The Future of IPTV IPTV has been coming for a

The Future of IPTV


IPTV has been coming for almost a century and it seems that it is finally starting to get traction amongst many in the first world. But is South Africa, with its notoriously slow average internet speeds ready for it?

IPTV, or Internet Protocol Television, is a system whereby television programs are streamed via the internet to your computer or smart tv allowing you to watch your favorite shows and movies on demand. The concept isn’t new: the basis for streaming has been around since the beginning of the 20th century, but it was only in the 1990s that technology began to reach a point where is was practically feasible. While the original system designed by George O. Squier in the early 1920s was used later for the transmission of music over electrical wires, modern streaming is focused on the complete multimedia experience.

Thankfully for those who love streaming media, increased access to the internet and greater developments in the last mile connection to the internet has resulted in IPTV becoming not only a reality but a way of life for more than 80 million people whether they are using a Set-Top Box, Smart TV or computer.

How Has IPTV Changed TV?

IPTV has changed how we view television. We can now watch what we want when we want without having to wait, giving the power of tv programming to the viewer rather than the schedulers. We are also seeing that content is being watched anywhere on any device thanks to an increase in broadband wifi and connection speeds. These mobile devices, from dedicated IPTV players to mobile phones means that watching content is no longer limited to the home. Even back at the home, entertainment systems become integrated with home internet connectivity and we are seeing that the traditional television is losing its singular functionality. Modern tvs need to have a Smart aspect – some internet connection that will allow them to offer more than the traditional: They are becoming socially smart.

How Will IPTV Change TV?

When televisions first started appearing they create a social nexus in the house: they were something that the entire family would gather around and then chat about before, during and after their favourite shows. IPTV is inherently an internet product and with the internet is evolving into a social space, there is a suggestion that the future of IPTV will be recreation of a social atmosphere around a show, but this time with a global family. Not only are we seeing broadcasters including invitations to join in the conversation about the show or movie on social media, but we are are also seeing IPTV providers and users making suggestions about what to watch next through social interaction via the IPTV provider’s own platforms.

At the same time, thanks to Set-top boxes, the television is being transformed from being a purely viewing platform to becoming a hybrid thanks to its provision of viewing content and internet access: half television, half computer.

Up Next in South Africa?

Already many private estates or buildings are offering their tenants high speed fibre connectivity as standard, while more and more private users are opting for their own high speed lines for streaming media. IPTV is slowly starting to become a reality in South Africa thanks to the increased access to quality high speed broadband connectivity.

"The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible."