The fundamentals of how IPTV works is provided.

You will discover how IP

television can be watched on different types of viewing devices such as standard
televisions with adapters, dedicated IP televisions, multimedia computers and
mobile telephones.

IPTV service allows viewers to have more control of Internet television services.
This control ranges from instant service activation to real time television on
demand controls. Some of the advanced Internet television features such as
personal media channels, anywhere television extensions, global television
channels and multimedia programs are described.

In addition to the traditional ways of television channel selection, you will learn
about new ways television channels can be search and selected using interactive
electronic programming guides (EPGs). The different types of media formats that
are used for IP television services are explained along with their control protocols.

Not all IPTV systems and services are the same. There are cost and quality
tradeoffs along with common problem areas and risks. You will discover how the
audio and video service quality can range from poor to above the quality that is
already delivered to standard TV.

Because each IP television viewer has a unique address, this allows advertising
messages to be sent to specific viewers (addressable advertising). The ability to
direct advertising messages to specific target audiences (addressable advertising)
is more valuable to companies than traditional broadcast advertising and this may
result in reduced viewing costs.
What is IPTV - IPTV is the sending of television signals through packet data
networks that use IP addressing (the data network itself does not need to be IP
based).

IPTV Services - IPTV services are a mix of traditional and new television and
multimedia services. IPTV systems normally start by offering similar programs to
cable tv and then quickly add thousands of new programs from around the world.
IPTV services can include two-way TV (community TV), interactive ads, and
television stores..

IPTV Viewing Devices - IPTV systems may be setup to allow viewing IPTV
programs on traditional (TV) and other types of devices (such as multimedia PCs
and mobile telephones).

IP Video - IP video is the sending of moving pictures over packet data

communication systems. IP video involves converting video (analog or digital) into
packet data form. IP video has some significant differences from broadcast digital
video.

IP Audio - IP audio is the sending of sound signals over packet data

communication systems. IP audio involves converting audio (analog or digital) into
packet data form. IP audio has some significant differences from broadcast digital
audio.

MPEG - MPEG is a system that allows for the mixing, transmission, and controlling
video, audio, and data so the user can have a TV like experience.
IPTV Systems - IPTV systems are the combination of media and communication
equipment with software programs (such as middleware and rights protection
software).

Home Media Networks - Getting the signals around the house.

IPTV Security - IPTV systems are usually designed to control service rights and
protect content. Without a good content protection system, content owners may
not allow distribution of their programs (movies and shows) through the IPTV
system.

IPTV Economics - IPTV economics is the revenue sources and the associated costs
for an IPTV system operator. In 2009, many systems have a cable TV look alike
business model which may be unprofitable. New features and revenue sources for
IPTV systems will allow operators to shift to targeted advertising and television
commerce systems resulting in a windfall profit for some successful companies.

IPTV is about Content. Because IPTV is a switched video system, there is no limit
on thenumber channels a system can have. It is possible to have 1 Million TV
Channels or more.

IPTV Services can include traditional television types such as subscription (paid
programming), Pay Per View on demand services. IPTV systems can earn much
more advertising revenue than traditional TV systems because ads can be
targeted to specific users. IPTV systems can merge e-commerce with IPTV
technology to produce very high value television commerce (t-commerce).
IPTV viewing devices include standard TV (with STBs), multimedia computers
(PCs), multimedia mobile phones (with video capability), and IP televisions
(dedicated digital viewing devices).

IPTV systems can be owned and/or managed networks. The types of companies
that can operate managed networks include telephone companies (essential
now), Cable TV companies (will need to compete with telephone company IPTV),
electric companies (send the signals over existing electric power lines), mobile
systems (value added service), and wireless broadband (they need new
customers).

Internet television (Broadband TV) are systems that distribute television signals
through an Internet connection that they cannot control (unmanaged
connections). If the broadband connection is fast enough, the quality can be the
same as managed IPTV systems. Internet TV systems can have very low startup
costs and can offer TV programs globally.

IPTV vs. CABLE TV

IPTV brings to your homes a truly digital TV service with richer-than-DVD picture
and sound quality. Experience on-demand movies, a user-friendly electronic
programming guide, interactive learning games for the kids and lots more.
With a huge selection of channels across various genres, IPTV enhances your TV
experience like never before with features such as favourites, reminders, alerts
and parental lock.

Widgets
Widgets are a set of user-friendly, interactive applications, which gets invoked on
live television by the user. Widgets provides high-tech, computer-like user
experience and would demonstrate the power of IPTV. Widget application
includes Channel Search, Calculator, Notes, TV clock.

