1.

INTRODUCTION

Television (TV): specifies the medium of communication that operates through the transmission of pictures and sounds. Over the last few years, video over broadband in its various forms has been associated with the hype around convergence. Content digitization, new Broadband technologies and the promise of ubiquitous broadband access triggered high expectations in the media and telecommunications industries. In spite of numerous lab and field trials (in Europe almost every telecom operator tested video over broadband) and impressive media industry consolidations, there have been no commercial launches of video over broadband services until very recently. Several factors can explain the gap between market expectations and the first deployment of video services, from business and legal challenges to technical challenges. Historic view-TV transmission from towers, distribution over a cable n/w or beamed direct from Satellite (VSAT). Modern view-TV, Telephone services & high speed internet access will be delivered over present broadband DSL Network on a single connection. Technology has been evolving since 1995. Set-top boxes and other video building blocks have started following a Moore-like law in terms of cost versus capacity driven by digitization and increasing use of IP and Ethernet. Interoperability between the video building blocks has also accelerated over recent years, resulting in more attractive return-on-investment (ROI) models. The media industry is now seriously considering broadband as another distribution channel. And with recent deployments of Ethernet- and IP-based technologies on the access and aggregation side, together with cost-effective optical transport, service providers are now seriously reconsidering the viability of video over broadband. Video applicationsespecially a complex mix of broadcast and video ondemand (VoD), as well as the emergence of high-definitiondrive the need for large amounts of asymmetrical bandwidth and increase the need for intelligent video service admission control and video component resource management.

2. BROADBAND AS VIDEO DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL The residential broadband market has changed beyond recognition since the introduction of ADSL Internet access in the late 1990s. With the accelerating commoditization of broadband through increased DSL penetration rates in the majority of European countries, telecom operators are struggling to reinvent themselves, to create market differentiation through innovation, and to find new ways of extracting value from their DSL infrastructure. In order to maintain profitability, many operators are moving from offering Internet access over DSL to delivering value-added services over DSL. Triple play services, which bundle voice, video, and data services over broadband, are being deployed as operators face the challenge of maintaining profitability and reducing customer churn in a commoditized market. In addition to communication and information services such as voice and data, many service providers are now looking to expand their share in the entertainment market as a way of increasing their penetration and maintaining average revenue per user (ARPU), and in turn profitability. In the face of fierce competition in Asia, the number of operators offering video over DSL services in its various forms (such as TV broadcast and on-demand services), is likely to increase over the next few quarters, either in a cooperation or co-opetition with content owners and media companies. 3. BANDWIDTH IS THE KEY Until recently, bandwidth constraints have held back IP-TVs progress. Currently, DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is used to deliver Internet services to most homes and businesses. DSL was originally intended for access to the Internet at faster speeds than traditional dial-up modems. DSLs limitation on network and distance therefore makes it difficult to deliver consistent high-speed data, a necessity for IPTV. For instance, one would need to be in close proximity to a telephone companys CO (central office) to be able to receive data at rates of at least 6/8 Megabits per second (Mbps). As it was only for Internet access, some DSL lines were designed to hold less than 2 to 3 Mbps. On DSL, data speed varies with distance; the farther you are from the central office, the lower the data rate. Most central offices use DSLAMs (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexers) to link customers to an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) network, but as speed over DSL lines increase, loop lengths had to be reduced with DSLAMs being placed closer to the customer. As demand for bandwidth increased, new technologies such as Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) 2 and ADSL 2 Plus were introduced, but bandwidth has not been sufficient for IPTV. To give an example, a standard definition channel requires around 3.5 Mbps. to compete in the video delivery.

