Video on demand-competing technologies and services

The paper sets out to review the background to the developing technologies and services associated with video-on-demand, and to discuss the impact of these new services on the existing marketplace. The terms `video-on-demand´ (VoD), `pure-video-on-demand´ (PVoD), and near-video-on-demand (NVoD) are rigorously defined and the VoD concept of the RACE II project DIAMOND is described. Competing VoD technologies are described under the categories of PVoD and NVoD. In the case of PVoD, the types of video server, transmission path options and end user equipment are described. Competing VoD services are reviewed, as well as trials, under the categories of PVoD and NVoD. Finally, the impact on the marketplace of the introduction of VoD services is discussed in terms of: the `killer´ application for VoD, pricing issues for the new services and programme rights for VoD content. In summary, the paper offers an overview of the nascent VoD technologies and services, and an assessment of their impact on a complex set of new and overlapping markets