IPTV services may be classified into three main groups:
- live television, with or without interactivity related to the current TV show;
- time-shifted programming: catch-up TV (replays a TV show that was broadcast hours or days ago), start-over TV (replays the current TV show from its beginning);
- video on demand (VOD): browse a catalog of videos, not related to TV programming.
Definition
Historically, many different definitions of IPTV have appeared, including elementary streams over IP networks, transport streams over IP networks and a number of proprietary systems.
The official definition approved by the International Telecommunication Union focus group on IPTV (ITU-T FG IPTV) is as follows:
"IPTV is defined as multimedia services such as television/video/audio/text/graphics/data delivered over IP based networks managed to provide the required level of quality of service and experience, security, interactivity and reliability." [1] "IPTV is defined as the secure and reliable delivery to subscribers of entertainment video and related services. These services may include, for example, Live TV, Video On Demand (VOD) and Interactive TV (iTV). These services are delivered across an access agnostic, packet switched network that employs the IP protocol to transport the audio, video and control signals. In contrast to video over the public Internet, with IPTV deployments, network security and performance are tightly managed to ensure a superior entertainment experience, resulting in a compelling business environment for content providers, advertisers and customers alike."[2] One definition for consumer IPTV is for single or multiple program transport streams (MPTS) which are sourced by the same network operator that owns or directly controls the "last mile" to the consumer's premises
[citation needed]. This control over delivery enables a guaranteed
quality of service (QoS), and also allows the service provider to offer an enhanced user experience such as better program guide, interactive services etc.
In commercial environments IPTV is widely deployed for distribution of live TV, video playout channels and
Video on Demand (VOD) material across
LAN or
WAN IP network infrastructures, with a controlled QoS.
History
Kingston Communications, a regional telecommunications operator in UK, launched KIT (Kingston Interactive Television), an IPTV over
DSL broadband interactive TV service in September 1999 after conducting various TV and
VoD trials. The operator added additional
VoD service in October 2001 with Yes TV, a VoD content provider. Kingston was one of the first companies in the world to introduce IPTV and IP
VoD over
ADSL.
[6] In 2002,
Sasktel was the second in
Canada to commercially deploy Internet Protocol (IP) video over digital subscriber line (DSL), using the Lucent Stinger(R) DSL platform.
[12] In 2006, it was the first North American company to offer
HDTV channels over an IPTV service
[13]In 2003,
Total Access Networks Inc launched its IPTV service, comprising of 100 free IPTV stations world wide. The service has been used in over 100 countries world wide, and has channels in 26 languages.
[citation needed]In 2005,
Bredbandsbolaget launched its IPTV service as the first service provider in
Sweden. As of January 2009, they are not the biggest supplier any longer;
TeliaSonera who launched their service later has now more customers.
[14]In 2006,
AT&T launched its
U-Verse IPTV service in the
United States, 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. In March 2009, AT&T announced that U-verse had expanded to 100 or more High Definition channels in every U-Verse TV market.
[15] While using IP protocols, AT&T has built a private IP network exclusively for video transport.
Future
In the past, this technology has been restricted by low broadband penetration and by the relatively high cost of installing wiring capable of transporting IPTV content reliably in the customer's home. In the coming years, however, residential IPTV is expected to grow at a brisk pace as broadband was available to more than 200 million households worldwide in the year 2005, projected to grow to 400 million by the year 2010.
[16] Many of the world's major telecommunications providers are exploring IPTV as a new revenue opportunity from their existing markets and as a defensive measure against encroachment from more conventional Cable Television services.
Also, there is a growing number of IPTV installations within schools, universities, corporations and local institutions.
[17]In December 2009, the FCC began looking into using set-top boxes to make TVs with
cable or similar services into
broadband video players. FCC Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake had said earlier that TV and the Internet would soon be the same, but only 75 percent of homes had computers, while 99 percent had TV. A
Nielsen survey said 99 percent of video viewing was done on TV.
[18]Markets
Map of IPTV countries of the world.
Countries where IPTV is available in at least some parts of the countryThe number of global IPTV subscribers is expected to grow from 28 million in 2009 to 83 million in 2013. Europe and Asia are the leading territories in terms of the over-all number of subscribers. But in terms of service revenues, Europe and North America generate a larger share of global revenue, due to very low average revenue per user (ARPU) in China and India, the fastest growing (and ultimately, the biggest markets) in Asia. The global IPTV market revenues are forecasted to grow from US$12 billion in 2009 to US$38 billion in 2013.
