The latest Canal + announcement bears witness to this. Just like Molotov.tv (moreover co-founded by Pierre Lescure, founder of the “encrypted channel”), and one year after launching a “100% internet” (OTT) decoder, the Cube S, the Canal + group is launching an offer without a decoder.
To read also: Molotov: 25 free TNT channels via internet, from July
Canal + has indeed announced what it presents as "the first TV box integrated into the television". Concretely, Canal has entered into a partnership with Samsung, number one in the sector in Spain, and made its packages accessible directly from some of its televisions in the 2015 and 2016 ranges. There is no longer any external decoder or additional remote control: you can now subscribe to and / or receive Canal + and / or CanalSat packages through a myCanal application on Samsung's Smart Hub platform.
The press release specifies that we can access “100% of Channel content”. The myCanal application for Smart TV gives access to the six channels of the Canal + package and / or to the CanalSat packages, live or in replay via "Canal + on demand" and / or "CanalSat on demand". It incorporates the interface and the functions of the decoders, in particular the program guide with personalized “Eureka” recommendations. The whole promises a "simple and fluid TV experience".
Simplicity at the cost of quality, except via TNT
Unfortunately, OTT TV still implies a significant drop in quality. This is because unlike what happens with IPTV for triple play offers, the streams are not broadcast from the ISP's network, they come from the rest of the Internet, which poses technical and economic interconnection problems. .As a result, video is only output in 720p and H.264 with a maximum bitrate of 3 Mb / s, and audio in stereo AAC at 96 kb / s only. The myCanal application can nevertheless receive the Canal + package via the TNT antenna, in which case we go back to 1080i at 4 or 5 Mb / s and to Dolby Digital Plus stereo at 224 kb / s. The CanalSat package, on the other hand, is only available via the internet, not via satellite, although most compatible televisions include the appropriate tuner.
In return, as with the Cube S, the adaptive streaming process allows the service to operate from only 1,5 Mb / s, or in 90% of households according to Canal. From the launch of the 100% internet decoder, Canal + had announced that it would offer higher quality levels and that it would use the HEVC codec, which makes it possible to double the quality at constant bit rate, but a year later it is not nothing.
To read also: The Cube S: Canal + launches a small "100% Internet" decoder
It should also be noted that we do not connect to the myCanal application for Samsung SmartTV with the identifiers of the mobile application. Each television set is considered a separate decoder, so you cannot use the service on several televisions for the price of one.
More freedom for internet consumers and viewers
Such a service in any case exempts users from juggling between several decoders or readers and therefore between several remote controls. It also allows competing services to coexist on a single agnostic device, which eliminates the need for dedicated devices that are duplicated and with mostly redundant functions.Television is finally becoming an online service like any other. Until now, the choice of an Internet access offer limited the choices in terms of television, and vice versa. When various offers will be available on various TVs and players (Nvidia Shield Android TV ...), consumers will have more freedom. They will be able to subscribe separately to an Internet access only offer, including from a local or alternative ISP, a television package, and do without a landline.
However, there is still some way to go before operators stop associating the best speeds with the most extensive television packages. To date, to benefit from the highest speeds, it is often necessary to subscribe to the most upscale offers, the prices of which are mainly justified by a higher number of television channels.
In the meantime, discover the myCanal service for Samsung Smart TV on the manufacturer's website.
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OTT: the Internet TV revolution is well underway
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