BitTorrent wants to shake up the way content is streamed online by taking its method for downloading large files and applying it to multimedia streaming.

BitTorrent’s claim to fame is a peer-to-peer software program widely used to share pirated music and video over the Web. That program downloads large files such as movies or television shows by atomizing each file into individual bits, allowing users to download them from multiple users, and then reassembling them once the download is complete. The company’s new program, called BitTorrent DNA, delivers content streaming using the same model, which it says will improve quality and dramatically reduce lag for streams.

“The plan is to have BitTorrent DNA deliver video streams into browsers, much like YouTube,” says Ashwin Navin, BitTorrent’s president and cofounder. “BitTorrent DNA video experiences will be a lot faster, and will potentially have higher quality than other video streaming services.”

According to BitTorrent CTO Eric Klinker, installing DNA only requires that software be loaded onto end user computers. Once the software is in place, it can download large files from all DNA users who have those files on their computers. Thus, the more people who have those files downloaded on their machines, the more sources a downloader has to choose from for video streaming.

Because BitTorrent DNA streams from files cached in multiple sources, the company says, it enables users to stream far more quickly and use much less bandwidth than ordinary video streams. BitTorrent hopes that DNA will appeal to businesses that want to lower the cost of high-quality content delivery.

BitTorrent also announced its first customer, Brightcove, will use it to distribute streaming video programs over the Internet. Brightcove distributes video over the Internet for companies including CBS, News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group, Viacom's MTV Networks and The New York Times.

Rob Enderle, the president and principal analyst of the Enderle Group, says that BitTorrent DNA will be best used for streaming movies and television shows. He notes, however, that DNA will face limitations with streaming live content, such as videoconferencing, since it requires several users to download and cache content in order to work effectively. Despite this, he thinks it has the potential to drastically improve the quality of online video streaming.

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