[19]While all major western countries and most developed economies have IPTV deployments, the world's leading markets for IPTV for now are
Germany (by
Deutsche Telekom)
France (led by
Free, then
Orange, then
Neuf Cegetel; total of over 4 million subscriptions),
South Korea (1.8 million subscriptions),
United States (by
AT&T),
Hong Kong,
Japan,
Italy,
Spain,
Belgium,
Luxembourg,
Austria,
China,
Singapore,
Taiwan,
Switzerland and
Portugal (with
meo,
Optimus Clix and
Vodafone Casa).
Services have also launched in
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Canada,
Croatia,
Republic of Moldova,
Macedonia,
Montenegro,
Poland,
Romania,
Serbia,
Slovenia,
[20] the
Netherlands,
[21] Greece,
Denmark,
Finland,
Estonia,
Slovakia,
Hungary,
[22][23] Norway,
Sweden and
Iceland. The
United Kingdom launched IPTV early and after a slow initial growth, in February 2009
BT announced that it had reached 398,000 subscribers to its
BT Vision service.
[24] Claro has launched their own IPTV service called "Claro TV". This service is available in several countries in which they operate, such as
Dominican Republic,
El Salvador,
Guatemala,
Honduras,
Nicaragua. IPTV is just beginning to grow in Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America, and now it is growing in South Asian countries such as
Sri Lanka,
Pakistan and especially
India.
[25] but significant plans exist in countries such as
Russia.
Kazakhstan introduced
[26] its own IPTV services by the national provider Kazakhtelecom JSC
[27] and cable-operator Alacast under the "iD TV" brand in two major cities Astana and Almaty in 2009 and is about to go nationwide starting 2010. Australian ISP iiNet launched Australia's first IPTV with fetchtv.
[28]The first IPTV service to launch on the Chinese mainland sells under the "BesTV" brand and is currently available in the cities of Shanghai and Harbin.
[29] In India IPTV was launched by Airtel and the government service provider MTNL and BSNL and is available in most of the major cities of the country . In
Pakistan IPTV was launched by
PTCL, brand name
Smart TV which is available in most of the major cities of Pakistan.
In
Malaysia, various companies have attempted to launch IPTV services since 2005. Failed PayTV provider
MiTV attempted to use a IPTV-over-UHF service but the service failed to take off.
Hypp.TV was supposed to use an IPTV-based system, but is not true IPTV as it does not provide a set top box and requires users to view channels using a computer. True IPTV providers available in the country at the moment are
Fine TV and
DETV. Telekom Malaysia is also coming up with a true IPTV service, but at the moment the service is in testing and it will only be made available to High Speed Broadband subscribers.
In
Turkey, Superonline is providing IPTV under a different name WebTV.And in late 2007
Türk Telekom has started so bulid fiber optic substructure for IPTV.
Discussion of IPTV
A telco IPTV service is usually delivered over a 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
telco IPTV service can be substantial.
[original research?]Broadcast IPTV has two major architecture forms: free and fee based. As of June 2006, there are over 1,300 free IPTV sources available.
[30] This sector is growing rapidly and major television broadcasters worldwide are transmitting their broadcast signal over the Internet. These free IPTV sources 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 content. Various Web portals offer access to these free IPTV sources. 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. Home networks currently use technology from the
Multimedia over Coax Alliance,
HomePlug Powerline Alliance or
Home Phoneline Networking Alliance to deliver IPTV content to any set-top-box in a home, without having to install new
Ethernet wires and without relying on technologies like
802.11, which are not optimized for reliable delivery of video streams. ISPs are upgrading their networks to bring higher speeds and to allow multiple High Definition TV channels.
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 satellite TV box) that can handle viewer requests to access to many available media sources.
Local IPTV, as used by businesses for
audio visual AV distribution on their company networks is typically based on a mixture of:
- Conventional TV reception equipment and IPTV encoders
- IPTV Gateways that take broadcast MPEG channels and IP wrap them to create multicast streams.
Architecture of IPTV
Elements
- TV Head-end: where live TV channels are encoded, encrypted and delivered in the form of IP multicast streams.
- VOD platform: where on-demand video assets are stored and served when a user makes a request in the form of IP unicast stream.
- Interactive portal: allows the user to navigate within the differents IPTV services, such as the VOD catalog.
- delivery network: the packet switched network that carries IP packets (unicast and multicast).
- home gateway: the piece of equipement at the user's home that terminates the access link from the delivery network.
