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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is a rapidly maturing technology for the delivery of broadcast TV and other media-rich services over a secure, end-to-end operator managed broadband IP data network. IPTV broadly encompasses a rich functionality that ranges from the acquisition, encoding and decoding, access control and management of video content, to the delivery of digital TV, movies on demand, viewing of stored programming, personalized program guides, and a host of interactive and multimedia services.

IPTV is distinctly different from “Internet Video” that simply allows users to watch videos, like movie previews and web-cams, over the Internet in a “best effort” fashion with no end-to-end service management and quality of service considerations.

IPTV technology, integrated with the higher speed digital subscriber line (DSL) access technologies (ADSL2, ADSL2+ and VDSL), offers attractive revenue-generating opportunities for the telecom service providers, enabling them to compete effectively in the “triple play” market space with the delivery of voice, data and video services to residential and business customers

It is a system through which Internet television services are delivered using the architecture and networking methods of the Internet Protocol Suite over a packet-switched network infrastructure, e.g., the Internet and broadband Internet access networks, instead of being delivered through traditional radio frequency broadcast, satellite signal, and cable television (CATV) formats.

IPTV services may be classified into three main groups: live television, time-shifted programming, and video on demand (VOD). It is distinguished from general Internet-based or web-based multimedia services by its on-going standardization process (e.g., European Telecommunications Standards Institute) and preferential deployment scenarios in subscriber-based telecommunications networks with high-speed access channels into end-user premises via set-top boxes or other customer-premises equipment.

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Chapter 2

DEFINITION

IPTV is a system used to deliver digital television services to the consumers who are registered subscribers for this system. This delivery of digital television is made possible by using Internet Protocol over a broadband connection, usually in a managed network rather than the public Internet to preserve quality of service guarantees. Often, this service is provided together with Video facility on demand. In addition to this, there is provision to include Internet services such as web access and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). In cases when internet service is also provided, it may be called Triple Play.

Today, IPTV is creating headlines all over the world. This mass publicity is the result of numerous instances and stories depicting its humble deployments and its future. IPTV is a very useful system, through which you can receive both TV and video signals along with other multimedia services by means of your Internet connection. In a nutshell, it is nothing but a broadband connection and a system to deliver various programs of television using the Internet protocol (i.e., language) over computer networks.

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."

Another official and more detailed definition of IPTV is the one given by Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) IPTV Exploratory Group on 2005:"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."

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. 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.

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Chapter 3

HISTORY AND FUTURE

3.1 HISTORY

In 1994, ABC's World News Now was the first television show to be broadcast over the Internet, using the CU-See Me videoconferencing software.

The term IPTV first appeared in 1995 with the founding of Precept Software by Judith Estrin and Bill Carrico. Precept designed and built an Internet video product named IP/TV. IP/TV was an MBONE compatible Windows and Unix-based application that moved single and multi-source audio/video traffic, ranging from low to DVD quality, using both unicast and IP multicast Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) and Real time control protocol (RTCP). The software was written primarily by Steve Casner, Karl Auerbach, and Cha Chee Kuan. Precept was acquired by Cisco Systems in 1998. Cisco retains the IP/TV trademark.

Internet radio company AudioNet started the first continuous live webcasts with content from WFAA-TV in January, 1998 and KCTU-LP on January 10, 1998.

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.

In 2000, NBTel (now known as Bell Aliant) was the first to commercially deploy Internet Protocol Television over digital subscriber line (DSL) in Canada using the Alcatel 7350 DSLAM and middleware created by Imagic TV (owned by NBTel's parent company Bruncor). The service was marketed under the brand VibeVision in New Brunswick. ImagicTV was later sold to Alcatel.

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. In 2006, it was the first North American company to offer HDTV channels over an IPTV service.

In 2003, Total Access Networks Inc launched its IPTV service, comprising of 100 free IPTV stations worldwide. The service has been used in over 100 countries worldwide, and has channels in 26 languages.

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.

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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. While using IP protocols, AT&T has built a private IP network exclusively for video transport.

