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    Mobile IPTV Expanding the Value of IPTV

    Soohong Park, *Seong-Ho Jeong and Cheolju HwangSamsung Electronics, Digital Media R&D Center

    {soohong.park, cheolju.hwang}@samsung.com

    *Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

    [email protected]

    Abstract

    IPTV stands for Internet Protocol Television. In

    other words, users who have any kinds of IP devices

    are able to watch Television wherever they are. Thispaper illustrates how IPTV would be adopted to

    wireless and mobile networks with regards to mobile

    device called Mobile IPTV taking relevant technical

    issues into consideration. Through Mobile IPTV, users

    can use IPTV services anywhere on earth using IP and

    while on the move. Currently, ITU-T FG IPTV is at the

    front head of IPTV standardization. Hence, this paper

    sums up what is going on in ITU-T FG IPTV in terms

    of Mobile IPTV. This paper helps out the IPTV service

    provider to prepare as to what technical concerns and

    issues need to be considered for Mobile IPTV services.

    1. Introduction

    Mobile IPTV is a technology that enables users totransmit and receive multimedia traffic includingtelevision signal, video, audio, text and graphicservices through IP-based the wired and wirelessnetworks with support for QoS/QoE, security,mobility, and interactive functions. Through MobileIPTV, users can enjoy IPTV services anywhere andeven while on the move.

    In 2006, ITU-T formed a new Focus Group (FG),called FG IPTV, to develop standards on IPTV. TheFG IPTV aims to coordinate and promote thedevelopment of global IPTV standards taking intoaccount the existing work of the ITU Study Groups(SGs) as well as other Standards DevelopmentOrganizations (SDOs), Fora and Consortia.

    In fact, IPTV is composed of Internet Protocol (IP)[15] and TV. In other words, it implies a traditionalTV services are being migrated and converged intoInternet space. As long as we use Internet, IP is avital component and all of advantages of IP can be

    used for IPTV services. Everyone agrees that IP hasplayed and will play a major role in the evolution ofnetworks and services. IP allows you to make use ofall IP based services including IPTV servicesanywhere on earth through Internet.

    The major goal of this paper is to raise theinterests and concerns of Mobile IPTV including thestatus of standard activities when deploying IPTVservices over wireless and mobile networks, andexpand the value of IPTV in the structure ofeveryday life.

    This paper focuses on Mobile IPTV aspects ofIPTV issues taking technical concerns and issues intoconsideration. IPTV itself is beyond the scope of thispaper.

    This paper is organized as follows. Thearchitecture and approaches for Mobile IPTV aredescribed in Section 2, and Mobile IPTV technical

    obstacles and relevant issues are presented inSection 3. From a standards perspective, ITU-T FGIPTV is at the front head of IPTV standard, so wewrap up the status of IPTV standardization bydescribing what is going on in ITU-T FG IPTV interms of Mobile IPTV in Section 4. Finally, in Section5, we conclude this paper.

    2. Architecture and approaches for Mobile

    IPTV

    The IPTV architecture [2], defined in ITU-T FGIPTV, is classified into Next Generation Network

    (NGN) based and non-NGN based architectures.This paper is focusing on the non-NGN (e.g.,

    legacy Internet) based architecture for Mobile IPTVservices because NGN is still ongoing work andpremature status yet. At the time when the NGNstandardization is finalized through ITU-T, the NGNbased Mobile IPTV approach that considers IP-basedInternet Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) should beincorporated accordingly.

    Seventh International Conference on Networking

    978-0-7695-3106-9/08 $25.00 2008 IEEE

    DOI 10.1109/ICN.2008.8

    296

    Seventh International Conference on Networking

    978-0-7695-3106-9/08 $25.00 2008 IEEE

    DOI 10.1109/ICN.2008.8

    296

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    Figure 1 shows a possible architecture for MobileIPTV in brief. At the first stage, in Figure 1, awireless is used for communication between thenetwork entity and the receiver. Since IPTV is accessnetwork agnostic as defined by ITU-T FG IPTV,there can be various wireless technologies such asWLAN [11], WiMAX [12], Cellular [13], etc. Eachwireless technology has its own characteristicswhich should be carefully considered whiledeploying Mobile IPTV services. Detailed technicalconsiderations, obstacles, and requirements forMobile IPTV will be described in this paper.

