Current networking kit cannot handle IPTV

IPTV services are not up to scratch because they are being put together using technology made for other purposes, according to industry experts.

A panel at the NetEvents conference in Malta was asked whether it is possible to build a cost-effective IPTV network that delivers the quality that users require, or whether it would require the next generation of networking products.

"With the introduction of the dedicated set-top box, most people try and build triple-play or quad-play networks out of regular networking tools, such as switches and routers, which were not designed for the IPTV challenge," said Steve Broadhead, director of Broadband-Testing.

Larry Desjardin, director of R&D at Agilent Technologies, believes that the kit to handle IPTV is available but has to be set up properly.

"The equipment is there and, with heavy tuning, we can deploy these networks. But I stress the words 'heavy tuning'," he said.

"We are a test measurement company and we are seeing that the first time they have a trial in the lab, these things are not working."

Broadhead explained that the problem faced by anyone trying to set up a network to handle IPTV is that there is no standard system.

"We are taking the basic building blocks and having to put them together to do whatever makes it work. There are lots of different ways you can go wrong in a network," he said.

"Maybe what people want is a blueprint that says this is exactly how you design an IPTV network. At the moment, it is not easy."

Broadhead added that this is unusual in an industry where one or two vendors or service providers typically create and define the market.

"That is not the case with IPTV. A vacuum cleaner is a Hoover, but there is no standard like that for IPTV whether de facto or otherwise," he said.

"Everybody is just looking at each other asking when they are going to make it happen."