 RARPSL
join:1999-12-08
Suffern, NY | reply to fifty nine
Re: Why IPTV? said by fifty nine:I don't really understand the infatuation with IPTV, or at least how it's implemented with current providers such as AT&T U-Verse. The way Verizon does it with FiOS TV seems like the way to go, since it's compatible with existing equipment and doesn't have any restriction on the number of TVs receiving HD channels. One advantage of IPTV over regular TV is that regular TV uses one channel per TV Channel. IPTV, since it uses TCP/IP and more than one TCP/IP session can simultaneously use a TV Channel, can use Multicast to carry the TV Channel Stream. This usage, of course, requires that you use IPv6 Multicast not IPv4 Multicast since the latter has an individual stream per user (STB) while the former has one stream that all STBs tuned to that TV Channel will receive (the box is told to monitor a designated IPv6 IPN that is the destination of the stream - a feature of IPv6 where the user's host can have more than one IPN at the same time). |
|
| Is U-Verse using multicast? Why can only two or three sets receive HD channels at the same time?
This is a big deal breaker for me. |
|
RARPSL
join:1999-12-08
Suffern, NY | said by fifty nine:Is U-Verse using multicast? Why can only two or three sets receive HD channels at the same time? This is a big deal breaker for me. There is a major difference between IPv4 MC and IPv6 MC. with IPv4 you have a seperate session for each user's stream so you have duplicate streams with the same content (one each addressed to the IPN of a user who is watching that content). This is like each user connecting to YouTube and watching the same video. With IPv6 there is only one stream and each user watches it.
As to your question about U-Verse each stream uses part of your available download bandwidth. Multicast will not help since there is still the need to receive the stream. IPv6 MC reduces the total bandwidth on the node allowing more IPTV streams to be carried. |
|
|
|
| All of this is good in theory, but until a provider actually deploys IPTV that will not limit the number of TVs per household, I'm afraid it's a crippled product that's inferior to current HFC networks.
In other words, if I had the choice between U-Verse and cable, I'd probably end up sticking with cable due to the number of TVs limitation. |
|
 tschmidtPremium,MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH
kudos:5
 ·Fairpoint Commun..
 ·Hollis Hosting
| said by fifty nine:if I had the choice between U-Verse and cable, I'd probably end up sticking with cable due to the number of TVs limitation. Agree - get no argument from me on that.
Sweet spot for VDSL is 50 Mbps at 1500 feet. 50 Mbps is not enough bandwidth to support more then three HDTV streams and requires costly deployment of Remote Terminals to shorten copper loop length.
Verizon is taking the right approach. Emulate HFC for rapid time to market and deploy IPTV as it matures. BPON is only 622 Mbps shared by typically 16 customers. That is only 38.8 Mbps per customer. BPON uses ATM that effectively reduces customer payload to only 35 Mbps. 35 Mbps is a lot of bandwidth in today's broadband market by not enough for serious IPTV.
Migration to GPON substantially improves the situation, 2 G and elimination of ATM yields 125 Mbps per customer.
/tom |
|
 lovswr
join:2001-09-15
Smyrna, GA | reply to RARPSL
Would this allow me to pause live TV. If many users are all streaming from one, how long can I individually manipulate those bits?
--
lovswr = good hivswr = bad |
|
| reply to fifty nine
I hope they're not. We've almost canceled U-Verse because of this issue. The other option is to go TWC, and I HATE, HATE, HATE them. We can not do DirecTV ( condo, no lOS), which would be a good alternate, IMHO. |
|
| reply to lovswr
You can pause live TV if you have a DVR. |
|
Sammer
join:2005-12-22
Canonsburg, PA | reply to fifty nine
said by fifty nine:All of this is good in theory, but until a provider actually deploys IPTV that will not limit the number of TVs per household, I'm afraid it's a crippled product that's inferior to current HFC networks. IOW IPTV should (eventually) work great with FTTHome and that's what Fairpoint wants to use it with. BTW, even Verizon tends to limit VOD, etc. to 7 TVs per household. |
|
RARPSL
join:1999-12-08
Suffern, NY | reply to lovswr
said by lovswr:Would this allow me to pause live TV. If many users are all streaming from one, how long can I individually manipulate those bits? No. It is just a replacement for the current method of sending the TV Signal AS a TV Signal. Can you CURRENTLY pause a show as you are watching it? I do not think so UNLESS you have a DVR and are recording it. If you are recording via a DVR (or TVIO) then you will still have this ability (since all that is changing is how the signal is being delivered to the STB). |
|