- user's set-top-box: the piece of equipment at the user's home that decodes and decrypt TV and VOD content and displays it on the TV screen.
Architecture of a Video Server Network
Home Networks for IPTV distribution
In many cases, the Residential Gateway that provides connectivity with the Broadband Access network is not located in close proximity to the IPTV Set-Top Box. This scenario becomes very common as service providers start to offer service packages with multiple Set-Top Boxes per subscriber.
Traditional home networking technologies such as
Ethernet and
802.11 do not provide a good solution to provide connectivity between the Gateway and each Set-Top-Box. Most homes today are not wired with Ethernet cable in every room, and installing new Ethernet cables is expensive for service providers and undesirable for consumers. Wireless technologies like 802.11 are optimized for data transmission, but they usually don't provide the
Quality of Service required by IPTV applications.
Networking technologies that take advantage of existing
home wiring (such as power lines,
[32][33] phone lines or coaxial cables
[34][35]) have become a popular solution for this problem, although fragmentation in the wired home networking market has limited somewhat the growth in this market.
[36][37]On December 2008,
ITU-T adopted Recommendation
G.hn (also known as
G.9960), which is a next generation home networking standard that specifies a common PHY/MAC that can operate over any home wiring (power lines, phone lines or coaxial cables).
[38]IMS architecture for IPTV
There is a growing standardization effort on the use of the 3GPP
IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) as an architecture for supporting IPTV services in carriers networks. Both ITU-T and ETSI are working on so-called "IMS-based IPTV" standards (see e.g. ETSI TS 182 027
[39]). The benefits of this approach are obvious. Carriers will be able to offer both voice and IPTV services over the same core infrastructure and the implementation of services combining conventional TV services with telephony features (e.g. caller ID on the TV screen) will become straigthforward.
[40] The MultiService Forum recently conducted interoperability of IMS-based IPTV solutions during its GMI event in 2008.
[41]Protocols
IPTV covers both
live TV (
multicasting) as well as stored video (Video-on-Demand, or VoD). The playback of IPTV requires either a
personal computer or a
set-top-box connected to a TV. Video content is typically compressed using either a
MPEG-2 or a
MPEG-4 codec and then sent in an
MPEG transport stream delivered via
IP Multicast in case of live TV or via IP Unicast in case of video on demand. IP multicast is a method in which information can be sent to multiple computers at the same time.
H.264 (MPEG-4) codec is increasingly used to replace the older MPEG-2 codec.
In standards-based IPTV systems, the primary underlying protocols used are:
- Live TV uses IGMP version 2 or IGMP version 3 for IPv4 for connecting to a multicast stream (TV channel) and for changing from one multicast stream to another (TV channel change).
Network personal video recording is a consumer service where real-time broadcast television is captured in the network on a server allowing the end user to access the recorded programs on the schedule of their choice, rather than being tied to the broadcast schedule. The NPVR system provides time-shifted viewing of broadcast programs, allowing subscribers to record and watch programs at their convenience, without the requirement of a truly personal
PVR device. It could be compared as a "PVR that is built into the network" – however that would be slightly misleading unless the word "personal" is, of course, changed to "public" for this context.
Subscribers can choose from the programmes available in the network-based library, when they want, without needing yet another device or remote control. However, many people would still prefer to have their own PVR device, as it would allow them to choose exactly what they want to record. This bypasses the strict copyright and licensing regulations, as well as other limitations, that often prevent the network itself from providing "on demand" access to certain programmes (see
Heroes, below).
In
Greece,
On Telecoms offers an NPVR service to all subscribers in their basic package with all the programming of all major national Greek TV channels for the last 72 hours. The user has to sign in their contract that they agree that the company will record national programming of the last 72 hours
for them so that they can get around any legal implications (like the ones mentioned in the
NPVR article) as this service would work like a personal PVR.
Currently, the only alternatives to IPTV are traditional TV distribution technologies such as
terrestrial,
satellite and
cable. However, cable can be upgraded to two-way capability and can thus also carry IPTV.
IPTV via satellite
Although IPTV and conventional
satellite TV distribution have been seen as complementary technologies, they are likely to be increasingly used together in hybrid IPTV networks that deliver the highest levels of performance and reliability. IPTV is largely neutral to the transmission medium, and IP traffic is already routinely carried by satellite for
Internet backbone trunking and corporate
VSAT networks.
[42] The use of satellite to carry IP is fundamental to overcoming the greatest shortcoming of IPTV over terrestrial cables – the speed/bandwidth of the connection.
