IPTV: The Future of Television?

There's an excellent article on Ars Technica today that offers a primer on the technology behind IPTV, or television content that's delivered over the internet as data packets. IPTV offers significant challenges to both the telcos who will deliver the content and to the hardware manufacturers who will be creating the devices to display that content. However, once adopted, IPTV has the potential to deliver an improved on demand experience for the viewer and better digital rights management for content producers.

The secret lies in using the IP Group Membership Protocol (IGMP) to authorize access to multicast groups. You don't switch channels, you simply sign on to a new data stream. Telcos can stream data to multiple users at once, dynamically allocating more bandwidth to the streams that have the most users, or they can stream specific data on demand to users who request it.

There are some bandwidth limitations, many of which are covered in the Ars Technica article:

Simultaneous delivery of channels is necessary to keep IPTV competitive with cable. Obviously, multiple streams are needed to support picture-in-picture, but they're also needed by DVRs, which can record one show while a user is watching another. For IPTV to become a viable whole-house solution, it will also need to support enough simultaneous channels to allow televisions in different rooms to display different content, and juggling resulting bandwidth issues is one of the trickiest parts of implementing an IPTV network that will be attractive to consumers.

It's an exciting development that will become a reality as soon as the data and hardware bottlenecks are addressed. With AT&T's (née SBC) new Project Lightspeed, which promises direct fiber cable data connections for 18 million households by the end of next year, customers will be seeing data, voice, and television arriving in their homes over a single connection.

It's understandable how this development throws up a red flag in the eyes of privacy advocates and anti-monopoly policy makers. Think about it: one company serving (and, in effect, owning) all of your communications and entertainment. It's a little disconcerting to say the least, and definitely a plan that's worthy of a lengthy debate.

The telcos need to recognize the importance of allowing their customers to opt out and make their own choices about how they're using their data connections. Data convergence also encourages bundle pricing, which is a problem for people who just want a fiber internet connection and don't want to use VOIP or IPTV services. Will they be left out? If the ongoing Comcast versus Vonage spat is any indication, the end users are going to have a fight on their hands sooner rather than later.

[Ars Technica link via O'Reilly Etel blog]