In the past few decades, media has become the main source of news a short time ago, the radio was considered as the only form of media to be had.Bit later television was invented to become a niche invention to a living room mainstay.
nowadays, through internet, we live the new media age, With just a couple of keystrokes you can find anything you could ever want to know,furthermore, you can take advantage of different types of media than any generation before you have RSS to read the news, Netflix to watch movies, spotify and many other streaming services to choose from, and there’s no need to mention social media and how it has rapidly changed the media landscape. In this regard, the internet has also brought a new form of media consumption, and many are wondering whether IPTV is legal. In the following of this article, we will explain what IPTV exactly is, how it works, and whether it’s legal or not.
IPTV explained:
It stands for Internet Protocol Television. Simply put, it’s the technical term for streaming via the internet. IPTV uses the same exact protocols that your web browser uses, meaning that
IPTV relies on an IP address and accesses a network similar to that of the internet to bring you television programming. In fact, many major TV providers have already adopted the service themselves – think Netflix, NowTV and Amazon. Even the BBC uses IPTV with it’s iPlayer service. These are completely legal services which you pay a fee to access as an alternative to a cabled or satellite connection.
you might be asking what makes IPTV different than TV.
The main difference is the way the content is delivered. While Internet TV travels over the open, public and global Internet, IPTV uses a private and managed network. or in other words, IPTV is a technology that provides television services over a proprietary broadband packet data network using the Internet protocol suite. While Internet TV, on the other hand, is a television broadcasting service distributed over the Internet.
1.IPTV is the multicasting of content within a managed network while Internet television broadcasts over an unmanaged network (the Internet).
2.As its name suggests, Internet TV exploits the public Internet to provide video content to
end users.IPTV uses secure dedicated private networks to provide video content to consumers .These private networks are managed, sized and operated by a service provider.
3.IPTV delivery is a better, more reliable and more consistent viewing experience, while Best-effort Internet video may be subject to delays due to lower bandwidth, high traffic or poor connection quality.
4.A digital decoder is generally used to access and decode video content provided via an IPTV system while a PC is almost always used to access Internet television services.
5.Since the Internet is more open than a proprietary network, the dedicated home computer
may also require digital rights management certification to ensure compliance with copyright laws. In the case of the IPTV service, copyright laws are dealt with during contractual negotiations between the operator and the media company providing the material (films, television programs, etc.).
6.User fees: a significant percentage of video content broadcast on the public Internet is available free of charge to consumers. IPTV services, on the other hand, are provided for a fee which could be a monthly subscription and which could include other bundles.
7.Multimedia content: In the past, much of the television video content on the Internet was
generated by users. Today, user-generated content comes under the term of Web TV, while Internet TV is similar to a conventional broadcast service but via the Internet. IPTV, on the other hand, has always distributed television shows and traditional films mainly supplied by established media companies.
Are Netflix and Hulu considered IPTV?
NO.You see, even if Netflix and Hulu send video content over the Internet, they are not
strictly speaking IPTV. Rather, they are defined as OTT, which means “over-the-top”. OTT and IPTV are different, and we need to be able to tell them apart.
1. IPTV and OTT work in completely different ways:
To start, OTT, in its simplest form, is to provide multimedia content online. Ergo is not only the best example of Netflix and Hulu, but Youtube and Vimeo are also OTT.
At this point, you should think that OTT and IPTV are the same thing, but the main difference is here:
OTT is distributed without control by a specific internet service provider, otherwise called
an Internet service provider or by many system operators, abbreviated as MSO. In other words, the ISP has no say and is not responsible for the content being produced and distributed via OTT transfers.
For this reason, the only responsibility of the Internet service provider for OTT is to transfer data packets over the Internet from point A to point B, nothing more. The other side of this coin is that in relation to an internet service provider, movie data packets are handled in exactly the same way as email data packages. For this reason, the quality of the content you
receive over OTT is primarily defined by your Internet connection.
As for IPTV, things are a little different. Although IPTV uses the Internet protocol, the
content itself is transmitted over a private network provided by the Internet service provider
and dedicated to the IPTV in question, and the packets do not pass through the public Internet. In other words, the ISP becomes responsible for what is broadcast and can control it as it sees fit.
Since IPTV is transmitted via a particularly dedicated infrastructure, ISP can guarantee better quality of video content. After all, the same data packets are handled differently and IPTV is controlled by standardized standards.
Due to the fact that OTT and IPTV work differently, only the business models and the resulting product content can differ. For example, while OTT relies on user and content aggregators, IPTV broadcasts more structured content with a higher production value.
