Super-cali-fragilistic-expi-IPTV
Uncovering the fun behind this dry four letter word starting with ‘I’ again.
Imagine watching whatever program or film you want, whenever you want, no more rushing home or setting the video recorder to catch your favourite sit-com, no ads, no schedules, just select what you want and also have the ability to pause, rewind, fast forward your chosen show. Video on-demand is the holy-grail content providers are frantically trying to provide their customers and IPTV is definitely one of the keys to unlocking the door.
What is IPTV?
In terms of technology, IPTV simply refers to a system where a digital television service is delivered to subscribing consumers using their broadband connection. Viewers enjoy traditional channels and a picture that’s lag-free, smooth and high-resolution just like any other more familiar television services.
If it’s the same then what’s the point?
• More interactivity:
Standard features will include: an interactive program guide, pay-per-view functionality, and video on demand. An all-IP service (phone, video, Internet connection all provided over broadband) will provide more interactivity. Since the three services are converged this will enable functions such as seeing caller ID information on your TV when your phone rings, or alerts when you receive new e-mail. Multiple picture-in-picture applications will be possible as IPTV does not require expensive tuners, and DVRs will be able to record multiple shows at once without upping the cost of the unit. Channel changes should be much quicker which is an added bonus.
• Enable access to other media on the network:
As the set-top boxes use Ethernet and IP, they should be simple to integrate into the existing home network. This means that, as manufacturers add functionality to set-top boxes they will be able to pull video and pictures from a home PC and display them on the television.
• More integration:
Set-top boxes should also be able to easily network with other set-top boxes on other televisions throughout the house and therefore allow a user to own a single digital video recorder that can be controlled from any set in any room.
• Price war:
IPTV is usually offered alongside VoIP telephone service as well as broadband Internet access, the sum of these parts being referred to as ‘Triple play’. With companies offering all three services through one pipe, bundle discounts will ensure that this is the cheapest way to do things for providers and consumers. Winning these contracts will be big money for whoever succeeds which hopefully means the consumer can look forward to a very fierce price-war.
So what’s available right now?
This triple play service has been offered in London for the last five years by HomeChoice although take up has been slow with 25,000-30,000 subscribers, compare that with the 5 million Freeview homes, the 3.3 million who have cable (Telewest and NTL) and the 7.5 million who have opted for Sky. As Internet connections continue to increase and more common in households, we can expect a much greater take up in IPTV.
Sounds great but why is it taking so long?
In the UK with digital terrestrial, satellite and cable services, IPTV faces an uphill battle for acceptance. With these other methods of delivering content to our screen it’s not a surprise that the bigger companies are remaining cautious about taking the plunge. With all the chatter that VoIP and Skype generated however we can expect a rapid IPTV rollout when they decide to start the revolution. Let’s hope that’s sooner rather than later.
