(
Internet
Protocol
TV) Also called "TV over IP" IPTV refers to streaming scheduled and video-on-demand (VOD) TV programs using the IP protocol. Beginning in the 1990s, IPTV was offered by several companies, but the content did not necessarily stream from the Internet. Telephone companies offered IPTV over DSL lines.
IP Enables the "Triple Play"
All website and email traffic travels in IP packets, and voice has become almost all IP based (see
VoIP). By adding TV over IP, a data-voice-video "triple play" service can be offered over the same network infrastructure. See
triple play.
IPTV vs. Traditional TV
IP-based TV is delivered like a Web page. When a subscriber wants to view an IPTV channel, that channel is routed to the user's set-top box just like a Web browser retrieves a specific Web page. In contrast, traditional cable TV and satellite services transmit hundreds of channels simultaneously, and the set-top box/receiver connected to the TV allows the user to extract (tune in) one channel at a time. See
Internet TV,
Internet Protocol,
video streaming and
IP on Everything.