What is IPTV? Splash Media, Dallas, TX

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What is IPTV?

IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is a system where a digital television service is delivered using Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which may include delivery by a broadband connection. A general definition of IPTV is television content that, instead of being delivered through traditional broadcast and cable formats, is received by the viewer through the technologies used for computer networks.

For residential users, IPTV is often provided in conjunction with Video on Demand and may be bundled with Internet services such as Web access and VoIP. The commercial bundling of IPTV, VoIP and Internet access is referred to as "Triple Play" service (adding mobility is called "Quadruple Play"). IPTV is typically supplied by a service provider using a closed network infrastructure. This closed network approach is in competition with the delivery of TV content over the public Internet, called Internet Television. In businesses, IPTV may be used to deliver television content over corporate LANs.

IPTV and Internet TV

A telco IPTV service is usually delivered over a complex and investment heavy walled garden network, which is carefully engineered to ensure bandwidth efficient delivery of vast amounts of multicast video traffic. The higher network quality also enables easy delivery of high quality SD or HD TV content to subscribers’ homes. This makes IPTV by default the preferred delivery platform for premium content. However the investment for a telco to build an end-to-end IPTV service can be substantial.

By contrast "Internet TV" generally refers to transport streams sent over IP networks (normally the Internet) from outside the network that connects to the users premises. An Internet TV provider has no control over the final delivery and so broadcasts on a "best effort" basis. Elementary streams over IP networks and proprietary variants as used by websites such as YouTube are now rarely considered to be IPTV services.

Compared to telco IPTV, Internet TV is a quick-to-market and relatively low investment service. Internet TV rides on existing infrastructure including broadband, ADSL, Wi-Fi, cable and satellite which makes it a valuable tool for a wide variety of service providers and content owners looking for new revenue streams. However, due to the fact that IPTV is always delivered over low cost IP [STB]s, which have limited computing power, the capability for IPTV operators to provide diverse multimedia services is limited. This is where Internet TV has an advantage as it is delivered to a subscriber's (generally) powerful PC.

The relative ease of establishing an Internet TV service seems at first a threat to telco IPTV operators’ multimillion dollar investment, but both services do not necessarily compete for the same customers and there are some synergies between the two such as a common technology platform in the form of web-based technologies for content storage and delivery.

Broadcast IPTV has two major architecture forms: free and fee based. As of June 2006, there are over 1,300 free IPTV channels available.^[9] This sector is growing rapidly and major television broadcasters worldwide are transmitting their broadcast signal over the Internet. These free IPTV channels require only an Internet connection and an Internet enabled device such as a personal computer, HDTV connected to a computer or even a 3G cell/mobile phone to watch the IPTV broadcasts.

In December 2005, independently produced mariposaHD became the first original IPTV broadcast available in an HDTV format.^[10] Various Web portals offer access to these free IPTV channels. Some cite the ad-sponsored availability of TV series such as Lost as indicators that IPTV will become more prevalent.

Because IPTV uses standard networking protocols, it promises lower costs for operators and lower prices for users. Using set-top boxes with broadband Internet connections, video can be streamed to households more efficiently than current coaxial cable. ISPs are upgrading their networks to bring higher speeds and to allow multiple High Definition TV channels.

In 2006, AT&T launched its U-Verse IPTV service, comprising a national head end and regional video-serving offices. AT&T offered over 300 channels in 11 cities with more to be added in 2007 and beyond. While using IP protocols, AT&T has built a private IP network exclusively for video transport.

Local IPTV, as used by businesses for Audio Visual AV distribution on their company networks is typically based on a mixture of: a) Conventional TV reception equipment and IPTV encoders b) IPTV Gateways that take broadcast MPEG channels and IP wrap them to create multicast streams.

IPTV uses a two-way digital broadcast signal sent through a switched telephone or cable network by way of a broadband connection and a set-top box programmed with software (much like a cable or DSS box) that can handle viewer requests to access to many available media sources.

Content was borrowed from Wikipedia for this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPTV