What is IPTV
Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded media, IPTV offers the ability to stream the source media continuously. As a result, a client media player can begin playing the content (such as a TV channel) almost immediately. This is known as streaming media.
Although IPTV uses the Internet protocol it is not limited to television streamed from the Internet (Internet television). IPTV is widely deployed in subscriber-based telecommunications networks with high-speed access channels into end-user premises via set-top boxes or other customer-premises equipment. IPTV is also used for media delivery around corporate and private networks. IPTV in the telecommunications arena is notable for its ongoing standardization process (e.g., European Telecommunications Standards Institute).
IPTV services may be classified into live television and live media, with or without related interactivity; time shifting of media, e.g., catch-up TV (replays a TV show that was broadcast hours or days ago), start-over TV (replays the current TV show from its beginning); and video on demand (VOD) which involves browsing and viewing items of a media catalog.
When you want to use IPTV to view television shows on your computer, you make use of a certain file with an M3U file extension. This file is used by your computer’s video player to identify certain channels.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Protocol_television
Internet TV, or IPTV, is an attractive term. It broadcasts television channels directly via the web rather than through the traditional means of air navigation, but of course, there are many different forms of IPTV, including:
- Channels offer their live broadcasts on their website or on YouTube or in a special application.
- Sites offering live broadcasts of different channels.
- Applications that purchase and publish broadcasts whether live or on-demand.
- Application-specific extensions such as Kodi, Plex, and Emby.
- IPTV subscriptions from external sources away from original channels.
Finally, although it does not broadcast live, on-demand video services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are also under the IPTV umbrella and can be categorized with it, if IPTV is a protocol through which live and indirect streaming of channels or visual content On any device that supports this service over the Internet, and we have talked about the best applications for iPhone to watch TV channels as well as in a separate article on the applications of television on Android, and we periodically publish many IPTV applications on our site and you can access them from the IPTV tag here.
Watch IPTV Online: Online TV
How does IPTV work?
IPTV is much more similar to browsing the internet than traditional channel surfing. It merely uses IP (Internet Protocol), a transport protocol that is a delivery mechanism to deliver the videos to the viewer. When the viewer clicks on any TV program or requests the video, video from different sources (servers) is divided into data packets and sent over the internet. Video servers transmit programs through fiber-optic cable to existing households via internet connection and requests are sent out and shows are sent back.
Let’s take a look at the IPTV architecture to better understand how IPTV works.
IPTV architecture
Depending on the network architecture of the service provider, two main types of IPTV architecture can be considered for IPTV deployment: centralized and distributed.
The centralized architecture model is a relatively simple and easy-to-manage solution. Because all media content is stored on centralized servers, it does not require a comprehensive content distribution system. Centralized architecture is generally good for a network that provides relatively small VOD service deployment, has an adequate core and edge bandwidth, and has an efficient content delivery network (CDN).
Distributed architecture is just as scalable as the centralized model, however, it has bandwidth usage advantages and inherent system management features that are essential for managing a larger server network. Operators who plan to deploy a relatively large system should, therefore, consider implementing a distributed architecture model right from the start. Distributed architecture requires intelligent and sophisticated content distribution technologies to augment the effective delivery of multimedia content over the service provider’s network.
Architecture diagram of a typical IPTV network :
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| Credit: MUVI |
Broadcast content from Satellites and Local Antennas is received by the central unit. The central unit is where live TV channels and AV sources are encoded, encrypted, and delivered in the form of IP multicast streams. The Central unit will also contain the Advertising Servers, Live TV Streaming Servers, Video on Demand (VOD) servers & platform, and is where on-demand video assets are stored and served as IP unicast streams when a user makes a request. The VOD platform may sometimes be located with and considered part of, the IPTV’s central unit.
The requested videos and TV Channels are delivered to the viewer via the delivery network which consists of a robust internet uplink via Fiber Optics from the IPTV broadcaster's end.
The viewer will receive this signal at their end via their local or preferred internet service provider which can vary from a range of options like broadband, fiber optics, DSL, etc.
