Theta Network — Explained
In my quest to simplify the different components of the blockchain ecosystem, today we will delve into Theta Blockchain. It is a decentralized video delivery network aimed at revolutionizing how we consume content on the internet. Addressing the technical and economic problems faced by the streaming sector, this project is rather exciting, for it can be the future of live streaming if it continues to gain users at the current rate. To give you a perspective, Theta labs has three patents to its credit, and the fourth one has been filed.
What is Theta Blockchain?
Remember the good old days of Limewire, when we could download any music, movies, software, and all for free? It made life so simple and easy through its peer-to-peer network. It was an open-source, completely free file-sharing and distribution system. Theta blockchain, like Limewire, is a P2P network of a different sort. Theta is a decentralized video delivery network designed to incentivize the sharing of bandwidth across the network.
In other words, users are given the opportunity to share their redundant/excess/unused computing and bandwidth resources to address the challenges faced by video streaming platforms.
The team aims to provide users with high-quality video streams without the annoying re-buffering and associated high costs. Costs for owning and maintenance of CDN bandwidth are significant (tens of millions of dollars per year). More on CDN below. These costs are only becoming more and more prominent with the upcoming 4K/8K 360-degree VR streaming and the lightfield streaming in the future. Theta’s end goal is to be able to solve all these problems by providing a seamless streaming solution.
A solution to the Last Mile problem
We spend considerable time on the internet, and a large portion is spent on portals like Facebook, Youtube, Netflix, or other video streaming services. However, it is important to note these high-resolution high-bitrate 4k and 8k streaming portals struggle with the provision of adequate resolution and high speeds to meet the growing demand. Referred to as the last-mile issue, the centralized infrastructure of these streaming platforms is a significant concern. Theta, with its innovative blockchain, eliminates the bottlenecking of traditional content delivery platforms.
The content delivery platforms operate through content delivery networks.
What are content delivery networks?
The content delivery network (CDN) is an extensive, geographically distributed network of specialized servers; that accelerate the delivery of web content and rich media to Internet-connected devices through a technique called ‘edge caching.’ Simply put, it stores replicas of static text, image, audio, and video content in data centers around the ‘edges’ of the internet.
Problem: The problem with the current model is that the number of data centers are limited and not close enough to all users. Making video streaming a choppy experience for those in far-off regions.
Solution — ENTER Theta — a revolutionary blockchain that maximizes functionality by serving user requests through a nearby edge server or pulling streams from peering caching nodes. In short, from the nearby users through P2P.
Theta grants access to a global infrastructure for video content and data delivery. It provides esports, music, TV/movies, education, enterprise conferencing, peer-to-peer streaming, and more. Essentially, it gives a better web experience for those participating (whether they’re involved with content creation or viewing). And the fact that this platform is decentralized ensures it is powered by users.
The main streaming platform on the Theta network is Thetatv. Content creators can live stream and get paid through credit card donations, subscriptions, and TFUEL (token rewards- native to the theta blockchain).
Users can tip creators with TFUEL- now the obvious question is where do users get TFUEL from? Well, the network rewards users for watching the live stream. It’s an excellent economic model wherein users give donations to creators in the same currency they are getting paid & being entertained on the platform.
Point to note- Opt for streams with an orange TFUEL icon on the top right in order to earn TFUEL.
Theta rewards users for sharing the already downloaded and cached portion of the video they are watching with other nearby users.
And there’s more- The Theta.tv dApp is set to be included on Samsung Galaxy phones in the future. If and when this happens, Theta can garner a massive worldwide following.
Thetatv is a proof of concept of how the network can be leveraged by ANY video delivery platform. Networks can use their current standard CDNs as the 1st layer and then overlap Theta network’s P2P bandwidth sharing as a 2nd layer, decreasing the cost and delays and increasing the quality.
Tokenomics - Theta token and TFUEL
Theta token and TFUEL are the two cryptocurrencies native to the Theta blockchain. Together they make up the economic system of the Theta network.
Theta token
With a capped supply of 1,000,000,000 tokens, this is the governance token of the Theta blockchain. This token’s governance aspect is still in its infancy, primarily used for staking, running a node, and earning a proportional amount of TFUEL.
TFUEL
Its use is similar to that of gas on Ethereum; it is the utility token of the network. TFUEL can be earned 4 ways — viewing content, becoming a content creator, providing bandwidth by running a caching node, or by Thetatv bandwidth sharing.
Theta, with its revolutionary and innovative blockchain technology, has caught some big hitters’ eyes. These include the Co-Founder of YouTube, Steve Chen, and Justin Kan, the Co-Founder of the gaming streaming platform Twitch, among others.
Theta isn’t trying to replace or take over platforms like Youtube; instead, it provides an infrastructure that is decentralized and cheaper.
Theta has collaborated with Lionsgate for streaming content on Thetatv. In addition, it has added CAA (the Hollywood Powerhouse) as a validator alongside seven other external Theta Enterprise Validator and Governance Council members. Those include Google, Samsung, Sony, and major private equity and cryptocurrency firms.
It also has a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace called ThetaDrop.
For more info on Theta, click on the link for their docs.
The Theta community has already started building the Theta ecosystem. Q1 2021 Theta hackathon featured some great projects like HarkTV, Minty, and Thetascan. Theta has some big players backing it, and with growing partnerships, I have more expectations from this network.
What do you think? Do you share your thoughts?
Also, I have an account on Theta.tv, which you can use to sign up.
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