Monday, June 09, 2008

SLT to launch IPTV

Sri Lanka Telecom will be launching IPTV on June 17th according to sources. From June 15th to 17th a demonstration of the IPTV systems will be held at the BMICH. Two websites are available at the moment one being http://www.tomorrowyou.tv and Sri Lanka Telecom IPTV, the latter which would probably be the official website.

SLT is promising a whole set of features such as time shift television, Video on Demand, etc and hopefully they are all delivered as promised. It is not clear whether a prospective IPTV subscriber should already be a ADSL subscriber in order to be given a connection but according to sources a 2MB connection is required for IPTV.

With the broadcasting exhibition also in the corner it seems that Sri Lanka is seriously looking at moving into digital transmission mediums and with the entrance of SLT IPTV the competition between the pay television operators is poised to increase. All this only means that the subscribers get a better deal for their money.

The subscriber/equipment prices have not been released as yet. In addition the channel lineup has not been released yet however we believe that BBC World, NDTV Imagine, B4U Music and VH1 are already on board. We hope that the nagging problems of IPTV such as packet drops due to noise in cables and channel switching delays due to IP delays are not an issue with this service.

31 comments:

AI said...

hi guys,

there is confusion on 2MB link . as for SLT site "Is SLT broadband connection (Internet) compulsory to avail IPTV?

The SLT Telephone Line is must, but SLT broadband connection (Internet) is not mandatory.

so i dont think this going to be very expencive.

ILHAM - The Boss said...

Welcome SLT IPTV
For More Info go to www.sltnet.tv

ILHAM - The Boss said...

SLT IPTV FUTURE TV CHANNEL LIST
English – Movies
HBO, HBO Signature, HBO Hits, HBO Family, CINEMAX, Zee Studio, Star Movies, SET PIX.
English – Entertainment
Star World, AXN, Nat Geo Adventure, Hallmark Channel, Australia Network, Discovery, Animal Planet,
National Geographic Channel, The History Channel, BBC Entertainment.
Hindi – Movies
Set Max, Zee Cinema, Star Gold, Filmy.
Hindi – Entertainment
Star Plus, Sony Set, Zee TV, Star One, SET SAB, Zee Smile.
Tamil – Movies
KTV, Raj Digital plus, TBO, SR TV.
Tamil – Entertainment
SUN TV, Raj TV, Star Vijay, Jaya TV, Kalanyar TV.
Sports
ESPN, Star Sports, Star Cricket, TEN Sports, NEO Sports, NEO Cricket,
Zee Sports.
Kids
Nick, Pogo, Cartoon Network, Chutti TV, Animax.
Music
MTV (Music Television), Vh1 - (Video Hits1), Zee Music, SUN MUSIC, Isai Aruvi,
Channel V.
Fashion & Lifestyle
Zee Café, Zee Trendz, Zone Reality, Travel & Living, NDTV Good Times.
International News Channels
BBC, CNN, Aljazeera, NDTV, SUN NEWS, Times Now.
Business News
NDTV Profit, Zee Business, CNBC.

ILHAM - The Boss said...

MTV \ MBC NETWORK SRI LANKA INTERESTED TO
JOIN SLT IPTV.
In The Future Sirasa TV, Shakthi TV, Channel One MTV
Will Be Available On SLT IPTV.

Unknown said...

ilham -the boss,

Are they (SLT IPTV)going to add our local tv stations to their line up with official launch of IPTV services? channels like,

ITN
RUPAVAHINI
TNL
ETV
ART TV
SWARNAVAHINI
TV LANKA
DERANA
CHANNEL EYE
MAX TV

MW said...

i recently moved to kandana but getting a SLT connection not possible there( No loops). Even in my native place Galle getting a SLT connection is out of question. so in a situation like this i dont think slt can do much with IPTV. Further more subcriber should have ADSL wich means abuot Rs. 2800+. I had a ADSL connection at my previous place , sometimes connection gets damn slow.
if DTV is improving its quality and and adding new good channels i dont think much competion with IPTV.

Unknown said...

@ILham the Boss
is this just a wish list of channels or the confirmed channel lineup??
If so it looks very tempting and can trigger a price war by DTV to retain its customer base and/or to prevent new customers going over to IPTV

Unknown said...

@ Ilgham the Boss
is this just a wish list of channels or the confirmed channel lineup??
If so it looks very tempting and can trigger a price war by DTV to retain its customer base and/or to prevent new customers going over to IPTV

AI said...

