TCP/IP Tutorial and Technical Overview - IBM Redbooks

21.1 IPTV overview
IPTV is an IP network application that supports several high quality video and
audio standards (for example, MPEG and H.261) for live video, scheduled video,
and video on demand.
Generally speaking, IPTV refers to the distribution of television and video signals
in parallel with the Internet connection supplied by a broadband operator using
the same IP (and mostly the same VoIP) packet network infrastructure.
Figure 21-1 illustrates IPTV application architecture.
Figure 21-1 IPTV application architecture
As shown in the IPTV application architecture diagram in Figure 21-1, the
following activities can occur:
► The users can receive and view the contents on a home TV, a PC, or even
with a hand-held device on the move. The devices are loaded with an IPTV
client.
► Content servers house the title collections and the feeds from content
producers. The TV contents are usually encoded in a standard format.
► The contents can be broadcast or on demand distribution, all controlled by the
schedule server.
► The IPTV server handles user requests and the flows are chopped into a
stream of IP packets.
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TV
PC
Handset
IPTV
Client
Scheduler
IP core network
Video Stream
OSS
Contents
IPTV
Server