Television has been a major part of our everyday lives. With the advancement in technology, television broadcasting is also experiencing a shift. IPTV is a great example of this. It is a unique form of broadcasting television content to users via Internet protocols.
This service is becoming more and more popular with each passing day. That is due to its convenience and advantages. In this article, I am going to overview IPTV technology in detail. I’ll go over its main features and how using it can be beneficial.
Overview of IPTV
IPTV stands for Internet Protocol Television. It is a technology utilizing modern ways of TV broadcast. Further, it makes it happen by using an Internet Protocol instead of traditional satellite connections. Just like a cable TV network, also broadcasts video content. The difference is that it can do it both ways.
They can broadcast both live and on-demand content. Its flexibility makes it a favorite among many users. Any device with an Internet connection can use it.
To put it simply, IPTV is just a basic television system with some advancements. People can now watch the content they want without missing anything because of these enhancements. Users can access it on TVs, laptops, tablets, and smartphones as well.
How Does IPTV Work?
It works in a very interesting way. Here are more details about it.
Acquiring Content
An IPTV service provider first has to acquire the content that they want to broadcast. They do it by purchasing the rights to content. After that, they are legally allowed to broadcast it. These providers tend to store this content on different servers.
Content Distribution
The next step is distributing the content to the users. These services prefer using technologies like CDNs to do that. That is because it reduces latency and makes the experience better.
Access on the User’s End
On the user’s end, people have to purchase a specific subscription in order to access this content. The nature of these subscriptions depends on the platform. It gives users access to almost all the video content they broadcast through their service.
Video Playback
Finally, users can start consuming the video content on their devices. This step is important to understand here. That is because it mainly differentiates the traditional and the IPTV systems. In this system, the server only shares the content that the person is watching on their screen.
Whenever the person switches channels, the server instantly changes the content. The system also allows users to watch on-demand or already broadcasted content. It means that even if you have missed a live show, you can watch it later whenever you want to.
Main Features of an IPTV
These features are detailed below:
Live Content
Live content is one of the main reasons why people watch TV. Whether it is a live show being broadcast or a live sports match, people prefer watching it on TV. That’s the same case with IPTV. It broadcasts such content on its service to its users.
Video on Demand
Another unique feature of this service is broadcasting Video on Demand. which includes multiple TV shows and movies. It means that whatever content is getting trendy, these services tend to broadcast them to their users. Some people specifically subscribe to these services in order to watch such content.
Catchup-TV
On a traditional TV network, you cannot watch a show that has been broadcast. But that’s not the case with the IPTV network. It offers you the Catchup-TV feature. Here, you can watch the shows that have already been broadcast.
It gives you a specific time window in order to do that. Then you can watch it within the upcoming few days or even weeks. Such a feature is useful for those who are busy and don’t have time to watch a certain show at the time of its broadcasting.
Multi-screen Viewing
In a traditional TV network, you can view it only on the television. The IPTV network is more flexible and convenient in this case.
You can use your tablet, phone, or smart TV to use this service. The good thing is that they all can be connected to one subscription plan.
Subscription-based Service
An IPTV network is usually subscription-based. There are different plans and packages provided to you by the company. These packages have different prices and features. You can pick the one that suits your requirements well. Then, as mentioned earlier, the subscription can be used on any device.
Video Playback Options
With this service, you get multiple video playback options. For example, you can rewind a video in case you missed any point in it. Such luxury isn’t available on a traditional TV network.
Finale
IPTV has revolutionized the way we watch TV. It has modernized it by making several useful changes to it. It uses Internet protocol in order to broadcast content. Doing this gives the user full control over content. Many features make the service a better choice than the older TV networks. I have comprehensively described them in the information given above.
FAQs
What is an example of IPTV?
Platforms like BBC iPlayer and Netflix are examples of this network.
Is this network faster than the traditional TV?
Yes. This network is faster than the traditional television.
Can I watch live sports on it?
Indeed. Many of these services broadcast live matches as well.
