What is the use of IPTV? Does it cover in India too sooner?  

Internet protocol television (IPTV) networks are similar to cable systems whereby video signals are groomed at a centralized headend and distributed over a private network. With IPTV, 100% of the customer base has a two-way, digital set-top box, allowing for interactivity. It enables a more customized and interactive user experience. It has the ability to integrate television with other IP-based services like high speed Internet access and VoIP. Customer's privacy could be compromised to a greater extent than is possible with traditional TV or satellite networks. An IP-based platform also allows significant opportunities to make the TV viewing experience more interactive and personalized. Video on Demand. VoD permits a customer to browse an online programme or film catalogue, to watch trailers and to then select a selected recording for playback. The playout of the selected movie starts nearly instantaneously on the customer's TV or PC. Another advantage of an IP-based network is the opportunity for integration and convergence. Because IPTV uses standard networking protocols, it promises lower costs for operators as well as users. Although Poor broadband penetration, high priced set-top boxes and last-mile (to the home) connectivity problems are delaying the Indian telecom industry's much-touted plan of rolling out IPTV services in India, still isn't a distant dream as likes of Reliance, Airtel, VSNL planned to provide IPTV in India soon.

Answered by A.R.Karthick at 8:18 PM on November 15, 2007

Its just a TV working on Internet Protocols. Internet Protocol is the besic standard of information exchange over a network. Presently ipv4 is on but very soon communication will change over to ipv6. In thin IPTV the signals are send in form of packets in IP format. This will reduce the cost s and also provice high quality. Yes Indian Government would also accept this IPTV to be launced in Indaalso when ever the time be :)...Its just that if it comes out you cannot avoid it :)

Answered by theone at 4:45 PM on November 15, 2007

What the telco is offering you is called Internet Protocol TV or IPTV. Pray why? Telco majors, the world over, have laid thousands of kilometres of optic fibre. Closer home, there are nearly 350,000 route kilometers of optical fibre laid by BSNL, Reliance Infocomm, Bharti Tele-ventures and VSNL. "However, 90 per cent of this optic fibre is unlit (not connected to the end-user equipment). How will telcos recover their investment and monetise this glut of bandwidth? IPTV is one way to use this bandwidth," reasons Sanjay Gopal, who leads the Communications and High Tech Industry group at Accenture India. IPTV subscribers in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan) are expected to grow to over 20 million by 2009. Siemens maintains the global market for IPTV technology could touch $1 billion by 2009. The German company, which competes in the IPTV technology market with the likes of UTStarcom (which is building the IPTV architecture with Bharti) and an alliance between Microsoft (which has an alliance with Reliance Infocomm for the Microsoft IPTV edition) and Alcatel - has big hopes for China, as well as IPTV in general. Can India be far behind? Union Minister for IT & Communications, Dayanidhi Maran, has already announced that Mahanagar Telephone Nigam and Bharat Sanchar Nigam will launch IPTV in Mumbai and Chennai this year. "I have already told MTNL and BSNL about this. We should expect the first roll-outs by June 2006," Maran recentlysaid. Moreover, Reliance Infocomm and Bharti are the other players whose rollouts are expected by the year-end. They, however, were not ready to commit on the launch timing. Badri Agarwal, president, Infotel, Bharti Tele-ventures, said: "We are currently testing the technology and collecting customer feedback. Based on the trial results, we will launch IPTV in due course. "Airtel already offers voice, data and broadband services to over 1.2 million customers across the country. As we start offering IPTV to our customers, our biggest USP over players in the cable and DTH space will be the two-way service applications like time-shifted television, video-on-demand and interactive-gaming." "IPTV deployments are expected to begin this year itself, It will grow much faster than people's expectations since everyone wants quality. This will happen like the earlier importance VCR gained over TV, due to the sheer quality of video output, not to mention the convenience VCRs offered. "The last-mile connectivity would be either through cable or fibre and operators will offer services over a wired network to start with, even providing ADSL connectivity. However, as the technology matures, operators would offer last-mile connectivity over wireless networks, and Wi-Max is one of the possibilities," according to Ravi Sharma, MD, Alcatel India. Cisco is currently pursuing IPTV solutions via enterprise networks for streaming live closed circuit video in the business, government, and educational sectors. "Microsoft is developing a total solution to bring IPTV to the masses via software and hardware technologies for broadcasting and viewing digital video IPTV over broadband Internet connections," says Doug Hauger, Business & Marketing Officer, Microsoft India. Hurdles to cross First, broadband is the backbone of IPTV. And India has only around one million broadband connections till date. TRAI projects the number to rise to around 20 million by 2010. Second, the availability of the last mile is a factor that is most instrumental in determining what the future of broadband in India is going to be, according to Alok Shende, director, ICT practice, Frost and Sullivan. Cable operators opine that they are much better placed than IPTV providers when it comes to the last-mile connectivity. "It's unrealistic to expect your telephone connection to give you broadband right away. There will need to be massive infrastructural changes," says Jagjit Singh Kohli, CEO, Siticable Network, a