4. IPTVS IMPACT The impact that IPTV will have on the industry can be categorized into three areas: Content IPTV technology promises to make more content available, make it easier to access and make it portable (while maintaining security). Convergence The utilization of an IP network will allow single applications to be run over multiple end-user devices, all over a single service delivery network. Interactivity The two-way nature of the IP network will enable unprecedented interaction among subscribers, content providers and service providers. Since IPTV is enabled by the availability of network technology, the network architecture used to deploy IPTV is important. Content delivery requires bandwidth and performance, not only in the last mile (the access network), but also in the edge and core of the network and in the customer premises. The IPTV service model, and its market advantages, is not a new concept. However, recent developments have enabled the delivery of IPTV service in an increasingly secure, scalable and cost-effective manner. These recent developments include: > The proliferation of Gigabit Ethernet > The ability of IP networks to offer higher security and QoS > the development of high performance IP routers and Ethernet switches designed for IPTV networks the creation of advanced middleware applications that manage the delivery of video over the network. 5. THE IPTV NETWORK ELEMENTS An IPTV system is made up of four major elements; all are generic are common to any service providers infrastructure.

Figure 1 IPTV Network Elements

This is a high-level overview and, in reality, many IPTV subsystems and vendor- specific architectures are required to make each incarnation of IPTV unique and of varying complexity. Figure 2 also illustrates the two-way nature of an IPTV network, which contributes to many of the advantages IPTV has over traditional television service delivery models. It should be noted that the IPTV network elements combine to form an architecture known as switched digital video (SDV): Switched digital video (SDV) Referencing the network architecture of a television distribution system in which only the selected channel(s) are distributed to the individual connected household. This enables the service provider to have no theoretical maximum linear channel count. IPTV service providers will have different variants of the SDV architecture. This is another advantage to using IP multicast for the broadcast television streams. The most common protocol used for switching channels in a SDV environment is IGMP (IP Group Membership Protocol). 5.1. The Service Provider Core/Edge Network The grouping of encoded video streams, representing the channel line up, is transported over the service providers IP network. Each of these networks is unique to the service provider and usually includes equipment from multiple vendors. These networks can be a mix of well-engineered existing IP networks and purpose-built IP networks for video transport. At the network edge, the IP network connects to the access network. 5.2. The Access Network The access network is the link from the service provider to the individual household. Sometimes referred to as the last mile, the broadband connection between the service provider and the household can be accomplished using a variety of technologies. Telecom service providers are using DSL (digital subscriber line) technology to serve individual households. They also are beginning to use fiber technology like PON (passive optical networking) to reach homes. IPTV networks will use variants of asymmetrical DSL (ADSL) and very-high-speed DSL (VDSL) to provide the required bandwidth to run an IPTV service to the household. The service provider will place a device (like a DSL modem) at the customer premises to deliver an Ethernet connection to the home network. 5.3. The Home Network The home network distributes the IPTV service throughout the home. There are many different types of home networks, but IPTV requires a very robust high bandwidth home network that can only be accomplished today using wire line technology. The end point in the home network, to which the television set is connected, is the set-top box (STB).

5.4. Middleware: The IPTV Enabler The term IPTV middleware is used to describe the software packages associated with delivering an IPTV service. There are a variety of vendors in this space, each with their own unique approach to IPTV. The middleware selection by a service provider can impact the IPTV network architecture. The middleware is typically a client/server architecture where the client resides on the STB. The middleware controls the user experience and, because of this, it defines how the consumer interacts with the service. For example, the user interface and services available to a consumer (such as the electronic program guide (EPG), VOD or pay per view service), are all made available and controlled through the middleware. The ease of managing multiple services is a function of the two-way IP network. This IP architecture provides a standard for applications and services to be integrated into the network, and IPTV becomes just one of these applications. The differentiating factor in an IP service model is convergence. Because of the common structure for applications and services, convergence can be realized for network elements, applications and operations/business support systems (OSS/BSS). Therefore, managing multiple services becomes a matter of managing the same services through the network and distributing them to multiple end-user environments. 5.5 IPTV Video on Demand (VoD) Video on demand (VoD) services operate in a different manner than linear television service as the IPTV system provides the subscriber with a unicast stream of programming with VCR-like controls including pause, fast forward and rewind. The IPTV middleware controls the user interface and commercial experience/details of VOD and can also be extended to include services like subscription VOD and network based personal video recorder (PVR).

