p22-24,26-27 IPTV@IBC08 Networks v4 23/7/08 14:32 Page 24
IPTV@IBC08 > The networked home Cable & Satellite Europe
Experience on IPTV also available to internet video to the ing at the television set and set-top box as their only tar-
TV screen,” she says. It is possible to put technology sys- get,” he says. “The internet and mobile phones are also
tems in place that give priority to video content when it in their strategies, as they plan the best means to adapt
enters the operator’s network. The business model has the users’ viewing experience to different devices and
still to be worked out, but it is possible that the operator networks so that the best experience on each device is
could benefit from advertising opportunities. Operators guaranteed. Digital Rapids solutions are strong for
could also bring content from third-party providers in providers targeting multiple screens, as our encoding,
and store it locally on their own content delivery network. transcoding, streaming and delivery systems have always
The desire of operators and content providers to meet supported simultaneous output in multiple formats.”
the need to move content from one device to another is IPTV operators clearly want to offer content across
a complex area. One problem is that of balancing securi- multiple devices. Mark Uldry, head of broadband prod-
ty with ease of use and flexibility. A concern is how to give ucts at Nagravision (IBC Stand 1.D69) says operators are
rights-holders comfort that their assets will be used starting to view the PC as part of the client eco-system:
according to the rules they have set while allowing users “There’s much discussion about how sustainable it is in
as much freedom and flexibility as possible. the long run. Lots of our customers are offering content
on the PC, such as Canal Plus’ CanalPlay. This is going
to be the case for operators who have their own con-
Multi-screen experience trolled IP environment. Why go into the hassle of trying
to do it in a non-controlled environment if you have the
Devices controlled by the operator such as the home bandwidth and infrastructure in place yourself?”
gateway and the DVR-enabled set-top box will be key Security remains a key concern, and companies such
building blocks in the home network of the future. The as Nagravision are developing products that can help.
centrality of the DVR is likely to become more pro- “One constraint is the client platform. If it is inherently
nounced as consumers look initially to deliver pay-TV insecure, such as a PC, then it may need a security com-
services to multiple TVs around the home and operators plement in the form of a dongle,” says Uldry. “It can
seek to provide additional services on top of that. complement the PC from a security point of view, or turn
The DVR is also a useful complement to server-based it into a set-top box in its own right. At present, some of
on-demand services, says Andreas Mueller-Schubert, the more established operators are starting to use the
general manager, global solutions, Microsoft Mediaroom internet as an alternative
(IBC Topaz), by allowing the customer to pause and distribution mecha-
resume consumption of content elsewhere: “You can nism.”
record something in the living room, pause it and watch Solutions that
it in the bedroom.” According to Mueller-Schubert, enable content
Microsoft’s own home networking software is now at the from the open
release-to-market state and is being tested by a number internet to be
of the company’s customers. “It will be available to cus- repurposed
tomers when they want it,” he says. “It’s a software-driv- for the TV
en approach. We are managing content from the main are also
set-top to slave set-tops in the bedroom and so on.” in the
Other extensions of Mediaroom currently being tried pipeline.
out include the integration of the Microsoft gaming plat- Harmonic
form, the X-Box, into the offers of IPTV providers. BT (IBC Stand
was the first to take this up. “BT wants to use the X-Box 1.C61) has
to provide connected TV to different devices and that’s in been devel-
the testing phase,” says Mueller-Schubert. “It requires oping a new
network upgrades on the software side in the server product called
infrastructure and the client infrastructure. You need Gator that it hopes
software in the network to offer it. Quite a lot of work is will go some way to solv-
necessary to make it available on a mass scale.” ing the problems around tak-
Video technology specialist Digital Rapids’ (IBC Stand ing content from the internet to
7.G41) director of product management Brian the TV. “IPTV needs to open the inter-
Powerline solutions Stephenson says that the company has developed its net window. Not on the PC because that’s
such as DS2’s can products to target IPTV operators who are moving already been done, but to bring it straight to the
solve some of the towards offering multi-screen experiences, offered on set-top box,” says Thierry Fautier director of telco
problems faced by multiple distribution channels and viewing platforms. solutions at Harmonic. “It’s not only a Harmonic
IPTV providers. “Many providers who are investing in IPTV are not look- problem, it involves set-tops, networks, browsers
searchable archive at www.informamedia.com
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