    At the second stage, in Figure 1, the wirelesssection can be expanded to the sender so that mobiledevice will be used for both the sender and thereceiver. Nowadays, User Created Contents calledUCC is becoming popular in Internet, and any userwho is moving around can create his/her own IPTVcontents and provide it to Mobile IPTV users as well.

    Also, as shown in Figure 2, several approaches for

    providing Mobile IPTV services are already beingused in the market. From users perspective, there is

    no difference among them, although technologiesare too much different. The following subsectionsexplain these approaches briefly.

    2.1 Mobile TV plus IP approach

    This approach uses the traditional digitalbroadcast networks [10] to deliver IP-based audio,video, graphics and other broadband data servicesto the user on the move. This is a prime example ofthe increasing convergence of broadcasting,telecommunications and computing. The reasonwhy it is pursued is to build a content environmentthat combines the stability and usability ofbroadcasting and the diverse services of Internet. Tomake this approach more attractive, wide areawireless networks such as cellular networks areintegrated to support interactivity. The outstandingactivities in this approach are Digital Video

    Broadcast (DVB)-CBMS (Convergence ofBroadcasting and Mobile Services) [4] andWorldDAB (DAB: Digital Audio Broadcasting)Forum [7]. In addition, DVB-IPI (IPI: IPInfrastructure) ([5] is an open DVB standard thatenables audio/video services to be delivered to andthrough the mobile device via IP networking.

    DVB-CBMS is developing bi-directional mobile IPbased broadcasting protocol specifications overDVB-H [6]. DVB-CBMS already finished Phase I andcurrently is working in Phase II.

    WorldDAB Forum is enhancing and extendingEureka 147 to support IP based services. Eureka 147

    was originally developed for digital radioapplications and extended to support video services.

    Even though this approach is classified as MobileIPTV technically, the usage of broadcastingnetworks may incur the loss of individuality of IP.

    2.2 IPTV plus Mobile approach

    Although many think that networked TV willbe the future of television, IPTV is currentlydominated by Telco giants in an attempt to find anew source of cash-in. IPTV services are originallytargeted to fixed terminals such as set-top boxes,

    however, issues on the requirements for mobilitysupport were raised as an out-growth under theauspices of the Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC)trend. The outstanding activities are ATIS [14] in theUS, Open IPTV Forum [16], and ITU-T FG IPTV [9]internationally.

    The development of Mobile IPTV specification isat an early stage. Currently, ITU-T FG IPTV is

    IPIP MobilityMobility

    Mobile IPTVMobile IPTV

    Figure 2, Approaches to Mobile IPTV services

    Wired Wireless

    IPTV source generator Access Router

    Point of Attachment

    (AP, BS, etc)

    Mobile terminal

    NGN-IMS Basis

    NGN-Non IMS Basis Non NGN Basis

    IPTV access network is agnostic (Cable, xDSL, Wireless)

    Wireless

    Figure 1, Overall architecture for Mobile IPTV

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    collecting requirements regarding mobility andwireless characteristics. ATIS has not shown anyinterest in mobility support yet. In Open IPTVForum, mobility service entirely based on IMS (IPMultimedia Subsystem) which is a set ofspecification from 3GPP for delivering IPmultimedia to mobile users will be forthcoming.

    2.3 Cellular approach

    Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) BCAST [8] isworking for IP based mobile broadcasting networks.

    Its goals are to define an end-to-end framework formobile broadcast and compile the set of necessaryenablers. Its features are bearer agnostic, whichmeans any Broadcast Distribution Network can beadopted as its transport means.

    OMA BCAST, however, is only applicable tomobile terminals up to now and showing interest inexpanding its specification to cover fixed terminalsin Phase II.

    2.4 Internet approach

    There are already countless Internet video

    services worldwide. They are usually termed asInternet TV or Web TV. These are outgrowth forniche entertainment business. With this approach,there can be quiet different models developing onthe business type and infrastructure used.

    This approach is open for anybody to play a rolein the value chain: anybody can be a contentprovider, a service provider, or simply a consumer.This resulted in a universe of highly diversified anddynamically independent production. In addition,the openness gives global reach.