6. IPTV TRIPLE PLAY SERVICE

Figure 2 IPTV Triple Play Streaming video has stringent minimum throughput requirements and does not tolerate network congestion well. To accomplish 5nines IPTV service availability requires a radical departure from the design and dimensioning philosophies used for best effort HSI services and applications. 6.1IPTV Service Availability = Network Availability*Bandwidth Availability Simply put it means that even if the network is up 100 percent of the time but bandwidth capacity constraints exist that violate SLAs with a probability of 5 percent due to network congestions (e.g., over subscription or failure conditions), then the total service availability can never exceed 95 percent (i.e., 1 nine). However, to avoid congestion is not a simple matter of over-provisioning network bandwidth across the board. Besides inhibiting cost consequences, network bandwidth is shared with other bandwidth hungry services such as HSI and with many subscribers having different needs and expectations. The goal is a much more differentiated approach in managing resources to ensure that SLAs are honored based on individual service and subscriber needs. While bandwidth over-subscription for most HSI applications is allowed, voice and video applications require deterministic bandwidth and QoS guarantees or theyll break. Video quality degradation ranging from frame skipping to a complete screen freeze and audio quality degradation ranging from distortion to complete loss of audio may then result. To address these issues requires a new, tightly controlled network foundation with built-in QoS, high availability and security mechanisms designed and dimensioned to support the non-stop delivery of a differentiated and changing mix of services with high resource demands. The design philosophy and approach taken must be flexible to accommodate service evolution while maintaining a cost-optimized solution over time. Cost optimization must be reached without compromising service quality and

availability or the goal of an always-on, way better user experience. Proper network dimensioning is essential, but not sufficient. In summary, the following challenges need to be addressed to meet user expectations for IPTV: Design architecture with the inherent capability to support the scalability, reliability and QoS needs for broadcast TV and VoD while enabling to optimize service delivery cost and retaining the flexibility to adapt to a changing video service and traffic mix going forward Dimension and engineer network capacity, QoS and resource protection mechanisms to minimize congestion risk in the end-to-end service path under normal conditions Apply admission control mechanisms to protect network resources from overbooking should overload conditions occur in exceptional circumstances Verify that SLAs on service quality are being met and take corrective actions when needed A comprehensive approach to congestion avoidance is needed with both pro-active/preventive components and reactive/corrective components, complemented by a measurement and verification mechanism to ensure the continuing effectiveness and efficiency of congestion avoidance mechanisms in meeting the service quality and availability objectives going forward. 7. TRIPLE PLAY NETWORK DESIGN & DIMENSIONING Triple Play Service Delivery Architecture (TPSDA) delivers IPTV and other triple play services with features to meet video service requirements in a costoptimized manner.

Figure 3 IPTV Triple Play Network Design

The key components in the end-to-end video service delivery path are: >Residential gateway (RG) and set-top box (STB) to deliver video and audio to the television set > Broadband service access node (BSAN) in serving central office (CO) providing user access > Broadband service aggregators (BSA) to aggregate subscriber traffic and distribute service traffic in metropolitan areas for multiple serving COs > Broadband service routers (BSR) placed in the video head offices (VHO) to connect to the service backend infrastructure providing voice, video (super hub office) and Internet peering > Underlying transport network to provide carrier-grade transport of highbandwidth video > BSNL TV/IPTV middleware and associated servers for acquiring and distributing video streams, including intermediate caching servers (D-servers, etc.) 8. IPTV NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

Figure 4 IPTV Network Architecture Super Head End (SHE) The locations for acquisition and aggregation of national-level broadcast TV (or linear) programming. SHEs are also the central point of on-demand content insertion. Video Hub Office (VHO) The video distribution points within a demographic market area (DMA) National content is received from each SHE. Local content is acquired and encoded. VOD servers and other application servers typically located in the VHOs. Insertion of local advertising is also performed in the VHO. IPTV services are provided from the VHO via the aggregation/access network.

Video Serving Office (VSO) Contains/hosts all access systems used to connect the COs (a VSO assumed to be a Central Office) to the subscribers. In addition, the VSO contains aggregation equipment to enable efficient and reliable interconnection to the VHO. Residential Gateway (RG) Network node dedicated to a single subscriber / household providing traffic management and routing between the access network and the home network. The RG function may be integrated with the network termination. The RG is a trusted device and is managed from the network.