At this point, if you feel it is confusing and your head is spinning, the only thing you need
to remember is:
-OTT is public internet content.
-IPTV is content that is streamed over a private network but uses the same technology as the Internet
2. Different equipment required:
Another major difference, which will be activated later, is that OTT requires only an Internet
connection and a laptop, while IPTV requires more specialized equipment. (What is this specialized equipment will be discussed later.)
3. OTT and IPTV share some similarities:
In addition to broadcasting using IP technology, OTT and IPTV share many similarities,
including the fact that they share the same formats: VOD, time switching support and live TV.
However, when we talk about IPTV formats, we will also mention some of the OTT content providers to facilitate understanding of the format we are talking about.
What are IPTV formats?
In general, IPTV can take three forms: video on demand, time-shifting media, and direct IPTV.
• Video on demand:
As the name suggests, video on demand relates to getting the content you want when you want it. An example of this is movie streaming sites like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. (These are all OTT content providers, but you get the picture) In addition, as long as the content you want to watch belongs to your broadcast service, you can request to watch it, regardless of age. Although this may seem obvious, it contrasts sharply with the next type of IPTV. Time shift modes:
This type of IPTV is similar to Catch Up TV, where you can watch programs that you may have missed earlier. However, unlike VOD, the content will not be available indefinitely; instead, you have a specific time window when you can watch the content.
Once this time has elapsed, the content will be removed from the presenter’s choice. This
means that you cannot watch the broadcast program a few years ago. In short, the main
the difference between VOD and media that is converted over time is the shelf life of the content.
However, one of the best examples of this format is the BBC’s iPlayer. Live TV broadcasts over the Internet:
This format is perhaps the most similar to regular TV broadcasting. In other words, live TV broadcasts on the Internet allow you to watch live broadcasts, which is perfect if you want
to enjoy a specific sporting event as it happens. In fact, if you subscribe to the IPTV channel directly, you can watch the game on your phone while on the move.
In addition to coming to you online instead of cable or satellite, live TV broadcasting is almost the same as regular TV. Some of the great live TV channels you can watch are Sling TV, Hulu Live Tv, FOX Sports Go and CBS Sports HQ.If you look at the Internet, you may find more types of IPTV services,
but chances are that everything you find will derive from the three types mentioned above.
For example, here are two other types that you may encounter:
• Video on demand close:
It is an eclectic service. The idea is to have a specific broadcast schedule that viewers
can watch and choose to watch the content that interests them. This model is ideal for many users, who will all share the same service.
However, this type of IPTV service is almost a mix between live TV and video on demand.
• TV on demand:
Instead of having to watch specific programs, you can watch a specific channel online.
However, unlike regular TV, you can watch the channel at any time at any time while
programming the channel.
It’s basically VOD; even its acronym is TVOD. The only difference is what the viewer
can ask to watch.
What is the future of IPTV?
Well, this question is a little more difficult. In fact, no one knows for sure the current number of IPTV users, not to mention the future number. One of the factors that confuse any attempt to capture the question is the large number of service providers, and not all service providers use the same format.
In addition, there is a lot of pirated content, which we will talk more about when we explore
the legality of IPTV.
However, here are some rough numbers that can help us make educated guesses about the future of this technology:
• The official number of IPTV subscribers worldwide is over 130 million.
• The end of 2015 witnessed the introduction of more than six million subscribers.
China is a major player in this field. In the last quarter of 2015, China was responsible for
introducing over 3.7 million new subscribers to IPTV. In addition, Asia is the fastest growing market, and also the largest.
To bring the above point back home, in terms of numbers, Europe and Asia have the most
subscribers. However, in terms of service revenue, Europe and North America share the lion’s share. In fact, Chinese and Indian subscribers generate very little revenue per user (ARPU in short) compared to western countries in the world.
Based on the information above, you may be wondering what experts say:
• On the one hand, IPTV is set to become more popular. In fact, Grand View Research released a report claiming that by 2025, the IPTV market should have a value of about $ 117 billion. If you want to get a benchmark frame, the IPTV market reached about $ 38.21 billion in 2016. This growth must come from two sources: first, the increase in user demand must generate income. Second, better networks will make IPTV accessible to more people.
• If you want to know what other market research companies say, here is a brief overview.
Zion Market Research has released a document stating that the IPTV market should benefit
from a compound annual growth rate of 18.01%, bringing the total market to $ 93.59 billion
by then 2021. It is interesting to note that when this document was published in 2015 IPTV
the market was about $ 34.67 billion.
