Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is a service for the delivery of broadcast TV, movies on demand and other interactive multimedia services over a secure, end-to-end operator managed broadband IP data network with desired QOS to the public with a broadband Internet connection. IPTV system may also include Internet services such as Web access and VOIP where it may be called Triple Play and is typically supplied by a broadband operator using the same infrastructure. IPTV is not the Internet Video that simply allows users to watch videos, like movie previews and web-cams, over the Internet in a best effort fashion. IPTV technology offers revenue-generating opportunities for the telecom and cable service providers. For traditional telephone service providers, Triple Play is delivered using a combination of optical fiber and digital subscriber line (DSL) technologies to its residential base. Cable television operators use a similar architecture called hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) to provide subscriber homes with broadband, but use the available coaxial cable rather than a twisted pair for the last mile transmission standard. Subscriber homes can be in a residential environment, multi-dwelling units, or even in business offices.

Major functional components of the IPTV architecture:

• Content Sources - It receives video content from producers, and other sources, encodes the content and, for VoD, stores content in an acquisition database.
• Service Nodes - It receives video streams in various formats, then reformats and encapsulates them for transmission with appropriate Quality of Service (QoS). Service Nodes also communicate with the Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) for service management.
• Wide Area Distribution Networks - This is the core and access network that provides the distribution of IPTV data streams from the Service Nodes to the Customer Premises. The Networks include the backbone network and access equipments. For telecom operators, the Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexers (DSLAMs) is often used as the access equipment, while for cable operators hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) is used.
• Customer Access Links - These are the existing loop plant and the phone lines to homes using the higher-speed DSL technologies such as ADSL2+ and VDSL. For cable subscribers, DOCSIS is used. Service providers may also use a combination of Fiber-to-the Curb (FTTC) and DSL technologies or implement direct Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) access depending on the richness of their IPTV service offerings.
• Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) - The CPE device provides the broadband network termination (B-NT) functionality at a minimum, and may include other integrated functions such as routing gateway, set-top box and home networking capabilities.
• IPTV Client - The IPTV Client is a device, such as a set-top box, that terminates the IPTV traffic at the customer premises. It performs the functional processing such as setting up the connection and QoS with the Service Node, decoding the video streams, channel change functionality, user display control, and connections to standard-definition TV or HDTV monitors.

Summary of Key IPTV Technologies and Standards

IPTV Architecture:

• Architectures ITU Recommendation H.610:Full Service VDSL C System Architecture and Customer Premises Equipment
• TR-058: DSL Forum Technical Report - Multi-Service Architecture and Framework Requirements
• TR-094: DSL Forum Technical Report C Multi-Service Delivery Framework for Home Networks
• Access Technologies: Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), Very-High-Data-Rate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL), Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS)
• Codecs: MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 Part 10 and ITU-T H.264.
• Multicast IP Multicast Standards: IGMP V1, IGMPv2 and IGMP Snooping
• Quality of Service Standards: IEEE 802.1p QoS, IEEE 802.1q VLAN, CEA2007 VLAN Mapping
• Network Management: TR-069: DSL Forum Technical Report C CPE WAN Management Protocol.

IPTV Architecture

Related Terms: Triple Play, Video On Demand (VOD), VOIP, Internet Video, DOCSIS, ADSL, VDSL