The use of words IPTV and internet TV are usually used interchangeably while in fact there are some differences between those words. In my previous post about internet technology for ip tv, i have mention a little about IPTV, now in this post i will write the definition and differences between IPTV, IPVOD, Internet TV and Internet Video.
the table below describe the differences between IPTV, IPVOD, Internet TV, and Internet Video. The first table will display colom for IPTV and IPVOD, the next table displays colom for Internet TV and Internet Video
| Service Attribute | IPTV | IPVOD |
| Key Protocol | Streaming RTP over UDP | Progressive Download + Play |
| Key Protocol | Streaming RTP over UDP | Progressive Download + Play |
| Viewing Device | STB + TV | STB + TV or PC |
| User Experience | Similiar to broadcast or cable TV | Similiar to DVDR or VOD |
| Rewind or Fast Forward | No | Yes |
| Content Types | Live or prerecorded | prerecorded only |
And these are the differences between Internet TV and Internet video. (I write this separately because i can’t display the table in full view)
| Service Attribute | Internet TV | Internet Video |
| Key Protocol | Http Streaming: Progressive Download + Play | Http Streaming: Progressive Download + Play |
| Viewing Device | PC, mobile, or network appliance | PC, mobile, or network appliance |
| User Experience | Similiar to web surfing | Similiar to web surfing |
| Rewind or Fast Forward | No | Yes |
| Content Types | Live or prerecorded | prerecorded only |
from table above we can see that the difference between each term is that IPTV and IPVOD use STB or Set-Top Box while Internet TV and Internet Video only use PC or mobile device (smartphone), its just the same with browsing activity. While the difference between term “TV” and “Video” (including Video in “‘Video’ on Demand”) lies in the fact that one provides live content, while the other only provides prerecorded content.
*Set-Top Box is device that receives video packets, decompress them, and display images in realtime. It is crucial component of any IPTV network.