Another agency called the Transparency Market predicted global IPTV revenue would reach
$ 79.38 billion by 2020. Even if this number is less optimistic compared to the other two research firms, it is still impressive when you consider that the total IPTV market has been valued at 24.94 billion Dollars, which means the market would have needed a compound annual growth rate of 18.1% to achieve transparency forecasts. What is worth emphasizing here is that despite some slight differences, all of these research companies have agreed that IPTV should grow strongly over the next few years.
As a direct result of this strong growth, cable television will have to sell a large market share. In fact, how long-term regular TV will act in the face of the strong competition caused by OTT and IPTV is an assumption.
Since IPTV allows users to create their own channels, this means that we should not only
expect demand-side growth, but supply side must also explode. With more variety and offerings available, people will not be limited to what broadcasters should show. The main competition that IPTV must face is the OTT competition. Therefore, the question will become for viewers who weigh between two considerations: Internet freedom via high-quality ISP videos. Therefore, an important determinant of how future IPTV rates depend on the ability of telecom providers to provide a better user experience than OTT has to offer.
Why do some people ask: Is IPTV legal?
From everything you’ve read so far, there is no reason to believe that IPTV may be illegal. After all, it seems that everything is over, and the services provided are provided by legitimate companies. Where is the problem?
To answer this question, we must first get around quickly and answer another question that we previously ignored.
Equipment for IPTV:
When discussing the differences between IPTV and OTT, we mentioned that IPTV requires
the operation of special equipment. Now let’s see what exactly this equipment is.
In short, users need three devices to take advantage of IPTV:
1. Decoder:
When subscribing to a specific service, the viewer receives a decoder, abbreviated as STB,
by its service provider. STB is the device responsible for decoding and decoding TV and
video streams that you access over the private network. It is worth noting that decoders come in many shapes and sizes, from the actual boxes that you place next to the TV to the small sticks that you can simply connect. The bottom line is that the set-top box is built in so that the TV set can interpret the signal it receives from your service provider.
2. The router:
To receive any content, you must connect your decoder to the private network via a router.
Once connected, STB will be able to send requests and requests to the central servers.
3. Display station:
In other words, you need a TV to be able to enjoy the IPTV programming provided to you.
Depending on this configuration, there are a few things that you should notice. First of all,
the decoder is the main means of communication for the viewer with his service provider:
the set-top box is very similar to the receiver used for satellite TV, which is a necessary
tool for the viewer to browse channels.
Second, since your service provider is equipped with a decoder, it is pre-programmed and ready to listen to your favorite channels after setting up the router.
Third, if you want to enjoy IPTV but do not want a problem with the set-top box, you can use
the computer instead. The important point is that your computer can decode the packets it
receives over the Internet, letting you watch your favorite shows on IPTV. However, your
TV is unable to achieve the same feat, which explains the need for the decoder.
Why all focus on decoding?
the problem is that some developers choose to rig the set-top box and modify the internal
programming and allow the owner of this set-top box to access premium and paid-on-demand content for free. As a result, owners of tampered decoders can circumvent the obligation to pay a high fee to view this premium content.
Without going into too much detail, the developers tweak the hardware and install add-ons
that were configured for piracy that allow viewers to view the content they are not supposed
to, violating many copyright laws.
This type of viewing experience is called “illegal streaming”, and if your device allows you
to view content for free when you have to pay for it, your device is probably illegal.
all of this sounds familiar to you? If this sounds familiar to you, you may have heard of the right Kodi cameras. Kodi was an app that was released a few years ago to allow streaming on laptops, tablets and smartphones. In addition, “Kodi decoders” have been developed, which are Internet codecs compatible with the Kodi application (very similar to the decoders used with IPTV).The problem here is that some developers managed to break the Kodi Chests, and it wasn’t long before the Kodi Chests fully loaded with apps that allowed snooping on premium content were sold. At this point in history, the authorities decided to intervene and arrest anyone selling the loaded Cody boxes.
Likewise, IPTV is nothing more than a box-installed program. Cracked by developers, this
programs can now be used to access content illegally.
However, it should be noted that Kodi funds have always been legal; it was their adaptation
and treatment that made them notorious.
What about IPTV? Is IPTV legal?
As you may have guessed by now, IPTV is completely legal unless it is tampered with on the
decoder to allow hacking. But things are not so simple.
As you can see, when it comes to Kodi funds, the box is packed with apps, and every consumer has had to do it once to enjoy unlimited access to countless channels.
However, with IPTV, many illegal service providers will charge their users monthly or annual
fees for enjoying premium content at a price lower than the amount they would have paid under normal conditions. However, since the user pays a regular subscription, some users may think that it is legal.The truth is not.
