In this article, I will discuss with you about what is OTT, how the entertaining content evolved and free OTT platforms in India.
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Evolution of Content
When I was in primary school, watching TV was fun & exciting. It was a luxury as well. We did not have a TV at our home. So as many others in our colony.
But one of my friend's houses had a TV.
There was one big antenna. It was mounted on his house’s roof, and 20 ft high pipe.
He used to go on top of the house to rotate that pipe, so as to get the good quality signals.
I used to go to his house to watch TV shows.
Popular shows I used to watch were : 'Ramayana', 'He-man' & 'Vikram Aur Betal' at his house.
'Doordarshan', government owned, was the only one channel.
In one channel, it used to attract all kinds of viewers- Kids, Adults, Sports loving, Movie loving, Politics loving viewers.
There were programs exclusively for farmers and deaf and dumb people.
There would be shows for 2 hours in Morning, 3 hours in the night.
Sunday, show times were extended.
We used to wait for an entire week to watch next week’s Ramayana episode.
And there were many challenges in viewing. Frequent power cuts, broadcasting issues (still remember the popular message ‘Rukawat ke liye khed hai’)etc.
And we used to miss all the fun if those episodes, shows were missed.
Then gradually everyone started to own a TV.
We also bought one (Portable 14 inch back and white BPL TV)
Cable TVs To Entertain
With the advent of technology, color TVs were introduced.
Later many channels were introduced.
Weekly serials became daily episodes.
After a few years, came the cable channels.
There were local cable guys who used to control the shows and channels.
There was one central antena, which used to receive signals from satellites.
Every house was cable connected to that antena (we used to call it 'Chatri' /umbrella).
For any support, we used to call that cable guy to repair (after many requests and quarrel, he used to fix issues. Because same issues were there in most of the houses)
Then came DTH (Direct-To-Home)
Colour CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) TVs replaced by Flat TVs.
They can be mounted on walls.
Then started the era of DTH companies.
Sun, Videocon, Tatasky, Dish, Reliance etc were the major DTH companies.
They installed antennas at everyone’s house. They received signals from satellites.
Less challenges, less customer support issues. For any problems, there would be a customer care number. We used to call them.
For some days, technicians came to the sport & resolved issues.
As the days passed by, support people fixed most of the issues-online. No human intervention.
OTT (Over The Top)
Now we are here.
Smart TVs introduced to use.
They run on operating systems like Android. Can be connected to the internet.
Therefore, anything which can be watched on computer, laptops can be watched on TV.
We have apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc on our phone.
This is possible by OTT (Over The Top).
The platforms like Netflix, Voot etc stream the content (serials, movies, sports) etc over the internet.
We, as the users, need to subscribe to these platforms.
Some platforms have free subscription,some have paid subscription.
What is OTT?
Since this content is streamed over the top of the platforms like Netflix, it is called Over The Top (OTT).
The content is streamed directly to customers for viewing.
OTT relieves us from cables, antenna, broadcasting, and satellite television.
Most of the services available are live streaming such as cricket matches, events, etc.
What are the advantages of OTT ?
As you have read earlier in this article, we had challenges in accessing the content a few years ago.
We used to wait for an entire week to watch the next episode of a serial.
Since, OTT platforms are based on subscription, any subscriber can watch the content any time.
Assume that, If I miss an important episode of a serial last month. I can still access that episode now.
Since OTT platforms can be accessed on TV,computer, laptop,tablet or mobile phone, it is more convenient.
Content can be watched on the go.
No fight in the family to grab the remote control and watch interesting shows !!
Which are free OTT Platforms In India ?
There are a lot of OTT platforms now-a-days.
Most famous platforms are paid service.
But there are some great platforms, which are free.
Here are the free OTT Platforms:
- Hostar
- Voot
- Sony Liv
- Airtel Extreme
- TVF Play
- MX Player
- Jio Cinema
Please note that some of the above platforms have both free and paid subscriptions.
Summary
So entertainment on the TV has come a long way.From black & white small TVs to Smart TVs.From Doordarshan to OTT platforms.
From 20 ft high antenna to mobile phones to watch amazing content.
OTT is Over The Top streamed content on TV, Laptop or smartphone.
There are free and paid OTT platforms in India.
Choose whichever you like and enjoy the content !