    However this Internet approach has a shortcoming that the quality of services is not guaranteedsince it is based on the best effort service model.However, considering its rapid adaptation tocustomer needs, this approach may be dominant inthe near future. As long as mobile device uses

    Internet, users can access to IPTV service throughvarious wireless access networks.

    3. Technical obstacles and business issues

    for Mobile IPTV

    Mobile IPTV has at least one wireless interfacewith a device. As a minimum of 2 3 Mbps ofbandwidth as a minimum requirement should beprovided, due to the characteristics of the IPTVservice, wireless technologies for short-range use orcontrol purposes are not fully considered yet.

    There are many obstacles on the path to thesuccessful launch and widespread of Mobile IPTVbusinesses. One group of obstacles is technical andthe other business. Since Mobile IPTV assumes atleast one wireless link between the source (e.g.stream server) and the destination (e.g. mobile

    IPTV

    Contents Provider

    Mobile IPTV

    Mobile IPTV

    Contents Provider

    Figure 3, Limitation for delivering IPTV contents to Mobile IPTV devices

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    terminal), most of the technical obstacles are relatedto the usage of wireless link as shown in Figure 3. Asfor business perspective, customer needs forwatching TV programs on the go seems not to be sohigh. For the second obstacle, contents might be amajor player [10].

    3.1 Capability limitation

    Most of mobile terminals have limited capabilitiescompared to fixed terminals. This manly ascribes toportability considerations, which lead to small sizedisplay, low power processor, and limited storage.Capability limitations implicate very strictrequirements that only restricted set of technologiescan be considered as possible Mobile IPTV solutions;light-weightiness is essential.

    3.2 Bandwidth limitation

    Even though the effective bandwidth of wirelesslinks is growing very rapidly, its not until the 4Gwireless network is fully deployed that the wirelesslink bandwidth becomes broad enough toaccommodate High Definition quality video services.Even when the 4G wireless network is available,bandwidth greedy applications will come out suchas Ultra High Definition quality video services. Thewireless link will always have less bandwidth thanthe wired link and be short of bandwidth.

    3.3 Vulnerable wireless link

    The wireless link is very vulnerable. Even ifmobile terminals are stationary, temporal reflectorsand obstacles around the mobile terminals can affectthe received signal and cause burst packet losses.Considering the movement of mobile terminals,packets delivered through the wireless link areexposed to a variety of signal degradation such asshadowing, fast/slow fading, etc. Packet losses areintrinsic and inevitable in the wireless link.

    3.4 Coverage implication

    The main reason for carrying mobile terminals is

    to get access to the services any time and any where.Because it is practically impossible to deploywireless network to cover all geographical area withno dead spots, services are restricted in some area.However, by adopting vertical handovershandovers between different networks, the coverageissue can be considerably mitigated.

    3.5 Dynamic environment

    The wireless link is highly dynamic compared tothe wired link. The characteristics of the wireless canvary due to a variety of causes and the rate ofchange is very abrupt. For example, verticalhandover can change almost everythingthe wholepath between the sources and the sink, bandwidth,PHY/MAC, IP addressin a blink. Therefore manysolutions devised for relatively static the wirednetwork environment may not work properly.

    3.6 Middleware concern

    Middleware is one of key functions on IPTVservice. By deploying middleware, a serviceprovider can control the usage of IPTV serviceremotely. Also, middleware acts as a transparentsolution for adopting IPTV service into various anddifferent platforms. So far, there are several well-

    known middleware solutions on top of set-top box.It is, however, too heavy to be implemented inmobile device. By fatting down the existingmiddleware, these may be able to be applied toMobile IPTV. In addition, Web application comes upin Mobile IPTV and can be one of applicable solutionas well.

    3.7 Business issue

    The most significant problem of Mobile IPTVbusiness (this applies to Mobile TV in the same way)is that the consumer needs for watching TV program

    on the go is not so high. This is mainly because thereis limited time for enjoying visual services on thego. This requires Mobile IPTV services to be farmore attractive than the consumers expectation [10].

    Usability is another main obstacle for the successof Mobile IPTV business. Due to the small formfactor of mobile devices, it is not allowable to adoptfancy User Interface methods. Highly creative andnew way of human machine interface is required.

    Watching favorite TV programs lively may be themost attractive feature of Mobile IPTV. Recently,customers have many channels to enjoy theirfavorite TV programs whenever they want. This

    means the liveness of TV programs become less andless important except for some events such as sports.New killer features are required.

