Advances in IPTV technologies

Abstract

In the last couple of years we have seen the rise of IPTV from a cable and satellite replacement to more and more a service that encompasses both controlled and over the top content. Many reports1 show a worldwide increase of IPTV subscribers of over 34%, with around 34 million new users in 2010 alone. Consolidated by this market penetration, IPTV is fast becoming a cost-efficient alternative for consuming television. Such rapid success has been made possible thanks to past research on video transmission over IP, on efficient decoding and rendering on the clients, and on quality of service and quality of experience. Nevertheless, there are still a number of challenges that need to be addressed to enable future growth. Some of these include: more efficient transmission mechanisms (e.g., peer to peer or P2P), convergent solutions (e.g., Over the Top or OTT services), improved quality of experience, and personalization. This special issue focuses in these areas, with the final intention of drawing a full picture on current and future advances in IPTV technologies.