Figure 5 Segmentation of IPTV Network

Core Network Segment A Service Providers IPTV Core Network interconnects a small number of SHEs - potentially national in scope and application -- to a larger number of VHOs -typically regional in scope and application. Current core IP backbone networks are likely to be leveraged since they are already in place to many candidate VHOs and should be able to readily handle the incremental bandwidth that is expected to be required.

Metro / Aggregation Segment ,Access Segment Home Network The Network Interface Device (NID) is considered the demarcation point between the WAN and the home network in copper-to-the-premises deployments, while the Optical Network Terminal (ONT) is considered the demarcation point between the WAN and the home network in fiber-to-the-premises deployments

Figure 6 IPTV Home Network

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9. IPTV/IP Video Traffic and the Queue An IP network, at its basic core, is a series of packet queues (memory buffers) that ebb and fill to accommodate routing and aggregation of information packets as they are moved from point A to point B.

Figure 7 IPTV Traffic Queuing These queues are basically memory buffers that hold packets for a small amount of time while the path out of the router or switch is freed or cleared. Quality of Service (QoS) is the policies that dictate which packets are pulled from the queue and sent out of the device. QoS is also responsible for the policing of which packets are deemed worthy enough to enter into the queue and if the queue is full, which packets get discarded. Queues being just memory are finite resources and can easily fill under the right conditions. When a queue is full more sophisticated logic is used to prioritize which packets to kick out of the queue and which packets to let into the queue, this is also done by the QoS policies. 10. IPTV SERVICES 10.1 IPTV Linear/Broadcast TV The classic form of SDTV/HDTV offered by cable, terrestrial broadcasters and direct broadcast satellite providers. It provides an essentially continuous stream flowing from the content provider to the IPTV RECEIVING DEVICE. In the IPTV context this continuous stream is most commonly delivered via a one to many or multicast network. The

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Following are various flavors of IPTV Linear TV with supplementary services: >Subtitles and captions >Multilanguage audio tracks >PPV (Pay Per View) - an offering of pay-television broadcasts to Customers in a manner that they can buy a particular program event separately from any package or subscription. The program event is shown at the same time to everyone ordering it. PPV Purchase can be done via: A phone call to contact an automatic response unit (ARU) utilizing automatic number identification (ANI) A phone call to customer service representative (CSR) Filling and sending a form in an Internet web site Filling and sending a form on an interactive TV e.g., on an electronic program guide, using the remote control. PPV prices can be changed to meet demand or to encourage subscribers to order early. PPV purchase time PPV ordering can be done prior the program and in certain occasion after the program was already started, e.g., it is possible to order the program several days in advance, alternatively, in some cases it is made possible to watch the first few minutes of an event before ordering. PPV report back - event purchases may be stored in the set-top box (or the proper server) until an event based (or time based) request for data is received and the data is accurately retrieved. >Digital Video Recording (DVR) >Linear broadcast with Trick mode functionality >Multi-room viewing e.g., ability to stop viewing on TV in one room and resume viewing on TV in another room. >Linear broadcast with iTV. >Linear broadcast with communication/messaging >Customer originated Video 10.2IPTV Video on Demand (VOD) The Video on Demand service enables TV viewers to select TV videos from a central repository for viewing on a television at their desired time. VOD systems are either streaming VOD or "push VOD: Streaming VOD is VOD in which rendering on the display device/viewing can (simultaneously) start as (or at least overlaps with) the video distribution over the network Push VOD is VOD in which the program is brought in its entirety to a set-top box before viewing starts (it can either be invoked by the viewer or by the operator without an explicit viewer request). There maybe multiple independent unicast viewing sessions for a given piece of content.