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. 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.

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.

IPTV is basically a fusion of voice, video, and data service. It is not a new idea or, rather, development, but it is a result of high bandwidth and high speed Internet access. In earlier days, the speed of the Internet did not suit the concept and, as a result, it affected the voice and video services. In recent times, the speed of Internet and bandwidth has increased considerably, making IPTV prevail and become reasonably successful. Also, first generation Set Top Boxes were prohibitively expensive. Technology costs now permit a viable business model.

3.2 FUTURE

The IPTV is expected to grow more in the forth coming years. The biggest challenge faced is integration with core network. It would take few years to achieve long-term stability .It would serve as a personalized TV

IPTV with Next-Generation Network (NGN) network handles heavy traffic. It enables content providers to deliver heavy media content across network. It would be the killer application for Next Generation Internet.

Going forward, IPTV is seen as a broader application than today’s definition encompasses. In particular, it is envisioned that it will simply be one of many new applications supported by the Next Generation Network (NGN).This view of IPTV extends beyond the home delivery model that is the focus of today’s IPTV and also includes additional options for distribution of IPTV to wherever the consumer may be. Thanks to the NGN, the domain of applications for IPTV will broaden to other environments (e.g., businesses and communities), requiring delivery from many different content creation sources and easier customization. It is envisioned that more pervasive delivery and ease of

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content creation will enable IPTV to be used for complementary services other than pure infotainment (e.g., education, healthcare, and security.) As an NGN application domain IPTV will also benefit from communications-oriented capabilities, like holding real-time conversations or chats, sharing the experience through conferencing mechanisms (with appropriate business models in place), and intuitive multimodal-multimedia user interactions that can all be delivered in combination with the content by relying on well-coordinated NGN resources and devices capabilities. The IPTV concept should be flexible enough to support the evolution of the entertainment service concepts from the linear video formats of yesteryear to rich media environments supportive of interactivity and consumer engagement. The interactivity functionality should be capable of evolving into a rich communication context in order to enable a customer perception of communication with content. IPTV entertainment services are thus poised to provide not simply a broader distribution of existing content, but to enable a broader range of entertainment service options such as interactive games, augmented reality and virtual environments for other communications services. In order to accommodate this broad range of content, IPTV will need to support a framework for multimedia data types (e.g., MPEG-4) rather than simply a single video format. The availability of metadata concerning the content (e.g., MPEG-7) will also be the key in enabling IPTV service evolution. In addition, the IPTV concept should be further expanded to include delivery of content to portable devices over various types of wireless networks. It may also include using the mobile handsets to do some of the interactive features and control.

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Chapter 4

MARKETS

Map of IPTV countries of the world.      Countries where IPTV is available in at least some parts of the country

The 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.

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). 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. Claro has launched their own IPTV service called "Claro TV".

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. 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.

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Chapter 5

IPTV VS. INTERNET TELEVISION

Now, let us take a look at what makes IPTV and Internet Television different. To differentiate these two models is in general quite challenging. But studying and analyzing the said concepts in depth explains the differences.

IPTV is the representation of a profile of a closed, proprietary TV system. This is somewhat similar to the present day cable service providers. But, unlike IPTV, it is delivered via IP-based secure channels. As a result, it sharply increases the control of content distribution.

Internet Television is an open evolving framework where a huge number of small and medium-sized video producers contribute. Such a service provides highly innovative content, where the contributors are very much comfortable. This is due to the opening of different traditional channels which are either retail and for wide distribution.

The following are the major concerns of IPTV over Internet television

Control over delivery enables a guaranteed QoS

Allows service provider to offer enhanced user experience

Internet TV refers to transport streams sent over IP networks from outside

Internet TV provider has no control over final delivery

Broadcasts on "best effort" basis

Elementary streams over IP networks (ex YouTube) are NOT considered IPTV

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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.

Broadcast IPTV has two major architecture forms: free and fee based. As of June 2006, there are over 1,300 free IPTV sources available. 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.

