Digital television has marked an evolutionary step in the field of home entertainment, with consumers around the world subscribing to cable, satellite and now, IPTV services. TV services, delivered to the home over IP-enabled telephone networks, have allowed Telcos to reclaim some ground lost to the cable and satellite providers. However, an apparently minor detail could have posed a serious threat to the growth and continued success of the IPTV industry – multi-room TV.

Evidence suggests that consumers have more than one TV set at home, as market data from IMS Research indicates an average of 3 TVs per US household and 2.42 TVs in the European Union. Therefore, in order to convince consumers to subscribe to IPTV services, the fundamental flexibility of being able to watch IPTV on any TV set around the house must be assured and this requires an IP-based home network.

One answer to this challenge has been to install category 5 (CAT5 or Ethernet) cabling within the home. CAT5 supports data rates of up to 100Mbps (Megabits per second) which is more than enough to support digital television streams. New build homes are increasingly being fitted with CAT5 cabling as standard, however, the costs and disruption involved in fitting a CAT5 network in an existing home make it at best an unattractive proposition for Telcos and at worst, a financially crippling undertaking which may lose more subscribers than it gains.

An alternative to the CAT5 network, using an analogue video gateway to route decoded video streams over the existing coaxial cable infrastructure, has also been proposed by some parties. While the use of an existing infrastructure is attractive, an analogue RF network is limited in the data it can carry. This system could only cope with standard definition video streams, a basic and soon to be outdated format as high definition (HD) TV increases in popularity across the globe.

IP-based networks therefore remain the most attractive option for multi-room IPTV as IP networks are data agnostic, allowing VoIP phones, home PCs and set-top boxes to be connected into the same home network. IP networks can also handle high as well as standard definition streams, making them the most flexible and robust option due to the standards-based nature of Internet Protocol. By running an IP network over existing coaxial infrastructure, rather than CAT5, consumers are one step closer to the ubiquitous home network and can enjoy IPTV service on any TV set in the house without the expense and hassle of rewiring.

NTS Communications, a West-Texas communications company which offers voice, data and IPTV services to residential and business customers, has been faced with the challenge of providing its customers with multi-room IPTV services. With the help of set-top box partner, Amino and IPTV networking specialist, Coaxsys, NTS was the first company to deploy video over an IP-based home network, utilising the existing coaxial network.

Brian Stewart, VP Data Services for NTS, stresses that their approach is not a zero sum game: "Our business methodology has always been to provide the highest quality services to our customers. Therefore, our expert technicians will visit each subscriber to install their IPTV set-top boxes and get the service up and running for them as quickly as possible. If the home already has a CAT5 infrastructure, the technician will decide which network will satisfy their requirements most effectively, CAT5 or coaxial cabling."

NTS Communications first deployed IPTV in 2004 and selected Amino’s AmiNET110 MPEG2 set-top box for the customer premises end of the value chain. "The set-top boxes suited our needs perfectly as they are small and discreet while offering all the advanced functionality such as electronic programme guides and pre-integration with our chosen middleware supplier," notes Stewart. At this point, CAT5 was the best option for other rooms of the home to receive the IPTV video streams. However, there were some issues with the CAT5 networks. "On average, a technician would require four to five hours in order to install two or three set-top boxes over the CAT5 network," explained Stewart. In addition, approximately 25% of the subscriber base experienced technical issues with the CAT5 network which then necessitated a follow-up visit from an engineer which could last up to two hours. "On occasion, this situation would add pressure to our customer relationships as they would need to take time off work to receive the engineers for the initial installation and then for the follow-up calls," commented Stewart. "It was also financially less rewarding as engineers could only undertake a small number of installations per day, working additional hours to make the deployment as painless to the customer as possible."

CAT5 cabling can also be slightly sensitive to power fluctuations. This can mean that if a user’s computer is on the network and draws more power, slowing down the switch, the bit rate of the video stream may fall below an acceptable level which will lead to a noticeably lower quality image and audio rendering on the screen.

However, in 2005, Coaxsys launched an adapter which had been specifically designed in partnership with Amino for the AmiNET range of set-top boxes. The adapter provided a snug Ethernet connection for the AmiNET unit and a coax input which would allow the adapter to be connected to the coaxial cable network which is preinstalled in most houses.

"Once the stability of the adapter had been proven, we were excited to include it in our IPTV service," noted Stewart. By using the coax adapter with the AmiNET110 units, the installation time required was cut from four or five hours, to just over one hour for a three unit installation. In addition, the coaxial network was less susceptible to power supply issues and could support a sustained data rate of 65Mbps – more than enough for even high-definition video. "Our customers are happier as our technicians can be in and out of the house in a much shorter time and thanks to the stability of the coax network in most homes, the number of follow up call-outs has been greatly reduced."

Brian Stewart concluded, "In today’s competitive climate, Telcos must meet and then surpass the expectations of their customers. The current coaxial infrastructure is stable and offers a high enough bandwidth to support the most advanced IPTV services and will remain a viable alternative to home networking for years to come. By offering the Coaxsys adapter with the AmiNET set-top boxes to our subscribers, we are ensuring that multi-room IPTV is available over the most robust and flexible transport method, without the need for any additional infrastructure."