Earlier:

– The only ways to watch television were through over-the-air broadcasts and cable signals

– With broadcast TV, an antenna picks up radio waves to transmit pictures and sound to your television set.

– With cable TV, wires connect to your TV itself & these wires run from your house to the nearest cable TV station, which acts as one big antenna

Why IPTV ?

• You can watch Internet TV on a computer screen, a television screen (through a set-top box) or a mobile device like a cell phone

• Internet TV, in simple terms, is video and audio delivered over an Internet connection

• Triple Play functionality helps to perform internet access, voice services, and video services simultaneously.

History of IPTV:

• In year 1994, ABC's World News was the first television show to be broadcasted over the Internet.

• Term IPTV first appeared in 1995 with the founding of Precept Software by Judith Estrin and Bill Carrico .

• Software was written primarily by Steve Casner, Karl Auerbach, and Cha Chee Kuan

Definition:

IPTV is television content that, instead of being delivered through traditional broadcast and cable formats, is received by the viewer through the technologies used for computer networks introduced in late 1990’s

IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is a system where a digital television service is delivered using Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which include delivery by a broadband connection. digital television(DTV) is the sending and receiving of moving images and sound by (digital) signals, in contrast to the analog signals

Advantages of DTV over Analog Television:

1.)Digital channels take up less bandwidth because bandwidth needs are continuously variable, at a corresponding cost in image quality depending on the level of compression.

2.)Common problems with analog television include ghosting of images, noise from weak signals has been overcome in DTV, because DTV Tuners and converter boxes receive numeric information by the antenna and decoder decodes only enough info to put the picture together.

Advantages of IPTV:

1.)Provide other non-television services such as multimedia or interactivity.2.)Content remains in the network, and only the content the customer selects is

sent into the customer’s home.3.)More Interactive that allows viewers to search for content by title or actor’s

name just like channel surf without leaving the program they’re watching using EPG.

4.)Parental controls can be set so that their child can watch a documentary for a school report, while they’re away from home.

5.) As IPTV uses standard networking protocols, it promises lower costs for operators and lower prices for users.

6.)Programs can be recorded and stored in STB for future watchable purpose.7.)Robust and scalable service delivery.8.) IPTV covers both live TV as well as VOD (Video on Demand)9.)Remainders can be set for selected programs.

Architecture of IPTV

Consists of content providers and equipment (such as the satellite receiver, encoders, and so on) needed to transmit and receive digital assets , onto the IP network. This platform presents available live content and, if possible, manages the dynamic information coming from the broadcaster for the EPG (Electronic Programming Guide), the main link between the headend and middleware.

The components at the customer's premises, which consumes the digital assets and presents them to the end-users. These devices are heterogeneous and includes IP and analog phones, PDAs, set-top boxes (STB), PCs, DSL or Residential Gateway modems, Wireless Access Point routers, TVs, and so on. The aggregation of data (internet access), voice services, and video services is called "Triple Play". With the emergence of new handset wireless IP devices (for example, mobile phones, PDAs, and car embedded devices) the reality is more like "Multi Play" rather than only Triple Play.

The middleware consists of the infrastructure that delivers the digital assets to the end users; for example, IP network infrastructure, portal servers, storage, Video On Demand (VOD) servers, and so on.

IPTV has two major Architecture forms:

Free Based: (Displays Live TV channels)

These free IPTV channels require only an Internet connection and an Internet enabled device such as a personal computer.

Major television broadcasters worldwide are transmitting signal over the Internet. There are over 1,300 free IPTV channels available.

Fee Based: (Displays Video on Demand )

Using set-top boxes with broadband Internet connections, video can be streamed to households more efficiently than current coaxial cable.

How data is delivered to the destination?

The voice or data or video will be converted into packets.Each packet is then labeled with its destination address and the number of the packets. Each packet to be dispatched may go via different routes. At the destination, the original message/data is reassembled in the correct order, based on the packet number

Protocols Used :

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

Live TV uses IGMP version 2 or IGMP version 3 or 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)

N-PVR - Network-based Personal Video Recorder allows subscribers to record video content on the schedule of their choice and watch programs at their convenience, without the requirement of a truly personal PVR device.

IGMP Internet Group Management Protocol is a communications protocol used to manage the membership of Internet Protocol multicast groups

Real Time Streaming Protocol is a protocol for use in streaming media systems, which allows a client to remotely control a

streaming media server, issuing VCR-like commands such as "play" and "pause", and allowing time-based access to files on a server.

Technically, when the customer selects the movie, a point-to-point unicast connection is set up between the customer's decoder (SetTopBox 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).

Video on Demand: VoD permits a customer to browse an online programme or film catalogue, to watch trailers and to then select a selected recording for playback.

In an attempt to avoid content piracy, the VoD content is usually encrypted using DRM.Digital Rights Management refers to access control technologies used by hardware manufacturers, publishers and copyright holders to limit usage of digital media or devices.

Eg: A film that is chosen may be playable for 24 hours following payment, after which time it becomes unavailable.

How can IPTV compete with existing TV services?

• Price: Get your telephone, data and video (called a “Triple Play”) for a monthly cost.

• Return path: watching TV on an IP connected service allows delivery of a wide range of extra services from ads to interactive options and provides HD quality.

• An IPTV supplier can push out multiple new channels across their existing bandwidth relatively easily

IPTV Software Vendors:

o ALCATEL

o MICROSOFT

o ORCA INTERACTIVE

o SIEMENS

o VIDEO FURNACE

Disadvantages of IPTV:

1.)Because IPTV uses Internet Protocol, it is sensitive to packet loss and delays if the streamed data is unreliable. Also exist some problems of delays when the user decides to switch the channel.

2.)If the IPTV connection is not fast enough, picture break-up or loss may occur

3.)Because of its high latency Satellite Internet Access is not ideal for IPTV. This is due to the long distance the data has to travel from the sender, to the satellite and then back to earth. A cable or DSL internet connection is more suitable for IPTV.

DTH In India…

Tata Sky ,Big TV and Dish TV are DTH (direct to home) satellite television providers, using

MPEG-2 digital compression technology

IPTV in India….

MTNL(Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd) Launches India’s first IPTV in Delhi and Mumbai with IOL content providers

Bharti Airtel is the first private player to launch its IPTV services

Reliance IPTV has been launched very recently in Mumbai.

How DTH works?

Service Providers will uplink all channels to its satellite (INSAT 4A)

The satellite will send the channels in digital quality directly to the minidish fixed on your terrace

The minidish relays the channels to your STB, where they are decrypted and sent to your television, giving you an unparalleled viewing experience

There is an alternate solution available for large buildings. The entire building can use a single dish and carry connections to individual STB in every home

How IPTV works?

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 DSS box that can handle viewer requests to access many available media sources.

The viewer’s TV connects to a set top box that decodes the IP video and converts it into standard television signals. IPTV allows operators to deliver content to their subscribers using telephone lines through IP technology. So far, this technology was being used to deliver voice through Internet telephony. The services on IPTV include video-on-demand and digital video recording

TV over telephone line is slated to be the next big application for telecom service providers. Even mobile operators are looking at technologies like the FLO and EVDO to broadcast live TV on cellular phones

Questions ??