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:

1. Conventional TV reception equipment and IPTV encoders2. IPTV Gateways that take broadcast MPEG channels and IP wrap them to create

multicast streams.

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WORKING OF IPTV

Before we get into the internal details of the way the IPTV network is configured

to provide transmission of television signals, we see what are the various steps followed to

convert the audio and video feed signals into a suitable form to be transmitted in the form of

IP (Internet Protocol) packets, which forms the basis of the whole concept of IPTV and how

they are received on the other side as television signals.

7.1 DIGITIZATION

A key first step in providing Internet Protocol Television service is converting

the analog audio voice signals into a digital form (digitization) and then compressing the

digitized information into a more efficient form. Digitization is the conversion of analog

signals (continually varying signals) into digital form (signals that have only two levels To

convert analog signals to digital form, the analog signal is sampled and digitized by using

an analog-to-digital (pronounced A to D) co the A/D converter periodically senses

(samples) the level of the analog signal and creates a binary number or series of digital

pulses that represent the level of the signal.

Analog signals are converted into digital signals because they are more resistant

to noise (distortion) and they are easier to manipulate than analog signals. For the older

analog systems (continuously varying signals), it is not easy (and sometimes not possible) to

separate the noise from the analog signals. Because digital signals can only have two levels,

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the signal can be regenerated and during this regeneration. Process, the noise is removed

Television signal digitization involves digitization of both the audio and video signals.

7.2COMPRESSION

Digital media compression is a process of analyzing a digital signal (digitized

video and/or audio) and using the analysis information to convert the high-speed digital

signals that represent the actual signal shape into lower-speed digital signals that represent

the actual content (such as a moving image or human voice). This process allows IP

television service to have lower data transmission rates than standard digital video signals

while providing for good quality video and audio. Digital media compression for IP

television includes digital audio compression and digital video compression.

7.3 SENDING PACKETS

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Sending packets through the Internet involves routing them through the network and

managing the loss of packets when they can't reach their destination. Packet routing involves

the transmission of packets through intelligent switches (called routers) that analyze the

destination address of the packet and determine a path that will help the packet travel toward

its destination

A television gateway is a communications device or assembly that transforms audio

and video that is received from a television media server (IP television signal source) into a

format that can be used by a viewer or different network. A television gateway usually has

more intelligence (processing function) than a data network bridge as it can select the video

and voice compression coders and adjust the protocols and timing between two dissimilar

computer systems or IP Television networks

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This diagram shows that the gateway must convert audio, video and control signals

into a format that can be sent through the Internet. The gateway first converts video and audio

signals into digital form. These digital signals are then analyzed and compressed by a coding

processor. Because end users may have viewers that have different types of coders (such as

MPEG and AAC), the media gateway usually has available several different types of coding

devices. The gateway may have a database (or access to a database) that helps it determine

authorized users and the addresses to send IP television signals

7.4TRANSMISSION

IP Television channel transmission is the process of transferring the television

media from a media server or television gateway to an end customer. IP television channel

transmission may be exclusively sent directly to specific viewer (unicast) or it may be copied

and sent to multiple viewers at the same time (multicast)

UNICAST

Unicast transmission is the delivery of data to only one client within a network.

Unicast transmission is typically used to describe a streaming connection from a server to a

single client. Unicast service is relatively simple to implement. Each user is given the same

address to connect to when they desire to access that media (such as an IP television

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channel). The use of unicast transmission is not efficient when many users are receiving the

same information at the same time because a separate connection for each user must be

maintained. If the same media source is accessed by hundreds or thousands of users, the

bandwidth to that media server will need to be hundreds or thousands of times larger than the

bandwidth required for each user.

MULTICAST

Multicast transmission is a one-to-many media delivery process that sends a

single message or information transmission that contains an address (code) that is designated

to allow multiple distribution nodes in a network (e.g. routers) to receive and retransmit the

same signal to multiple receivers. As a multicast signal travels through a communication

network, it is copied at nodes within the network for distribution to other nodes within the

network. Multicast systems form distribution trees of information. Nodes (e.g. routers) that

copy the information form the branches of the tree.