    The lack of mobile contents frustrates the earlyadopters of Mobile TV. Contents must be tailored formobile environments. For example, small displaysizes, random and short watching time should beconsidered.

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    4. Mobile IPTV standard status

    ITU-T FG IPTV is in the progress of developingIPTV services requirements [1] which describesrequirements for the design, the deployment andthe operations of IPTV service. This section focuses

    on ITU-T FG IPTV activities and illustrates what isgoing on in there since FG IPTV is at the front headof Mobile IPTV standard today.

    Originally, FG IPTV had to be completed by themiddle of 2007, but its activity is extended to theend of 2007 to evaluate the quality of deliverables asper ITU-T SG13 decision. FG IPTV was born in ITU-T SG13, NGN (Next Generation Network), tocoordinate and promote the development of globalIPTV standards taking into account the existingwork of the ITU study groups as well as StandardsDevelopment Organization (SDOs), Fora andConsortia.

    There are several activities for Mobile IPTVstandardization in the market, such as DVB-CBMS,OMA-BCAST, 3GPP-MBMS, WiMAX-MBS, etc. andtheir efforts and deliverables can be harmonized toprovide Mobile IPTV service. ITU-Ts mission is toensure an efficient and on-time production of highquality standards covering all fields oftelecommunications from the high level point ofview.

    Therefore, ITU-T can coordinate respectivestandard activities as to develop a unified andsophisticated Mobile IPTV standard to the market.For this purpose, a new Question as Mobile IPTV [3]

    was officially proposed to ITU-T SG13 during Aprilmeeting in Geneva. This issue will take place in thenext ITU-T SG13 meeting in 2008 to consider how tomove this issue forward within ITU-T.

    This section wraps up what kinds ofrequirements are included in FG IPTV servicerequirements [1] as of today in terms of MobileIPTV. These requirements shown in Table 1 will bereordered and reorganized after FG is completed.

    For developing IPTV standard, ITU-T allows FGIPTV to have a new coordination group to take overFG activities from 2008 due to FG expired. Therefore,IPTV Global Standards Initiative (GSI) has beenformed newly. IPTV GSI focuses on developing thedetailed standards necessary for IPTV deploymentto give service providers the means to offer the widerange of services expected in ITU-T.

    IPTV GSI harmonizes, in collaboration with otherbodies, different approaches to IPTV architectureworldwide. Figure 4 shows up the flow of IPTV GSIat this stage.

    TABLE I

    LIST OF MOBILE IPTV TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS IN ITU-T FG

    IPTV OUTPUT DOCUMENT

    The IPTV architecture is recommended to support a function to

    obtain the IPTV Terminal Device capabilities information before

    delivering content.

    The content management can optionally support request

    bandwidth and congestion control capabilities.

    The IPTV Architecture is recommended to allow the delivery of

    IPTV services over different access networks (e.g. cable, optical,

    xDSL, wireless)

    The IPTV Architecture is recommended to allow the delivery of

    IPTV services to any IPTV Terminal Device (e.g. mobile phone,

    PDA, Set Top Box).

    The IPTV Architecture is recommended to adapt dynamically to

    change in wireless networks characteristics when the service is

    delivered over a mobile network (e.g. bandwidth, packet loss rate,

    etc.

    The IPTV Architecture is required to support mechanisms for the

    delivery and rendering of various profiles of Linear/Broadcast TV

    content, including both High Definition (HD) and Standard

    Definition (SD) profiles.

    The IPTV Architecture is recommended to support capabilities

    for the interoperability and user mobility between different IPTV

    networks allowing access to IPTV services by the customer either in

    motion or not.

    The IPTV Architecture is recommended to allow service

    continuity over different networks.

    The IPTV Architecture is recommended support an IPTV

    terminal with the capability to choose the desired format of the

    content if there are multiple formats available.

    The IPTV content is recommended to be delivered in several yet

    optional versions to be selected according to the capabilities of the

    IPTV Terminal receiving the content (e.g. access rate, resolution,

    supported formats, etc.).

    The IPTV Architecture can optionally support signalling

    capabilities for transmitting bandwidth related information.

    The IPTV Architecture is recommended to support the ability to

    identify wireless network characteristics information sent by the

    IPTV Terminal.

