What
is IPTV?
(Internet Protocol Television)
 According to a NMRC report, the immediate growth of IPTV
will not be driven by a replacement for traditional television but as a
customized platform focusing on the needs of professional groups and
organizations. Joseph Fergus, CEO of ComTek Technologies, said in a
teleconference promoting the NMRC report, that the immediate future of
IPTV is about targeting three groups: highly mobile professionals,
state and local governments and non-profit organizations. (2006 report)
IPTV – (May be known as, or
associated with Internet-protocol
Television, Telco TV, TelcoTV, Video over IP, Internet
TV, IP-broadband, IPTV over DSL, IP VOD, IP
VOD Channel,
Broadband-based TV, Terrestrial-based Internet-over-TV service,
TV-over-ADSL, TV-based Internet, Broadband-based TV, ITV-over-DSL,
Broadband ITV, ADSL-based VOD, IP-based Video, IP-based VOD system,
Interactive Broadband Television, Web TV, Terrestrial-based
Internet-over-TV, Internet-based TV Services, TV over DSL Networks,
Web-enabled Broadcasting.) (Interactive IPTV, IP-based Interactive TV
Applications.) Note -
IPTV can provide excellent Interactive Television but the term "IPTV"
is not synonymous with Interactive TV. IPTV
has also
been referred to as Internet
TV and Telco TV. but a
distinction between "IPTV" and "Internet Television"
is that unlike the Internet, IPTV is Internet Protocol content
(in the form of packets) provided by network operators (and others) over closed networks. (The Internet
is a gigantic open network.) (More
of the difference here.) Very important to the IPTV closed network
is the "Final Mile" to the consumer's premises.
IPTV
is next-generation television delivered over a managed network.
Depending on how robust the system is, IPTV technology can provide more
than just video services; it can provide access to on-demand
gaming, data services, digital music and home security. (Interactive
Television Networks has launched Pulse,
which it claims is the first IPTV music video network. More
info.) IPTV technology can provide a single stream to multiple
clients simultaneously (multicasting).
It can also utilize unicast
delivery for providing services to a single client (receiver) for
applications such as Video
On Demand. Typically video content is compressed using either a
MPEG-2 or a MPEG-4 (H.264) codec and then sent in an MPEG transport
stream. Live
TV is
delivered via IP Multicast and on
demand
services most often use IP Unicast.
Using H.264 for compression is of great importance when transporting IP
HDTV due to it's huge size, but MPEG-2 might still be used for
interactivity and other things.
For
transmission IPTV might use the Internet, but many IPTV deployments use
Internet-like closed networks, as is the case with telcos. IPTV might
also be used over smaller networks such as LANs. IPTV
is a system capable of transmitting, delivering, receiving and
displaying a video stream encoded as a series of Internet Protocol
packets. IPTV can offer
great interactivity and virtually limitless programming. Only channels
selected by the user are delivered to that user, as compared to many
channels being delivered to the user and he/she then chooses
which to watch. The switched digital video architecture gives IPTV
technology the ability to customize a unique viewing
experience for each individual subscriber. IPTV essentially offers a
one-to-one signal, providing channels on-demand as opposed to the
standard commercial television`s 'always
on' model. In this 'always on'
model of delivery, a huge number of channels are sent to the customer
and the customer, via their remote, flips through these delivered
channels and decides which to watch. With IPTV, when a customer clicks
on a channel, that's when the channel's content is sent for viewing.
Each IPTV program has an IP address, and the
subscriber`s
IPTV set-top
box, or related device, finds it. IPTV channel changes typically
are faster than the competition. IPTV and other IP-based
broadband services can be sent to devices other than a set-top box
including phones and portable
media devices. Delivered can be over a variety of networks,
including WiMAX. With IPTV, the router can beam the signal to a Wi-Fi
laptop or desktop computer in that room or even in another room.
According
to iSuppli, the IPTV market stood at about $780 million in 2006.
That number is set to rise to 26 billion by 2011. "Recent forecasts
from Alcatel-Lucent show that IPTV subscriptions are set to reach
between 70 million and 100 million by 2010. “Europe outstrips the rest
of the world in the uptake of IPTV – particular hot spots are France,
Spain and Italy." (Reference).
While the telcos are leading the charge with IPTV, there is a big
market for IPTV in the enterprise (business), hospitality and education
markets, (example).
A business can even use IPTV technology for in-store and
on-premises communication. (Reference.)
This type of IPTV system might be able to be controlled from a single
PC either
remotely or in-house.
Two of the earliest IPTV deployments were done by:
(1)
In March, 1998, the former Cable & Wireless Hongkong Telecom (HKT)
launched "iTV" a commercial Interactive Television service which was
the predeccor to Hong Kong’s PCCW's IPTV service. Its endeveor
(now known as "NOW TV") is still in operation today, (reference
1 & reference 2).
(2)
Kingston Communications. Kinston launched KIT (Kingston Interactive
Television), a DSL-based broadband service in 1999. The Kinston
re-launched its VoD service in October 2001 via Yes TV, a provider of
IP-based VoD service and solutions. Kingston was one of the first
companies in the world to introduce IPTV and IP VOD over ADSL. It
unfortunately was ahead of it's time and didn't survive, (reference).
Midas
Communication Technologies states
that IPTV
optimally needs only Mbps downstream, but Backspace
Communications' Walled
Garden IPTV
states that it only requires download speeds that range from 500
kilobits to two megabits. At least 4.5 Mbps of downstream speed is
required for PCCW's NOW TV's IPTV signal (reference.)
Still when adding the other bundled services
operators offer, such as telephone and broadband Internet, the need for
higher trunk speeds are pronounced. High Definition TV is typically the
biggest bandwidth hog. Also if more than one
TV is operating at the customer's premises, it could soak up even more
bandwidth. As of 3rd quarter, 2006, one server could service about 500
to 700 set-top boxes, but according
to Microsoft, improvements soon
could push that number above
1,000 set-top boxes per server.
According
to a NMRC
report,
the early growth of IPTV will not be driven by the need to
replace
traditional television but as a customized platform focusing on the
needs of professional groups and organizations. Joseph Fergus, CEO of
ComTek Technologies, said that the immediate future of IPTV is about
targeting three
groups: highly mobile professionals, state and local governments and
non-profit organizations.
(From TMCnet).
IPTV content providers can transmit IPTV content to your PC, phone and
more. IPTV content aggregators (collectors and providers) can
offer the public and/or service providers fast and easy access to
authorized IPTV programming content. See IPTV Guide. As of June 2006,
there were over
1,300 free IPTV channels available, the vast majority of which
transmitted their broadcast signal over the Internet. These free IPTV
channels require only an Internet connection and an Internet enabled
device such as a PC, digital media receivers, game console, mobile
phones etc. (Reference.)
Examples include Brightcove, TELECHANNEL, Interactive Television Networks (ITVN)
and Lasoo. (Reference.)
In
the states the biggest name in IPTV deployment is AT&T. (Article.)
AT&T's U-verse IPTV is impressive but those getting U-verse IPTV now might have
only limited interactivity as part of this initial deployment.
In January of 2007, Microsoft announced it will combine its Xbox 360
with its IPTV software for service providers, allowing its video-game
console to be turned into an IPTV set-top box. Microsoft referred to it
as "IPTV on Xbox 360". This IPTV-enabled Xbox will be offered by
service providers "by holiday-season 2007." (Reference.)
With Google buying up such an incredible amount of spectrum, maybe they
have plans to start their own IPTV networks (among other things)? (Reference.)
Click here for this business index's
IPTV webpage
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Various Related
Definitions
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