4.7 Can I stream DVD over a network or the Internet?
Description
This article is from the DVD Formats FAQ, by jtfrog@usa.net (Jim Taylor) with numerous contributions by others.
4.7 Can I stream DVD over a network or the Internet?
Short answer: usually not.
With a fast enough network (100 Mbps or better, with good performance and
low traffic) and a high-performance server, it's possible to stream
DVD-Video from a server to client stations. If the source on the server is
a DVD-ROM drive (or jukebox), then more than one user simultaneously
accessing the same disc will cause breaks in the video unless the server
has a fast DVD-ROM drive and a very good caching system designed for
streaming video.
The big problem is that CSS-encrypted movies (see 1.11) can't be remotely
sourced, since CSS requires that authentication and decryption be handled
locally, not over an accessible bus or network.
An alternative is to decode the video at the server and send it to
individual stations via separate cables (usually RF). The advantage is that
performance is very good, but the disadvantage is that that DVD
interactivity is usually limited, and every viewer connected to a single
drive/decoder must watch the same thing at the same time.
Many companies provide support for streaming MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video over
LANs, but only from files or realtime encoders, not from DVD-Video discs.
The Internet is a different matter. It takes over a week to download the
contents of a single-layer DVD using a 56k modem. It takes about 7 hours on
a T1 line. Cable modems theoretically cut the time down to a few hours, but
if other users in the same neighborhood have cable modems, bandwidth could
drop significantly. [Jim's prediction: the average DVD viewing household
won't have sufficiently fast Internet connections until after 2005. Around
that time there will be a new high-definition version of DVD with double
the data rate, which will once again exceed the capacity of the typical
Internet connection.]
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