Broadband TV is quietly emerging as a new delivery platform that has all the signs of being able to disrupt the existing players. It is essential to distinguish between IPTV and broadband or web TV. Strictly speaking IPTV is usually a managed service from a telco like BT, Deutsche Telekom or France Telecom, with a set-top box wired into the home. Broadband TV is usually watched over the computer, though devices such as Apple TV and the Windows Media Center are gradually edging this piece of convergence toward the TV.

IPTV neatly packages the available content into manageable portions, while its broadband sibling brings with it both the highs and the lows of the Internet. As is so often the case, the content is there, it’s just that you have to spend some time finding it. You also have to accept that for the time being, broadband TV is going to be a "lean forward" pastime. Devices such as Apple TV mean that sooner or later the family will be able to participate in a shared experience, as a long awaited piece of convergence finally takes its place on the technology roadmap.

Traditional broadcasters are beginning to realize that video-on-demand packages and additional channels for digital viewers are no longer sufficient to remain steady on the multimedia rollercoaster.

They join many would-be broadcasters where the sometimes prohibitive economics of operating a full time channel mean that broadband is the best option.

The problem for broadcasters and viewers alike is that there is currently no single method of presenting the content. While one broadcaster requires you to download an application to view their output, another relies on applications that are standard on most computers. There is of course the issue of Digital Rights Management [DRM], the importance of which broadcasters discovered in dramatic fashion last summer when Microsoft’s Windows Media technology was temporarily compromised. Additionally, there are the inevitable rights issues that require many programs to be restricted geographically to a particular country.

The UK’s five leading broadcasters all have different strategies on how to approach broadband TV delivery. The BBC’s iPlayer seems to be stuck in custard until its technology receives the approval of the BBC Trust and Ofcom (the UK’s Office of Communications). The same can be said for Channel 4. In picking and choosing its public service obligations, Channel 4 has decided to charge for downloads from its 4oD service. It also requires an application to be downloaded – and for the consumer to have the latest PC – to receive the content. Channel 4 has well and truly separated its paid-for video-on-demand service from the live stream of its output.

Moreover, Channel 4’s online service is available only to PC users in the UK and Ireland who have a broadband connection and the Windows XP operating system installed on their machines - not exactly accessible by the masses.

By ensuring that their content is protected, broadcasters are potentially shutting out elements of their audience, at least those who do not upgrade their computers on a regular basis.

DRM is an essential part of rights protection, but in some cases the content is so heavily protected that the percentage of computers capable of running it is drastically reduced. Channel 4 also promotes the connection of the PC to the television set through S-Video and VGA sockets, although only the most modern sets would have these.

Much of the debate surrounding the iPlayer has centered on whether or not the BBC should be involved in the provision of on-demand services in the first place. Surely the discussion should be about the areas of content in which they compete with the commercial sector rather than the means by which it is distributed. The BBC Trust identified the need to explore the reliance on Microsoft DRM. Over the past few months there have been several high profile meetings between senior BBC and Microsoft executives.

In September last year BBC Director General Mark Thompson and BBC Director of New Media and Technology Ashley Highfield signed a memorandum of understanding with Microsoft to “explore opportunities for the delivery and consumption of BBC content and the evolution of next-generation broadcasting.” Although the agreement is non-exclusive, it is a world apart from the platform-neutral approach previously taken by the BBC. The Trust will require the BBC Executive to adopt a “platform agnostic” approach that would include both Apple Mac and Linux platforms.

This is certainly a step away from other broadcasters, including Sky, who have so far taken the Windows Media route for broadband. This concerns the five percent of the public that has invested in Apple Mac equipment.

Then there is the navigation problem. It seemed strange that the BBC might be prevented from bringing together the different elements of video from across its site into a single iPlayer. But this pales into insignificance when you are looking for video content, either in the form of a live stream or a video download. There was a burst of excitement when Google introduced its video indexing tool, but this enthusiasm has subsided in favor of the YouTube phenomena.

As is the case with the rest of the Internet, it helps to know what you are looking for, and if you don’t know it’s there, then the chances of finding it are substantially reduced.

Unlike a standard TV set-up it is impossible to switch channels in a traditional manner if you are required to download a series of separate applications in order to do so.

Companies such as Jalipo and ViewTV are establishing themselves as portals through which viewers can access online broadcast channels. In the case of Jalipo viewers will pay for channels on a pay as you go basis, ideal perhaps for the light television viewer, or someone away from their cable or satellite connection at a vital moment. One feels this is the sort of element that should begin to appear on Internet portals to replace some of the often out of date content that is supposed to encourage the subscriber to return.

These things have a habit of working themselves out. Perhaps viewers will simply gravitate to two or three favorite online channels, reducing their viewing of other outlets, or there will be a coming together of some of the big television brands. Or perhaps a Google will step forward to sort it out for all of us.

The author is Editorial Director and European Digital Analyst for Broadband TV News.