Download vs. Streaming - Which Video-On-Demand Platform Is Right For You?
By Adrienne Maxwell
Video-on-demand services are becoming quite the commodity in home entertainment products. Some people contend that VOD is poised to dethrone the physical disc medium as the go-to method for content delivery, at least in the world of video rentals. An increasing number of manufacturers now incorporate VOD functionality directly into TVs, Blu-ray players and standalone boxes like the Apple TV and VUDU Box. Thanks to providers like Apple, Microsoft, VUDU, Amazon and Netflix, consumers now have instant access to numerous film and TV titles (many in high-definition) with just a few clicks of a remote control.
Not all VOD platforms are created equal, however. The amount of content and list of studio partnerships vary from service to service, so it's a good idea to do some advanced research, especially if you prefer to watch HD content. In this article, we're going to focus on the difference between the two primary delivery methods: downloading and streaming. While one method isn't inherently better than the other, you may find that, depending on the speed of your network connection, one is better suited for your environment.
Downloadable video-on-demand content is available through standalone products like the Apple TV, Xbox 360, VUDU Box, and some TiVo DVRs. Most cable and satellite providers offer VOD content as well. With these services, you often have the option to buy or rent a title, paying a fee per title. A digital copy of the film or TV show is actually downloaded to your set-top box. This means the set-top box must have a hard drive on which to store the file, as well as some type of network connection. The speed of the download depends on the speed of that network connection; obviously, HD files are much bigger than SD files and require more hard drive space and longer download times. Many of these services have a progressive download function that allows you to start watching the show before the download is fully complete, but you still have to wait until enough of the file is downloaded to successfully view it without interruption (again, the waiting time depends on your connection speed). If you've rented the title, it will likely disappear from your hard drive 24 hours after you start watching it. If you've purchased the title, it will remain available on the hard drive until you choose to delete it. In some cases, as with Apple TV, you may also be able to view the content on secondary playback devices, like computers or iPods, but rarely can you burn the file to a physical disc.
On the streaming side, Netflix, Amazon, VUDU and CinemaNow have all partnered with CE manufacturers to offer streaming platforms, wherein content is streamed from the provider's server over your network connection to a playback device, be it a TV, Blu-ray player, or other set-top box. Since the content is being streamed and not downloaded, the destination device does not need a hard drive for storage (that's why these services can work directly through a TV), but you must maintain the network connection throughout playback. Also, because you don't have to wait for a file to download, you can start watching it immediately, yet you can still pause, rewind, and fast-forward, just as you can with a downloaded title. Netflix subscribers with an unlimited plan have unlimited access to the "Watch Instantly" library and can watch any title as often as they desire. The Amazon, CinemaNow and VUDU streaming platforms may allow for rental or purchase and charge a fee per title, usually with a time restriction of 24 hours to watch a rental. Purchased titles are stored remotely in an online digital locker that you can access at any time.
The tradeoff for a streaming service's immediacy is that image quality may not be as good as you can get from a download, depending on how fast your network connection is. (Neither option looks as good as Blu-ray for HD titles, although VUDU's new HDX 1080p downloads offer higher quality.) With a download platform, your network speed only affects the time it takes to download the title. On the other hand, a streaming service must evaluate your connection speed and adjust the compression level to a point that enables it to sustain continuous playback. The slower your connection speed, the worse the picture looks. Netflix, for example, requires at least one-and-a-half Mbps for its streaming service and recommends at least three Mbps (five Mbps for HD content). I have one-and-a-half Mbps DSL service and find the quality of streamed Netflix titles to be below average - it's okay for watching a missed TV show or old movie, but I would never watch a new big-ticket release in this manner.
If you're lucky enough to have super-high-speed Internet access, either a download or streaming platform will probably work just fine; you can make your decision based on a product's content, ergonomics, etc. However, if your connection speed leaves something to be desired, you're better off choosing a download service ... or perhaps just sticking with good old-fashioned physical discs.
