A technique for providing video content to individual clients for immediate viewing is called video on demand (VOD). In a cable television video-on-demand system, video content is stored as compressed digital files on a central server. The cable set-top box is used by the customer to browse a programming menu and choose an option that is either free or has a cost. The server starts streaming the programme right away. The video can be stopped and resumed later, fast-forwarded, rewind, and paused. On occasion, the software will only be accessible for a brief period.
video-on-demand systems can also use a download-based paradigm, where the programme is saved on the hard drive of the set-top box, or they can send the programme over the Internet to a personal computer. Cable companies began experimenting with VOD in the 1990s, but the services were not very successful until the next decade when hardware and bandwidth costs fell and content providers started allowing VOD to provide more programming.
By the middle of the decade, schedule-driven pay-per-view service on cable systems had been effectively superseded by VOD, and by 2010, the majority of television networks were offering many of their programmes via VOD. In the same time frame, Internet-based VOD in the rental video industry increased in popularity, providing consumers with immediate access to a sizable library of programmes. learn more about Learning Management System.
