Open Standards for IPTV Set-Top Boxes

What an Open Standard Could Do for the Success of IPTV

The global IPTV industry has experienced impressive growth, but penetration levels are still modest. Set-top boxes represent a not insignificant part of the total costs of providing such services to the end consumer.

To spur further development and to avoid sub-optimization based on multiple proprietary systems, a common standard will be increasingly important. Any such standard needs to be interoperable, affordable and innovation-friendly.

Since no single proprietary standard for IPTV STBs is likely to emerge, influential players should cooperate to establish a widely supported open standard. A common open standard may represent the best route forward, but does not in itself guarantee such qualities. Clear rules and procedures are needed to ensure robust competition and a win-win environment for all principal stakeholder groups.

Such a development will likely aid the prospects of the entire ecosystem, contributing to the growth and overall success of IPTV.

Released: December 2009

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