IPTV operators confront increased competition from cable and satellite. They are discovering that video quality can be a crucial differentiating factor that attracts and keeps customers. Yet IPTV operators have also found that there are many parts of the systems where video quality and packet-flow can be compromised, causing major impact on consumers’ Quality of Experience.

This report report addresses how to acquire and maintain the highest video quality throughout the IPTV distribution network and in the home using both MPEG-4 AVC and MPEG-2 technologies. It provides both operational and technical insight into how to design, test, operate and monitor an IPTV network for the sake of achieving the highest quality SDTV and HDTV using a bandwidth-budget that is shared with other triple-play services. The report also focuses on large, medium and small IPTV systems, and reveals answers to Quality of Service and Quality of Experience issues in the planning, development and operational stages of IPTV services.

The IPTV domains examined include: Acquisition/ingest, processing, storage, control, distribution, edge, and customer premises. The report also digs deeply into the MPEG-4 and MPEG-2 architectures as a means to demonstrate how packet restoration, fast-channel-change and other issues are accomplished; and at what cost for SDTV, HDTV, and for shared triple-play services. It also presents both operational and technical tools on how to design, test, operate and monitor a quality-centric IPTV network.

Over 20 companies contributed to this report and numerous service providers.