An article in Light Reading says that Verizon has issued an RFP for set-top boxes and a content protection/digital rights management system for its FiOS TV IPTV service.
Verizon is using Motorola set-top boxes today. Verizon uses an RF feed for its broadcast channels. This requires that the set-top box be a hybrid IPTV/RF cable-like set-top box.
I am currently working on an IPTV forecast that will be released in August. This forecast will show the opportunity for five IPTV product categories that include set-top boxes, content protection/digital rights management systems, access systems, video on demand systems, and middleware software.
The preliminary result from this analysis shows that Verizon will spend well over $1 billion for set-top boxes between 2008 and 2012 and over $50 million for content protection/digital rights management.
Motorola is certainly in a good position to get a piece of this business. I expect that Verizon will select at least one other set-top box manufacturer to keep inject competition. Verizon has three PON vendors today - Tellabs, Motorola, and Alcatel-Lucent.
Verizon started off with the Microsoft cable middleware. It has now taken over the further development of its middleware. I consider Verizon's middleware to be an in house development today.
I believe that Verizon started using Microsoft's content protection/digital rights management system and will replace it as part of this RFP. I believe that Verizon will select a single system. This is a real plum for the content protection/digital rights management system company that wins.
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4 comments:
Bob
are those STBs considered IPTV or cable boxes? i m a little confused...
Ohad,
Verizon's set-top boxes are hybrids that support a cable-like RF video feed for broadcast content along with IPTV for video on demand. Verizon has said told me that it expects to use IPTV for broadcast channels in the future as well.
Bob
so the RFP is for STBs that can do IPTV in mpeg4 hi-def, just like the ones which are sold to AT&T by MOT?
thanks
Ohad,
Close, but not exactly. The ATT set-top boxes do just MPEG-4 IPTV.
The Verizion Set-top boxes will do RF video and MPEG-2 IPTV. At some point I am sure that they will add MPEG-4 as well, but they are MPEG-2 today.
Bob
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