New Technology Promises Higher Quality IPTV
New technology has been demonstrated by Internet Protocol (IP) TV and telecoms specialists Alcatel, Broadcom and France Telecom which will enable High Definition (HD) TV broadcasts to be streamed over existing broadband networks, boosting capacity through new compression techniques.
The new technology made its debut at the French Open Tennis Tournament at the Roland Garros Stadium in France, with footage of the event streamed using MPEG-4 compression. Employing Broadcom’s latest IPTV set-top box design, the new compression technique reduces the bandwidth required for transmission of video content, thereby enabling telecoms operators to offer HD broadcast and on-demand services over their existing DSL networks.
In addition, Broadcom claims its new set-top box designs are a reference for existing manufacturers to quickly begin production and support for video over DSL products.
The IPTV market looks set for huge expansion in coming months, with market analyst Michelle Abraham of InStat stating: “The availability of advanced video compression technology will enable the cost-effective deployment of IP set-top boxes, the market for which InStat is forecasting to grow by 550 % over the next five years.”
The new broadcasting techniques rely on the use of an ADSL2+ broadband network, which was recently seen being trialed by cable provider ntl in Britain. The cable giant has been running intermittent trials of the technology since February, with HDTV content streamed over existing copper phone lines at speeds of over 18Mbps – a 450% increase in speeds, even for top tier broadband customers, currently accessing the internet at around 4Mbps (see NTL Trials High Definition TV With Ultra Fast Broadband).
The new technology has also been picked up by British IPTV provider, HomeChoice, which began broadcasting the children’s channel, Toonami, using MPEG-4 compression earlier this year. The company is believed to be expanding its use of the technology over the coming months, gradually phasing all of its channels to the higher-quality compression standard.
IPTV has sparked huge interest from British broadcasters in recent months, with both ntl and Telewest experimenting with the technology, providing film and TV content on demand to subscribers in Glasgow and Bristol respectively (see Cable Giants Launch On-Demand TV And Movie Services).
Telewest recently signed a raft of new content providers to its fledgling service, with deals now in place to see BBC Worldwide, Discovery Networks Europe and the National Geographic Channel supplying programming. The company also plans to roll out the service across Cheltenham next month, which will initially enable 26,000 customers to pause, rewind and fast forward content at their leisure (see Telewest Signs Content Providers To On Demand Service).
The nation’s dominant multi-channel TV provider, BSkyB, also looks set to dip its toe into the IPTV waters, with its announcement earlier this week that it would allow movie and sports content to be accessed via the internet, moving the company into direct competition with providers such as HomeChoice, ntl and Telewest, and marking the company’s first steps towards offering truly on-demand content to its customers (see Sky To Provide Content Via Internet Downloads).
Sky’s offering is likely to build on its fledgling Sky-By-Wire brand, currently employed to provide sports and movie channels to HomeChoice customers via their broadband connection (see Sky Boosts Audience Reach With HomeChoice Deal).
Broadcom: www.broadcom.com