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One of a kind IPTV course:

Builds a comprehensive understanding of IPTV on top of a students existing expertise of TCPIP, Ethernet & home networking (Course #IC-5401 or prior) experience.

While most of the course covers IPTV in general as a technology, this particular course has a unique added benefit. It provides a complete end-to-end understanding of IPTV while also incorporating the appropriate IPTV related operational issues and configurations within the Comtrend equipment.

For example, IGMP configurations within the Comtrend as they relate to the multicast channels used in  IPTV, assigning physical ports to video or data, ADSL line bit errors using Interleave versus Fast and their impact on data versus IPTV, and troubleshooting tiling making use of the Comtrend management screens and identified errors.

Provides a crystal clear technology & applicational understanding of IPTV, as well as any IPTV-specific issues that relate to the various Comtrend in-home products.

Also ideal as a preparation or follow up to any of the following:

Any IPTV vendor training on:

Middleware, Set Top Box, VOD, EAS, Encryption, Head end multicast IP device, Caller ID, DSLAM, RT, etc.

Course Outline

This course is designed to be the Comtrend customer, IPTV-specific follow up training to our 3-day TCPIP, Ethernet & Home Networking Essentials course. Telecom service providers are commonly implementing IP television via a consortium of vendor products and technologies. These vendor products/applications include IPTV middleware servers, VOD (Video On Demand) servers, head end multicast IP MPEG rate shaping source devices, EAS (Emergency Alert Systems), Caller ID on the TV systems, encryption devices, multicast enabled routers and in some cases, web access and/or “walled garden” from the TV as well.

All of these technologies, products and applications are integrated into a single IPTV service over ADSL 2+ and/or fiber circuits through your telephone company distribution network.

Students leave this class with a crystal clear, comprehensive understanding of IPTV technologies, protocols and associated message events. While all IPTV product configurations will be covered generically, common vendor-agnostic configurations will be identified and explained.

In addition, students return to their workplace with a clear perspective on how IPTV technologies specifically relate to and operate over their customer’s in-home network/Comtrend equipment, internal Telco distribution networks and ADSL2+ and/or fiber circuits. Anyone involved with installing, repairing and/or maintaining IPTV should attend.

The classroom learning environment is maximized by a sophisticated array of video examples of live IPTV networks and in-classroom IPTV equipment. These will be used at appropriate points throughout the course to explain and demonstrate technology details. Detailed, IPTV and Comtrend-specific workbook diagrams are invaluable reference tools both during & after the class.

Dates/Pricing

Who should attend?

Any IPTV professional interested in gaining a crystal clear understanding of IPTV technologies, applications, protocols and troubleshooting.

• Installation and Repair, Help Desk
• Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3
• Engineers, Tech Support
• Network Operations Center, Data Technicians

Note: Managers, Sales or Marketing personnel interested in understanding the technology are also welcome to attend.

Course Details

• Video and Television Fundamentals:
• Traditional analog broadcast TV concepts (black & white, color)
• Video broadcast through air, coax/RF HFC cable plant, 6MHz carrier frequencies.
• Digitizing audio and video
• MPEG compression - MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4
• DVDs and Digital Television - MPEG-2 format
• Digital Television through coax and satellite
• Tiling - how and why does it happen?
• MPEG compression basics as they relate to scene changes and variations within and between frames.
• Variable versus constant bit rate MPEG coding.
• The head end multicast source device that clamps/transrates the variable bit rate MPEG to a constant bit rate at speeds such as 3.2 Meg, 3.5 Meg, 3.7 Meg)
• Why and how is it doing this?
• What are the ramifications to the TV signal resolution and potential for tiling at the various possible rates, etc.?

• IPTV Application Fundamentals and Technology Components:
• Technology components of IP Television and applications
• The set top box, menu guides and functionalities
• Video On Demand (VOD) and Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD)
• General Middleware functionalities & their resulting appearances to the customer
• Web Access from the TV - what are the issues?
• Walled Garden - what are the major applications?
• Caller ID on the TV, pause live television, digital music, Pay Per View
• EAS-Emergency Alert Systems - FIP codes
• Video encryption systems & smart cards, etc.
• Network provider circuits and distribution methods (Fiber, Coax, ADSL, etc.)
• IPTV distribution methods over ADSL circuits
• IPTV distribution methods over fiber circuits
• How are the television channels distributed within these distribution architectures?
• How does the network circuit type bandwidth affect the number of set top boxes, etc.?
• DSLAM to Comtrend modem IPTV operation
• DSLAM - internal ring architecture between DSLAMs
• How are the television channels distributed within the DSLAM architecture?
• What DSLAM configurations directly relate to IPTV operation?