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There are a few variations of VoD which usually have to do with the method via which the VoD service is billed/charged to the consumer. These include Subscription VoD (SVoD), Free VoD (FVoD) etc. The following are various flavors of VOD with supplementary services: 2.1. VOD with Subtitles and captions 2.2. VOD with Multilanguage audio tracks 2.3. VOD with Trick mode functionality. 1.3. Multi-room viewing VOD 1.4. VOD with iTV 1.5. VOD with communication/messaging 1.6. Customer originated VOD 10.3 IPTV Audio services 3.1. Dedicated radio/music channels (per genre of music) 3.2. Audio/Music on Demand (MoD) either streaming or pushed/download to play 11. SUPPLEMENTARY FEATURES OF IPTV SERVICES 11.1Subtitles and captions - captions on video are text located somewhere on the picture (covering a portion of the picture). CLOSED captions versus OPEN captions CLOSED captions are captions that are hidden in the video signal, invisible without a special decoder. OPEN captions are captions that have been decoded, so they have become an integral part of the television picture and thus cannot be turned off. Translation of the dialog only versus translation of the full audio Subtitles and captions are terms that are sometimes used as synonyms. However there are cases where the term subtitle is used in the context of hearing audiences while captions in the context of deaf audiences, e.g., subtitles may translate the dialog into a different language, but rarely show all of the audio (for example, captions show sound effects (e.g., "phone ringing" and "footsteps"), while subtitles don't). International and Multilingual Captioning - Certain IPTV programs support International and Multilingual Captioning and allow selection of the desired language out of a list of supported languages. Online versus offline captioning Online captions can be done from a script, or actually created in real-time (usually by human transcriber but there are also trials of using new speech recognition technologies to automatically convert speech into written text). Offline captioning is done "after the fact," in a studio. Examples of offline captioning include television game shows, videotapes of movies, and corporate videotapes (e.g., training videos). The text of the captions is created on a computer, and synchronized to the video using time-codes. They are then transferred to the videotape before it is broadcast or distributed

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11.2Multilanguage audio tracks 11.2.1Trick mode functionality - a subset of VCR functionality such as: pause, play, rewind, fast forward, slow forward, slow rewind, jump to previous/future frame of the video, etc. 11.2.2Interactive TV (iTV) - allow viewers to interact with TV meta-content or to interact with the TV content itself, as they view: Interaction with TV meta-content - getting more information about what is on the TV, whether sports, movies, news, or the like. Self ordering, e.g., pay the bills, getting more information about what is being advertised, along with the ability to buy it (TV-commerce). Interaction with TV content - The program, itself, might change based on viewer input. Advanced forms, which still have uncertain prospect for becoming main stream, include dramas where viewers get to choose plot details and endings. Simpler forms, which are enjoying some success, include programs that directly incorporate polls, questions, comments, and other forms of (virtual) audience response back into the show. 11.3Customer originated video/audio TV viewers are able to upload content they create, and make it available to any other viewer for viewing/listening, live or offline. 11.4Communication/Messaging facilitation of convergence of classical Television services with telephony and internet based communication services. 11.5Interactive Program Guide (IPG) - IPG is a service facilitated by the middleware, which provides the viewers detailed information about the content available to them. A viewer interacts with the network through the IPTV Receiving Device to receive the information. This viewer interaction may trigger control transactions with the network. 11.6 PiP (Picture in picture) allows watching more than one TV program (channel) at the same time on the TV. One program is displayed on the entire TV screen, and another program or programs are displayed in individual smaller squares on the screen. For example PiP can be used for the purpose of watching a recording while using the secondary frame to show the viewer that desired broadcast programming is on, or vice versa.

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12. IPTV SERVICES USAGE 12.1 BASIC FLOW VIEW A PROGRAM ON A PRE-SUBSCRIBED CHANNEL DESCRIPTION A viewer selects a Pre-Subscribed Channel and watch a program that is broadcasted on this channel. ACTORS Viewer IPTV set-top box (or IPTV multicast server) STEPS a. Viewer selects a pre-subscribed channel. b. IPTV set-top box (or IPTV multicast server) - tunes to the specified channel. c. Viewer views a program that is multicast on the pre-subscribed channel. BASIC FLOW VIEW PPV PROGRAM DESCRIPTION A viewer selects a PPV program, pays for it either in advance, instantly, or (if allowed) few minutes after the program has already started. ACTORS Viewer IPTV set-top box (or IPTV multicast server) STEPS 1. Alternative 1 Order ahead PPV: a. Viewer selects a PPV program and orders it (commits to pay a certain price for viewing it) in advance. b. Viewer at the proper date and time, selects the PPV programs he already ordered. c. IPTV set-top box (or IPTV multicast server) - tunes to the specified channel. d. Viewer views a program that is multicast on the PPV channel. 2. Alternative 2 Instantly Order PPV: a. Viewer at the proper date and time selects a PPV program and orders it (commits to pay a certain price for viewing it). b. IPTV set-top box (or IPTV multicast server) - tunes to the specified channel. c. Viewer views a program that is multicast on the PPV channel.

