IFCS: an intelligent fast channel switching in IPTV over PON based on human behavior prediction

Channel switching time in IPTV services is a major parameter to satisfy IPTV users. As users receive their requested TV channels sooner, they will be highly satisfied. The switching time of channels in IPTV depends on many parameters such as user bandwidth and channel quality. Based on users’ behaviors, Intelligent Fast Channel Switching (IFCS) technique is proposed in this paper to reduce the channel switching time in IPTV over Passive Optical Networks (PONs). The main idea of IFCS is to provide the channel traffic in advance for the user who wishes to watch the channel in the next few moments. Analyzing users behaviors and obtaining their preferences of watching channels, IFCS can reduce the waiting time of users by receiving their favorite channels traffic before their requests. This is possible by creation of users special favorite channels lists and then providing their favorite channels before their requests. Our performance evaluation results show that IFCS can decrease channel switching time at the expense of little increase in network overhead.