Tuesday, October 21, 2008

ATIS Releases Initialization and Discovery Standard

ATIS released a standard created by the ATIS IPTV Interoperability Forum (IIF): Network Attachment and Initialization of Devices and Client Discovery of IPTV Services (ATIS-0800017). This document specifies the initial set of activities that prepare devices in the consumer domain to receive and consume IPTV services. It is a foundation specification addressing fundamentals such as the initialization and attachment phases for the Delivery (home) Network Gateway (DNG) and the IPTV Terminal Function (ITF), which includes the set top box. Comprehensively, it covers network attachment, service provider discovery, service provider attachment and services discovery procedures.

Through addressing basic issues such as how an IPTV terminal connects to the network, helping the system know which service providers are available there and the services they offer, as well as allowing connection to these providers and offerings, ATIS-0800017 is the beginning of a suite of standards that will enable interoperability starting with a simplified user experience for IPTV service attachment. Soon to follow will be a specification enabling access to linear television services—television as we know it today—through a managed IP network.

This appears to be a sound piece of foundation work. It will be interesting to see how it finds its way into established IPTV systems.

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