Virgin media possibly getting serious on dodgy boxes?

[Chris]

Internet Protocol Television. More or less like wot drives the iPlayer on your PC.

[nexy33]

pretty much on demand vod for all

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns..._category.html

[Kymmy]

Originally Posted by Saaf_laandon_mo

What's iptv?

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/11...l#post34917048

[adzii_nufc]

Im assuming IPTV is video on demand all the time via what device ? a computer ?

Its basically watching anything you want whenever it becomes available?

If not then anyone sum IPTV up in English

[Turkey Machine]

TV channels over internet.

You wanted it simple, that's as simple as it gets.

[adzii_nufc]

Originally Posted by Turkey Machine

TV channels over internet.

You wanted it simple, that's as simple as it gets.

Sorry for my Low Intelligence in the TV department lol but I'm assuming it's Similar to the sky player ? Except what your watching is streaming the same time on normal tv?

[Kymmy]

More similar to the BT Vision..

[TheDon]

IPTV is not as simple as "TV channels over the internet".

IPTV is a closed system, like the current cable network, but where the traffic is encapsulated into IP streams and routed over IP based devices. This makes it easy to take advantage of multicast rather than broadcast traffic to implement SDV, but it's still running over a closed private network. You can't plug an IPTV STB into any internet connection and have it work, nor can you receive the services on other IP based devices like a PC, you still need to be connected to the providers network.

AT&T's U-Verse service is probably the best example of IPTV around as it offers nearly 400 SD, and over 100 HD channels, all over VDSL.

"TV over the internet" such as Sky player, is Internet TV, an entirely different thing.

[Turkey Machine]

Originally Posted by TheDon

IPTV is not as simple as "TV channels over the internet".

Not completely, but for the uninitiated, it is.

Originally Posted by TheDon

AT&T's U-Verse service is probably the best example of IPTV around as it offers nearly 400 SD, and over 100 HD channels, all over VDSL.

AKA TV channels over the internet. Better to elaborate that it uses an internet or network connection (cable or DSL) to get the channels, not like a normal cable box in that sense.

Originally Posted by TheDon

"TV over the internet" such as Sky player, is Internet TV, an entirely different thing.

That's like catch-up TV with some live streams thrown in.

[TheDon]

Originally Posted by Turkey Machine

AKA TV channels over the internet. Better to elaborate that it uses an internet or network connection (cable or DSL) to get the channels, not like a normal cable box in that sense.

No, it's really not TV channels over the internet by any stretch of the imagination.

The broadcasts do not touch the internet at all, it's all routed across their internal network only on segregated bandwidth.

Saying it's TV channels over the internet is like saying streaming from one pc on your home network to another pc on your home network is streaming over the internet. In neither case is the internet involved, it's all internal network traffic. That the same connection gives you your internet connection is irrelevant.

A lot of people are under the impression that IPTV will mean you can use any internet connection to get the channels, you can't. You have to be connected directly to the providers network as they are NOT sent over the internet.

Internet TV = TV sent over the internet, IPTV = a walled garden where TV is transmitted across an IP network.

[beeman]

So in simple terms as the person wanted.

its TV over an intranet

[Felim_Doyle]

See IPTV for a description where it states:-

Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is a system through which digital television service is delivered using the architecture and networking methods of the Internet Protocol Suite over a packet-switched network infrastructure, e.g., the Internet and broadband Internet access networks, instead of being delivered through traditional radio frequency broadcast, satellite signal, and cable television (CATV) formats.

So it uses the Internet Protocol (IP) but, in VM's case, not over the public network.

I would be interested to know though, if it is going to be on a seperate stream from the broadband traffic coming down the same co-ax cable.

[Turkey Machine]

That's going to be a given, they can't give separate TV and phone packages otherwise.

[TheDon]

Originally Posted by Felim_Doyle

See IPTV for a description where it states:-

So it uses the Internet Protocol (IP) but, in VM's case, not over the public network.

You've underlined a lot of nice words, but missed out the a couple of important ones, that being:

the Internet and broadband Internet access networks

Not the actual internet, but the access networks to those.

Read further down the same page for a complete definition:

Historically, many different definitions of IPTV have appeared, including elementary streams over IP networks, transport streams over IP networks and a number of proprietary systems. Although (in Mid 2007) it is premature to say that there is a full consensus of exactly what IPTV should mean, there is no doubt that the most widely used definition today for consumer IPTV is for single or multiple program transport streams (MPTS) which are sourced by the same network operator that owns or directly controls the "last mile" to the consumer's premises. This control over delivery enables a guaranteed quality of service (QOS), and also allows the service provider to offer an enhanced user experience such as better program guide, interactive services etc.

In commercial environments IPTV is widely deployed for distribution of live TV, video playout channels and Video on Demand (VOD) material across LAN or WAN IP network infrastructures, with a controlled QOS.

The official definition approved by the International Telecommunication Union focus group on IPTV (ITU-T FG IPTV) is as follows:
"IPTV is defined as multimedia services such as television/video/audio/text/graphics/data delivered over IP based networks managed to provide the required level of quality of service and experience, security, interactivity and reliability."

The key point in the ITU definition is that the network has to be managed, that means owned by the IPTV provider. You'll struggle to find anyone in the industry refer to IPTV to mean anything but using a privately owned IP network to deliver TV services, anything that touches the internet is referred to as Internet TV.

I would be interested to know though, if it is going to be on a seperate stream from the broadband traffic coming down the same co-ax cable.

Yes.
Even in the VDSL systems the bandwidth is entirely segregated from the actual internet traffic.

[Oatie]

Corrrrrrrr.....I remember 'doing' this tv over DSL, (as it was at the time...even thought DSL was carrying IP), back in the late 90's. 3DSL I seem to recall it was named....twas a triple play offering basically. Was good as well. Hull took our, (when I say 'our' I mean the company I worked for at the time), solution as I recall. Something about Hull and telecoms, (cant remember or be bothered to look up), but the telecom provider up that neck of the woods doesnt have to conform to national regulations in some way or other?

Was proper VoD, (delivered over DSL), but was pretty much telly via IP. Clever stuff at the time. Lost touch with it all now mind.

Going back to the original topic, reckon that N3, (or what people call N3 even though there aint any such thing really), will happen, but will take a while to fully roll out. I've got to admit that I think this may cost Virgin in the long run. Reason behind this thinking is that they will be rolling out IP TV in the not too distant future, which would kill any 'dodgy' boxes. Why not let people who pinch the telly stay on the network, (theyve been there for crikey knows how many years now...one more wont make much difference), and realise some sort of income, then 'bedazzle' them with the IP TV service? Reckon what will happen is that a lot of people will move over to Sky when they lose their telly and stay there?

Just my opinion like, could be totally and utterly wrong, (and not for the first time either).