I Want My IPTV
IPTV and Its Implications on Home Networks
Introduction
With recent advances in broadband and video compression technologies, Internet TV is finally making its way to homes around the world. IPTV generally refers to the real time delivery of broadcast television and on-demand video content over an IP broadband network for viewing on TV sets, but the term has also been used to describe streaming of television and video content over the public Internet for viewing on devices from PCs to mobile phones.
Today, dozens of independent operating companies and international carriers are already offering IPTV services. Practically all the DSL carriers are engaged in some stage of an IPTV rollout, field trial or service planning. Many cable/MSO operators are also looking to take advantage of IPTV to reduce infrastructure cost, extend geographic coverage and enable new services. As competition intensifies, a service provider's ability to rapidly acquire and activate subscribers, reduce deployment cost and enhance subscriber experience will be critical to its success.
What's the Problem at Home?
Essential to an IPTV delivery infrastructure are the video servers and content delivery systems, IPTV middleware, the broadband network and subscriber management systems, customer premises equipment such as set-top-boxes and home gateways, and last but not least, the in-home video distribution network.
In-home distribution has been a weak link in the IPTV delivery chain. The broadband gateway and TV/Set-Top-Box (STB) are typically located in different quarters in a home; getting content across will almost always require new Ethernet cabling. Not only is cable installation an inconvenience for the consumer, it adds $100 - $300 to the per-subscriber startup cost which, in most cases, the service provider must absorb.
