Microsoft announced that it has improved Mediaroom – making it the first Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) platform to offer virtualisation support. It can deliver up to a sixfold reduction in the number of physical servers required to support a full-featured IPTV service.
Mediaroom IPTV service reportedly provides a platform for small deployments and reduces operator costs to launch and grow IPTV services.
With virtualisation, it is possible to deploy and operate a full Mediaroom-powered TV service for up to 30,000 subscriber homes per market using fewer than 10 physical servers. The company claims that Mediaroom with virtualisation offers the full functionality of Microsoft’s IPTV platform including video on demand, ‘DVR Anywhere’ for viewing and managing recorded shows in any room and ‘Mediaroom Anytime’ for viewing of previously aired programmes or restarting currently airing shows without any digital video recording.
To enable virtualisation in Mediaroom, Microsoft is using Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, Microsoft’s hypervisor-based server virtualisation technology. Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V enables multiple virtual servers to be hosted on the same physical server.
Andreas Mueller-Schubert, general manager for the TV, Video and Music Business of Microsoft, said: Mediaroom with virtualisation provides the industry’s lowest platform footprint for deploying a full IPTV service. Given the pressures of today’s economic environment, the reduction in capital expenditure and ongoing efficiencies make Mediaroom with virtualisation an attractive proposition for operators of all sizes as they launch and grow their IPTV businesses.”
Mediaroom claims to make possible accessing content regardless of location or device. Royce Aslakson, CEO of Reservation Telephone Cooperative, said: “By adding virtualisation support, Microsoft Mediaroom is making the promise of converged entertainment services approachable without the cost and compromise inherent in more piecemeal solutions.”
