special report IPTV@IBC2010
consumers and the operator business case, and less towards the workings in the underlying engine room. But IPTV solutions are necessarily complex, involving a variety of hardware and software technology plus systems to allow the effective management of customers, networks, content and services. As mentioned above, the IPTV community has become increasingly aware that an uncoordinated approach to the assembly and operation of IPTV solutions poses a threat to the long- term success of the industry. No-one wants to stifle innovation, but the innovation in IPTV, which will deliver differentiation and lead to its mass market success, should rightly be based on common foundations.
With this in mind, in 2007 a group of like-minded IPTV participants from the operator and vendor communities formed the OIPF (Open IPTV Forum) to set out the principles for a common underlying framework for IPTV. The OIPF is today a global organisation involving over 60 key stakeholders in the IPTV market.
The goal of the Forum is to stimulate an end-user mass market for IPTV by accelerating the introduction and deployment of IPTV services. It aims to achieve this by agreeing and making freely available a set of end-to-end specifications for the creation of standardised IPTV solutions and services, using existing standards from established standards bodies wherever possible. Release 1 of the OIPF specifications was published in 2009 and Release 2 will be available towards the end of 2010. All OIPF specifications are publicly available for download from the Forum website
www.oipf.tv. The work of the OIPF does not simply involve the development of generic, standardised end-to-end IPTV specifications. These specifications are complex, and not all aspects apply in
all cases, so to provide a tangible basis for assessing compliance of IPTV solutions to the OIPF specifications the organisation has defined three profiles (cross-sections through the
specifications) which cover their use in typical IPTV environments: Open Internet: addressing basic capabilities to support open Internet. Baseline managed: addressing key basic capabilities to support a common profile for open Internet & managed networks.
Enhanced managed: addressing full set of capabilities to support a common profile for open Internet/managed networks.
Going further, the OIPF has also defined test criteria for each of these profiles, enabling self-testing now and later leading to formal certification (by an external third party) of products and services. In this way the OIPF is proactively supporting the creation of OIPF-compliant IPTV technologies and solutions, rather than simply publishing specifications with little or no subsequent visibility of the level of adherence achieved by vendors and operators.
The goals of the OIPF with respect to the specifications are very clear - as a result of the excellent work of standards defining organisations such as DVB, ETSI, W3C and 3GPP (more than 20 in total), in most technical areas appropriate standards for IPTV already exist, and the problem is more typically one of an over-abundance rather than a lack of existing standards. So the aim of the OIPF is not to unnecessarily reinvent the wheel, but is to agree a common framework for IPTV solutions which is based, where possible, on previously standardised technologies, protocols and interfaces.
Consumer expectations are evolving and increasingly include a growing awareness of content/device independence and the availability of
The aim of the OIPF is not to unnecessarily reinvent the wheel, but is to agree a common framework for IPTV solutions which is
based, where possible, on previously standardised technologies, protocols and interfaces.
content in a range of different contexts. As the most prominent entertainment device in most homes, TV must become part of the IP-connected domain, without the need to use a PC to enable that connection. The TV must continue to offer simplicity and passive appeal, plus the ability to open its doors to a wealth of new and exciting content and functionality, and this can only be achieved by coordinating efforts and standardising the underlying platform.
IPTV will be the primary vehicle for IP-centric evolution of TV, and standardising the foundations of IPTV will allow effort to be focussed on innovation and differentiation at the level seen by consumers and by content and applications providers. The detailed inner working of IPTV should be common to all to allow creative efforts to flourish with the expectation that the fruits of those labours, based on a standardised framework, can be applied in a plethora of IPTV environments. In the interests of TV consumers and the effective development and exploration of IP- connected TV, the OIPF and its members encourage you to support the organisation and its goals in defining the foundations for standardised IPTV. As indicated at the outset of this article, IPTV waters are less stormy than they once were, and today there are many capable oarsmen in the IPTV industry. But too many have for too long been paddling their own canoes, or attempting to row together in an uncoordinated way, often with an unclear view of their intended destination. To maximise the future growth and success of the industry it’s vital that IPTV stakeholders start to pull together, in the manner epitomised by the goals and work of the OIPF, to bring a smoother and more efficient approach to navigating the ocean of infinite possibilities which is IPTV.
www.ibeweb.com l OFFICIAL GUIDE TO IPTV@IBC2010 september/october 2010 l ibe l S21
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