IPTV Delivery Networks

Chapter 7Delivering High-Definition IPTV Services over IP-Based Networks

Seongik Hong

7.1 Introduction

IPTV is considered one of the most profound inventions since its creation in the 1960s. At first, it served as a backbone for the interconnection of regional academic and military networks until the 1980s. In the 1990s, commercial use of the Internet became available by the dispersion of the World Wide Web (WWW). In the early 2000s, voice-over IP service was growing rapidly, which was the beginning of the multimedia transport over IP.

IPTV (Cisco, 2013; Nokia 2006; Huawei, 2010; O'Driscoll, 2008) delivers television services over the Internet instead of traditional TV networks such as terrestrial, satellite signal-based, and cable TV. IPTV services have become popular because of features such as video on demand (VoD) and time-shifted television, which replay TV shows that have been broadcast earlier. It means unlike the unidirectional traditional broadcasting television services, IPTV offers the ability of bidirectional services. Users can request specific multimedia content and the content provider can supply them. As a result, IPTV services have become very popular. The global IPTV market was valued at $24.94 billion in 2013 and is expected to reach $79.38 billion by 2020, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.1% from 2014 to 2020.

In addition, as the Internet technology has been evolving, the demand for IPTV services also has been growing because video transmission ...