IPTV: The New Kid In Town
With technology evolving at lightning speed, “cutting the cord” is a hot topic in today’s world. Consumers are swimming in alternatives to traditional pay-TV, with internet based services like Netflix, SlingTV and HBO GO. It’s no wonder that in 2015, as many as 7% of pay-TV homes are expected to drop their service or switch to an online video app instead. As fiber internet becomes available in more cities across the U.S, service providers will look to IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) to provide home entertainment to their customers.
IPTV is a system through which TV services are delivered over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional means such as satellite or cable. Unlike downloaded media, IPTV offers the ability to stream the media in smaller batches, directly from the source.
IPTV services is generally classified into three main groups:
- Live Television with our without interactivity related to the current TV show.
- Time-shifted television: which allows you to view programs after they have aired or restart a show while it is on.
- Video on Demand: browse a catalog of movies or shows, and select what you want to watch, when you want to watch.
For many potential cord-cutters, bandwidth is the biggest limitation. Without a reliable internet connection capable of providing the needed downstream speeds, buffering and jagged video will be a source of frustration. This may seem obvious, but if you’re going to bet your precious entertainment future on your network, you need a solid hookup. Netflix and other similar streaming video services suggest downstream speeds of 5 Mbps, but that’s simply not going to cut it for most, especially those with families that might want to stream more than one show or movie at a time.
With fiber internet and the speeds provided by Google Fiber, Race Communications and other fiber companies, cord-cutting has become the next frontier in home entertainment. Soon Race will provide a simple, affordable and flexible alternative to pricey cable subscriptions with its very own IPTV solution!