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ARCHIETECTURE OF IPTV

Telephone companies will most likely be the first ones to offer IPTV service. Later on, this facility will be extended to other current television carriers. IPTV is not a costly affair, and it is even both operator and consumer friendly. Because it uses the Internet and sends less information compared to standard analog or digital television, IPTV promises both lower costs for operators and lower prices for consumers. The use of set-top boxes through broadband or DSL Internet is very helpful to transfer video signals. Therefore, video can be streamed to households more efficiently compared to signaling by coaxial cable. In addition to its higher speed, it can record multiple programs at once by use of digital video recorders (DVR). In ROI terms, the copper was already paid for by the phone service and the fibre/DSL by the broadband service. Therefore, IPTV only has incremental costs.

Let us have a look at the architecture of IPTV through Figure

The IPTV architecture consists of the following functional components:

Content Sources: The 'Content Source' is defined as a functionality which receives video content from producers and other sources. Afterwards, these contents are encoded and store in an acquisition database for video-on-demand (VoD)

Service Nodes: The 'Service Node' is defined as a functionality which receives video streams in different formats. These video streams in different formats then reformat and encapsulate it for transmission with appropriate quality of service (QoS) indications to the wide-area network. This makes it ready for delivery to customers. In regards to service management, the Service Nodes communicate with the customer premises equipment (CPE); for the subscriber, session and digital rights management, service nodes communicate with the IPTV service.

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Wide Area Distribution Networks: The Wide Area Distribution Network is made up of distribution capability, capacity, and quality of service. It also consists of other capabilities, such as multicast, which is necessary for the reliable and timely distribution of IPTV data streams from the service nodes to the customer premises. Moreover, the core and access network cover the optical distribution backbone network and the various digital subscriber line access multiplexers (DSLAMs). This is located at the central office or remote distribution points.

Customer Access Links: In the customer access links, high-speed DSL technologies such as ADSL2+ and VDSL are required; with the help of such technology, customer delivery can be provided over the existing loop plant and through phone lines to homes. There are some other options available. Service providers may use a combination of fiber-to-the curb (FTTC) and DSL technologies for delivery to customers. They can also implement direct fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) access. However, good results depend on the richness of their IPTV service offerings.

Customer Premises Equipment (CPE): In context of IPTV, the CPE device is located at the customer premises. This provides the broadband network termination (B-NT) functionality. At a minimum, it may also include other integrated functions which can be routing gateway, set-top box, or home networking capabilities.

IPTV Client: The IPTV client is a functional unit which terminates the IPTV traffic at the customer premises. This is only a device, such as a set-top box, which performs the functional processing. The functional processing includes setting up the connection and QoS with the service node, decoding the video streams, channel change functionality, user display control and connections to user appliances such as a standard definition television (SDTV) or a high definition television (HDTV) monitor

8.1ARCHITECTURE OF A VIDEO SERVER NETWORK

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.

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8.2HOME 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, phone lines or coaxial cables) have become a popular solution for this problem, although fragmentation in the wired home networking market has limited somewhat the growth in this market.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).

8.3IMS 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 ). 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. The MultiService Forum recently conducted interoperability of IMS-based IPTV solutions during its GMI event in 2008.

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Chapter 9

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).

VOD is using the Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP).

NPVR (network-based personal video recorder) is also using the Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP).

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).

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.As already discussed, IPTV covers both Live TV, i.e., multicasting, as well as stored video or VoD. The requirements for playback of IPTV are either a personal computer or a "set-top box" connected to a TV. Typically, the video content is a moving pictures expert group (MPEG) 2-transport stream (TS) delivered via IP multicast. This is a method in which information can be sent to multiple computers at the same time, with the newly released H.264 format predesigned to replace the older MPEG-2. In standard-based IPTV systems, the primary underlying protocols used for IPTV are Internet group management protocol (IGMP) and real time streaming protocol (RTSP). Here, IGMP is the version 2 for channel change signaling for Live TV and RTSP for VoD.

