Adaptive video multicast over the Internet

The authors survey existing solutions to adaptive video multicast, providing a taxonomy of solutions according to several distinct features. They also review the principal techniques from both video coding and network transport perspectives. Finally, they discuss the evaluation methodologies and metrics for adaptive video multicast systems.     

Multirate video multicast over the Internet: an overview

Multirate multicast is an effective method for video distribution to a set of heterogeneous receivers. We present a comprehensive survey on multirate video multicast over the best effort Internet. We first review the key techniques in video encoding and network transport, and describe the representative approaches. We then study various trade-offs based on some important design issues and performance criteria, such as bandwidth economy, adaptation granularity, and coding complexity. Finally, we present some ongoing work and discuss possible avenues for future research.     

Fingerprint multicast in secure video streaming.

Digital fingerprinting is an emerging technology to protect multimedia content from illegal redistribution, where each distributed copy is labeled with unique identification information. In video streaming, huge amount of data have to be transmitted to a large number of users under stringent latency constraints, so the bandwidth-efficient distribution of uniquely fingerprinted copies is crucial. This paper investigates the secure multicast of anticollusion fingerprinted video in streaming applications and analyzes their performance. We first propose a general fingerprint multicast scheme that can be used with most spread spectrum embedding-based multimedia fingerprinting systems. To further improve the bandwidth efficiency, we explore the special structure of the fingerprint design and propose a joint fingerprint design and distribution scheme. From our simulations, the two proposed schemes can reduce the bandwidth requirement by 48% to 87%, depending on the number of users, the characteristics of video sequences, and the network and computation constraints. We also show that under the constraint that all colluders have the same probability of detection, the embedded fingerprints in the two schemes have approximately the same collusion resistance. Finally, we propose a fingerprint drift compensation scheme to improve the quality of the reconstructed sequences at the decoder's side without introducing extra communication overhead.     

Resilient peer-to-peer streaming of scalable video over hierarchical multicast trees with backup parent pools

This paper introduces a new cross layer tree-based peer-to-peer design using hierarchical cluster layers and a new method for selection of “backup parent pools” for resilient streaming of scalable video to provide highest quality of experience for all peers. Backup parent pools are selected during the process of multicast tree construction based on information provided by the hierarchical clusters. The proposed tree construction method aims to minimize bottlenecks that may be caused by non-leaf nodes with low upload bandwidth. Performance of the proposed system is demonstrated by extensive test results using a wide range of simulation scenarios. Comparison of the results with those of some recent works indicates that the proposed system is clearly superior in several aspects.     

Video multicast over the Internet

Multicast distribution of video is an important component of many existing and future networked services. The Internet lacks support for quality of service (QoS) assurance, which makes the transmission of real-time traffic challenging. In addition, the heterogeneity of the Internet's transmission resources and end-systems makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to agree on acceptable traffic characteristics among multiple receivers of the same video stream. We survey techniques that have been proposed for transmitting video in this environment. These generally involve adaptation of video traffic carried over the network to match receiver requirements and network conditions. In addition to their applicability to the near-term capabilities of the Internet, they also are of relevance to a future, QoS-aware Internet environment. We first consider source-based techniques in which the source adjusts the video stream traffic to match some consensus among the receivers about its desired characteristics. These techniques can result in an unfair treatment for receivers, especially those whose capability is significantly above or below the group consensus. We then consider techniques that aim to improve the fairness among the receivers by sending the video in multiple (layered or replicated) streams. We also discuss several error control mechanisms, using timely retransmission of missing data to further improve the quality of the received video. Finally, we discuss some of the issues in the development of Internet video multicast protocols     

Layered quality adaptation for Internet video streaming

Streaming audio and video applications are becoming increasingly popular on the Internet, and the lack of effective congestion control in such applications is now a cause for significant concern. The problem is one of adapting the compression without requiring video servers to reencode the data, and fitting the resulting stream into the rapidly varying available bandwidth. At the same time, rapid fluctuations in quality will be disturbing to the users and should be avoided. We present a mechanism for using layered video in the context of unicast congestion control. This quality adaptation mechanism adds and drops layers of the video stream to perform long-term coarse-grain adaptation, while using a TCP-friendly congestion control mechanism to react to congestion on very short timescales. The mismatches between the two timescales are absorbed using buffering at the receiver. We present an efficient scheme for the distribution of available bandwidth among the active layers. Our scheme allows the server to trade short-term improvement for long-term smoothing of quality. We discuss the issues involved in implementing and tuning such a mechanism, and present our simulation results     

End-to-end TCP-friendly streaming protocol and bit allocation for scalable video over wireless Internet

With the convergence of wired-line Internet and mobile wireless networks, as well as the tremendous demand on video applications in mobile wireless Internet, it is essential to an design effective video streaming protocol and resource allocation scheme for video delivery over wireless Internet. Taking both network conditions in the Internet and wireless networks into account, in this paper, we first propose an end-to-end transmission control protocol (TCP)-friendly multimedia streaming protocol for wireless Internet, namely WMSTFP, where only the last hop is wireless. WMSTFP can effectively differentiate erroneous packet losses from congestive losses and filter out the abnormal round-trip time values caused by the highly varying wireless environment. As a result, WMSTFP can achieve higher throughput in wireless Internet and can perform rate adjustment in a smooth and TCP-friendly manner. Based upon WMSTFP, we then propose a novel loss pattern differentiated bit allocation scheme, while applying unequal loss protection for scalable video streaming over wireless Internet. Specifically, a rate-distortion-based bit allocation scheme which considers both the wired and the wireless network status is proposed to minimize the expected end-to-end distortion. The global optimal solution for the bit allocation scheme is obtained by a local search algorithm taking the characteristics of the progressive fine granularity scalable video into account. Analytical and simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed schemes.     