As long as your IPTV box contains additional third-party features that allow you to access
the content illegally, the box itself is illegal and the seller who sold it to you is definitely on the wrong side of the law.
When we talk about anything, should the law talk about it?
The law is still slow to catch up with today’s technology, but a useful lesson can be learned if we look at what happened with the Kodi Boxes.
Try to prevent the flow:
The content rights entities that have been produced in addition to the original service providers – such as Premier League and Sky TV – have worked tirelessly to limit illegal
additions that are placed on Kodi funds.
In addition, the European Union has adopted a resolution declaring that anyone who contributes pirated video content commits a crime. Indeed, it was the Court of Justice of the European Communities which confirmed that “the temporary reproduction of works protected by copyright, obtained without the consent of the copyright owner, is not exempt from “reproduction right”.
This European Union decision has given service providers more impetus to tackle people who pinch their content. In addition, many of these service providers, such as Sky and the Premier League, have taken advantage of their large capital to help in this fight.
To highlight how this conflict has evolved over the past few years, we can take a look at the
Premier League and how it held out against cracking down on Kodi-related piracy. In July 2018, the Supreme Court successfully renewed a prohibition order from the Supreme Court, which allowed them to block all games broadcast live in the UK. In addition, UK Internet service providers had to enforce this traffic ban in real time.
Today, individuals in the United Kingdom should follow the official guidelines for broadcasters, issued by the British government over a year ago. In addition, the illegal flow
has become more difficult with each passing day due to blocking and blocking operations which are implemented daily.
Attack the source and try to stop the sellers of modified Kodi funds:
As mentioned earlier, sellers selling modified Kodi funds are caught dragging supply on the
equation side. Obviously, not all sellers have suffered the same fate, but you get the big
picture.
If we go back to IPTV, how many problems would we theoretically face if they wanted to broadcast content using an illegal receiver?
First of all, you should know that the flow of illegal content is a crime that can be prosecuted
However, although British vendors were searched and arrested, no one was handcuffed to
distribute films illegally; this may seem strange, as the extent to which the end users of
opyright owners and their service providers can spread.
Whatever the size of the user base, just because there haven’t been any arrests yet doesn’t
mean it won’t happen in the future. As you can see, most illegal IPTV service providers accept PayPal monthly subscription payment, which is an easily trackable payment method. In addition, many of these service providers rely on home servers to send illegal flows to their users; again, this is easily traceable.
As a result, as illegal service providers lack the protection and security necessary to keep their users anonymous, these users are still at risk of being discovered, arrested and
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
However, at present, ISPs are required not only to identify illegal online activity, but also
to attempt to stop it. In addition, there are already many technologies to detect illegal
emissions.
what would happen if your Internet service provider taught you to illegally broadcast video content?
In such a hypothetical scenario, the first time your ISP catches you, it will send you a
written warning because it will ask you to “stop and stop” any illegal behavior.
Now suppose that you choose not to take your ISP seriously and to pursue illegal dissemination activities. In this scenario, if your ISP calls you back, they will have the right to withdraw their Internet services. In addition, they can choose to notify you of the authorities, which ultimately leads to your prosecution.
Are there other problems that we might encounter in the context of legal problems?
Like other illegal parts of the web, accessing illegal streaming services allows you to
compromise your vulnerability or install malware on your device.
Another risk is that users who pay for illegal broadcast services have neither the means
to guarantee the quality of the video content nor the fact that they will get the content
in the first place. After all this, it is clear that this is one of the cases where there is no enforceable contract, however difficult it may seem.
bottom line:
We started by introducing the concept of IPTV and explaining how IPTV differs from traditionalTV and OTT media. Next, we looked at the three major formats of IPTV: video on demand, time-to-TV, and live TV.
Once we were fully aware of this new form of media, we looked at its current state and
explored where it could go in the future. We have seen that the IPTV market has grown
in recent years and is expected to continue to grow in the near future.
After that, we immersed ourselves in the legality of IPTV. We understand that IPTV is
completely legal, but it is illegal to modify the set-top box to infringe on the copyrights
of others. With this distinction in mind, we continued to better understand the location of
the illegal fund law and what are the implications for someone flowing illegally.
Finally, there are some questions that we have not yet answered: How will future IPTV
deployment affect our media consumption? Does this law force a more difficult approach to
illegal signs? Or will illegal banners eventually win, forcing IPTV service providers to
rethink their business model? What about OTT, will they be more competitive than IPTV, or
will the two share a market together?
These are all questions that no one or I have answered yet, but it is fun to think about them.