HD IPTV 2007
There has been recent news at the IPTV World Forum which is reporting good news for HD IPTV in the near future. Second generation MPEG-4 video encoders (based on the H.264 compression standard) which provide better compression and use less bandwidth plus cheaper manufacturing costs.
Last September Harmonic announced encoders capable of ‘pristine’ HDTV at 8Mbps (compared to the industry standard of 10-12Mbps) and a HDTV ‘Lite’ service delivered over 4Mbps. SD channels, using second generation encoders, need 1.5Mbps as opposed to the previous norm of 2.5Mbps.
Armed with these figures, Price outlined a number of service scenarios for IPTV operators who have 20Mbps to offer customers at their disposal. This included a ‘super’ HSI (high- speed internet offer) of 7Mbps, combined with capacity for one HD channel and two SD channels.
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