Iptv & Matv

[Outlaw]

Okay guys and gals... anyone have any experience with these technologies?

My wife is looking at a system from Japan that basically hooks up to an aerial and adsl connection in her fathers house in Japan and then with a similar box here at home can access all the japanese tv stations broadcast.

Only a couple companies offering this... and basically can buy the box outright and set it up ourselves (difficult option as her family are clueless with this stuff). Or pay a monthly fee on a min. 12 month contract and they host it but don't own the box obviously.

So basically anyone have experience and used these systems before who can comment on how well they work before we get locked into a contract ;)

Cheers in advance

Oh and for those who're curious :D

IPTV: IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is a system where a digital television service is delivered using the Internet Protocol over a network infrastructure, which may include delivery by a broadband connection

MATV: Master Antenna TV. The classic TV broadcasting system where antennas are used for transmitting and receiving TV programs.

[jik22]

IPTV has been around commercially for years. Recently, the codec have got better, so the bandwidth usage has dropped to the point where it's now viable to do what is being advertised.

There are similar boxes from most of the media streaming companies, and I've often thought about plugging one into the MIL's TV back in the UK and streaming it to mine here.

However, check what kind of b/w they do use - most tariffs here are still limited or expensive or both, and streaming media will still use a chunk if you want half decent quality.

Other thing to check is whether the DSL connection at both ends (Though I suspect Japan will be fine) is up to it. If you're on a cheap, slow service, you risk getting stuttering video unless the box downloads it all and then streams form a disk like TiVO in the US and the HDD recorders here.

See if the rented option has a trial period - then, even if you liek it, you can cancel and buy outright once you know it works, if that's your preferred option.

[Outlaw]

Only needs about 312k and i'm currently running 1500 so that should be fine... like you said though, am waiting on a reply in terms of typical download needed. Have 45gb at the moment but was thinking of downgrading to offsett the cost of getting this a bit ;)

[jik22]

Only needs about 312k and i'm currently running 1500 so that should be fine... like you said though, am waiting on a reply in terms of typical download needed. Have 45gb at the moment but was thinking of downgrading to offsett the cost of getting this a bit ;)

Well, if you think an hours TV encoded in a MP4/DivX type format is OK quality wise and can run anything from 350-700MB in file size, that will give you an idea.