User:Amchipo/sandbox



Internet Protocol television (IPTV), also called TV over broadband, is the service delivery of television over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Usually sold and run by a telecom provider, it consists of broadcast live television that is streamed over the Internet (multicast) — in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable transmission formats — as well as video on demand services for watching or replaying content (unicast).

IPTV broadcasts started gaining usage during the 2000s alongside the rising use of broadband-based internet connections. It is often provided bundled with internet access services by ISPs to subscribers. IPTV normally requires the use of a set-top box, which receives the encoded television content in the MPEG transport stream via IP multicast, and converts the packets to be watched on a TV set or other kind of display. It is distinct from over-the-top (OTT) services, which are based on a direct one-to-one transmission mechanism.

IPTV methods have been standardised by organisations such as ETSI. IPTV has found success in some regions: for example in Western Europe in 2015, pay IPTV users overtook pay satellite TV users. IPTV is also used for media delivery around corporate and private networks.

List of Internet television providers