• MPEG Protocols:
• NTSC Composite video
• Component video
• Analog to Digital conversion
• Interlace versus Progressive
• MPEG 1, MPEG2, MPEG 4
• MPEG-2 - how is it used on DVDs today as well as broadcast television?
• MPEG-4 compression rates and differences compared to MPEG-2
• Macroblocks - how does a single bit error affect MPEG communications? Why doesn’t a bit error just throw off a single pixel on the TV screen?
• Why does it take longer to change channels when compared to analog TV?
• Motion Compensation within MPEG
• The need for transrating/clamping
• Transrating - how is it accomplished?
• How are the multicast MPEG streams circulated through a Telco distribution network and then through the Comtrend equipment within the home

• IGMP Protocols:
• Internet Group Management Protocols
• How are IGMP channel changes handled by the local Comtrend modem?
• What are the various scenarios
• What happens when a TV subscriber changes to/ selects a channel whose multicast stream is already being received by that DSLAM from the head end direction?
• What happens when a TV subscriber changes to/ selects a channel whose multicast stream is not being received by that DSLAM from the head end direction?
• What is the process involved within the DSLAM network which eventually brings the stream into that remote DSLAM and that requesting subscriber?
• Multicast groups and host Membership Query messages sent from a host to a router/IGMP Proxy device (a generic DSLAM, RT, etc.)
• How does this work through the Comtrend DSLAM and through the Comtrend modem - what are the various configuration options?
• IMGP Leave Group messages sent from a host to a router/IGMP Proxy device (generic DSLAM, RT, etc.)
• Multicast address ranges 224.0.0.0 - 239.255.255.255
• How are all of these addresses used in IPTV?

• Head End:
• What are the major components
• Decoders and encoders
• Broadcast streams from the studios
• MPEG transcoding
• Potential transporting of multicast IP streams to other service providers
• A clear breakdown of the responsibility and operation of each IPTV product and application.

• Headend Multicast IP Video Transrating Device:
• Technology functions performed, applicational & technology options
• This product is now highlighted and fully explained.
• Examples of vendor products
• The major IPTV-technology related configurations of this particular product are explained.
• Constant vs. variable bitrate MPEG
• How does this device accomplish transrating of the MPEG streams?
• Configuring multicast IP addresses to identify each television station
• Transcoding MPEG-2 into MPEG-4 AVC.
• Using PIDs to uniquely identify a particular multiplexed program in a single broadcast stream
• A complete analysis of the one-way TCPIP protocol messages generated from this device to the set top boxes
• How does this product relate to the other IPTV products and distribution network components?
• Troubleshooting Scenarios

• IPTV Distribution Systems and Networks:
• Legacy ADSL and ADSL 2+
• Video enabled DSLAMs
• IPTV over ADSL
• ADSL modems supporting data and video - major configurations
• Line speed issues as they relate to MPEG rates, and therefore, number of set top boxes and tiling possibilities
• IGMP proxy at the DSLAM
• Channel changing and the effects upstream toward the head end - an ADSL and DSLAM perspective
• IPTV through fiber optic gateways and fiber optic RTs
• Channel changing and the effects upstream toward the head end - a fiber optic gateway and RT perspective
• IP residential gateways (Voice/VOIP, video and data)
• In-home wiring and internal technology communications options
• Multicast enabled routers and their operation with DSLAMs and RTs

• Middleware:
• Technology functions performed, applicational & technology options
• This product is now highlighted and fully explained.
• Examples of vendor products
• The major IPTV-technology related configurations of this particular product are explained
• Channel line-ups, Multicast IP address assignments for TV stations, music channels, EAS systems
• Package creations and feature enabling options
• Set Top Box registrations, assignments, unassignments, limitation and controls of set top boxes as they relate to customer accounts
• How does middleware retrieve and use the program guide information that it eventually communicates to the STB (Tribune Media Services files, etc.)
• Which other IPTV systems and products does middleware interoperate with, when, why and how?
• Middleware to STB operation
• A complete analysis of the important TCPIP protocol exchanges and message events (set top box power up, channel line-up assignments, multicast group announcements, menu guide downloads, VOD and PPV transactions, etc.)
• How does this product relate to the other IPTV products and distribution network components?