Answered by Rame at 4:14 PM on November 15, 2007

MTNL’s announcement of IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) services and the resulting publicity drive was to write a scathing critique of India’s current infrastructure for broadband. I was wrong, and my second, more measured response is that IPTV, if implemented well, could usher in a new era of entertainment. This feeling is reinforced by information that private companies like Reliance and Bharati Telecom (which owns the AirTel brand) will also be launching their IPTV services soon, and perhaps ‘Triple Play’. But first, the basics, according to a telecom industry insider I spoke with to understand the roll out of IPTV in India. Telecom service providers will sell customers a set-top box that is capable of beaming lag-free streaming video, using broadband optical fiber connections, straight to your television set. The service will use Internet Protocol (IP), and the possibilities are limitless—video on demand, interactive content, unlimited channels, recording services (on the set top box), picture-in-picture, DVR capability, high-definition TV, instant replays, rigorous parental control, the works. To put it simply, you can finally be the boss of the idiot box. Since IPTV uses a set-top box, adding a modem could give you Triple Play—the combination of data, video and voice—in one pipe. And that is where the complexities come in. My initial concern is that the widespread adoption of set-top boxes could be beset with problems. For instance, if you have subscribed to a service, then you are completely dependent on one box. If it goes dead, all your services go kaput. I guess, this could be solved easily enough with standby units, and quick rectification of last mile link problems by the service providers. The other issue is more personal. Though India is primarily a one-TV per- house country, urban households are increasingly getting more TVs. If the husband is watching cricket on one TV, the wife could be seeing her favorite cooking show while the children view Cartoon Network. Channel multicast is possible on an IPTV set-top box, but the resulting bandwidth issues could play havoc with family harmony. It is here that telcos will need to implement their services judiciously, and not over promise benefits. As usual, tariffs and service plans will become a key determinant in the IPTV equation. However, I must say that if telecom companies like Reliance and Bharti Telecom enter the IPTV race, the cost of accessing good quality entertainment could be held in check by competitive forces. The only hitch in this scenario are the Multi-System Operator s (MSOs)—the big distributors your friendly neighborhood cablewallah is aligned with—who have much to loose. Already besieged by the DTH revolution, they may put some spanners in the wheels. Of course, one can always hope that they see the writing on the wall and join the IPTV bandwagon too! During my research for this column, I also came across news that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) wants to separate IPTV from laws that regulate regular cable television in India. I, for one, would support TRAI’s effort, and encourage you to do too. Ultimately, no matter when IPTV rolls out, the issue will be decided by two things alone—the content delivered and consumer choice. Somehow, the y a r e more than just inter-related, and could spell the difference between the future of IPTV and a home-entertainment doomsday scenario. That is a happy Goldstone Technologies has signed agreements with 12 new national and international channels for providing live channel content on its Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), which will be launched soon. IPTV channels will cover localized languages in India, Europe, China, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Goldstone is using a patented technology for triple play services, which will deliver quality video at 600 kbps internet speed. This is expected to be the world's first such service to function on the public internet. It uses a set top box, which is

Answered by Pammu at 4:07 PM on November 15, 2007

IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is a system where a digital television service is delivered by 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 (adding mobility is called "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. It would take sometime for it to come in India But we ve to keep our fingers crossed.

Answered by alokgupta14 at 3:57 PM on November 15, 2007