IPTV menu

Streaming

Streaming is the continuous
delivery of television or video across a data network.

That network could be the
Internet, or a private business IT network.

Streaming on business IT
networks is possible at much higher quality than Internet streaming.

Multicast

IPTV uses multicast to reduce
network bandwidth. Multicast protocols ensure that channels are only streamed to users that are actually viewing them.

Multicast is the technology that
makes IPTV network friendly.

How IPTV Works

Digital TV channels direct from a terrestrial aerial and satellite dish are IP "wrapped" for transport across
the IT data network as IPTV streams.

Other sources such as DVD and SKY satellite receivers are MPEG encoded and they too are output as
IPTV streams on the IT network.

The IPTV channel streams are distributed ONLY to the destinations that request a channel, by using
multicast protocols. Each channel stream is placed on the network once and is replicated as necessary
by the network switches. This minimizes the data overhead on the network.

IPTV Receivers or Digital Signage players convert the IPTV streams back to video and audio for
display screens.

IPTV Player software shows IPTV channels on computer desktops and can offer PVR functionality.

A Video on Demand (VoD) server can be added for recording, storage, and on-demand playback of
IPTV channels and programmes.