Chicago--Video is not just another data type; however, this is of little concern to cell phone and PDA users who want IPTV capabilities at their fingertips. According to Del Bothof, vice president and general manager of Broadwing Communications, the trend of larger and larger TVs with more and more HDTV is extending to other mobile devices. As part of the Globalcomm Innovations Summit held today, Bothof discussed both the challenges and opportunities that HD IPTV transport presents.

HDTVs are available. In fact, the Consumer Electronic Association predicts that 2006 will be the year that HDTV outsells analog TV by 89%, totaling more than $23 billion in sales. Although 15 million households will purchase IPTV by the end of 2007, Bothof said that IP transport is still imperfect. It is hard to deliver real-time, efficiently compressed video and voice. Challenges, including timing jitters and operation and administrative complexities, help keep IPTV from being truly competitive.

As service providers look to distribute high-definition IPTV content, Bothof offered three recommendations. First, keep video quality as lightly compressed as possible and keep 100% quality of service. Second, use an asymmetrical transport system to be economical, and finally, deliver content only where you have users.