

The video on demand model opens up significant advantages for both end consumers of video content and companies providing such services. Key benefits of VOD for users:

• Freedom of choice and viewing control. Video on demand gives viewers complete freedom in choosing content and viewing time. They can watch their favorite movies, series, shows at a time that suits them, from any point, pause, rewind. This flexibility is especially valued in today's dynamic rhythm of life.
• Availability on different devices VOD services typically have applications for different platforms - web, mobile devices (iOS, Android), Smart TV, game consoles, media players. This gives users access to a rich video library in almost any situation - at home on the big screen, on the go with a smartphone or tablet.
• Personalized recommendations. Modern VOD platforms use algorithms based on machine learning and big data analysis to suggest relevant content to users based on their preferences and viewing history. This simplifies the search for interesting movies/series and increases audience engagement.

For businesses, launching a video on demand service opens new possibilities for monetizing video content and interacting with the audience:

• Additional revenue sources. Video on demand enables revenue generation through various models - via subscription (SVOD), content purchase/rental (TVOD), advertising (AVOD). These models can be effectively combined. For traditional media companies and pay TV operators, this is a valuable opportunity to increase ARPU and reduce customer churn.
• Direct access to end users. Having their own VOD service gives companies direct access to the audience without intermediaries. This offers rich opportunities for marketing, studying user behavior, targeted offers. Direct communications with subscribers strengthen loyalty to the service brand.
• Expanding the target audience. The internet distribution model of VOD removes geographical limitations and allows attracting new users beyond the company's traditional service area, including in the international market. Own exclusive content and niche offerings for a specific audience give the opportunity to compete effectively even with large players.
• Reducing content distribution costs. For media businesses, distributing content via the internet is more cost-effective compared to traditional broadcasting and physical media. There's no need to print DVDs or for satellite and terrestrial broadcasting. Content delivery is handled by a CDN partner, ensuring quality and scalability.

Thus, video on demand gives viewers convenient, personalized access to huge libraries of quality video content. And for businesses, it opens new horizons for monetization, direct interaction with the audience, analytics, and optimization.

Technical Aspects of Creating a VOD System

To build a reliable and scalable video on demand system, it is necessary to carefully think through several technical aspects and choose the optimal technology stack.

1. Server infrastructure. A VOD platform must be based on high-performance servers capable of processing large volumes of video data and simultaneously serving many user requests. Typically, powerful servers with multi-core processors, large amounts of RAM, and disk storage are used. To ensure fault tolerance, cluster configurations with load balancing are employed.
2. Content storage systems. Storing large media libraries requires efficient organization of disk space and data management. Distributed file systems and object stores (e.g., Ceph, OpenStack Swift, Amazon S3) are widely used. They provide the necessary capacity, scalability, and reliability for storing video files.
3. Video processing software. A key element of a VOD platform is the software for encoding and packaging videos. It must ensure high quality and efficiency of processing, support a wide range of video formats and adaptive streaming protocols (HLS, DASH). To optimize traffic consumption and operation on different types of devices, video is transcoded using adaptive bitrate (ABR) technology. Each video file is encoded into several profiles with different resolution and bitrate. During streaming, the player on the device automatically switches between profiles depending on the network bandwidth.
4. Components for content and metadata management. A VOD system should have a well-designed backend for managing the video catalog, metadata (titles, descriptions, genres, actors, etc.), and access rights. Media Asset Management (MAM) systems and various CMS platforms are useful here. They will provide a user-friendly interface for content administrators and automate many routine tasks.
5. Content protection mechanisms. For monetization and protection of videos from unauthorized use, DRM (Digital Rights Management) systems are used. They encrypt media files and require validation of access rights before playback on the device. The key technologies here are Google Widevine, Microsoft PlayReady, Apple FairPlay. It is important to ensure their correct integration with the platform and players.
6. Analytics and monitoring. For effective management of a VOD service, advanced analytics tools are needed. They allow tracking key metrics (number of views, average session time, popular content, video quality, etc.), identifying problem areas, and precisely fine-tuning recommendations. Monitoring systems are necessary to control the functionality and performance of the platform and to proactively detect failures.

Table: Main components of a VOD platform and their functions

A good VOD system is a complex set of interconnected technological solutions and components. It is necessary to ensure their proper design, deployment, and integration to obtain a scalable, fault-tolerant, and user-friendly service.

The Role of Flussonic Media Server in VOD

For effective organization of the technological backend of a VOD platform, a powerful and reliable tool is needed that provides key functions for processing, packaging, and delivering video content. This is precisely the role fulfilled by the Flussonic Media Server software product.