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3. Alternative 3 Post Order PPV a. Viewer at the proper date and time selects a PPV program without ordering it (if allowed). b. IPTV set-top box (or IPTV multicast server) - tunes to the specified channel. b. Viewer views a program that is multicast on the PPV channel for the allowed period of time (usually first few minutes). c. Viewer decides whether s/he would like to continue viewing the program. Only in case the viewer wants to continue viewing the program, the viewer order the program d. IPTV multicast server In case the viewer does not express an interest to continue viewing the program, stops the multicasting/playing of the media content for the specific viewer. BASIC FLOW VIEW VOD PROGRAM DESCRIPTION A viewer selects a VOD program, order it (commit to pay a certain price) and view it once, or view it any time within a certain time limit (e.g., 24 hours) ACTORS Viewer IPTV VOD server STEPS a. Viewer selects a VOD program and orders it (commits to pay a certain price for viewing it). b. IPTV VOD server deliver the VOD program to the viewers settop box. c. Viewer views the VOD program. ADVANCED FLOW VIEW A PROGRAM WITH PAUSE AND RESUME DESCRIPTION A viewer view media content of choice that is either: Broadcasted on a Pre-Subscribed Channel, broadcasted in a PPV manner, or delivered on demand in a VOD fashion The viewer, then, may pause and resume the media content. After pausing and resuming the media content, the viewer may skip (backward and forward) portions of the media content. ACTORS Viewer IPTV set-top box (or IPTV multicast/VOD server) IPTV PVR

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STEPS a. Viewer selects a program from a presubscribed channel, PPV schedule, or VOD program list. b. IPTV set-top box (or IPTV multicast/VOD server) - tunes to the specified channel and deliver the media content. c. Viewer views media content of choice d. Viewer may press the pause key on the remote control to pause the media content IPTV PVR start recording the media content e. Viewer may press the resume key on the remote control to continue the playing of the media content IPTV PVR stop recording the media content f. Viewer may press the fast/slow forward button or the fast/slow backward button on the remote control to skip to a specific location at the stored media content (in case there is recorded media content at the PVR).

Figure 8 IPTV PVR Operation ADVANCED FLOW SELECTION OF SUBTITLES AND AUDIO TRACK DESCRIPTION A viewer selects subtitle language and/or language of audio track for a program s/he watches or is about to watch. The program may be delivered over a Pre-Subscribed Channel or via VOD. ACTORS Viewer IPTV set-top box (or IPTV multicast server) STEPS a. Viewer selects a program to watch (from a pre-subscribed channel, PPV or VOD schedule) b. Viewer may selects subtitle language and/or language of audio track c. IPTV set-top box (or IPTV multicast server) - tunes to the specified channel/program. d. Viewer views the program. e. Viewer may change the subtitle language and/or the (language of the) audio track.

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13.RECEIVE CALLER ID ON SCREEN DESCRIPTION A viewer view media content of choice that is either: Broadcasted on a Pre-Subscribed Channel, Broadcasted in a PPV manner, or Delivered on demand in a VOD fashion The viewer, then, receives a phone call and the caller ID appears on the TV Screen. ACTORS Viewer IPTV set-top box STEPS 1. Viewer views media content of choice 2. IPTV set-top box presents a caller ID on the TV screen GENERAL IPDR ATTRIBUTES IPDR Creation Time The optional IPDR Creation Time element of the general IPDR schema is not required in IPTV IPDRs and MUST NOT be present. SeqNum The optional seqNum element of the general IPDR schema is not required in IPTV IPDRs and MUST NOT be present IPTV USAGE DATA EXPORTER INFORMATION An IPTV IPDR contains the following element that identifies the IPTV Usage Data Exporter. Each IPDR within the IPDR Doc will contain identical values for this element since all the IPDRs are based on information maintained by the same IPTV Usage Data Exporter. Note that the IPDR records of the IPTV Usage Data Exporter Information can be streamed independently from the IPTV IPDR records of the Service consumption events. These IPDR records can then be correlated at the IPTV Usage Data Collector using the IPTV Exporter Host Name element. IPTV Exporter Host Name IPTV Exporter Host Name is the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the IPTV Usage Data Exporter. This element is required and must not be null. If the IPTV Exporter does not have an FQDN entry in the DNS, a proper unique FQDN must be configured at the IPTV Usage Data Exporter that will serve as its identifier.

