This article is ironic, accompanied as it is by another one in digitaltvdesignline, which talks about how IPTV in China failed to meet expectations. And this article continues to obfuscate what IPTV is, which is IMO how they keep missing the boat. IPTV is not "The drive to turn the TV into an Internet-capable device," but rather, "a way to allow telcos to compete more easily against cable and DBS walled garden TV distribution service, implementing video stream switching inside the network, rather than broadcasting almost all content to customer premises." When consumers figure out that IPTV is just a form of cable TV service, and the understanding that any broadband provider already allows TV content to be streamed to a PC or properly equipped TV via Internet Protocols, the whole notion of IPTV becomes much more "so what?" A question these pundits might want to study is why Verizon decided on emulating cable TV service with their FiOS, rather than installing a true IPTV network. Bert ---------------------------------------------- http://www.digitaltvdesignline.com/news/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=SE5 JHVVWBFXHYQSNDLPSKH0CJUNN2JVN?articleID=205207048 December 31, 2007 IPTV set to spread in 2008 By K.C. Jones Things are looking good for IPTV in 2008, according to predictions from BitBand. The company, which delivers content over IP broadband networks, says emerging markets, user-generated content, and advertising will drive IPTV growth in 2008. "BitBand has hit on a number of important themes in IPTV," said Bob Larribeau, principal analyst and co-founder of analyst firm TelecomView, in a statement. "It is clear that new markets, such as Eastern Europe, along with new forms of content and advertising will define the IPTV opportunities going forward." The company said HDTV's popularity among mainstream consumers will increase demand for high-quality viewing and warned that technology must evolve to ensure consumer needs are met. Home networking and home servers will deliver content to a variety of personal electronic devices via wired and wireless networks, BitBand said. Service providers will be expected to handle massive amounts of content and consumers' experiences should not vary according to device. As new companies offer alternative services, traditional communications companies will have to differentiate themselves through new value-added services or competitively priced entertainment packages, BitBand said. User-generated content will continue to grow in popularity and users will want it incorporated into their traditional television experiences. The drive to turn the TV into an Internet-capable device is likely to continue, despite failed attempts so far, and targeted advertising holds potential for revenue and subscriber growth for IPTV, according to BitBand. On-demand television will grow thanks to new methods for time shifting and increased bandwidth availability in next-generation networks, BitBand said. Finally, the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will drive adoption of IPTV in China. The government wants the event to draw worldwide attention, while service providers in other countries will want to deliver the events to subscribers in all forms and across all devices, BitBand said. Those factors will drive service innovation and technology development, while encouraging flexibility of regulations. All material on this site Copyright 2006 CMP Media LLC. All rights reserved ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.