Internet Protocol television ( IPTV ) is a system through which digital television service is 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 content (or video) on demand. It is distinguished from general Internet-based or web-based multimedia services by its on-going standardization process (e.g., ETSI) 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.
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. Although (in Mid 2007) it is premature to say that there is a full consensus of exactly what IPTV should mean, there is no doubt that the most widely used definition today 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.
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.
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."History
In 1994, ABC's World News Now was the first television show to be broadcast over the Internet, using the CU-SeeMe 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 provider VoD content. Kingston was one of the first companies in the world to introduce IPTV and IP VoD over ADSL.
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.
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; Telia who launched their service later has now more customers.
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. On 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.
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. 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.
Markets
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), Hong Kong, Japan, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Austria, China, Singapore, Switzerland and Portugal. Services have also launched in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, The Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Hungary, 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. 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. but significant plans exist in countries such as Poland and Russia. Kazakhstan introduced its own IPTV services by Alacast and national provider Kazakhtelecom under the "iD TV" brand in two major cities Astana and Almaty in 2009.
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. In Pakistan IPTV was launched by PTCL, brand name Smart TV. In Malaysia, Hypp.TV will be launched as TM's IPTV service.
Distinction of IPTV from Internet TV
A telco IPTV service is usually delivered over a complex and investment heavy walled garden network, which is carefully engineered to ensure bandwidth efficient delivery of vast amounts of multicast video traffic. The higher network quality also enables easy delivery of high quality SD or HD TV content to subscribers’ homes. This makes IPTV by default the preferred delivery platform for premium content. However, the investment for a telco to build an end-to-end IPTV service can be substantial.
By contrast "Internet TV" generally refers to transport streams sent over IP networks (normally the Internet) from outside the network that connects to the users premises. An Internet TV provider has no control over the final delivery and so broadcasts on a "best effort" basis. Elementary streams over IP networks and proprietary variants as used by websites such as YouTube are now rarely considered to be IPTV services.
Compared to telco IPTV, Internet TV is a quick-to-market and relatively low investment service. Internet TV rides on existing infrastructure including broadband, ADSL, Wi-Fi, cable and satellite which makes it a valuable tool for a wide variety of service providers and content owners looking for new revenue streams. However, due to the fact that IPTV is always delivered over low cost IP STBs, which have limited computing power, the capability for IPTV operators to provide diverse multimedia services is limited. This is where Internet TV has an advantage as it is delivered to a subscriber's (generally) powerful PC.
The relative ease of establishing an Internet TV service seems at first a threat to telco IPTV operators’ multimillion dollar investment, but both services do not necessarily compete for the same customers and there are some synergies between the two such as a common technology platform in the form of web-based technologies for content storage and delivery.
Broadcast IPTV has two major architecture forms: free and fee based. As of June 2006, there are over 1,300 free IPTV 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
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