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Currently, only one alternative exists to IPTV which is the traditional TV distribution technology covering terestial, satellite and cable TV. However, when there is a possibility for the cable TV, it can be upgraded to two-way capability system and thus also carry IPTV. Another alternative available is VoD which is usually delivered in the US over cable TV through the digital video broadcasting (DVB) protocol, but it is not labelled as IPTV services.

IPTV Home Distribution Scenarios

Generic IPTV Distribution Model for Customer Premises, showing arious interfaces per ITU Full Service VDSL Model The following illustrates possible home network connectivity scenarios use IPTV service no IPTV Traffic on Home Network .The set-top box functionality and the ssociated IPTV Client, is integrated, or co-located, into the same box as the xDSL Termination rocessing unit (xDSL modem). Physical interfaces on this unit are the DSL phone line, Ethernet port For Internet service, and the connections to standard TV and other home entertainment appliances. In this scenario, IPTV traffic does not traverse the home network.Integrated xDSL Termination Processing (xDSL modem) and Set Top Box (IPTV Client) IPTV-enabled Home Network .The xDSL modem and the set top box functionality are not integrated as one box. In such cases, the IPTV video streams are

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delivered from the xDSL modem to the set-top box, or TV monitor with an embedded IPTV client, over the home network.

Home Network Using Distributed Set-top Boxes and/or IPTV Client-enables Appliances

Pictoral of the Powerline Network Used for IPTV Distribution – Ethernet-enabled set-top boxes and Ethernet/PLC bridges make this possible. Digital Media Server Added – it shows digital media server functionality, an emerging class of home entertainment devices with built-in storage, similar to; TiVo™, Personal Video Recorders (PVRs) and PCs with large storage for multimedia content. The media server functionality may be standalone or integrated into a set-top box. Content streams generated by the media server may share the home network, which must be able to differentiate and deliver the IPTV traffic in a manner that is consistent with the required QoS. Distribution at Customer Premises showing a local Digital Media Server sharing the Home Network

Hybrid PLC/Cable/Ethernet Set-Top Box ConceptThe fig shows a set-top box concept that includes PLC, coax and Ethernet network interfaces. The embedded PLC/Coax/Ethernet client makes this set-top box a plug-and-play network device, delivering audio and various video formats to the display and sound equipment.

Chapter 10

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IPTV SYSTEM OVERVIEW

It is important to remember that IPTV is not like any ordinary television program broadcast through the Internet, but rather it is unique in itself. Its contour is represented by a closed, proprietary TV system which is similar to the cable services present today. But, in contrast, the delivery of IPTV is made via IP-based secure channels, which result in a sharp increase in content distribution control.

The role of IPTV is to integrate numerous ways to scrutinize and trace choices of users. Its role is also to mark out the preferences and selections over a particular time period. It is therefore emerging as a perfect platform on which clients add personalized e-commerce options and a more targeted advertising. By now, IPTV has turned out to be a widespread denominator for systems where both television and video signals are circulated to subscribers or viewers.

IPTV uses a Internet Protocol over broadband connection and very often this service has been provided in parallel with the Internet connection of the subscriber, supplied by an operator dealing with broadband. This is done by using the same infrastructure but apparently over a dedicated bandwidth allocation. Hence, we can describe it as a system in which a digital television service is provided to subscribing consumers over a broadband connection using the Internet Protocol. Moreover, one must also remember that IPTV is noticeably different from "Internet Video". Internet Video provides services to watch videos, such as movie previews and web-cams. This service is a so-called "best effort" by providers of Internet, which has no back-to-back service management along with quality of service considerations.

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In contrast, IPTV technology is more advanced, user friendly, and incorporated with the higher speed digital subscriber line (DSL) access technologies, such as asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL2), ADSL2+ and very-high-data-rate digital subscriber line (VDSL). This certainly offers eye-catching revenue-generating opportunities for the telecom service providers. Therefore, IPTV allows the service providers to participate and to compete efficiently in the so-called "triple play" market space. It is important to note here that the service is very prompt and effective with the delivery of voice, data, and video services to customers who can be both residential and business related.

