Jungo releases its OpenRG residential gateway software now supports a patent-pending, fast channel-switching feature. This solution enables service providers to enhance consumers’ IPTV experience by improving the channel-switching performance of broadband access equipment.

Subscriber Quality of Experience is critical to the success of an IPTV service. While there are many factors affecting IPTV service quality – such as picture quality, transport and reliability – a key QoE element is how quickly and reliably subscribers can change TV channels.

Subscribers expect switching between hundreds of channels to be smooth and fast. However, in reality, IPTV users often experience slow response times, and sub-standard picture quality, further affected by pixelation. These problems tend to increase in homes with multiple STBs.

A channel switching delay of under two seconds is considered acceptable to users. Jungo’s new technology removes channel-switching overheads by employing an innovative mix of tactics, including an enhancement of the regular IGMP Leave and Fast-Leave operations - otherwise known as ‘Aggressive Leave’ – the monitoring of available resources such as bandwidth and virtual circuits, and intelligent bandwidth usage assumptions. The new solution from Jungo can be used on any off-the-shelf STB.

OpenRG, Jungo’s complete residential gateway solution, helps service providers to successfully introduce and grow triple play services. By reducing channel switching time across their networks, IPTV service providers can be more confident that they will meet the expectations of their subscribers.