The copper twisted pair cabling that forms the
last mile of the telephone/broadband network in many countries is not able to provide a sizeable proportion of the population with an IPTV service that matches even existing terrestrial or satellite digital TV distribution. For a competitive multi-channel TV service, a connection speed of 20Mbit/s is likely to be required, but unavailable to most potential customers.
[43] The increasing popularity of
high definition TV (with twice the data of
SD video) increases connection speed requirements, or limits IPTV service quality and connection eligibility even further.
However, satellites are capable of delivering in excess of 100Gbit/s via multi-spot beam technologies, making satellite a clear emerging technology for implementing IPTV networks. Satellite distribution can be included in an IPTV network architecture in several ways. Simplest to implement is an IPTV-
DTH architecture, in which hybrid DVB/broadband
set-top boxes in subscriber homes integrate satellite and IP reception to give near-infinite bandwidth with return channel capabilities. In such a system, many live TV channels may be multicast via satellite (IP-encapsulated or as conventional
DVB digital TV) with stored video-on-demand transmission via the broadband connection.
Arqiva’s Satellite Media Solutions Division suggests “IPTV works best in a hybrid format. For example, you would use broadband to receive some content and satellite to receive other, such as live channels”.
[44]Hybrid IPTV
Hybrid IPTV refers to the combination of traditional broadcast TV services and video delivered over either managed IP networks or the public Internet. It is an increasing trend in both the consumer and pay TV [operator] markets
[45][46] [47].
Hybrid IPTV has grown in popularity in recent years as a result of two major drivers. Since the emergence of online video aggregation sites, like
YouTube and
Vimeo in the mid-2000s, traditional
pay-TV operators have come under increasing pressure to provide their subscribers with a means of viewing
Internet-based video [both professional and user-generated] on their
TVs. At the same time, specialist
IP-based operators [often telecommunications providers] have looked for ways to offer
analogue and
digital terrestrial services to their operations, without adding either additional cost or complexity to their transmission operations.
Bandwidth is a valuable asset for operators, so many have looked for alternative ways to deliver these new services without investing in additional network infrastructures.
A hybrid set-top allows content from a range of sources, including
terrestrial broadcast,
satellite, and
cable to be brought together with video delivered over the Internet via an
Ethernet connection on the device. This enables television viewers to access a greater variety of content on their TV sets, without the need for a separate box for each service.
From a
pay-TV operator’s perspective, a
Hybrid IPTV Set-Top Box gives them greater long term flexibility by enabling them to deploy new services and applications as and when consumers require, most often without the need to upgrade equipment or for an engineer to visit and reconfigure or swap out the device. This minimises the cost of launching new services, increases speed to market and limits disruption for consumers.
[49]The
Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) consortium of industry companies is currently promoting and establishing an open European standard for hybrid set-top boxes for the reception of broadcast and broadband digital TV and multimedia applications with a single user interface.
[50]An alternative approach is the IPTV version of the
Headend in the Sky cable TV solution. Here, mutilple TV channels are distributed via satellite to the ISP or IPTV provider’s
point of presence (POP) for IP-encapsulated distribution to individual subscribers as required by each subscriber.
This can provide a huge selection of channels to subscribers without overburdening Internet trunking to the POP, and enables an IPTV service to be offered to small or remote operators outside the reach of terrestrial high speed broadband connection. An example is a network combining fibre and satellite distribution via an
SES New Skies satellite of 95 channels to Latin America and the Caribbean, operated by IPTV Americas.
[51]While the future development of IPTV probably lies with a number of coexisting architectures and implementations, it’s clear that broadcasting of high bandwidth applications such as IPTV is accomplished more efficiently and cost-effectively using satellite
[52] and it’s predicted that the majority of global IPTV growth will be fuelled by hybrid networks.
[53]Advantages
The IP-based platform offers significant advantages, including the ability to integrate television with other IP-based services like high speed Internet access and VoIP.
A switched IP network also allows for the delivery of significantly more content and functionality. In a typical TV or satellite network, using broadcast video technology, all the content constantly flows downstream to each customer, and the customer switches the content at the set-top box. The customer can select from as many choices as the telecomms, cable or satellite company can stuff into the “pipe” flowing into the home. A switched IP network works differently. Content remains in the network, and only the content the customer selects is sent into the customer’s home. That frees up bandwidth, and the customer’s choice is less restricted by the size of the “pipe” into the home. This also implies that the customer's privacy could be compromised to a greater extent than is possible with traditional TV or satellite networks. It may also provide a means to hack into, or at least disrupt (see
Denial of Service) the private network.