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Chapter 11

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. 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. 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”.

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Chapter 12

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

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.

These trends led to the development of Hybrid IPTV Set-Top Boxes that included both a traditional broadcast tuner and an Internet connection – usually an Ethernet port. The first commercially available Hybrid IPTV Set-Top Box was developed by Advanced Digital Broadcast, a developer of digital television hardware and software, in 2005. The platform was developed for Spanish pay TV operator, Telefonica, and used as part of its Imagenio service, launched to subscribers at the end of 2005.

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.

Hybrid IPTV Set-Top Boxes also enable consumers to access a range of advanced interactive services, such as VOD and catch-up TV, as well as Internet applications, including video telephony, surveillance, gaming, shopping, e-government accessed via a television set.

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.

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.

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

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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.[49]

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[50] and it’s predicted that the majority of global IPTV growth will be fuelled by hybrid networks.[51]

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Chapter 13

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.

In IPTV, a new level of interactivity among Internet, voice, and video can be established. This enables new types of services which were previously unavailable over stacked networks. For example, in traditional cable TV networks, video transmission is beamed over MPEG streams on an explicit portion of the bandwidth. On the other hand, high-speed data products, such as cable- and modem-based Internet service, are delivered over an IP based network. It is separate from the broadcast TV network that uses MPEG transmission. In this case, both services were delivered via an IP network then, in such a situation, overlapping products are possible. Interactive TV is a good example which often relies on data-centric applications. Today, the delivery of such applications is quite complex due to the separation of IP packets from MPEG streams. These would be missing if such IP packets delivered all video and data.

Another very distinctive advantage of IPTV is that numerous channels can be beamed to the viewer. The operator has a very meager choice in regards to the traditional network. Due to the scarcity of choices and space available, the operator chooses the networks which are later beamed. This doesn't allow for market segmentation, and ultimately the highest levels of satisfaction are missing. In contrast, in the case of IPTV, the "switching" is carried out in the network which is just the right fit for services such as VoD. Another distinctive feature is that IPTV delivery consists of a return path, which ensures the facilitation of advanced products.

IPTV can be very helpful in providing web-based training to courses. If we take a case of large size courses, they contain many sections and instructors that can easily share video materials. Therefore, if you own an instructional video which needs to cover ten sections of a course, IPTV can greatly extend its service. The video can be put on IPTV and then all the ten sections could be viewed at one time, or each instructor will have the freedom to schedule a broadcast time for their concerned section. As a result, this removes the

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scheduling conflicts, if any. Moreover, appearances of any valuable guest lecturers can be recorded and kept for future use. The recording can be used for multiple courses and can be viewed semester after semester. In addition, different orientations, which are given to a large group of people on a regular basis, can be recorded and stored. The recording can be viewed through IPTV, which is possible as long as you have rights from the publishing company to do so.

The point to remember is that video broadcasts made through IPTV is automatically archived in Real Media format, which is stored on a real server. This facility allows the students, who could not view the broadcast or watch the same video, to view it later, either on or off campus. However, Real Media is not a multicast system and therefore has a limited bandwidth capacity.

IPTV can report detailed levels of usage and viewership which can allow the operator to report statistics of programs/channels/adverts watched as well as be able to bill using various methods of bundled or a-la-carte content….billed by the second, minute, month or par per view.

13.1 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.

13.2 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. 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,

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interactivity with those networks can be possible by combining TV networks with data networks such as the Internet or a mobile communication network.

13.3VIDEO-ON-DEMAND

IPTV technology is bringing Video-on-demand (VoD) to television[53] 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).The most common codecs used for VoD are MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and VC-1.

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.

13.4IPTV-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.[54] 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.