When the viewer subscribes to a particular IPTV service they are provided with the service’s specific Set Top Box (STB). A set-top box is a piece of endpoint equipment that decodes and decrypts TV and VOD streams for display on the TV screen. This STB is connected to the viewers’ internet connection (router) and uses the internet to deliver the video and TV content to the viewer.
The viewer requests the videos or TV Channels via an interactive portal in the STB, that allows the viewer to navigate within the different IPTV services, such as the VOD catalog.
While this is a typical example of an IPTV architecture model, due to a wide variety of service providers in the market today and the IT options available in the market, each service provider may decide to implement a slightly different architecture that suits their needs, geographic area, endpoint internet connectivity, local market conditions & requirements, and business model. However, at the core, the principles remain the same and may not be too different from what you see here.
Current state & future of IPTV
IPTV has been on a continuous growth path in the last few years. The total number of worldwide IPTV subscribers has now passed the 130 million mark. The net additions of six million subscribers are the highest in the last 24 months to end-2015. They were boosted to a large extent by the usual suspects such as China, which saw 3.7 million new IPTV subscribers sign up in Q4 2015.
Europe and Asia are the leading territories in terms of the overall number of subscribers. But in terms of service revenues, Europe and North America generate a larger share of global revenue, due to very low average revenue per user (ARPU) in China and India, the fastest growing (and ultimately, the biggest markets) is Asia.
According to a report by Zion Market Research, the global IPTV market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 18.01% to make USD 93.59 billion in 2021 from around USD 34.67 billion in 2015, between 2016 and 2021. Another report by Transparency Market Research predicts revenues will reach $79.38 billion by 2020 compared with $24.94 billion in 2013, growing at a solid compound annual rate of 18.1%.
IPTV gains in market share will be largely at the expense of cable, with satellite holding up quite well. Indeed satellite platforms actually gain from IPTV growth as they feed channels to the headends for distribution across the terrestrial fixed broadband infrastructure.
IPTV networks are available in countries including Russia, Great Britain, Canada, France, Belgium, India, Germany, China, Sweden, and even the Dominican Republic, according to this list of global IPTV providers obtained from Reddit.
Although global players are providing IPTV services fuelling its growth, we observe a shift in IPTV usage and believe that viewing habits will transition more towards OTT and SVOD as services like Netflix and Hulu as a part ongoing trend.
Watch IPTV Online: Online TV
Is IPTV legal?
If we get to the main question, is IPTV legal? The answer, of course, depends on many criteria. Let’s look at some of the different types of IPTV that we mentioned in the previous title to determine whether they are legal or not. Here are the types of legal live broadcasts that you can follow without fear as well as illegal IPTV.
Many channels provide the possibility to follow them directly on their site or on YouTube and in most cases are free to open channels. Of course, the IPTV service is completely legal, and all channels are fully licensed from their source.
–Many direct legal broadcasting services collect a lot of channels and movies legally, and here they buy the content of the legal text of the owner of the channel and then sold to the user, and most of these services are paid, including:
- Netflix
- Amazon Prime
- Hulu
- HBO Now
- Hooq
- Filmstruck
- Hotstar
- Sling TV
- shahid MBC
And many other services, these services remain legal for you. VPN or proxy to open it may get out of what is legal to the pirate even if you have a paid account.
In conclusion, there are some legal IPTV, and others are not. You should be on alert so you can identify illegal services and stay on the right side of the law. In the Arab world there is no content monitoring so far (not all maybe). Even if you watch channels legally or movies or download torrents, there is no censorship of you, But in European countries (not all) and America, if a user tries to download a movie and watch a live broadcast, he can quickly fall into trouble with his Internet service provider, or worse with the copyright holder.
Frequently Asked Questions (IPTV):
Q: Is there free IPTV?
Q: What are best IPTV players?
- VLC,
- MX Player,
- TiviMate IPTV,
- IPTV Smarters,
- Flix IPTV, Kodi,
- Perfect Player IPTV,
- GSE Smart IPTV,
Nice FAQs
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