Implementation of an Interactive IPTV System

The television has always been a profit-making service providing a variety of entertainment, alongside with educational channels. In time, cable and satellite TV have provided a wider range with regards to broadcasted channels. The Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) is the Next Generation Networking (NGN) application, providing new exciting opportunities for both service providers and subscribers. IPTV consists of the implementation of multimedia content, delivered over an IP network. It combines web and video streaming services, together with interactive based control. Video payload is transmitted using the Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) in line with the Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), that initiates and controls the video streams. This paper presents the implementation of an IPTV system, where a server is used to store different video streams. The server listens to client requests for particular content. The server was designed to communicate with various client applications such as laptops, mobile devices and set–top boxes. The set–top box was developed using the Digital Video Processing board which is based on the DaVinci platform and was programmed to provide the same interactivity which is available on normal personal computers. The developed system was tested and subjectively evaluated and has further proven the feasibility of the IPTV system.