A recent survey of 6,000 consumers across the US, the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy found that 46% do not understand the term IPTV. So in order to help clear up the confusion and help you jump on the upcoming IPTV bandwagon, here is a list of eight things you need to know about IPTV:
1. IPTV stands for Internet Protocol Television, which means you will be able to connect a box to your broadband Internet connection and receive TV channels on your regular television set.
2. You will have to subscribe to IPTV services at an additional cost or via a service package like Triple Play which most cable companies offer now.
3. IPTV will offer even more channels and you will be able to custom pick the channels that you want to receive to your set top box.
4. IPTV will be offered by your telephone or cable company and will most likely offer addition features or services such as VOIP (Voice Over IP) telephone service and a DVR (Digital Video Recorder).
5. IPTV will offer you the ability to use your cell phone to record your favorite shows. You could call or text message your box and have it record Desperate Housewives while you’re out shopping and can't make it home in time. It will be the ultimate in time-shifting devices.
6. IPTV allows for 2-way communication between the program and the user. Say you’re watching Food Channel host Rachel Ray live. You could use your remote or keyboard to type her a fan letter or a cooking tip that she could read live on-air.
7. IPTV can help move PC-centric features over to your TV. You could be watching BET's 106 and Park and get an IM from your home girl or see who is calling you with on-screen caller ID.
8. IPTV is not video on the web. Video on the Internet can be jerky, slow, grainy, and has to re-buffer a lot. IPTV will be as good as television and in some instances will be of HD quality.
Article comments
1 - Tan The Man
Sounds great. Too bad the States don't have anything like this right now...
2 - Greasy Guide
It's coming soon here. Probably by Thanksgiving or Christmas Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner will roll out the first wave of IPTV to see if it's going to stick.
3 - Bliffle
IPTV is a dumb idea. Just another delivery vehicle for the ceaseless parade of commercials that the idiot consumer is willing to pay another monthly fee to get.
So, the US consumer of dreadful advertisements will now be paying, in addition to the egregious fees of "Cable" and "Satellite" a monthly fee for IP access.
How stupid can people be?
4 - Victor Plenty
There's only one thing I need to know about IPTV: I don't need it at all.
I won't feel any particular desire for it unless the total monthly cost (for whatever package of IPTV plus cable plus broadband internet access you'd need to get it) falls below $20/month. Even then I probably still won't actually get it unless the total cost falls below $15/month. In fact I'll make every effort to hold out until it's under $10/month.
Unless they bring back Firefly, of course. If someone does that, I might become willing to pay more than 10 or 15 bucks every month. Until then, they can all just forget about having me as a viewer for their advertisements.
5 - Alex Cameron
Great summary - nice one!
6 - forumqueen001
FRESHIPTVNEWS.COM is an informative site for those who want to learn more about internet protocol television. it offers news and other updates on IPTV technology. Here's a quote:
"Internet Protocol Television describes a system where a digital television service is delivered to subscribing consumers using the Internet Protocol over a broadband connection..."
read more and visit the site :D
7 - TECH THUG
BlastIPTV.com is a relatively newish company I found that can stream high definition full screen over a 100kbps connection with no buffering.
They don't make you download any software and they apparently have a model where you only have to pay a subscription fee if you want to avoid advertising.