The World Wide Web has provided us with numerous novel tools that make life brighter and more joyful.
Among them is IPTV or interactive television, which has exciting and useful features in addition to simply showing programs.
What is IPTV? How does this service work? Let us discover the answers to decide whether or not it can be profitable in our daily life.
The Basics of the Technology
It may seem strange but IPTV is not the type of TV broadcasted via the Internet.
Although the abbreviation ‘IP’ comes from ‘Internet Protocol,’ this does not mean that we will be able to open some web page to watch a TV show of interest.
IPTV simply means a method of transmitting data over a secure, managed, and high-speed network.
These networks are usually created and maintained by large telecommunications providers who aim to create a service that can compete with existing digital or satellite TV.
The technology works in the following way:
- It is a platform created and controlled by the operator of telecommunications structures.
- The client interacts directly with the operator. In this sense, it is almost no different from the existing cable television operators.
- It offers the same video product that is broadcast by cable and satellite operators. At the same time, already proven on-demand and pay-per-view broadcasting schemes are used, presumably with some additional features and services as well as a different price.
- Its solutions include many ways to monitor viewer choices, making it an ideal platform for personalized ad targeting and e-commerce.
- This network is closed or partly closed, and only its users can receive the service.
- Its introduction into operation involves a massive communication infrastructure upgrade over several years, significant changes in communication, and delivery tools on both the operator’s and the consumer’s side.
- One of the main properties is georeferencing. In addition to the fact that its infrastructure is physically tied to consumers’ homes, devices, and televisions, there are local regulations and policies that also limit it geographically.
IPTV in Your House
To watch IPTV channels on a regular TV, a special IP set-top box (STB) is used, which decodes video data and displays the decoded video on the TV screen.
The main advantages that this digital technology gives to us are excellent image and sound as well as an increase in the number of transmitted channels with the expansion of the service.
Accordingly, on a satellite transponder designed for a conventional analog channel, you can transmit up to 8-10 channels of digital television along with stereo sound (this is called a channel package) in the MPEG2 format (codec), and more recently, the opportunity to receive high-quality channels resolutions in MPEG4 format with a digital stream volume 2-3 times less than MPEG2 was added.
IPTV greatly expands the capabilities of the usual television we all know. It makes watching TV more convenient, which, in our fast age, saves precious time and gives us the chance to fully enjoy the world of television.
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