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BitTorrent has officially taken the wraps off a new broadcasting service that draws its main strength from its namesake peer-to-peer protocol, so the video stream becomes more and more stable as more people tune in -- instead of the other way around. Available as a public beta, the company says BitTorrent Live is designed to deliver high quality video to large audiences, while significantly reducing complexity in the process.
Setting up a professional live video stream isn’t all that expensive these days for mid- and large-size websites, with rented servers or services like Ustream and Livestream. You can even opt for a free ad supported tier if that’s all you need. But costs start to add up and concurrent viewers may hit a ceiling as the audience grows.
BitTorrent Live promises to eliminate bandwidth, cost, and infrastructure as broadcast barriers so that anyone with mobile video or webcams, at any moment, can launch a feed and start reporting in real time.
The company says it has been testing the protocol as part of a closed beta program since November 2012, partnering up with a number of digital creators and broadcasters. According to BitTorrent creator and chief science officer Bram Cohen, they’ve demonstrated scaling and improved stability during this period.
BitTorrent has set up a few example channels for anyone to test the service out. There’s no sign up involved to start watching a stream but you’ll have to download a small Mac, Windows or Ubuntu app.
User Comments: 6
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They better make an app for windows phone.
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Hasn't BBC iPlayer been doing this for years?
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Rabbit01 said:
This uses the same protocol as the traditional torrent for downloading files? How will ISP know one is broadcasting and not running afoul of the six strikes copyright alert system?
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HiDDeNMisT said:
There is always a way around everything. I guess they finally found something.
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This uses the same protocol as the traditional torrent for downloading files? How will ISP know one is broadcasting and not running afoul of the six strikes copyright alert system?
I think the ISP monitors the P2P for pirated movies and such. Remember, P2P isn't illegal, if you pirate movies and games and they see that, you'll be pinned. However, if they see you're just transferring large files or non-copyrighted material, you're fine.
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TS-56336 said:
People want more than just video...they want to interact with each other over it. That's the real trick...don't replace TV with a computer screen, give people a way to share, comment and contribute.
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