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IPTV Exporter Ip Address IPTV Exporter Ip Address is a non-specific version of an IP address (either v4 or v6); of type hex Binary, determined as to version by the application through lexical parsing. This is represented in the compact encoding as a 16 byte octet string. IPTV Exporter Sys Up Time IPTV Exporter Sys Up Time is the elapsed time (in seconds) that the IPTV Usage Data Exporter has been running since it was last started. This counter displays the difference between the start time and the current time IPTV RECEIVING DEVICE INFORMATION An IPTV IPDR contains the following elements that uniquely identify the IPTV Receiving Device. Each IPTV IPDR for a given IPTV Receiving Device within the IPDR Doc will contain identical values for these elements. IPTV Receiving Device ID The IPTV Receiving Device should be uniquely identified by an IPTV Receiving Device ID, such as the IPTV Receiving Device MAC address (i.e., Ethernet address formatted in hyphen '-' delimited hex notation such as a1-b2-c3d4-e5-f6). This element is required. IPTV receiving Device Ip Address IPTV receiving Device Ip Address is a non-specific version of an IP address (either v4 or v6); of type hex Binary, determined as to version by the application through lexical parsing. It is represented in the compact encoding as a 16 byte octet string. IPTV CONSUMER/VIEWER INFORMATIONAn IPTV IPDR contains the following elements that uniquely identify the IPTV Consumer and/or the IPTV viewer Profile. Each IPTV IPDR for a given IPTV Viewer Profile within the IPDR Doc will contain identical values for these elements. IPTV consumer ID The IPTV Consumer should be uniquely identified by the IPTV consumer ID This element is required IPTV viewer ID The specific IPTV Viewer/s within a consumer household should be uniquely identified by the IPTV viewer ID This element is optional.

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IPTV viewer Profile ID The IPTV Viewer Profile should be uniquely identified by the IPTV viewer profile ID, this element is optional. DEFINITIONS Access Network: - The network infrastructure is used by the Access Provider to deliver IPTV services to the Consumer. The access network infrastructure (which may include the Internet) is used for the delivery of the content and may include quality of service management to ensure that appropriate network resources are available for the delivery of the content. Actors: - Any Entity that can provide an interactive application. Application: - Collection of assets and logic that together provide a Service to the User. Assets and logic may reside either in an application Server or in the ITF or both. Back-in-time: - Back-in-time TV: scheduled program events that are already running or finished are made available to the user for viewing and/or recording from the start or a certain time into the past. They are available similar to VoD including optional trick mode support (e.g. pause, fast-forward, rewind). In case the schedule program event is still running the play out cannot go beyond the actual program play out. Selection is possible from the scheduled content program guide. The service might be available for one or more channels (e.g. for the selected channel in case of local storage, a fixed or selected channel list in case of network storage) Channel: - A single instance of Scheduled Content. Consumer Network: - The local area network in which the IPTV Terminal Function is located. Consumer networks include home networks, hot spots, hotel networks etc. Content: - An instance of audio, video, audio-video information, or data. Content Guide (CG) : - An on-screen guide to Scheduled Content and Content on Demand, allowing a User to navigate, select, and discover content by time, title, channel, genre, etc. Content on Demand (CoD): - A Content on Demand service is a service where a user can select the individual content items they want to watch out of the list of available content. Consumption of the content is started on user request.

