Introduction: Streaming Demand on Ships

Passenger and crew expectations for entertainment at sea have skyrocketed. Surveys show that recent demand for connectivity “has exploded” – over 60% of guests use the Internet for hours each day. Modern travelers expect the same video-on-demand and live streaming (maritime OTT streaming) onboard as they do at home. However, unlike land networks, ships rely on costly satellite links for the Internet, creating a challenge for high-quality shipboard video delivery.

Satellite Link Constraints

Traditional maritime VSAT links face several bottlenecks:

  • High latency from geostationary orbits (500–600 ms)
  • Shared bandwidth among hundreds or thousands of users
  • Sky-high costs for installation and usage

These constraints make it difficult to stream HD or 4K content at scale without serious bandwidth optimization strategies.

Edge Caches & Pre-Positioning of Content

One way to bypass the satellite bottleneck is edge caching—pre-loading popular content onto onboard servers. Since video demand is heavily skewed toward trending titles, storing just the top 10% of content often satisfies 80–90% of viewing.

Siden’s Intelligence Engine predicts demand by voyage and user type, then pre-positions the right content. It uses spare satellite capacity or fast port-side 5G to fill caches, ensuring content is ready for playback before guests even board.

Edge Delivery Architecture
 Siden’s AI-driven caching system pushes video content from the cloud to vessel caches using available networks (LTE/5G, satellite). Passengers stream directly from the local cache, reducing satellite dependence.

Adaptive Bitrate & Reliable Protocols

For the small percentage of content not cached, adaptive bitrate (ABR) protocols ensure playback quality matches bandwidth conditions.

  • MPEG-DASH/HLS dynamically adjust resolution on-the-fly
  • Forward error correction and segment retries keep video stable even over disrupted links

Combined, these techniques help deliver a smooth experience even during periods of network congestion or satellite outages.

Case Study: Cruise Line Pilot Deployment

In a pilot deployment with a global cruise operator, Siden installed an edge caching system on a flagship vessel. Before departure, caches were synced at port. During transit, popular titles were updated over satellite during off-peak hours. Guests streamed from the local cache, resulting in:

  • 80%+ of video traffic served locally
  • 5x reduction in satellite usage
  • Seamless HD playback with near-zero buffering
Future Outlook: LEO & 5G Integration

Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) constellations like Starlink and OneWeb are changing the game:

  • Latency drops as low as 50 ms
  • Throughput improves dramatically

Meanwhile, 5G at port enables ships to quickly sync gigabytes of content. Private 5G networks onboard may soon replace legacy Wi-Fi, distributing cached video with minimal latency.

Until these become widespread, optimizing existing satellite backhaul remains essential.

How Siden Solves the Problem

Siden addresses maritime OTT streaming challenges with a layered approach:

  • Siden Intelligence Engine analyzes demand patterns to predict which titles to cache
  • Edge Caching Platform stores content onboard, reducing dependency on real-time delivery
  • Predictive sync via 5G (at port) or satellite (at sea) ensures content libraries are always fresh—without manual intervention

By serving 80–90% of streams from cache, Siden slashes satellite costs while dramatically improving the passenger streaming experience.

Key Takeaways
  • Maritime video demand is rising as passengers expect Netflix-like streaming at sea
  • Satellite constraints (latency, contention, cost) make unoptimized streaming infeasible
  • Edge caching and ABR protocols enable HD playback without straining the network
  • Siden’s platform predicts, caches, and syncs the right content to the right vessel at the right time

  • The result: seamless, scalable shipboard video delivery at a fraction of the cost
About Siden

Founded in 2018, Siden is at the forefront of revolutionizing connectivity in the aviation, maritime, and home broadband industries. Siden optimizes connectivity platforms through intelligent caching, enabling higher-quality content delivery while reducing network costs.