@mw

ADSL mean not internet. to have IPTV you need boradban connection that dosen mean you need internet. so there is no internet chargers they using the coper bandwidth through adsl. its like having vpn conenction to SLT server.

lbw said...

hey anybody known, is it (slt iptv set-top box) possible to use in outside sri lanka

sonik said...

i think slt adsl 2+ modulation is working now. it works with my router. but there is no speed change. can someone else plz check and let me know.

sithma said...

IPTV runs with ADSL 2+ and SLT will provide 3.5mb gurrenteed bandwith.(whare IPTV Needs only 2mb.)
You can obtain services where Broadband is avalable. You need only SLT Line. Not necessary to have present ADSL line.

sithma said...

If anyone at present provide with ADSL and not ADSL 2+ SLT will change you to ADSL 2+ if you apply
for IPTV

Nalin Kiing said...

ADMIN,

You MUST have to attend the IPTV EXHIBITION and wants to investigate & find out all the details regarding SLT IPTV and letting us know in detail accordingly. That's your responsibility as ADMIN of this blog. (Only if you're a dedicated Administrator)

AI said...

is anyone know when this exhibition will be open to public?? Date time will do.

Unknown said...

Dear Ai

The SLT IPTV exhibition will be on 15th June (5 pm -8 pm) and 16th And 17th June (10 am to 8 pm )at BMICH Entrance Free
http://www.tomorrowyou.tv/

Vajira Kashyapa said...

I hope they add comedy Central!..........

Ahamed Nishadh said...

ok guys!! heres da news!!

i went to this exhibition today and it was a total crap. i mean nothing special there. first they make u enter a theater lyk hall and there they make u sit for a long time till da crowd is gathered and then show da vdo dat is available in da website and then say go and chk da stalls. then we go to da next section and c stalls all along da walls of da hall and every stall cntains da same thing which is a TV wit IPTV connection and 10 seats. and there r guys who are explaingn IPTV and they dont know half of wat they r saying. i asked one guy how many channels r there and he said around 20. i asked another guys and he said 10. then i heard another guy in another stall saying dat there r around 50 channels.

if u want to jst waste ur time then go there. there is not much info u can get. da guys dont even know wen they will be releasing da service t public. another guy says dat it will take around a year and another one says 1 month.

useless exhibition. n e way i say dat da info on da website is more than wat u can get at dat exhibition. but one thing i noticed in da exhibition is dat da quality of da service. it seems preety good. me and ma dad went there so that we can return wit a connection but was dissappointed!!

Rasika said...

I don't know why slt is confusing people with their misleading web site and their visioncom officer's, who doesnt seem to know jack about what IPTV is.

For those who are confused, as a network engineer, i think i can clear up some of the things.

First off, SLT is recommending an ADSL internet connection because if you are already an ADSL internet subcriber, then you are verified to have connectivity via ADSL to their servers.

Secondly, ADSL is the multiplexing technology used on the cabling between your home and the ISP (slt). Using ADSL, you can transfer digital information, such as the internet and iptv.

I saw many posts about confused users about IPTV and ADSL. Even though the internet speeds via ADSL does not catch up to the marketed speeds, that does not mean that you are going to experience a drop while watching IPTV. The internet speeds are affected by the contention ratio at the SLT side, not because of poor quality ADSL signaling. In other words, everyone of you who has an ADSL connection has the exact speed advertised FROM HOME TO THE ISP SERVERS. But from there onwards, SLT does not have sufficient bandwidth to the internet to satisfy everyone.

However, in the case of IPTV, you will be streaming directly from SLT servers and since you have the exact speed advertised to the locally hosted servers (slt servers), you will not experience lower quality or drops (unless slt screws up their servers or they cant handle the load).

Since SLT's IPTV is encoded on MPEG4 and since the content you are streaming will have dedicated bandwidth, you should see a big difference in picture quality compared to DTV.

IPTV = TV over Internet Protocol (this does not mean you are using the internet, instead it means its adhering to the "IP" standard for communication)

Well this is little bit of the technical side, But i don't know what SLT is planning on the marketing side.

I hope they just get on with it rather than making us wait till our teath fall off :P

Unknown said...

@Rasika,

Are there any possibility use SLT IPTV STB outside of Sri Lanka through the broadband connection?

KL said...

