Program-driven approach to reduce latency during surfing periods in IPTV networks

Nowadays, using delay sensitive services such as IPTV is rapidly growing. Unlike traditional TV that supports a limited number of channels due to the fixed radio frequency bandwidth, IPTV can support hundreds of channels through IP networks. However, finding a desired IPTV channel among hundreds of channels is a difficult and time consuming issue. To solve this problem, we propose two novel methods to reduce channel surfing period. The first method is channel number-based and is called the Program-Driven Channel Switching (PDCS) method. The second method is popularity-based and is called the Program-Driven with Weight (PDW) method. It is noted that the number of channel switches has a main effect on the channel surfing period. Our proposed methods are based on programs; i.e., program-driven methods. In these methods, instead of choosing channels, users select their desired programs by which they can reach the desired channels that play the programs. Note that a user likes to watch his/her desired program independent of the channel number. Simulation results show that the proposed methods can reduce the number of channel switches; thus reducing the latency for channel surfing period.