• Set Top Box:
• Technology functions performed, applicational & technology options
• This product is now highlighted and fully explained.
• Examples of vendor products
• The major IPTV-technology related configurations of this particular product are explained.
• MPEG protocol decoding functionality within the STB
• MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding (AVC)
• How does the set top box interoperate with the middleware?
• How and during what events does the set top box interoperate with the other IPTV products?
• How are multicast control channels used by other IPTV products to communicate to the STB
• Internet access - Web browsing from and through a STB
• Internet access - Walled garden access from and through a STB
• Memory and processing power issues.
• STB interaction with the encryption device.
• The STB’s role in conditional access.
• Pause Live TV, PVR, etc. issues at the STB
• Audio issues such as SPDIF digital out, alternate languages from the incoming
• MPEG elementary streams, other languages for the GUI
• STB Ethernet issues as they relate to the in-home networks and to the ADSL modem or fiber optic gateway (half duplex vs. full duplex, autosensing, etc.)
• Video specifics - NTSC, RF, composite, component (Pb, Pr, Y), S-video, wide screen, aspect ratios (4:3, 16:9), SDTV, HDTV, etc.
• Setting matching configurations on the TV
• How might a mistake cause black and white only?
• Middleware packaging enforcement at the STB, menu guides, updates
• Channel line-ups at the Set top Box
• A complete analysis of the TCPIP protocol exchanges and message events during STB power up, channel line-up assignments, multicast group announcements, menu guide downloads, VOD and PPV transactions, channel changings/IGMP events, EAS alerts and force tunings, rental record accounts, etc.
• How does the STB connect to and specifically operate through the Comtrend DSLAM platform? Are there any issues of interest?
• Troubleshooting Scenarios

• Video On Demand:
• Technology functions performed, applicational & technology options
• This product is now highlighted and fully explained.
• Examples of vendor products
• The major IPTV-technology related configurations of this particular product are explained.
• VOD, SVOD and live video
• SD, HD formats, MPEG-2, MP3, Mpeg-4, H.264/AVC as it relates to VOD RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol)
• nPVR (network based PVR functionality)
• Conditional access and encryption as it relates to the VOD server
• Unicast versus multicast, internal network bandwidth utilization
• Distributed server clusters, load balancing and reliability
• How does the VOD server interact with the middleware?
• Which other IPTV systems and products does the VOD server interoperate with, when, why and how?
• Customer interactions at the STB and how these events are communicated to the VOD server
• A detailed analysis of the TCPIP protocol exchanges and message events during all VOD transactions - ordering of movies, fast-forward, rewind, pause, play, etc.
• How does this product relate to the other IPTV products and distribution network components?

• Encryption:
• Technology functions performed, applicational & technology options
• This product is now highlighted and fully explained.
• Examples of vendor products
• The major IPTV-technology related configurations of this particular product are explained.
• Encryption’s use of multicast control channels to the set top boxes
• Smart cards
• Where in the network is it being placed?
• What part of the message is encrypted?
• Key generation techniques
• High level industry standard encryption (AES)
• Conditional access
• A detailed analysis of the TCPIP protocols - Multicast control streams from the encryption device to the STB plus encrypted multicast video streams
• How does this product relate to the other IPTV products and distribution network components?
• Troubleshooting Scenarios

• Caller ID:
• Technology functions performed, applicational & technology options
• This product is now highlighted and fully explained.
• Examples of vendor products
• The major IPTV-technology related configurations of this particular product are explained.
• A detailed analysis of the TCPIP messages output to the set top box during Caller ID on TV events
• How does this product relate to the other IPTV products and distribution network components?
• Troubleshooting Scenarios

• Emergency Alert Systems:
• Technology functions performed, applicational & technology options
• This product is now highlighted and fully explained.
• Examples of vendor products
• The major IPTV-technology related configurations of this particular product are explained.
• FIPS codes and issues
• A detailed analysis of the TCPIP protocol exchanges and message events during EAS alerts.
• How does this product relate to the other IPTV products and distribution network components?
• Troubleshooting Scenarios