CHANNEL SWITCHING METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR IPTV SERVICE

摘要

A channel switching method and system for IPTV for reducing channel switching delay and improving bandwidth utilization efficiency is provided. The channel switching method includes pre-joining candidate channels while playing broadcast data on a main channel, the candidate channels being stored in a candidate channel table; releasing the pre-joined candidate channels, when a channel holding time of the main channel is greater than a predetermined channel holding time level; and re-joining the released candidate channels before a completion of playing the broadcast data on the main channel.