The economics of IPTV
The cable industry's expenditures of approximately $1 Billion per year are based on network updates to accommodate higher data speeds. Most operators use 2-3 channels to support maximum data speeds of 50 Mb/s to 100 Mb/s. However, because video streams require a high bit rate for much longer periods of time, the expenditures to support high amounts of video traffic will be much greater. This phenomenon is called persistency. Data persistency is routinely 5% while video persistency can easily reach 50%. As video traffic continues to grow, this means that significantly more
CMTS downstream channels will be required to carry this video content. Based on today's market, it is likely that industry expenditures for
CMTS expansion could exceed $2 Billion a year, virtually all of this expenditure being driven by video traffic. Adoption of IPTV for carrying the majority of this traffic could save the industry approximately 75% of this capital expenditure.
[54]Interactivity
An IP-based platform also allows significant opportunities to make the TV viewing experience more interactive and personalized. The supplier may, for example, include an interactive program guide that allows viewers to search for content by title or actor’s name, or a
picture-in-picture functionality that allows them to “channel surf” without leaving the program they’re watching. Viewers may be able to look up a player’s stats while watching a sports game, or control the camera angle. They also may be able to access photos or music from their PC on their television, use a wireless phone to schedule a recording of their favorite show, or even adjust parental controls so their child can watch a documentary for a school report, while they’re away from home.
Note that this is all possible, to some degree, with existing digital terrestrial, satellite and cable networks in tandem with modern
set top boxes.
[citation needed] In order that there can take place an interaction between the receiver and the transmitter a feedback channel is needed. Due to this, terrestrial, satellite, and cable networks for television do not allow interactivity. However, interactivity with those networks can be possible by combining TV networks with data networks such as the
Internet or a mobile communication network.
Video-on-demand
IPTV technology is bringing
Video-on-demand (VoD) to television
[55] which permits a customer to browse an online program or film catalog, to watch trailers and to then select a selected recording. The
playout of the selected item starts nearly instantaneously on the customer's TV or PC.
Technically, when the customer selects the movie, a
point-to-point unicast connection is set up between the customer's decoder (Set Top Box or PC) and the delivering streaming server. The signalling for the trick play functionality (pause, slow-motion, wind/rewind etc.) is assured by RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol).
In an attempt to avoid content piracy, the VoD content is usually encrypted. Whilst
encryption of satellite and cable TV broadcasts is an old practice, with IPTV technology it can effectively be thought of as a form of
Digital Rights Management. A film that is chosen, for example, may be playable for 24 hours following payment, after which time it becomes unavailable.
IPTV-based converged services
Another advantage of an IP-based network is the opportunity for integration and convergence. This opportunity is amplified when using IMS-based solutions.
[56] Converged services implies interaction of existing services in a seamless manner to create new value added services. One good example is On-Screen Caller ID, getting Caller ID on your TV and the ability to handle it (send it to voice mail, etc.). IP-based services will help to enable efforts to provide consumers anytime-anywhere access to content over their televisions, PCs and cell phones, and to integrate services and content to tie them together. Within businesses and institutions, IPTV eliminates the need to run a parallel infrastructure to deliver live and stored video services.
Limitations
IPTV is sensitive to packet loss and delays if the streamed data is unreliable. IPTV has strict minimum speed requirements in order to facilitate the right number of frames per second to deliver moving pictures. This means that the limited connection speed/bandwidth available for a large IPTV customer base can reduce the service quality delivered.
Although a few countries have very high speed broadband-enabled populations, such as
South Korea with 6 million homes benefiting from a minimum connection speed of 100Mbit/s, in other countries (such as the UK) legacy networks struggle to provide 3-5 Mbit/s
[57] and so simultaneous provision to the home of TV channels, VOIP and Internet access may not be viable. The last mile delivery for IPTV usually has a bandwidth restriction that only allows a small number of simultaneous TV channel streams – typically from one to three – to be delivered.
[58]The same problem has also proved troublesome when attempting to stream IPTV across wireless links within the home. Improvements in wireless technology are now starting to provide equipment to solve the problem.
[59]Due to the limitations of wireless, most IPTV service providers today use wired home networking technologies instead of wireless technologies like
802.11. Service Providers such as
AT&T (which makes extensive use of wireline home networking as part of its
U-Verse IPTV service) have expressed support for the work done in this direction by
ITU-T, which has adopted Recommendation
G.hn (also known as
G.9960), which is a next generation home networking standard that specifies a common PHY/MAC that can operate over any home wiring (power lines, phone lines or coaxial cables).
