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Set-top boxes originated in the 1990s in European and American countries, mainly used for copyright protection and collecting subscription fees. Cable TV stations added a key box in front of the TV. Only users who paid the fees could watch TV normally, which was the prototype of the original set-top box. Later, with the continuous development of Internet technology, set-top boxes with internet access capabilities appeared, but the market response was average.

In the late 1990s, with the trial broadcasts of DTV (Digital Television) and HDTV (High Definition Digital Television) in the United States and Europe, there was a climax in the development of set-top boxes. The main function of these set-top boxes was to allow ordinary analog TVs to receive digital TV or digital high-definition TV. These set-top boxes are called digital set-top boxes, which have basic network environment characteristics and conditional reception capabilities. There are mainly three types: DVB-C for receiving cable TV, DVB-S for receiving digital satellite TV, and DVB-T for receiving terrestrial broadcast TV.

In recent years, with the development of broadband technology, there has been a gradual attempt to use the internet to watch TV programs. Set-top boxes have evolved from single-purpose descramblers or digital/analog converters to support multiple access methods. They have various encoding and decoding capabilities and graphic browser functions. They can support video on demand, time-shifted TV, web browsing, information services, remote education and medical services, interactive games, and other business functions of IPTV set-top boxes, including digital TV. In the future, IPTV set-top boxes will be widely used as a home digital platform in the expanding field of interactive multimedia digital content services. The main contents are as follows:

1. Overview of IPTV
2. Overall architecture of IPTV
3. What is IPTV middleware
4. Basic architecture of IPTV middleware
5. Prospects of IPTV
6. Conclusion

Overview of IPTV#

IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) generally refers to the multimedia services provided through controllable, manageable, secure, and quality-assured wireless or wired IP networks, including video, audio, text, graphics, and data services. It is a new technology that combines the internet, multimedia, and communication technologies to provide various interactive services, including digital TV, to home users through broadband networks. It can adapt well to the rapid development of today's networks and make full use of network resources. The receiving terminals include televisions, handheld computers, mobile phones, mobile TVs, and other similar terminals.

In China, the term IPTV currently refers to the provision of multimedia services based on controllable, manageable, secure, and quality-assured wired IP networks, mainly for television terminal multimedia services. The wired IP network can be a telecommunications broadband network or a Category 5 cable network or a cable TV network transformed into IP. The difference between IPTV and internet TV is that the former runs on a metropolitan area network, while the latter runs on a wide area network (the internet). Currently, IPTV services in China mainly run on telecommunications broadband networks. The main features of IPTV are as follows:

1. Transmission through a controllable, manageable, secure, and quality-assured dedicated network.
2. Compared with traditional broadcast TV, IPTV has greater interactivity and allows on-demand viewing of any program and time-shifting operations.
3. IPTV requires the use of a set-top box on the terminal side to convert the video signal.

Overall architecture of IPTV#

The overall architecture of IPTV can generally be divided into four layers: the operation support layer, the business application layer, the bearer layer, and the user access layer. The overall architecture of IPTV is shown in the following diagram:

• Operation support layer: The operation support layer has functions such as user management, authentication and authorization, billing and accounting, reconciliation and settlement, statistical analysis, platform management, and digital copyright.
• Business application layer: The business application layer mainly includes content production, content distribution, content management, video on demand, live video, EPG, as well as remote education and games.
• Bearer layer: The bearer layer is based on broadband networks and mainly includes content delivery networks, CDN bearer networks, operation support bearer networks, and business application bearer networks.
• User access layer: The user access layer mainly includes broadband access devices and various user terminals, including set-top boxes, personal computers, and various types of home smart terminals. These terminal devices are used to perform specific IPTV services.

What is IPTV middleware#

IPTV middleware generally refers to the software environment between the application layer and the underlying hardware/operating system platform. It consists of a set of service programs that allow various functions running on one or more devices in the IPTV system to interact over the network. The application programs do not directly access the underlying resources. The middleware software layer provides an abstraction layer for these underlying resources, isolating the application programs from the hardware platform to some extent, achieving executability across hardware terminals. In addition, the middleware should be customized according to the technical specifications of the operators to meet their specific business requirements.

Development of IPTV middleware
The development of IPTV set-top boxes actually represents the development of IPTV middleware. Most early IPTV set-top boxes were based on Linux, and the core of Linux-based set-top boxes was an embedded browser. Most IPTV applications used a B/S architecture, accessing EPG pages issued by the server to select and play programs.