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Content Protection: - Means to protect content from unauthorized usage, such as re-distribution, recording, playback, duplication etc. Content Provider: - Entity that provides Content and associated usage rights to the IPTV Service Provider. Deferred Download CoD: - A type of Content on Demand where the user first selects the content and then it is downloaded to the ITF some time later (e.g. over night). Consumption is possible after the content is fully downloaded, or after enough content is downloaded to ensure that the remaining content can be downloaded while the user is consuming the content. End User(s): - The individual(s) (e.g. members of the same family) who actually use the IPTV Services. Enterprise Network: - A local area network provided under some agreement that can be utilized by the User to obtain connectivity, e.g. hotel networks. Fixed Network: - Access Network for a fixed location, such as ADSL or FTTH. Home Network: - Residential consumer network. Hybrid Device: - Terminal devices able to connect to IPTV services delivered over the broadband access interface and also receive digital broadcast TV and radio services via other delivery networks. Implementation-dependent application: - An application specific to a particular device implementing some or all of the IPTV Solution. For example, one compiled to native code for the processor and operating system used by the device. Internet: - The Internet is the worldwide, publicly accessible network of interconnected computer networks that transmit data by packet switching using the standard Internet Protocol (IP). IPTV Service Platform Provider (SPP) : - Entity which, based on a contractual relationship want IPTV Service Providers, provides supporting functions for the delivery of IPTV Services, such as charging, access control and other functions which are not part of the IPTV Service, but required for managing its delivery. IPTV Service Provider (SP) : - Entity that offers IPTV Services and which has a contractual relationship with the Subscriber. IPTV Terminal Function (ITF) : - The functionality within the Consumer Network that is responsible for terminating the media and control for an IPTV Service.

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Local Storage: - Content storage within the administrative realm of the IPTV Service Provider, but not in their physical environment (for example, local storage could be a partition of storage located in the home network and allocated to the Service Provider to pre-load CoD). Network storage: - Content storage located in the physical environment or administrative realm of the IPTV Service Provider. nPVR: - Provision of PVR functionality whereby the content is stored in the Service Provider domain. The nPVR allows a user to schedule recording of scheduled content programs. The user can later select the content they want to watch from the recorded content. Pay per View: - The user is charged per selected and/or consumed content item. Can apply to both CoD and Scheduled Content Service. Personal Content: - Content owned by the User. This includes video, music, and photography etc. Personal Video Recorder (PVR) : - A device in the Home Network that records and plays back Content under the control of the User. Portal: - A function of a Service Platform that provides an entry point to individual IPTV Services to Users via a GUI. Program: - A segment of Scheduled Content with a defined beginning and end. Public Access Network: - A network that can be used by the Consumer to obtain connectivity. Public access networks include hot spots, etc. Push CoD: - A type of Content on Demand where the content is pre-loaded to the ITF local storage by the Service Provider. The user has no direct control of what content is downloaded; however the Service Provider may make the choice based on user preferences and habits. Content is available for direct consumption after the user selection is confirmed. Scheduled Content: - An IPTV service where the play out schedule is fixed by an entity other than the User. The content is delivered to the user for immediate consumption. Service: - Content and applications provided by Service Platform Providers and Service Providers. Service Portability: - A given service/application being supported on multiple device types for a given IPTV subscriber.

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Service Protection: - Means to protect IPTV Services from unauthorized usage/access, such as Access from unsubscribed consumers Access that is not covered by the subscription DOS attack Session Portability: - Ability of a given service/application to be switched from one device to another for a continuation of a session in real time. Subscriber: - The individual that makes the contract with a Service Provider for the consumption of certain services. Subscriber Profile: - Subscription information associated with an account. Time Shift: - Allows a user to halt a scheduled content service and continue watching this service later supporting pause and rewind. In time shift mode, trick play functionality (fast-forward, rewind, pause) is limited by the time shift window (i.e. cannot go further than the actual scheduled content play out, cannot go before the start of time shift). Trick Mode: - Facility to allow the User to control the playback of Content, such as pause, fast and slow playback, reverse playback, instant access, replay, forward and reverse skipping. User Profile: - Subscription information associated with a specific User, e.g. viewing preferences. User Storage: - Storage capability which could be inside or outside the ITF and outside the physical and administrative control of the IPTV Service Provider.

BIBLOGRAPHY 1. www.vcodex.com 2. IP-TV Guide by William Cooper & Graham Lovelace 3. www.ipdr.org 4. www.spirentcom.com

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