A faster backend: Your least-watched title now loads like a hit
Try this in any TV app. Search for an old, little-known film. Then open season three of a series nobody talks about anymore.
On most platforms, you'll wait. The hits load instantly. Everything else doesn't.
We call this the long-tail tax. Until recently, our platform charged it too. Now every title in the catalog loads as fast as the hits: search almost always responds in under half a second, and the homescreen and VOD catalog are faster.
Where the long-tail tax comes from
Most platforms keep title data (names, images, genres, ratings, cast) in a temporary cache. Popular titles stay there because someone is always watching them. Less-watched titles get dropped. The next viewer waits while the system looks them up in the database again.
Series are worse. One episode needs data about the episode, then the season, then the whole series. That's three lookups for a single tile.
Search is the worst. One forgotten title in the results holds up the whole list, and that meant delays of several seconds.
Smaller operators paid the most. Fewer viewers means more titles get forgotten. Same catalog, slower app.
What we changed in the backend
Our backend now keeps all title data in memory, all the time, not just the hits.
It refreshes that data in the background, so no viewer ever waits for it. When an editor changes something in the catalog, the apps show it within seconds.
What operators get
- Instant search. No more spikes of up to 7 seconds.
- A faster homescreen and VOD catalog.
- Equal speed for every title. The catalog you pay licenses for is as easy to reach as the hits.
- Equal speed for every operator. A regional ISP gets the same app speed as a large telco.
Here's what that looked like in search. Before the change, response times regularly spiked to 2–7 seconds. After it, the line goes almost flat.
Why we could do it
Keeping a whole catalog in memory costs more RAM and needs careful syncing. That's easier when you build the backend, CMS and apps yourself, as we do. We know the moment anything changes, so we can update memory right away.
Try the test yourself
Old film. Season three. No waiting. To see it on your own catalog, request a demo.
FAQ
Why do less-watched titles load slowly on many TV platforms?
Most platforms keep title data in a temporary cache. Popular titles stay there, less-watched ones get dropped, and the next viewer waits while the system looks them up in the database again.
What changed in the ModernTV backend?
The backend now keeps all title data in memory, not just the hits, and refreshes it in the background. No viewer waits for a database lookup.
How much faster is search?
Across all ModernTV installations, search used to spike to 2–7 seconds. Since the change it almost always responds in under half a second.
How quickly do catalog changes reach the apps?
Within seconds. When an editor changes something in the catalog, the backend updates its memory right away.
Does a small operator get the same speed as a large one?
Yes. Speed no longer depends on how many viewers watch a title, so a regional ISP gets the same app speed as a large telco.