改善Internet视频流QoS的途径和方法

在当前Internet的尽力而为的服务模式下，网络拥塞和分组丢失不可避免，视频流必须使用有效的拥塞控制和差错控制来改善性能，本文分析了Internet视频流QoS影响因素，提出了两种QoS解决方案，基于终端和基于网络，并着重讨论了基于终端的QoS解决方案，在目前的环境下，基于终端的QoS解决方案更具可行性。     

Rate control for streaming video over wireless

Rate control is an important issue in video streaming applications for both wired and wireless networks. A widely accepted rate control method in wired networks is TCP-friendly rate control (TFRC) (Floyd, 2000). It is equation-based rate control in which the TCP-friendly rate is determined as a function of packet loss rate, round-trip time, and packet size. TFRC assumes that packet loss in wired networks is primarily due to congestion, and as such is not applicable to wireless networks in which the main cause of packet loss is at the physical layer. In this article we review existing approaches to solve this problem. Then we propose multiple TFRC connections as an end-to-end rate control solution for wireless video streaming. We show that this approach not only avoids modifications to the network infrastructure or network protocol, but also results in full utilization of the wireless channel. NS-2 simulations, actual experiments over a 1/spl times/RTT CDMA wireless data network, and video streaming simulations using traces from the actual experiments are carried out to characterize the performance and show the efficiency of our proposed approach.     

Proxy caching for media streaming over the Internet

Streaming media has contributed to a significant amount of today's Internet traffic. Like conventional Web objects (e.g., HTML pages and images), media objects can benefit from proxy caching; but their unique features such as huge size and high bandwidth demand imply that conventional proxy caching strategies have to be substantially revised. This article discusses the critical issues and challenges of cache management for proxy-assisted media streaming. We survey, classify, and compare the state-of-the-art solutions. We also investigate advanced issues of combining multicast with caching, cooperating among proxies, and leveraging proxy caching in overlay networks.     

Continuous multicast push of Web documents over the Internet

The success of the World Wide Web has led to a steep increase in the user population and the amount of traffic on the Internet. Popular Web pages create “hot spots” of network load due to their great demand for bandwidth and increase the response time because of the overload on the Web servers. We propose the distribution of very popular and frequently changing Web documents using continuous multicast push. The benefits of CMP in the case of such documents are a very efficient use of network resources, a reduction of the load on the server, lower response times, and scalability for an increasing number of receivers. We present a quantitative evaluation of the continuous multicast push for a wide range of parameters     

Shielding video streaming against packet losses over VANETs

Vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs) are being widely adopted in the last few years. This type of network enables the utilization of a large diversity of distributed applications, such as road and traffic alerts, autonomous driving capabilities and video distribution. Video applications can be considered one of the most demanding services because it needs a steady and continuous flow of information. This presents a set of challenges to VANETs considering their scarce network resources due to the vehicle movement and time-varying wireless channels. Considering the above mentioned issues, an adaptive quality of experience (QoE)-driven mechanism is needed to provide live transmission capabilities to video-equipped vehicles. This mechanism has to overcome the challenges to grant a high-quality video transmission without adding any unnecessary network overhead. To this end, a forward error correction (FEC) technique can be adapted to enhance the video distribution, leading to higher QoE for end users. The proposed self-adaptive FEC-based mechanism (SHIELD) uses several video characteristics and specific VANETs details to safeguard real-time video streams against packet losses. One of the main contributions of this work is the combined used of network density, signal-to-noise ratio, packet loss rate, and the vehicle’s position. This allows SHIELD to better protect the video sequences and enhance the QoE. In doing that, we are able to improve the user experience, while saving network resources. The advantages and drawbacks of the proposed mechanism are demonstrated through extensive experiments and assessed with QoE metrics, proving that it outperforms both adaptive and non-adaptive mechanisms.     