High Quality Transmission

Delight your senses with a stunning audio-video quality that remains unaffected
by weather conditions. IPTV offers consistently superior quality of reception
across all channels.

Electronic Programme Guide (EPG)

The EPG provides you with a proactive and ‘intelligent’ way of watching TV. Reach
your desired channel by browsing through genres and catching a glimpse of the
current programme being broadcast.

Favourites
Using the IPTV remote, you can easily create your set of favourite channels that
you watch most frequently. You can add or delete channels from your
Favouriteslist at any time.

On Demand
IPTV is all about watching what you want and when you want. The On-Demand
service lets you set up your favourite movie, music track or even a cookery show
at any time convenient to you. You can pause, rewind or forward your on-demand
movie or ‘programme’ as easily as in a DVD player.

Programme Reminders
An important soap episode, your favourite movie, or a crucial realty show…Don’t
miss any of them! Set up a quick reminder and let IPTV remind you minutes
before the programme is about to start.

Parental Control
IPTV’s intelligent technology ensures that your kids get to watch only those
programmes that are suitable for them. Using the convenience of your IPTV
remote control, you can easily restrict programmes/channels based upon their
rating levels.
 IPTV vs. DTH

IPTV offers you a pure digital audio-video experience along with loads of on-
demand content – music, movies, games and more. And that’s not all! Being a
truly interactive service, it puts you in direct control of what you watch and when.

You’re in control
Experience truly interactive TV by deciding what you wish to watch and when!
With IPTV's seamless and powerful on-demand service, you can access loads of
on-demand content including movies, music, infotainment, karaoke, games and
lots more. The DVD player-like functionality lets you pause, rewind or forward on-
demand movies and programmes with ease.

The convergence of TV and Internet

IPTV brings the power of Internet to your TV sets! You can view location maps,
access learning content, check train booking status, and even read your
astrological forecast, all this through the convenience of your IPTV remote
control.

Consistent quality – Always!

Unlike DTH that requires an antenna or dish, IPTV reaches your home through the
broadband network, offering you consistently high quality at all times,
irrespective of the weather conditions.
More Channels = More Entertainment
Due to its transmission method, IPTV offers virtually unlimited channel capacity
compared to DTH. So whatever may be your passion – music, movies,
entertainment or sports, IPTV gets you more of what you wish to watch.

IPTV vs. Internet TV

The primary difference is the way in which the content is delivered.  While
Internet TV travels over the open, public, global Internet, IPTV uses a private,
managed network.  “Carrying video over a proprietary network allows protection
of content and control of video quality without worrying about the privacy and
quality issues inherent to the public Internet,” said Marty Richter, spokesman for
AT&T, which is in the process of rolling out its U-verse fiber-to-the-home IPTV
service.  “Best-effort Internet video can be subject to delays due to lower
bandwidth, high traffic or poor connection quality,” he said.  The end result of
IPTV delivery is a higher quality, more reliable, and more consistent viewing
experience, he added.

“What makes the telcos and cable companies such significant players for the
content providers boils down to their credibility,” said Mark Crandon, vice
president of product marketing for IPTV technology provider Kasenna.  “Both
financially and ethically, they will be responsible partners in protecting digital
rights, collecting and paying their bills, and delivering a very high quality product.”

Given the much larger amount of content available online, primarily in the form
of user-created short and long form video clips, cable and telecom providers will
likely embrace Internet video as a complement to their own IPTV offerings (which
normally resemble standard cable programming) rather than position themselves
as direct competitors.  “Cable operators and telecoms can capture some of the
online content and route it to a TV STB (Set-Top Box) for consumption there,” said
Gary Schultz, principal analyst at Multimedia Research Group.  “Internet video can
be repurposed and re-routed to portals and communities of interest that
communicate through STBs and TV sets.”  Cable operator Comcast is already
offering a similar service using thePlatform publishing system, which allows digital
media to be sent over any network to any device.

Both Internet video and IPTV offer interactivity, but IPTV brings these capabilities
to the TV screen.  This includes features such as caller ID and SMS (short
messaging service) along with more targeted advertising.  According to Schultz,
the user interface is a large issue that cannot be overlooked, at least when it
comes to presenting video content in the living room.  “The operators and carriers
cannot just create a web page on a TV screen and hope it will succeed,” he said.

As far as content formats, MPEG4 AVC will emerge globally as the format of
choice for IPTV according to Schultz.  However, as Crandon cautioned, “MPEG4
content is not yet readily available today, but as content providers move into the
next generation of media, you’ll start seeing this format as the standard -- I would
guess by mid to late next year.”