Flussonic Media Server is a multifunctional media server designed to solve a wide range of tasks in the field of streaming video and video on demand. It provides a comprehensive set of capabilities to optimize the operation of VOD services:

• Video ingest and broadcasting. Flussonic Media Server supports receiving video streams in various formats (RTMP, RTSP, MPEG-TS, HLS, etc.) from diverse sources - video cameras, encoders, VOD content storage. The server then normalizes and prepares them for further processing and distribution to clients.
• Multi-format transcoding. Flussonic's built-in transcoder allows flexible transcoding of video streams between different formats and profiles with different parameters of resolution, bitrate, framerate. This is crucial for adapting content to different types of networks and viewing devices within adaptive streaming.
• Packaging in HLS and DASH. The media server performs segmentation and packaging of video into modern adaptive streaming formats - Apple HLS and MPEG-DASH. It forms manifest files and video chunks in real-time, which are then efficiently delivered to various devices depending on network bandwidth.
• Organization of DVR and Catchup. Flussonic Media Server provides convenient tools for organizing Digital Video Recording (DVR) and delayed viewing (Catchup) functionality. This allows viewers to record live broadcasts, rewind transmission, view archived programs - that is, it gives the freedom of viewing control characteristic of VOD.
• Content protection. For implementing paid access models to VOD content, effective mechanisms for video encryption and protection are required. Flussonic Media Server has built-in support for DRM solutions (Google Widevine, Microsoft PlayReady) for encrypting video streams and controlling access rights.
• Integration with CDN. The media server has built-in support for a number of popular CDN providers and also provides mechanisms for flexibly organizing your own CDN infrastructure. This makes it easy to scale the delivery of VOD content and optimize network load.
• Monitoring and administration. Flussonic Media Server provides a user-friendly web interface for managing the server, monitoring its status, viewing statistics and key metrics for processed video streams. Advanced notification mechanisms allow you to quickly learn about potential problems.

Thus, Flussonic Media Server is the technological foundation that provides the entire spectrum of critically important functions for video processing and organizing the streaming delivery of Video on Demand. It offers flexible, scalable, and reliable tools for building modern VOD services of different scale and complexity levels.

Who Should Implement VOD

The "video on demand" model can bring tangible benefits to companies from different industries that work with video content in one way or another and want to effectively deliver it to their audience. Here are some business categories for which VOD implementation can be particularly useful:

1. Telecommunications companies, communication service providers. For telecom operators and providers of cable, satellite, IP television, launching their own VOD service is a logical extension of their product line. By adding "Video on Demand" services, they can offer their subscribers an attractive modern product, increase ARPU, and reduce churn to competitors.
2. Traditional media companies, TV channels, studios. Classical media market players - television networks, film and TV studios - are increasingly going online, launching their own VOD platforms. This allows them to build relationships directly with viewers, obtain valuable data for analytics, monetize content through new models. Prominent examples are Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock from NBCUniversal.
3. OTT providers, online cinemas. For online cinemas and video services operating under the "Over the Top" model (i.e., providing content directly via the internet), VOD technologies are the foundation of their business. They constantly improve the user experience, expand content libraries, experiment with formats to make their VOD platforms more attractive and profitable.
4. Educational institutions, online schools, EdTech companies. For organizations in the education sector, VOD opens up possibilities for creating interactive online courses, video tutorials, educational podcasts. By placing such materials on their own platform, educational institutions and EdTech startups can effectively train students, including on a commercial basis. Examples - Coursera, Udemy, Khan Academy projects.
5. Major brands, retailers, automakers. Many large B2C companies actively use video content to interact with their audience - they launch their own corporate channels, create videos about products, tutorials. By integrating a VOD platform into their digital ecosystem, they can strengthen ties with customers. For example, General Motors uses the VOD model for online car presentations.
6. Government structures, non-profit sector. VOD can be useful for government agencies, museums, libraries, archives that want to make educational, cultural, historical video materials accessible to a broad audience. An example of a non-profit VOD project is the Frontline online cinema from PBS, which collects documentaries about major socio-political events.
7. User-generated video platforms (UGC). Services like YouTube, TikTok, Vimeo, which provide a platform for publishing user-created videos, are another important segment of the VOD market. They attract a huge audience using UGC content and monetize it through advertising and paid subscriptions for premium features.

Thus, video on demand can benefit a wide range of companies, government and public organizations, educational projects. Practically any business that creates video content or works with video can find an effective application for the video on demand model and build additional communication channels with the audience and revenue sources on its basis.