Transmission algorithm for video streaming over cellular networks

2.5G and 3G cellular networks are becoming more widespread and the need for value added services increases rapidly. One of the key services that operators seek to provide is streaming of rich multimedia content. However, network characteristics make the use of streaming applications very difficult with an unacceptable quality of service (QoS). The 3GPP standardization body has standardized streaming services that will benefit operators and users. There is a need for a mechanism that will enable a good quality multimedia streaming that uses the 3GPP standard. This paper describes an adaptive streaming algorithm that uses the 3GPP standard. It improves significantly the QoS in varying network conditions while monitoring its performance using queueing methodologies. The algorithm utilizes the available buffers on the route of the streaming data in a unique way that guarantees high QoS. The system is analytically modeled: the streaming server, the cellular network and the cellular client are modeled as cascaded buffers and the data is sequentially streamed between them. The proposed Adaptive streaming algorithm (ASA) controls these buffers’ occupancy levels by controlling the transmission and the encoding rates of the streaming server to achieve high QoS for the streaming. It overcomes the inherent fluctuations of the network bandwidth. The algorithm was tested on General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) and Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) networks. The results showed substantial improvements over other standard streaming methods used today.     

Energy-efficient video streaming over Bluetooth using rateless coding

Energy-efficient error control for IEEE 802.15.1 (Bluetooth) video communication is proposed. The scheme is based on block-oriented incremental redundancy provided by rateless coding and receiver feedback. Results are presented for time-sensitive video streaming applications under a Markovian channel model. When the proposed algorithm is compared to variations of Bluetooth forward error control, there are improvements of around 3 dB in received video quality and of over 10% in energy efficiency.     

Optimized video streaming over 802.11 by cross-layer signaling

Seamless video streaming over wireless links imposes strong demands on video codecs and the underlying network. It is not sufficient that only the video codec or only the radio adapts to changes in the wireless link quality; efforts should be applied in both layers, and - if possible - synchronized. Also, the disturbing effect of possible background traffic over the same shared medium has to be taken into account. In this article we present a communication architecture for video streaming over 802.11 that is capable of adapting to changes in the link quality and sharing of the wireless channel in various use scenarios. Experimental results show that substantial improvements in the quality of the video can be obtained by applying link adaptation and cross-layer signaling techniques.     

Adaptive tree-based P2P video streaming multicast system under high peer-churn rate

This paper presents an adaptive tree-based P2P video streaming multicast system under high peer-churn rate. Because peers typically display dynamic and unstable behavior during the session, a P2P video streaming multicast tree must take into account both the link delay and peer stability in order to provide a seamless video streaming multicast service with low delay. Hence, we need to adaptively update the multicast tree according to its time-varying environments in order to obtain an effective tradeoff between the delay of the tree and the relative peer stability over multicast tree. Finally, simulation results are provided to demonstrate the performance of the proposed system.     

Application layer forward error correction for multicast streaming over LTE networks

The next step beyond third generation mobile networks is the Third Generation Partnership Project standard, named Long Term Evolution. A key feature of Long Term Evolution is the enhancement of multimedia broadcast and multicast services (MBMS), where the same content is transmitted to multiple users located in a specific service area. To support efficient download and streaming delivery, the Third Generation Partnership Project included an application layer forward error correction (AL‐FEC) technique based on the systematic fountain Raptor code, in the MBMS standard. To achieve protection against packet losses, Raptor codes introduce redundant packets to the transmission, that is, the forward error correction overhead. In this work, we investigate the application of AL‐FEC over MBMS streaming services. We consider the benefits of AL‐FEC for a continuous multimedia stream transmission to multiple users and we examine how the amount of forward error correction redundancy can be adjusted under different packet loss conditions. For this purpose, we present a variety of realistic simulation scenarios for the application of AL‐FEC and furthermore we provide an in‐depth analysis of Raptor codes performance introducing valuable suggestions to achieve efficient use of Raptor codes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application-driven cross-layer optimization for video streaming over wireless networks

Mobile multimedia applications require networks that optimally allocate resources and adapt to dynamically changing environments. Cross-layer design (CLD) is a new paradigm that addresses this challenge by optimizing communication network architectures across traditional layer boundaries. In this article we discuss the relevant technical challenges of CLD and focus on application-driven CLD for video streaming over wireless networks. We propose a cross-layer optimization strategy that jointly optimizes the application layer, data link layer, and physical layer of the protocol stack using an application-oriented objective function in order to maximize user satisfaction. In our experiments we demonstrate the performance gain achievable with this approach. We also explore the trade-off between performance gain and additional computation and communication cost introduced by cross-layer optimization. Finally, we outline future research challenges in CLD.     

一个基于速率控制的Internet视频流服务方案

由于视频流服务对于网络服务质量有着较高的要求,而现有的Internet所提供的是尽力而为的服务,无法保证数据的实时传输。该文设计了一个用于Internet上视频流的端到端传输方案.整个方案设计的目的是在网络本身缺乏服务质量保证的条件下尽可能达到最好的视频传输质量。根据可用带宽估计和网络信息反馈,系统对发送速率进行调整,并提供两种视频流服务:存储视频和实时视频。仿真结果表明方案的性能良好,能满足Internet视频流的需求。     

基于Internet的实时视频信号传输研究进展

随着Internet带宽和计算机处理能力的迅速提高,实时Internet视频传输在科研和工业领域引起了极大的研究兴趣。本文介绍了实时Internet视频传输的基本方法,针对Internet分组的丢失特性,讨论了具有差错复原能力的视频压缩与编码技术,详细介绍了Internet视频传输的信源／信道联方编码技术,并对今后的研究方向进行了概括的描述。