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As already discussed, IPTV covers both Live TV, i.e., multicasting, as well as stored video or VoD. The requirements for playback of IPTV are either a personal computer or a "set-top box" connected to a TV. Typically, the video content is a moving pictures expert group (MPEG) 2-transport stream (TS) delivered via IP multicast. This is a method in which information can be sent to multiple computers at the same time, with the newly released H.264 format predesigned to replace the older MPEG-2. In standard-based IPTV systems, the primary underlying protocols used for IPTV are Internet group management protocol (IGMP) and real time streaming protocol (RTSP). Here, IGMP is the version 2 for channel change signaling for Live TV and RTSP for VoD.
Currently, only one alternative exists to IPTV which is the traditional TV distribution technology covering terestial, satellite and cable TV. However, when there is a possibility for the cable TV, it can be upgraded to two-way capability system and thus also carry IPTV. Another alternative available is VoD which is usually delivered in the US over cable TV through the digital video broadcasting (DVB) protocol, but it is not labelled as IPTV services.
