business today iptv
For IPTV services to stand out against
established competition they need to
deliver content to the highest quality
standards. This is the key to their
future success. Joe O’Halloran
reports.
Delivering quality
T
here’s a great chance that study towards the end of 2008, high- least) of the BBC iPlayer and globally
you started 2009, like a lot of tech analyst ABI Research found that, by services such as AppleTV. The other
people in these credit as cable providers were strengthening key driver is cultural: consumers now
crunched times, looking to up their PC video offerings, satellite expect to watch whatever they want,
identify areas in which you
Before anyone
and telco operators were increasingly on the most convenient device,
can make cost savings to your
gets carried
regarding over-the-top broadband whenever and wherever they want.
household. It’s very likely that the video delivery as a viable option to IPTV services satisfy this basic
supply of your Internet, phone and
away with
shore up their own weaknesses. It consumer-need and IP-based content
video services came top of this list. thinking that pointed to that fact that over 2008, is an excellent fit, being ‘naturally’
That is to say, you probably
IPTV will be an
leading service providers in the US good for offerings such as VOD
identified this as an area in which you
unqualified
rolled out over-the-top video on services that require robust two-way
could get a better deal than is
success, it may
demand on Internet-connected set-top interactivity. Furthermore, IP-based
currently available from your current
indeed end up
boxes, while telcos in Europe were content can be transmitted to, and
supplier. And in the UK at least, IPTV combining digital terrestrial linear TV experienced on, a huge variety of IP-
packages are looking as price
a victim of its
broadcasts with broadband video for compatible devices, either on a fixed
competitive as ever.
own
VOD. ABI Research concluded that as or mobile basis.
The IPTV market is one of the few
popularity.
broadband video offerings increase in But there are a lot of assumptions
that most analysts would agree will quality and become more seamless, here. To be market competitive, IPTV
not suffer during this recession. In hard carriers could be significant players in offerings need to be innovative
times, people have traditionally cut the over-the-top video delivery market. enough so that they can offer
back on out of home expenses such as Similar optimism was expressed in differentiation, not only against the
going to the pub and restaurants and September 2008 by market researcher traditional competition from cable and
concentrated on having good cheap Gartner who predicted 19.6 million satellite service providers, but also
nights in. In addition to being part of a global IPTV subscriptions by the end of from other IPTV firms. And most
trend, IPTV services offer great 2008; a 64% increase on the number importantly, the content that these
flexibility when compared to in 2007. This would represent about new innovation IPTV services will
competitors’ offerings, especially with 1.1% of households and by the end of provide must be generated and
the great advantage for receiving not 2012, Gartner added, worldwide delivered at very high quality
just TV and content from traditional household penetration of IPTV would standards.
content suppliers but also so called be 2.8%, reaping total revenues of The IPTV operators must focus on
over the top video such as that from $19 billion. Further, a number of large broadcast quality delivery to the living
the BBC iPlayer. cable system operators are making no room and not, even if the technology
But before anyone gets carried secret that they will be transitioning allows, to PCs. The fundamentals are
away with thinking that IPTV will be an their content delivery to IP over the these: media compression must be
unqualified success, it may indeed end next few years. artefact-free and audio/video
up a victim of its own popularity. For So what have been the key drivers synchronisation has to ensure correct
these IPTV services to stand out they of growth? The first has been the lip synch; video encoding has to be of
need to be able to deliver content to continued explosion in use of video a very high quality as does any
the highest industry standards in portals such as YouTube and Joost as transcoding/re-scaling/re-formatting
quality. And working against it may be well as social networks such as content for redistribution; and neither
the fundamental nature of IP Facebook and MySpace which permit jerkiness nor compression artefacts are
networks. access to video/audio content outside acceptable.
As so often is the case, the story of of the mainstream channels offered by In understanding the requirements
IPTV futures can be pictured by what is conventional TV. This is complemented of IPTV, first it is necessary to be able
currently happening in the US. In a by the huge success (in the UK at to understand how to size network
6 l ibe l January/February 2009 l www.ibeweb.com
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