What is the Architecture of IPTV???  

IPTV (Internet Protocol television) is the delivery of programming by video stream encoded as a series of IP packets. IPTV can be free or fee-based and can deliver either live TV or stored video. It can be bundled with other Internet Protocol services, including VoIP and high-speed Internet access.

In traditional television delivery, all programming is broadcast simultaneously. The available program signals flow downstream and the viewer selects which program he wants to watch by changing the channel.

IPTV, by contrast, sends only one program at a time. Content remains on the service provider's network and only the program the customer selects is sent to the home. When a viewer changes the channel, a new stream is transmitted from the provider's server directly to the viewer. Like cable TV, IPTV requires a set-top box.

IPTV primarily uses multicasting with Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) version 2 for live television broadcasts and Real Time Streaming Protocol for on-demand programs. Compatible video compression standards include H.264, Windows Media Video 9 and VC1, DivX, XviD, Ogg Theora and the MPEG-2 and -4.
http://searchtelecom.techtar get.com/sDefinition/0,,sid103_ gci1112181,00.html

Answered by Nishu%27s at 12:27 PM on November 29, 2008

IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is a system where a digital television service is delivered using Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which may include delivery by a broadband connection. A general definition of IPTV is television content that, instead of being delivered through traditional broadcast and cable formats, is received by the viewer through the technologies used for computer networks.

For residential users, IPTV is often provided in conjunction with Video on Demand and may be bundled with Internet services such as Web access and VoIP. The commercial bundling of IPTV, VoIP and Internet access is referred to as "Triple Play" service (when these three are offered with mobility, the service is referred to as "Quadruple Play"). IPTV is typically supplied by a service provider using a closed network infrastructure. This closed network approach is in competition with the delivery of TV content over the public Internet, called Internet Television. In businesses, IPTV may be used to deliver television content over corporate LANs.

Answered by Deepak at 6:47 AM on November 29, 2008

The architecture of IPTV systems will allow for a two way street of communication between users and servers much like the IP architecture of the web which makes it much more interactive than television today as we know it. And that interactivity or "pull" of information and content will enable the geographic and contextually relevant advertising opportunities that we've seen flourish on the web.

Answered by Suparna at 12:14 AM on November 29, 2008

Depending on the network architecture of the Service Provider, there are two main types of Video Server architectures that can be considered for IPTV deployment, Centralized, and Distributed.
The Centralized Architecture model is a relatively simple and easy to manage solution. For example, as all contents are stored in Centralized servers, it does not require a comprehensive content distribution system. Centralized Architecture is generally good for a network that provides relatively small VOD service deployment, has adequate core and edge bandwidth and has an efficient Content Delivery Network (CDN).
A Distributed Architecture is just as scalable as the Centralized model, however it has bandwidth usage advantages and inherent system management features that are essential for managing a larger server network. Operators who plan to deploy a relatively large system should therefore consider implementing a Distributed Architecture model right from the start. Distributed Architecture requires intelligent and sophisticated content distribution technologies to augment effective delivery of multimedia contents over service provider's network.

http://en.wikipedi a.org/wiki/IP-TV

Answered by Arun Nair at 10:39 PM on November 28, 2008