IPTV: Another technological leap for TV viewers

Today’s TV viewers are experiencing a revolution in the way they consume TV. It’s much more than a simple transition from analogue to digital or from standard definition to high definition, for today’s TV sets are also connected to internet and provide similar services to those available on computers. These new twists will become part of the Maltese TV experience too.

IPTV is one such innovation. It boasts a number of features which give the user total interactive flexibility, a giant leap forward from simply waiting for a show to start.

IPTV is carried over a high-speed broadband internet network rather than TV terrestrial frequencies. Thus it provides more capacity for many more channels to choose from, especially when the channels are in HD format. However IPTV can also carry channels in SD which we have been watching for years.

One of the most important innovative features of IPTV is known as ‘catch-up’, which is the ability to watch a TV show which you might have missed. The service provider can keep recordings of TV channels on its servers for a number of days and through the set-top box the viewer can check for recorded shows and watch them at leisure. This is similar to video-on-demand but it’s not exactly the same, as the content on demand depends on the live transmission date of the programme.

Another option offered by IPTV is called ‘re-start’, which gives viewers the opportunity to go to the beginning of a show being transmitted live.

This comes handy when viewers would have missed the important opening sequence of a movie or thrilling action in a sporting event. It’s like re-winding, pausing and fast-forwarding a live programme and works in conjunction with EPG (electronic programme guide). In recent years the popularity of PVR (personal video recorders) has increased and some digital TV set-top boxes have in-built recording capabilities, usually thanks to a hard disk inside. IPTV not only deploys PVR-style recordings but it can do away with the limitations of a hard disk inside the set-top box as the service provider can host the recording on its servers. These recordings are accessible anytime.

Since IPTV relies on broadband high-speed internet access, there is an important content aspect which comes into play. The set-top box does not only carry TV channels in HD but can also act like a small computer that displays information and other interactive elements on the TV screens. These include information services such as the latest news and weather and even video games. Web browsing is also available and access to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are also possible.

With ever increasing broadband speeds in Malta, IPTV is expected to reach Maltese homes in due course, further proof of the convergence of different media also setting the scene locally.