The ways to keep consumers entertained just keep coming! One of the newest technologies for home entertainment is called IPTV, which stands for Internet Protocol Television. Don’t let the name fool you though. IPTV is not the same as plain web TV. It’s not simple Interactive TV either. In fact, it’s more of a souped up mixture of the two.

To understand IPTV, you’ve got to understand how IPTV works. The entire process is fairly technical; too technical, than most care to know but for readers that want the in-depth version description of IPTV, click here. For everybody else, here’s the simple explanation: To have IPTV, you must have a broadband connection as well as a special IPTV converter box. Once you have your IPTV box and broadband Internet service, you’ll be able to receive the data signals from broadcasters through your broadband connection. Those signals will then be converted into visible TV signals by way of your converter box. The content you’re able to view will be interactive programming (video and other multimedia content).

IPTV has better video quality than web TV—the streaming of all multimedia content is brilliant—and many IPTV services feature Digital Video Recorder (DVR) capabilities, allowing you to access the Internet through your TV as well. IPTV also allows for a higher degree of interactivity for the viewer compared to Video On Demand (VOD). It’s this interactive ability of IPTV that makes the technology revolutionary when it comes to home entertainment. The technology comes in handy particularly with television programming that requests audience participation—shows on the Game Show Network and programming like American Idol, for instance. Another unique feature of IPTV is that, if programming allows, viewers also have the ability to manipulate how programming is viewed. One example might be if you were watching a play from your favorite sporting event from a different angle than what’s available to people watching the same event via any other form of television.

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