Seems many are still revolving around the tv channels/ tricks/ gadgets world.

I think SLT has achieved their goal with the exhibition, letting people know about IPTV as a content provider rather than a mere PAY TV entrant.
I think the battle is not between the pay tv providers and SLT, It's how best SLT supports Local content suppliers and how best the local content suppliers come out with innovative business plans to utilize this facility.

Thanks!!

sithma said...

Hi guys dont panic
SLT provides 3.5 mbps gurenteed band with for IPTV and it will not cost separately.Dont multiply 512k by 7times.(No international bandwith involvement )
Monthly rental will be very competitive.
Coverage over the country where Broad band is avalable.
Distributed VoD servers for all Regional sites based on demand
SLT will ready to launch IPTV before end of July 2008

Bhathiya said...

Well Done SLT,
Without SLT we couldn't experence Broadband techno in Sri Lanka,
They are Always cheap.
Since this is a 1/2 Gov: institute,still tiny things to be improved, but overall it's a success.
I hope they will offer IPTV for very competitive price,like ADSL, (No one in this world is providing 512kbps line for $20) even Dialog wimax sucks with their fair usage policy that means after exceeding 4GB, bandwidth is shared(even speed drops to 4KB/S)-Price 2500/3500.
Finally, GOOD LUCK SLT

Rasika said...

@thilini,

I dont think you can use the STB outside of SL, let alone out side of the SLT network. the SLT IPTV STB connection will most probably use private-range IP's for their servers like many other pay-tv IPTV providers in the world, which prevents you from using it via the internet.

*private-ip's are

Unknown said...

@Rasika,

OK if you are right, can you please explain how is this IPTV SERVICE (check the blow mentioned web site) working all over the world? Hope you'll give good explanation.

http://www.tamiliptv.tv

sithma said...

Dear Frends
Shall we give our expectations from SLT IPTV
I belive they will consider them in their future plans

Rasika said...

@thilini

first its my fault for not being specific, so let me clear things up.

I'll start with an example; have you heard of joost? (www.joost.com), if not, try it out, its free and its from the people behind skype. There are many public IPTV services out there, which can be used anywhere in the world just like joost.

thats public IPTV - Open Domain, just like free-to-air (FTA) TV.

and then there's private IPTV which are commercial, commonly known as pay tv, just like DTV.

for example, BT Vision, from british telecom is also an IPTV service, but its not free. Most commercial IPTV providers make it impossible for you to use their services outside of their network and outside of the country to prevent external users from exploiting the service. This is mainly because its commercial (not free), region restrictions on content and bandwidth requirements for the internet broadcast.

There are also commercial IPTV providers (like the one you've mentioned) which provide IPTV to all regions. But SLT, just like BT is not one of them. I hope you understand the logic here.

On a separate note, SLT does not have the resources to broadcast their IPTV to the world, this would require them to extend their backbone capacities, which i doubt SLT would do just for IPTV. Broadcasting within their network (local network) does not require an increase in their internet backbone capacities.

All of above information is from my humble knowledge and experience i have with IPTV while i was in the UK and from the line of work i am in. I cannot speak officially for the people inside SLT...

anyways, hope this helps :)

sithma said...

Dear friends Ready for IPTV
Here are some some value added features of SLTIPTV where you donot get in DTV
TSTV
You dont miss your favourite programmes in future. you decide what you want to seeand at what time not the Tv Station
Ex. If you miss 8 o'clock news due to traffic jam but you can rewine live channel back to 8 oclock news and view it.
Grid of all the channels that you want to see
You can see any no of channels(Max no=channel avalable in SLTIPTV) live on your screen by divided vertually (Advanced feature to Picture in Picture fuction)
Wait for more exiting fetures .SLTIPTV will be on commercial ....Wait and see. !!!!!

sithma said...

@ Rasika
you are correct in technically. SLT does not have plance upto now go on globle. That is in considedaration through their own POPs in future.Do you know 10% of our population is living outside the country. Why dont we vertually take on to Srilanka and allow them to taste with Srilankan contents giving some revenue to their mother land.

AI said...

anyone has any clear idea when this dragging service going to be available for customers?? if its ready to go why still there no information about it from SLT ??

Rasika said...

@ ai,

haha, good question, the waiting is killing me.

@ sithma,

well... as long as SLT starts their IPTV ASAP and makes it affordable... i dont really mind whatever they plan to do :)