Lawmakers have to help the industry to grow further, prosper together so that the industry utilizing the legal framework is in a position to provide better service to the customer, says Amitkumar Dev

When we talk of IPTV or Internet protocol television, there are two basic things, one is IP and the other is television and how they got married. IP is the method or the protocol through which traffic of telecommunication or data stream flows. Through that protocol two devices can talk to each other and two streams can flow. It was 28 years ago that telecommunication protocol/Internet protocol started in the USA in a way to protect the American knowledge because of the threat of Russian nuclear attack. USA created the TCP/IP for this reason. IPTV broadly encompasses a rich functionality that ranges from the acquisition, encoding and decoding, access control, and management of video content, apart from the host of interactive and multimedia services. Internet protocol is considered to be the language of talking to the world. One of the merits of using an IP-based application is the ease with which interactivity rather than one way broadcast and value additions can be generated and the fact that simultaneous use of media for voice, data, and video opens up new opportunities for the operators.

The pull technology

Video applications are probably the king of the computer applications and the biggest perpetrators of TV are actually the biggest users of PC. The marriage has been on the back length and on the front length there was a bigger marriage because the devices came to the home. PC had a screen which can carry TV properly. So the whole idea was that the convergence in the broadcast technology and transmission was achieved. That was a major landmark. The transmission was then shifted from a digital video broadcast (DVB) into an IP-based standard. That is the biggest part of convergence and that allowed the Internet protocol which is the streaming mode. On an Internet protocol you put a content which is sealed and given an address would reach to that address. Broadcasters who are on IP are writing the address of all the customers but simultaneously transmission happens which is like a simulcast. In broadcast it is one to many but here it is one to one but millions of one at the same time. This is the IP cast. That is the ability to control the flow. In IP you have the ability to control your consumption. Broadcasting is something like push but IP is like pull. You choose what is wanted from the server. A new grammar of content usage will happen over bi-directional path of IPTV. We call IPTV as interactive and personalized transmission of value-added services. That is our definition of IPTV.

Content security

We have to protect our whole system of IPTV because IPTV is running in many cities and networks and many hackers would try to hack the system. We are bringing in a high level of security in the whole system which is the triple layer digital encryption system which has a 192 bit public key interface (PKI). That changes the whole thing in 6000 times per second. The reason for bringing into broadcast is because the money is costly and content is also very costly. IPTV is the platform in which when you need help you get value and help. There is no limit of thinking and creativity and all this will happen with IPTV.

In the standardization there are two issues. The whole world is driven by two standards. One is the proper structured standards. Another is the solution oriented standard. In IPTV what has happened is that companies who have come from American legacy background are structured in their mind. IPTV will be able to deliver to the customer and drive to the home of the customer. What we are trying to do is that within the structure and the regulation how we can push the envelope to the end so that creators can get their mind scoop. So that kind of investment and infrastructure is to be laid where creators can come and work upon. IPTV is about bringing different new things, go fast, and at a very low cost.

The middleware is the brain behind IPTV system and coordinates function between encoders, VoD servers, EPG, provisioning system, billing and payment, CRM, set top box, and the user. The middleware will allow the provision of a service to a subscriber with various services like television, video-on-demand, Internet, and other value added services.

Electronic programming guides (EPG)

Electronic programming guide is a new feature on the interactivity. Till interactivity came, there was no guide. There was no way to chose and consumers were only at the receiving end (push). EPG or another term interactive programming guide came into being. It is an on-screen menu which is the interface point between the IPTV and the customer. The EPG which is a more generic term shows the programming schedule using a channel list or theme categories defined via the feature menu. An American company, Open TV, brought in the same ideology of IPG into a digital platform. An EPG also allows a subscriber about the favorite shows and also allows restricting certain channels.

A scenario is coming where lawmakers are realizing that they are facilitators. Lawmakers have to help the industry to grow further, prosper together so that the industry utilizing the legal framework is in a position to provide better service to the customer. Finally the customer is the king. The regulators need to protect the interest of the customers. The transition should be from a digital divide to digital opportunity where lawmakers act as facilitators and come out with new proposals that could bring delight to the consumers.

Future of IPTV

Service providers have to evolve effective logistics and processes for service provisioning, service assurance, network assurance, and video headend management. Besides, proper profiles are to be given based on customer service requirement so that he gets the required Internet speed with IPTV working with good quality.

As IPTV provides true two-way interactive platform , operators are working to offer advanced applications such as notification on TV, SMS on TV, video calling and gaming.

Out of 120 million TVs, 1.9 million are connected to broadband, out of which 5000 are connected to IPTV. So there is no reason why out of 100 million, 10 million sets cannot be connected to broadband. Out of 10 million why 1 million cannot run on IPTV. Our objective and target is to reach there.

A change is happening where IPTV is expected to outpace other modes of technology and where IPTV service providers are expected to bring in more content. The total volume of business is also expected to grow. The Internet service providers (ISP) will look and work on a formula that would bring in more offers to the customers on a real time basis. With the right basket of content, price control, and right consumers, IPTV would be able to beat any other technology in the near future. Important aspects such as technical solutions availability, access to contents, and a regulatory policy framework needs to be considered for the successful introduction of IPTV.