Indeed, both Internet TV and IPTV will be around for the foreseeable future, both
filling unique needs in the marketplace.  As Richter explained, “The future
prospects for both are very bright.  Web-based video will continue to expand as
companies continue to find innovative ways to provide it to consumers, and as
the amount of content available continues to grow.  IPTV will continue to fill a
huge demand for high-quality video content delivered to consumers’ television
screens, and the service will continue to improve as companies find innovative
ways to take advantage of the opportunities an all-IP platform provides for
integration across services and platforms.”

Technological Advantages

The IPTV service is backed by the latest technology infrastructure provided by

internationally renowned vendors:

 State-of-the art Content Acquisition & Compression system based on latest

H.264 technology overcoming last-mile network challenges
 A flexible Middleware system based on open web standards like
HTML/DHTML, XML, CSS, DOM etc. providing host of opportunities for
leveraging interactive applications
 End-to-end content protection from NOC to the STB to the TV screen using
strong DRM technology
 A fully scalable and robust Video-On-Demand system
 A small and sleek yet technologically advanced H.264 STB
 Global best practices to maintain maximum service uptime
Major functional components of the IPTV architecture:

 Content Sources - It receives video content from producers, and other

sources, encodes the content and, for VoD, stores content in an acquisition
database.
 Service Nodes - It receives video streams in various formats, then
reformats and encapsulates them for transmission with appropriate Quality
of Service (QoS). Service Nodes also communicate with the Customer
Premises Equipment (CPE) for service management.
 Wide Area Distribution Networks - This is the core and access network that
provides the distribution of IPTV data streams from the Service Nodes to
the Customer Premises. The Networks include the backbone network and
access equipments. For telecom operators, the Digital Subscriber Line
Access Multiplexers (DSLAMs) is often used as the access equipment, while
for cable operators hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) is used.
 Customer Access Links - These are the existing loop plant and the phone
lines to homes using the higher-speed DSL technologies such as ADSL2+ and
VDSL. For cable subscribers, DOCSIS is used. Service providers may also use
a combination of Fiber-to-the Curb (FTTC) and DSL technologies or
implement direct Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) access depending on the
richness of their IPTV service offerings.
  Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) - The CPE device provides the
broadband network termination (B-NT) functionality at a minimum, and
may include other integrated functions such as routing gateway, set-top
box and home networking capabilities.
 IPTV Client - The IPTV Client is a device, such as a set-top box, that
terminates the IPTV traffic at the customer premises. It performs the
functional processing such as setting up the connection and QoS with the
Service Node, decoding the video streams, channel change functionality,
user display control, and connections to standard-definition TV or HDTV
monitors.

IPTV Architecture:

 Architectures ITU Recommendation H.610:Full Service VDSL C System

Architecture and Customer Premises Equipment
 TR-058: DSL Forum Technical Report - Multi-Service Architecture and
Framework Requirements
 TR-094: DSL Forum Technical Report C Multi-Service Delivery Framework
for Home Networks
 Access Technologies: Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), Very-High-
Data-Rate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL), Data Over Cable Service Interface
Specification (DOCSIS)
 Codecs: MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 Part 10 and ITU-T H.264.
 Multicast IP Multicast Standards: IGMP V1, IGMPv2 and IGMP Snooping
 Quality of Service Standards: IEEE 802.1p QoS, IEEE 802.1q VLAN, CEA2007
VLAN Mapping
 Network Management: TR-069: DSL Forum Technical Report C CPE WAN
Management Protocol.
 REFERENCES

 M. Cha, G. Choudhury, J. Yates, A. Shaikh, and S. Moon, “Case Study:

Resilient Backbone Design for IPTV Services”, In Proc. of International
Workshop on Internet Protocol TV Services over World Wide Web, May
2006
 M. Cha, G. Choudhury, J. Yates, A. Shaikh, and S. Moon, Slides:
“http://an.kaist.ac.kr/~mycha/docs/mycha_www_iptv06.ppt”
 Y. Chen, Y. Huang, R. Jana, H. Jiang, M. Rabinovich , B. Wei, and Z. Xiao,
“When is P2P Technology Beneficial for IPTV Services,” ACM NOSSDAV,
June 2007.
 Gerard O Driscoll “Next Generation IPTV Services & Technology”.
 Wes Simpson, Howard Alan Greenfield “IPTV and Internet video: new
markets in television broadcasting “.
 Electronics For You (Magazine) “September 2009”.
 Digit (Magazine) “April 2009”.