BitTorrent has been trying to convince everyone that P2P sharing is the way to go for online video; and it looks like the company is ready to prove it with the new BitTorrent Live streaming service. The service looks to be free at launch – whenever that is – but will also include premium channels to be introduced at a later date.
The idea behind BitTorrent Live is that traditional online streaming services still suffer from latency problems. Most of this is due to how content delivery networks work. BitTorrent’s solution is to have videos shared in real time; the same way that its torrenting technology works.
“Powered by our proprietary and patented peer-to-peer live streaming protocol, BitTorrent Live allows for large audiences to view live video with sub 10-second latency and without the need for an expensive CDN or pre-provisioning. With BitTorrent Live, every viewer is also a broadcaster. This allows the video stream to remain strong and for the broadcast to be as scalable as traditional Over-the-Air TV,” said the company in its announcement.
There doesn’t appear to be a lot of content on BitTorrent Live prepared at launch, with mostly small time channels available. The free option doesn’t have any video on demand features either; although BitTorrent seems to be keeping the conversation on live video for now.
No release date has been announced yet, but the BitTorrent Live site allows users to sign up to be informed when it does appear. The service also looks like it will be skipping PCs for now, with the app appearing on Apple TV, iOS, Android, and Mac.
[Source: BitTorrent]
