The Internet Streaming Media Alliance (ISMA)--an organization that bills itself as "a global alliance of industry leaders dedicated to the adoption and deployment of open standards for streaming rich media such as video, audio, and associated data over Internet protocols"--has formed an IPTV workgroup. The goals of the workgroup are to monitor developing standards or specifications for deploying an IPTV system, to create an interoperability-conformance program for IPTV, and to promote solutions that pass conformance testing. According to the ISMA, the workgroup will hold monthly meetings, and its activities will include selecting the best standard, "where appropriate for the considered areas when standards are available"; "working closely with other entities to reach a common solution when they are working in a considered area"; "engaging in promotional activities, focused on interoperable open standards that are deployable in this area, and the member products that support them"; and "developing a brand new specification when no solution exists and no other entity is currently working in that area." In a prepared statement, Jean-Francois Fleury, the chairman of the IPTV Workgroup, explained why the ISMA decided to set it up: "IPTV deployments relying on proprietary solutions for one carrier network may not be applicable to another network. This creates additional development and integration costs for all the players such as carriers, headend providers, network equipment providers, and set-top box providers. Recognizing a clear need for standardization in many areas, the ISMA has created an IPTV work group to recognize and promote interoperable solutions where multi- vendor competition can be assured."
Companies currently participating in the IPTV workgroup include AOL, Cisco, Envivio, IBM, Philips, Optibase and Thomson. Companies and individuals interested in participating in the ISMA and its workgroups can find more information on its Web site (www.isma.tv) or by calling 415 561 6276.
