End to End Standards for IPTV and Interactive TV Broadcast Systems

TV broadcasters get access to lower cost equipment and have flexibility to customize their systems when the use industry standards. David “Borris” Fell from the Open IPTV Forum - OIPF explained to me at the IPTV world trade show that end to end standards for IPTV systems can be important to ensure reliable, scalable, and interoperable systems. The Open IPTV Forum was started in 2007 to create standards that allow “plug-and-play” experiences for both viewers and broadcasters. TV broadcast systems have become very complex and use many advanced techniques to provide services. The open standards created by the OIPF allow broadcasters to develop their own unique services. Unlike other industry groups, the OIPF forum is fully open to participation across the communication and entertainment industries. This helps to ensure the interest of consumers, network operators, content providers, service providers, consumer electronics manufacturers, and home network equipment providers can influence the industry standards.