The advance of peer-to-peer technology (p2p) has make possible the distribution of video and TV streams via p2p network. p2pTV is the software application that doing basically that, designed to redistribute video streams on a p2p network.

p2pTV is not the old method of downloading movies, DVDs, TV episodes by using Bit-Torrent (BT) or eDonkey (eD2K) or other file sharing network, and then watch the videos after completing the download. Nor it’s downloaded short video clips through shoutcast, etc.

p2pTV is freeware which enables you to watch video streams, including live TV channels from pay cable or satellite TV. Thus, it’s possible to make every TV channels in the world to available to all viewers globally.

How the p2pTV Technology Works?

In the traditional way of video streaming, all viewers connect to the streaming server, thus creating bottlenecks or traffic congestion on the server, slowing down the downloads and viewing pleasure.

With p2pTV technology, only few users need to connect to the main streaming server. Instead each users themselves become a streaming server that broadcasts to other peer while at the same time receiving the streaming video from other peer’s streaming server. This greatly reduces the burden on main video streams hosting server, and increases the sources where the media can be streamed from. Thus, the download speed will be higher, and so do smoothness of media playing.

System Requirements

While each individual p2p TV applications may have its own system requirement, but as a rule of thumb, to have a optimum streaming quality for great viewing pleasure without much lagging, it’s vital to have at least the following:

p2pTV Network and Software

Some of the p2pTV applications are:

ppStream – Best!
PPLive
CoolStreaming – No Longer Available due to Copyright Issues
TVUPlayer
Cybersky-TV
Feidian
PeerCast
Octoshape
Open Media Network
QQLive
TvAnts
Tvkoo
UUSee

Issues

Main consents is copyright. In these free p2p-tv networks, you can find numerous entertainments, news, and sports channels from cable and satellite TV stations.

The quality of the streaming video is also of vary quality, especially on those networks with fewer users. Lagging or intermittent delay and disconnection of video stream is not uncommon.