Trends and Development Prospects

The market for video on demand services is growing rapidly and becoming an increasingly important segment of the global entertainment and media industry. According to PWC estimates, in 2019, the global VOD market reached $53.96 billion, and by 2024, it is projected to increase to $139.95 billion. Analysts identify several key trends that will define the development of the VOD industry in the coming years:

• Market consolidation and competition of major players. In the global VOD market, competition is intensifying between the largest players - Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+. Companies are investing huge sums in producing exclusive content, in technological innovations, and marketing to attract subscribers. At the same time, a wave of mergers and acquisitions among smaller players can be expected to consolidate resources.
• Growth of niche and local VOD services. Despite the dominance of global giants, experts predict that in the coming years, the demand for niche VOD services specializing in specific themes (e.g., art-house cinema, anime, children's content) will increase. Similarly, local providers offering content in national languages, oriented towards local cultural peculiarities, will be able to successfully compete with international platforms.
• Content personalization and advanced recommendations. To retain subscribers in conditions of fierce competition, VOD services will increasingly pay attention to personalizing the user experience. The introduction of advanced recommendation algorithms based on artificial intelligence technologies and big data analysis will play a key role here. They will allow suggesting the most relevant content to viewers, anticipating their desires.
• Interactive and immersive formats. Interactive VOD formats, giving the viewer the ability to influence the development of the plot, arouse audience interest. An example is "Black Mirror: Bandersnatch" from Netflix. Also, immersive viewing methods using virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) technologies will develop, allowing the viewer to literally "immerse" in the content.
• Convergence of linear TV and VOD. Traditional linear television broadcasting and streaming VOD services will increasingly intertwine and complement each other. Classic TV providers are adding VOD options to retain their audience. In turn, online platforms are experimenting with formats of "streaming linear TV," live broadcasts of important events. The viewer gets the opportunity to flexibly combine different formats of video consumption.
• Emphasis on original exclusive content. In the battle for audience, VOD platforms will increase investments in creating original films, series, shows. Exclusive content becomes the main factor of differentiation in the market. According to surveys, more than 50% of American VOD subscribers cite original content as an important reason for subscribing to a service.
• Flexible business models and package offers. VOD providers are experimenting with hybrid business models combining advertising and paid access (AVOD+SVOD). Package offers, where the VOD subscription is included in a set with other digital services (for example, along with mobile communications, access to music streaming, cloud storage, etc.) will gain popularity.

In summary, it can be said that the video on demand industry is on the threshold of major changes. Competition is becoming increasingly intense, and market players will need to focus on the quality and diversity of content, service personalization, introduction of technological innovations, and the search for new formats of interaction with the audience. In the long term, analysts predict sustained market growth associated with the global trend towards video consumption on demand.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What is the difference between VOD and live online broadcasts? Video on demand gives the viewer freedom of choice and viewing control, while live broadcasts provide a sense of participation in an event and unity with other viewers. The main difference between video on demand and live online broadcasts lies in the method of content distribution and viewer interaction with the video:
   • Video on Demand: content is available on user request at any time. The viewer chooses what and when to watch, can pause, rewind. Examples: Netflix, YouTube, iTunes.
   • Live Online Broadcasts (Live Streaming): content is broadcast in real-time, synchronously for all viewers. The user can connect to the broadcast only at the moment of transmission and watches it simultaneously with everyone. Example: live streams on Twitch, online broadcasts of sports events.
2. How do VOD services combat piracy and illegal content distribution? Unfortunately, no company has yet managed to completely eradicate digital piracy. To protect content from unauthorized use, VOD platforms apply a whole complex of organizational and technical measures:
   • DRM (Digital Rights Management) systems - encrypt content and require verification of access rights before playback on the user's device.
   • Forensic watermarking - embedding identification marks invisible to the eye in the video stream. They help track the source of content "leakage."
   • Anti-piracy monitoring and removal of illegal copies - special algorithms scan the internet, social networks, torrents for pirated content and send removal requests.
   • Collaboration of VOD services with rights holders, anti-piracy organizations, and law enforcement agencies in the fight against violators.
   • Educational work with users about the harm of piracy, blocking accounts of violators in accordance with the service's license agreement.
3. What devices support viewing VOD content? Modern VOD services typically have versions of their applications for all major platforms and device types:
   • Smart TVs and TV boxes (Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Chromecast)
   • Mobile devices (smartphones and tablets iOS, Android)
   • Computers and laptops (via web browser or desktop application on Windows, macOS, Linux)
   • Game consoles (Xbox, PlayStation)
   • Media players (Amazon Fire TV Stick, Nvidia Shield) Thus, users can access VOD platforms and their content from virtually any internet-connected device - from home TV to smartphone. The provider's task is to ensure quality playback with optimal video resolution on any type of device.