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13.5QUALITY OF SERVICE

Television networks provide a fairly high level of quality of service (QoS) to television

viewers and to be successful, IP television service should have similar quality as standard

television systems.

Audio Quality : Audio Quality is the ability of the system to recreate the key characteristics of an original audio signal. Audio Quality can be affected by many factors such as the type of audio codecs (audio compression), transmission system and bandwidth limits. Generally, the more you compress the audio, the lower the audio quality.Recently, innovations in audio compression technology provide similar quality audio signals using a much lower data communication (connection) speed. The symptoms of a poor transmission system include audio distortion which is caused by packet loss and/or packet corruption. Packet loss is the inability of the network to deliver a packet to its destination within a specified period of time. Packet loss can result from a variety of events such as network congestion or equipment failures. The effect of packet loss on audio distortion is to temporarily mute or distort the audio signal. Packet losses are rare as systems normally resend a data packet if it gets a reply from the destination that the original data packet failed to reach within a specified time. Packet corruption is the modification of packet data during its transmission. Packet corruption can occur due to various reasons such as poor communication line quality or momentary line loss from electrical spikes. As IPTV systems use audio compression, the packet data represents a sound that will be recreated rather than a specific portion of the actual audio signal. As a result, if corrupted data is used, this can create a very different audio sound (Warble) then expected.

Video Quality :Video quality is the ability of a display or video transfer system to recreate the key characteristics of an original video signal. Similar to Audio quality, some of these factors that affect video quality include the video codecs, transmission type and bandwidth limitations. The types of distortion on analog video systems include blurriness and edgenoise. Digital video and transmission system impairments include tiling, error blocks, smearing, jerkiness, edge busyness and object retention. Tiling is the changing of a digital video image into square tiles that are located in positions other than their original positions on the screen. Error blocks are groups of a block of pixels that do not represent error signals rather than the original image bits that were supposed to be in that image block. Jerkiness is stalling or skipping of video image frames or fields. Object retention is the retention of a portion of a frame when the image has changed

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Chapter 14

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 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.

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.

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).

14.1 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.[60]

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

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MMOGs can operate well over satellite Internet), 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.

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Chapter 15

PRIVACY AND SECURITY

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.

Let us look at the important aspect of privacy and security of the subscribers. In this regard, the home network must be a closed one. Where is the user's security in this regard? It should be a secure network where access is limited only to users and concerned devices within the home. This is an important factor for the home networks as it uses wireless technologies or shared media technologies such as power line networking. Further, the user data on the home network is protected and no outsiders or intruders have the power to intercept. Unauthorized users do not have the capacity to view it.

Chapter 15

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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, 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.

Chapter 16

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APPLICATION AND SERVICES

The applications for IPTV deployment are to provide the delivery of digital broadcast television and also the selected VoD. Such application enables service providers to offer the so-called "triple play," which is video, voice and data. The IPTV infrastructure also provides additional video applications mostly after the installation of IPTV infrastructure is in place. Now, let us take a look at the major applications and services enabled by IPTV.

DIGITAL BROADCAST TV

Customers get a conventional digital television through IPTV. This digital broadcast TV is delivered to subscribers via an upgraded cable TV plant or through satellite systems. The initiation of higher-speed DSL technology such as ADSL2, ADSL2+ and VDSL has brought a revolution to this field. This higher-speed technology enables IPTV to be a convincing and highly competitive substitute for customers. Today, a number of telecom service providers are testing, planning, and building collaborations around IPTV throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.

IPTV has the full potential to offer various high-quality services and much more than what traditional broadcast, cable, and satellite TV providers have offered subscribers in the past. Another utility with IPTV is that it has more content variety with a larger number of channels to choose depending on the customers' preferences. This makes a promising start especially as customers can choose from its diversified content. It will reach its target group no matter whether the subscribers are in the mass markets, in specialized groups, or spread out in demographic communities.

