Nearly all IPTV is multicast via group joins. That is how they limit access to content. It is all technically live (save for vod) as it is down linked from a source and fed into the head end. A lot of cable providers do multi cast over coax now as well. Check out cable labs if you haven't, they have some neat stuff they discuss.
From my Android phone on T-Mobile. The first nationwide 4G network.
-------- Original message -------- From: Jean-Francois Mezei <jfmezei_nanog@vaxination.ca> Date: 02/09/2013 11:19 AM (GMT-08:00) To: nanog@nanog.org Subject: Re: Fiber project/IPTV multicast On 13-02-09 14:02, Jay Ashworth wrote:
Do any of the people who've worked with some of the IPTV delivery services mentioned here know if their live TV services can be handled via Multicast?
I know that Bell Canada uses the Microsoft MediaRoom IPTV servers and they support multicast. The delivery network is somewhat separate from the data network. At the DSLAM, they travel as separate VLANs to the customer. Bell Canada hasn't provided technical answers to exactly where IPTV and data start to share transmission facilities (from a tariff point of view, they do not wish to admit that both share trunk lines to COs). You may also wish to look at the Australian NBN. http://www.nbnco.com.au/multicast Somewhere on their web site, they have the specs of the L2 service with regards to voice and data. Recently, they announced a trial for multicast IPTV retailer over the wholesale NBN.