Start with a PON and add a splash of STB. Make sure your MPEG-2 or H.264 is garnished with some CA and DRM. The end result may be FiOS or Max but it's all IPTV.

Are you confused? We sure are…

Hello. We'd like to welcome all our viewers to another episode of "TVover.net's Cookin' for the Mass Scale." Today, we are going to show you how to make mouth watering and nutritious IPTV Acronym Soup just like Grandma used to make. This seemingly easy delicacy proves to be quite a difficult task with the various flavors and ingredients out on the market.

Below are the ingredients for IPTV Acronym Soup, just assembled in a different manner. This recipe is always a hit at our house. We rarely have any leftovers!

INGREDIENTS:
-3 teaspoons set-top box (STB)
-1 cup IP video headend
-3 lbs passive optical network (PON)
-1 tablespoon conditional access/digital rights management (CA/DRM)
-1 tablespoon management
-content (MPEG-2 or H.264/MPEG-4)

DIRECTIONS:
For IPTV, combine sweet and tangy set-top box, video headend and PON in a large saucepan. Stir in CA/DRM. Cook, stirring, for several hours until thickened. Remove from heat, stir in management. Carefully roll out the end result. Garnish with content. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

All clear now? Perhaps not…

Let's step back and define exactly what IPTV is. Authors and consumers commonly confuse Internet TV soup with IPTV soup. I admit, it took several times to explain the differences to my wife (she still may not have understood but simply said so to get me to drop the subject). According to IPTV Information, "Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is broadcast-quality television and/or video signals that are delivered to subscribers or viewers using a broadband connection over Internet Protocol (IP). While IP stands for Internet Protocol, it does not actually mean the television content is streaming over the Internet. IP is simply the same method, protocol, or technology that enables you to access the Internet and IP-delivered television content is utilizing the same technology for delivery."

To supplement that definition, the way we often help differentiate Internet TV soup from IPTV soup is by telling consumers that IPTV typically requires a set-top box (STB). The set-top box usually has some form of copyright protection (CA/DRM) built in to read the service provider's signal. If you have digital cable television, then you most likely have a set-top box.

Internet TV, however, only requires a standard media player on your computer. You can click over to any web site or our Internet TV directory and start watching any number of stations or video blogs.

But companies are not making the recipe any easier for consumers to digest. Verizon calls their product FiOS. SaskTel named theirs Max. France Telecom likes to call their flavor MaLigne TV. SureWest refers to their recipe as Digital Television, while others often call IPTV broadband television. As if the concept of cooking IPTV weren't already hard enough to grasp with its long list of ingredients, consumers now get to spoon through the other names and acronyms companies throw at them.

Don't get lost in the name game and acronym soup. If you have FiOS, you have IPTV. That applies to most other providers as well.

It may take several attempts before you perfect IPTV Acronym Soup. It takes time, patience, and a lot of devotion but once you master the basics the end result is well worth it!

Thanks for watching and if you have any questions, please email our chefs.

Mmmmmmmm! Happy viewing!


Disclaimer: This is not a real recipe. Do not try at home.