With the open source of Android, a Linux-based system, Android quickly occupied the smartphone market and began to enter other embedded fields. Some set-top box manufacturers and internet companies started developing various set-top box products based on the Android system. With the widespread use of the Android system in the set-top box field, set-top boxes transitioned from the B/S architecture to the C/S architecture. Android-based set-top boxes have the following advantages compared to Linux-based set-top boxes:

1. In terms of business upgrades, upgrading a specific business in an Android-based set-top box only requires upgrading the corresponding APK, without the need to upgrade the entire firmware. The complexity of firmware upgrades is much higher than that of APK upgrades. This reduces the risks associated with frequent firmware upgrades and allows for customized development of IPTV services.
2. In terms of business development, the emergence of Android-based set-top boxes allows device manufacturers to focus on the development and production of set-top boxes, while specific applications can be provided by software vendors. This clarifies the division of labor in the set-top box industry and reduces the dependence on hardware manufacturers for business development.
3. The Android system has a large ecosystem of applications, providing users with more choices. Combined with Android's screen adaptation technology, it is easy to adapt to various required applications, reducing workload and shortening development cycles.

Basic architecture of IPTV middleware#

IPTV middleware shields the differences in hardware platforms and operating systems of different set-top boxes, reducing the platform's dependence on the set-top boxes. The overall architecture of the middleware should allow most set-top boxes to install operator-customized middleware products that comply with specifications, enabling quick integration with relevant services. The middleware architecture mainly includes the device driver layer, middleware module library, and application layer. Based on the Android system, the middleware is customized on top of the original system. For example, the native Android system's support for wired networks is not perfect, and the network requirements in the industry are complex. Therefore, relying solely on the API interfaces provided by Android to monitor network changes cannot meet the requirements. Customized development is necessary to register network event listeners with the underlying network card drivers to better detect events such as cable insertion and removal and virtual network card changes. The basic architecture of IPTV middleware is shown in the following diagram:

The role of IPTV middleware in IPTV:

The role of IPTV middleware is mainly reflected in the operation support layer, business application layer, and user access layer. In the operation support layer, IPTV middleware can manage user information, authenticate and authorize business data, and manage user permissions, making it easy to use unified interfaces for customized business. In the business application layer, IPTV middleware is responsible for program content management, unified playback capabilities, terminal software version control, and additional services such as games. In the user access layer, IPTV allows users to easily select programs and control playback through a remote control and perform other user browsing operations.
Factors influencing the development of IPTV
There are several key factors that influence the development of IPTV:

1. Content copyright: In addition to the key live content owned by IPTV operators, the copyrights of other attractive films and TV shows are often held by OTT operators. Similarly, IPTV operators cannot access the key live content of OTT operators, which means that IPTV has always been unable to truly reach the core users of OTT, and its development is naturally limited to some extent.

2. Regulatory aspects: With the development of internet technology, various content can be easily accessed by users. Currently, the regulatory situation in China is as follows: Ideological and information security development is led by the Central Propaganda Department, the Ministry of Culture, and the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television. Content production and broadcast of audio and video content are regulated by the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television. The access to broadband networks, on-demand services, and software charging in telecommunications and internet operations is regulated by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The regulation of broadband multi-service telecommunications, internet operations is jointly regulated by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The management and operation of TV stations, customer service quality, and other operational regulations are jointly regulated by the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. While these regulations have their own significance, if these regulatory agencies do not work together, it will to some extent restrict the development of IPTV.

3. Operating model: Currently, telecommunications and radio and television have certain monopolies in the telecommunications industry and content production, which means that there are different account systems between the two. Telecommunications operators have accumulated user data that radio and television operators cannot perceive. When producing and approving program content, there is a certain blindness. Similarly, telecommunications operators cannot access the advantages of radio and television in content. This also affects the development of IPTV to some extent. Although measures for the integration of the three networks have been proposed in recent years, full implementation has not yet been achieved, and further development will take time.

Prospects of IPTV#

With the development of data network technology, technologies like low-cost high-definition have greatly reduced transmission costs, which means that the development of OTT is facing fewer bottlenecks in addition to regulatory constraints. However, OTT still faces the problem of live broadcasting during prime time. Radio and television are also continuously transforming the network to be bidirectional. The development of IPTV and OTT both have their advantages in their respective fields. It is believed that IPTV+OTT should be the future trend of IPTV development.

Conclusion#

This article introduced the development of IPTV and IPTV middleware. Currently, IPTV middleware is mainly based on Android, using APK as the service module to connect set-top box manufacturers and operators to jointly provide IPTV services. In the future, we will introduce Android-based IPTV middleware and how IPTV middleware functions based on Android.