IPTV support

Advances in networking technology, digital media, and codecs have made it possible for broadband service providers to begin streaming live and on-demand television to homes and offices over their high-speed Internet Protocol (IP) networks. The Windows Media platform (Windows Media Encoder, Windows Media Services, and Windows Media Player) can be used to provide the framework for Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) systems.

The following features in Windows Media Services make it ideal for delivering a high-quality experience to IPTV viewers:

• Unicast, multicast, video on-demand (VOD), and broadcast. Windows Media Services can deliver broadcast and on-demand streams, using unicast and multicast protocols.
• Intelligent streaming. When digital media is streamed, the Player detects network conditions and sends feedback to the Windows Media server, which then adjusts the properties of the stream to maximize quality. The highest-quality stream is delivered to the viewer, regardless of network conditions. Typically, intelligent streaming makes use of multiple-bit-rate streams. However, the server can also use stream thinning as a way to deliver a quality stream over a saturated network.
• Fast Start. Delivers an instant-on playback experience by eliminating buffering time, whether playing a single piece of content or switching seamlessly between on-demand clips or broadcast channels. When a viewer connects to a stream, the first few seconds of data is sent at a high bit rate, so playback can begin as soon as possible.
• Fast Cache. Provides an always-on playback experience by streaming content to the cache of Windows Media Player as fast as the network will allow, reducing the likelihood of playback interruption due to network issues. The server sends a stream to a client at as high a bit rate as possible.
• Fast Reconnect. Automatically restores live or on-demand Player/server and server/server connections if disconnected during a broadcast, ensuring an uninterrupted viewing experience.
• Advanced Fast Start. Adds to Fast Start capabilities by allowing the Player to begin playing content as soon as its buffer receives a minimum amount of data, further reducing the amount of time a user has to wait to begin receiving the stream.
• Advanced FF/RW. Improves fast-forward and rewind ("trick mode") functionality for the video portion of encoded files and stabilizes network bandwidth availability by smoothing the rate at which data is sent. Potential server performance bottlenecks are reduced because the server must read less presentation data from the source content disk, while delivering a seamless experience to clients.
• Play While Archiving. Archived files can be made available for on-demand requests or rebroadcast, even before a broadcast that is being archived has finished.

For more information about using the Windows Media platform to create IPTV solutions, download the white paper "Delivering IPTV with the Windows Media Platform" from the Microsoft Web site.

Note

• Advanced Fast Start, Advanced FF/RW, and Play While Archiving are available only if Windows Media Services 9 Series is running on the following editions of the operating system: Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition, and Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition. If you are running Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, these features are not supported.

Related topics

• How unicast works
• How multicast works
• Understanding intelligent streaming
• Understanding Fast Start
• Understanding Fast Cache
• Understanding Fast Reconnect
• Understanding Advanced Fast Start
• Understanding Advanced FF/RW
• Understanding Play While Archiving
• New features in Windows Media Services