HDTV OVER IP DEFINED

- The acronym IP HDTV is typically used to describe the delivery of high definition video content over a broadband connection. It is a relatively new technology and is steadily taking off as a value added service for telecommunication companies who want to differentiate their IPTV services from existing cable and satellite offerings.

- There are a number of reasons why service providers are upgrading their network architectures to support the transmission of HDTV content. The following is a short list of some of the most compelling ones.





















Improvement in Video Quality

The evolution from traditional analog TV to digital TV has already provided
consumers with sharper, richer, and more engaging video content. Continuing this
evolution from standard digital TV content to high definition broadcasting brings
the TV viewing experience closer to resembling the sharper and crisp video quality
provided by cinemas.


Better Color Resolution

The color resolution supported by HDTV is far superior to the resolution of regular SDTV video content.


Quality Levels

- By using advanced compression technologies in conjunction with high speed networking technologies, it is now possible to provide consumers with IP HDTV services at reasonably high quality levels. The delivery of HD content over an IP broadband platform comes with a number of challenges including:

. HDTV has greater bandwidth requirements compared to SDTV video streams. As such the networking infrastructure needs to be upgraded to provide sufficient bandwidth to deliver multiple HDTV streams into people’s homes. The amount of bandwidth required depends on the compression algorithm applied to the content at the IPTV data center. Higher compression rates
require less bandwidth; however, final picture quality is degraded.

. The reception system at the IPTV data center may need to be upgraded to support and manage larger volumes of video data. Additionally, extra storage resources are also required to accommodate increased file sizes, which is a ‘‘feature’’ of HD video content.

. The internal networking infrastructure of the IPTV data center needs to support very high transfer rates. This may require an upgrade to the existing cabling infrastructure.

. IPTV end users need to either lease or buy HD capable TVs and set-top boxes to enjoy the full benefits of IP HDTV.