    The IPTV Architecture can optionally use the bandwidth relatedinformation to determine the appropriate content coding means to

    deliver the content.

    The IPTV Terminal Device can optionally have the capability to

    provide information regarding its bandwidth availability

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    5. Conclusion

    Mobile IPTV was illustrated in this paper inaccordance with IPTV ongoing activities. Given thewell-known definition of IPTV, IPTV serviceprovider tends to deliver high quality contents as SDor HD to users. It is because IPTV architectureprovides QoS guaranteed, stable, reliable and secureIP networks. Otherwise, it is not feasible for IPTVservice provider to provide TV likely service to users.

    It is, however, too many strict requirements todeploy IPTV service over the wireless and mobilenetworks which have several the wireless networkcharacteristics such as limited bandwidth,vulnerable link condition, insecure path andunreliable communication. Therefore, furthertechnical requirements and concern may need to bestudied in conjunction with current IPTV for MobileIPTV services.

    This paper did not go through pros and cons foreach approach to Mobile IPTV since the selection ofthe specific approach is entirely up to the businessmodel. All described in this paper was for genericrequirements need to be considered for Mobile IPTVservices.

    Mobile IPTV can help IPTV users to use IPTVservices anywhere and while on the move and thisfacility will be forthcoming in the near future.

    Future work will focus on elaborating andexpanding more sophisticated Mobile IPTVarchitecture and technical requirements to take intoaccount the wireless environment and characteristics.Moreover, we project to compare between ITU-T FGIPTV and Mobile IPTV requirements described inthis paper actually in order to mitigate the technical

    gaps between them and propose the most suitableMobile IPTV technical requirements in standard.

    Mobile IPTV will become the part of youreveryday routines, and expand the value of IPTV inthe structure of everyday life through IP, wirelessand mobility.

    6. Acknowledgement

    The authors would like to thank all of MobileIPTV members as TTA PG219, WG 2193 for theirvaluable activities. Special thanks to Sun Kim andEunju Jo of TTA (Telecommunications TechnologyAssociation) for their kind support on the MobileIPTV standard activities in KOREA.

    7. References

    [1] ITU-T FG IPTV, Working Document: IPTV Service

    Requirements, FG IPTV-DOC-0083, 2007.

    [2] ITU-T FG IPTV, Working Document: IPTV Architecture, FG

    IPTV-DOC-0084, 2007.

    [3] ITU-T SG13, Mobile IPTV over Wireless Networks in NGN,

    T05-SG13-C-0263-E, 2007

    [4] http://www.dvb.org/groups_modules/technical_module/tmcbms

    [5] http://www.dvb.org/groups_modules/technical_module/tmipi

    [6] http://www.dvb.org/groups_modules/technical_module/tmh

    [7] http://www.worlddab.org

    [8] S. Hwang, OMA Broadcast Enabler Release 1.0, iMobicon

    2006.

    [9] http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/IPTV

    [10] Carlsson. C and Walden. P, Mobile TV To Live or Die by

    Content, IEEE 40th Annual Hawaii International Conference on

    Sysem Sciences, pp. 51-60, 2007

    [11] Djama. I and Ahmed. T, A Cross-Layer Interworking of DVB-

    T and WLAN for Mobile IPTV Service Delivery, IEEE

    Transactions on Broadcasting, Vol. 53, No. 1, pp. 382 390,

    2007

    [12] Retnasothie. Francis E, Wireless IPTV over WiMAX:

    Challenges and Applications, Wireless and Microwave

    Technology Conference 2006, WAMICON 06, pp. 1-5, 2006

    [13] Hartung. F, Delivery of Broadcast Service in 3G Networks,

    IEEE Transactions on Broadcasting, Vol. 53, No. 1, pp. 188

    196, 2007

    [14] http://www.atis.org

    [15] Aidarous. S., Plevyak. T., Levine. P., Martins. J., Stiller. B.,

    Sherif. M. H, Fumaqalli. A., Aracil. J., Valcarenghi. L.,Managing IP Networks: Challenges and Opportunities, Wiley-

    IEEE Press, ISBN: 0471392995, 2003

    [16] http://www.openiptvforum.org

    Figure 4, IPTV Global Standards Initiative to take over

    Focus Group IPTV activities in ITU-T

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