Theta Token pays you to share your spare bandwidth. This can happen both while you’re watching videos or away from the computer.
Bandwidth is shared with local viewers, which means better quality and faster loading times. As your bandwidth is distributed you earn Theta tokens.
Theta is a peer-to peer video network designed by Silicon Valley start-up, Sliver.tv. The focus is on delivering high quality video, including streaming, in a cost efficient manner.
Advisors on this project include co-founder of YouTube Steve Chen, which suggests this company means serious business.
Theta Token has the potential to disrupt current video streaming approaches, particularly as the demand for faster and better quality increases.
The ability to lower costs to viewers, while rewarding them for participation, will no doubt be popular with consumers and cause concern for competitors. In conclusion, this is one worth watching, both figuratively and literally.
Silver.tv is the team behind the design of Theta. They are based in Silicon Valley and have been involved in the development of next-generation video streaming, including virtual reality, since 2015. They have raised over 17 million in venture capital from various sources, including Samsung Next and Sony Innovation funds.
Between them, co-founders Mitch Liu, Jieyi Long, and Ryan Nichols present some impressive qualifications, both academic and in the field. The company successfully broadcasts live sports, and is experiencing rapid growth to their existing platform month on month. They also have several relevant patents pending.
Not only do viewers get rewarded for sharing, but they also get rewarded for viewing. The idea behind this is two-fold, and seems to be primarily motivated toward advertisers. Firstly, by providing advertisers with actual proof their content is being viewed, and secondly, as a way to incentivise viewers to watch certain content.
It’s possibly worth mentioning here, that rewarding viewing behaviour in this way might raise some moral questions. I’m not saying it’s comparable to a slot machine at the casino, and that we’ll see a new type of addiction. Although, exactly how this approach will be publically received is worth pondering none the less.
Further details on how incentives work can be found in their white paper. https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/assets.thetatoken.org/Theta-white-paper-latest.pdf
Theta uses a hybrid system for mining. Block reward is not constant and is dependent on a reputation score.
Miners not only have to use computing power to mine blocks, but also to relay video streams to downstream viewers, in a type of trickle-down effect.
Viewers will be able to rank miners and lower their reputation if not satisfied.
This approach is called Global Reputation Census, and incentivises miners to provide good quality service.
Theta pays you to share your spare bandwidth. This can happen both while you’re watching videos or away from the computer. Bandwidth is shared with local viewers, which means better quality and faster loading times.
As your bandwidth is distributed you earn Theta tokens. The more you share the more you earn. Your tokens can be used to make donations toward preferred content, unlock premier viewing options, or buy and gift virtual products.
This type of sharing is referred to as a Decentralised Sharing Network. Technically, users share their redundant memory and bandwidth as catching nodes to distribute video.
This improves streaming, particularly with high resolution and virtual reality streams, not to mention significantly reducing costs.
