IPTV technology allows an organization to use an existing IP network to transmit television content very simply. With IPTV, you can easily broadcast, within your buildings, terrestrial and satellite radio and television content, videos, DVDs, digital videos on demand, digital signage and information as well as content from the web. All this multimedia content can be viewed on standard and high definition televisions and various types of AV screens, as well as on PCs in any office. Recent technological innovations now allow IP video distribution beyond a LAN: over WI-FI, WAN, the Internet and mobile devices.
It is difficult to say how many people are currently using IPTV services. With the wide variety of providers, different formats, and the sheer amount of pirated content available, there is a lot to follow.
But there is no doubt that IPTV will gain in popularity. Grand View Research estimates that the market will be worth more than $ 117 billion by 2025. Increasing user demand along with network improvements will support this growth.
Grand View also predicts that subscription IPTV will grow rapidly over the next decade, suggesting that services like Ace IPTV (https://iptvsubscription.site/ace-iptv/) à and Hulu Live TV (https://www.hulu.com/live-tv) will gain popularity.
Some of this growth has already started.
Major media providers plan to offer new streaming services to compete with Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other streaming heavyweights. And more traditional TV providers allow time-shifted media through their apps. Even cable companies allow their subscribers to watch from their phones.
And now that people can create their own channels to easily distribute their content, the amount and variety of IPTV options will increase rapidly. Viewers will no longer be limited to what broadcasters share; they’ll be able to go to each other to see everything from fitness videos to audience specific movies.
Advantages of IPTV
Integration: Integration can be a good way for many companies to offer multiple services in one integrated package. All these services (TV, telephone, internet) can be sent directly by a line to the consumer. This means that costs can be reduced and the consumer only has to deal with one supplier instead of maybe three, making it more convenient.
Interactivity: As IPTV is delivered over the Internet it is extremely easy to move data from the television company to home, just as the data easily travels from home to providers.
Video on Demand (VOD): is an interactive feature that allows you to request programs such as movies, TV shows, etc. at your convenience.
It has no geographical limits: Television distributed over the Internet has a global character, since it does not have geographical emission limits, but can be viewed and even managed from anywhere in the world through a computer with an Internet connection.
Disadvantages of IPTV
Packet loss: IPTV uses the same technology as other types of information use to send and receive information (Internet Protocol). Due to this fact, the TV may occasionally experience package loss or delays.
Costs: So far it is very expensive to create the technology for implementation and change the hardware to make the distribution of IP television.
Acquisition of content
The content can be obtained through the internet from a content provider or a television signal distributor. Devices called encoders are used to digitize and compress the analog video obtained. This device, called a codec, enables digital video compression that is usually lossless. The choice of the codec is very important, because it determines the quality of the final video, the bit rate that will be sent, the robustness to data loss and errors, the transmission delay.
Video formats used
The formats used by IPTV most commonly are:
H.261: It was used for video conferencing and video telephony and serves as the basis for others.
MPEG-1: It achieves VHS-like quality and is also compatible with all computers and almost all DVDs.
MPEG-2: It is the one used in DVDs and allows full screen image with good quality.
H.263: Allows low rates with acceptable quality. Used especially for video conferencing and video telephony.
MPEG-4 part 2: Improved quality over MPEG-2
MPEG-4 part 10: Also called H264. It is the most used today for a wide variety of applications.
WMV: It is used both for poor quality video over the internet with slow connections, and for high definition video. While MPEG-4 is supported by JVT * the WMV format is Microsoft’s proprietary video compression format.
(JVT) Joint Video Team is the union of ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) and ISO / IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG).
IPTV Servers
They are IP servers based on operating systems that allow you to send different video streams at the same time. The transport network must be of high capacity to allow the bi-directional flow of data, control session data, customer billing, etc. The most important thing is the high transfer capacity in order to offer good quality to customers. Standards such as Gigabit Ethernet are used in the service provider’s network. The access network is the point where the provider’s network ends and the user’s equipment begins. In this interface there is a device in charge of decoding the information to be able to see it on a conventional television. The software is responsible for providing the user with the services through a menu system on their television screen. It allows the interaction between the client and the system.
The servers perform various actions such as:
Content storage and backup
Video on demand management
High speed streaming