Digital Home Thoughts: An Introduction to IPTV

"Over the last decade, the growth of satellite service, the rise of digital cable, and the birth of HDTV have all left their mark on the television landscape. Now, a new delivery method threatens to shake things up even more powerfully. Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) has arrived, and backed by the deep pockets of the telecommunications industry, it's poised to offer more interactivity and bring a hefty dose of competition to the business of selling TV. IPTV describes a system capable of receiving and displaying a video stream encoded as a series of Internet Protocol packets. If you've ever watched a video clip on your computer, you've used an IPTV system in its broadest sense. When most people discuss IPTV, though, they're talking about watching traditional channels on your television, where people demand a smooth, high-resolution, lag-free picture, and it's the telcos that are jumping headfirst into this market. Once known only as phone companies, the telcos now want to turn a "triple play" of voice, data, and video that will retire the side and put them securely in the batter's box."



This is a great summary of what IPTV is, why it's coming to the market, and how it will affect you. The summary: it's about the almighty dollar. Content distributors (cable providers, satellite companies, telecom companies) want all of your business. Internet, TV, phone, they're hoping you'll want to get it all from one place. IPTV allows the telecom companies to compete with the likes of Time Warner and Comcast. If you ask me, I think it's just going to drive prices up, and quality down. Just what we need, more compression. :?