The function of conventional broadcast, cable, and satellite TV is to provide all channels simultaneously (i.e., broadcast) to the subscriber home. However, IPTV is unique and different from all conventional groups. IPTV only delivers those channels which are being viewed by the subscriber and has the potential to offer practically an 'unlimited' number of channels. The IPTV consumers will get the freedom to control what they want to watch and also when they want to watch. This is possible because it has a combination of two-way interactive capability. This is inherent in IPTV because of its association with IP. This association is built-in and tied to a robust internal network. Therefore, subscribers are enjoying the facility to broaden the unique experience at home or in their business.

VIDEO ON DEMAND(VOD)

VoD is a service which provides television programs per the demands of the subscribers. The users interactively request and can receive television channels. These television services are beamed from previously stored media consisting of entertainment movies or education videos. It has a live access through live connection, such as news events in real time. The VoD application provides freedom to the individual subscribers to select a video content and view it at their convenience.

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Chapter 18

CONCLUSION

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For residential users, IPTV is often provided in conjunction with Video on Demand and may be bundled with Internet services such as Internet access and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telecommunications services. Commercial bundling of IPTV, VoIP and Internet access is sometimes referred to in marketing as triple play service. When these three are offered with cellular service, the combined service may be referred to as quadruple play.

Among the diverse areas within an IPTV solution, which are to be addressed, it is obvious that the standardization process related to it is in its early stages. In the different parts of the whole system, many entities are working. However, so far, the observation is that there is little coordination among them. After issuing a standard offer, it can be observed that one component of a system is a good step forward, but too little. Now for IPTV the need of the hour is to gain mass acceptance and to reach to the optimum technical and commercial success as per everyone's expectation. In order to achieve this, the IPTV market must make itself free from closed solutions, which may hamper the following three goals: innovation, development, and competition.

In regards to the future of IPTV, it can only follow one path, which is close to what the market has witnessed in the traditional broadcast world. Moreover, it is important to note that this market has built an open system, which is well defined and relies on open standards. To make IPTV successful and perfect as per expectations, it has to guarantee the interoperability between all the building blocks. But, the conformance program related to it is critical.

Chapter19

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APPENDIX

19.1REFERENCES

http://www.wikepedia.com

http://www.ciscosystem.com

http://www.iptv.net

http://www.mrgco.com/press_releases.html#hstb09

http://jviptv.wordpress.com/2009/06/25/hybrid-iptv-stb/

http://www.digitaltvnews.net/items/060911adb_spain.htm

http://www.v-net.tv/Webcast.aspx?id=5

Internet TV: Communicating in the 21st Century

"Lucent Technologies Introduces First Commercial IP Video Over DSL Solution, Business Net". http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2002_April_10/ai_84632001. Retrieved 2008-02-04.

Eggerton, John (2009-12-14). "Broadcasters Squeezed by Convergence Push". Broadcasting & Cable. http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/439909Broadcasters_Squeezed_by_Convergence_Push.php?rssid=20068&q=digital+tv. Retrieved 2009-12-17.

19.2LIST OF ACRONYMS

3G Third Generation LDAP Lightweight Directory Access Protocol

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ATA Analog Terminal Adapter MOS Mean Opinion ScoreAVC Advanced Video Codec NGN Next Generation NetworkBPON Broadband Passive Optical Network NI Network InterfaceBSS Business Support System NNI Network to Network InterfaceCP Content Protection NTP Network Time ProtocolCPE Customer Premises Equipment OSS Operational Support SystemDNS Domain Name System PDA Personal Digital AssistantDRM Digital Rights Management PON Passive Optical NetworkDSL Digital Subscriber Line QoE Quality of ExperienceE2e End to end QoS Quality of ServiceEPG Electronic Program Guide RADIUS Remote Authentication Dial In User ServiceFEC Forward Error Correction SDO Standard Development OrganizationFG Focus Group STB Set Top BoxGPON Gigabit Passive Optical Network VOD Video on Demand VoIP Voice over Internet ProtocolIP Internet Protocol WDM Wavelength Division MultiplexingIPTV Internet Protocol Television WiFi Wireless FidelityiTV Interactive Television XML Extended Markup Language