[60][61]Latency
The
latency inherent in the use of
satellite Internet is often held up as reason why satellites cannot be successfully used for IPTV, but in practice latency is not an important factor for IPTV. An IPTV service does not require real-time transmission, as is the case with telephony or videoconferencing services.
It is the latency of response to requests to change channel, display an EPG, etc. that most affects customers’ perceived quality of service, and these problems affect satellite IPTV no more than terrestrial IPTV. Indeed, command latency problems, faced by terrestrial IPTV networks with insufficient bandwidth as their customer base grows, may be solved by the high capacity of satellite distribution.
Satellite distribution does suffer from latency – the time for the signal to travel up from the hub to the satellite and back down to the user is around 0.25 seconds, and cannot be reduced. However, the effects of this delay are mitigated in real-life systems using data compression, TCP-acceleration, and HTTP pre-fetching.
[62]Satellite latency can be detrimental to especially time-sensitive applications such as on-line gaming (although it only seriously affects the likes of first-person shooters while many
MMOGs can operate well over satellite Internet
[63]), but IPTV is typically a
simplex operation (one-way transmission) and latency is not a critical factor for video transmission.
Existing video transmission systems of both analogue and digital formats already introduce known quantifiable delays. Indeed, existing
DVB TV channels that
simulcast by both terrestrial and satellite transmissions, experience the same 0.25s delay difference between the two services with no detrimental effect, and it goes unnoticed by viewers.
Privacy implications
Due to limitations in bandwidth, an IPTV channel is delivered to the user one at a time, as opposed to the traditional multiplexed delivery. Changing a channel requires requesting the head-end server to provide a different broadcast stream, much like
VOD (For VOD the stream is delivered using
Unicast, for the normal TV signal
Multicast is used). This could enable the service provider to accurately track each and every programme watched and the duration of watching for each viewer, broadcasters and advertisers could then understand their audience and programming better with accurate data and targeted advertising.
[64]Vendors
A small number of companies supply most current IPTV systems. Some, such as
Imagenio, were formed by telecoms operators themselves, to minimise external costs, a tactic also used by
PCCW of
Hong Kong. Some major telecoms vendors are also active in this space, notably
Alcatel-Lucent (sometimes working with Imagenio),
Ericsson (notably since acquiring
Tandberg Television),
NEC,
Nokia Siemens Networks,
Thomson,
Huawei, and
ZTE, as are some IT houses, led by
Microsoft. California-based
UTStarcom, Inc., Tennessee-based Worley Consulting, Tokyo-based The New Media Group and Oslo/Norway-based SnapTV also offer end-to-end networking infrastructure for IPTV-based services, and Hong Kong-based BNS Ltd. provides turnkey open platform IPTV technology solutions. Global sales of IPTV systems exceeded 2 billion USD in 2007.
Many of these IPTV solution vendors participated in the biennial
Global MSF Interoperability 2008 (GMI) event which was coordinated by the
MultiService Forum (MSF) at five sites worldwide from 20- to 31-October 2008. Test equipment vendors including Absilion,
Codenomicon, Empirix, Ixia,
Mu Dynamics and
Spirent joined solution vendors such as the companies listed above in one of the largest IPTV proving grounds ever deployed.
Service bundling
IPTV Regulation
Historically, broadcast television has been regulated differently than telecommunications. As IPTV allows TV and VoD to be transmitted over IP networks new regulatory issues arise.
[65] Professor Eli M. Noam highlights in his report "TV or Not TV: Three Screens, One Regulation?" some of the key challenges with sector specific regulation that is becoming obsolete due to convergence in this field.
[66]
Depending on the network architecture of the service provider, there are two main types of video server architectures that can be considered for IPTV deployment, centralized, and distributed.
The centralized architecture model is a relatively simple and easy to manage solution. For example, as all contents are stored in centralized servers, it does not require a comprehensive content distribution system. Centralized architecture is generally good for a network that provides relatively small VOD service deployment, has adequate core and edge bandwidth and has an efficient content delivery network (CDN).
Distributed architecture is just as scalable as the centralized model, however it has bandwidth usage advantages and inherent system management features that are essential for managing a larger server network. Operators who plan to deploy a relatively large system should therefore consider implementing a Distributed Architecture model right from the start. Distributed architecture requires intelligent and sophisticated content distribution technologies to augment effective delivery of multimedia contents over service provider's network.
[31]
