Evaluation of background push content download services to mobile devices over DVB networks

© 2014 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.This paper proposes a multicast content download service based on the use of residual network capacity to push multimedia content to available local storage in personal multimedia devices. The service under study is based on the FLUTE protocol. Specifically, FLUTE packets fill the spare capacity in the IP tunnels reserved for the primary streaming service (opportunistic insertion). The paper also evaluates the use of AL-FEC parity to overcome transmission errors,object multiplexing to send the most popular multimedia contents more frequently and cache management policies that consider user preferences in order to keep in storage the most useful items. The service has been evaluated through simulations and measurements performed with an application prototype based on the DVB-H standards. The results show that AL-FEC enables the use of residual capacity for background content download services. In turn, AL-FEC, as well as object multiplexing, improves the relation between the number of content items and the overall access time. Moreover, results show that high percentages of requests can be served from the local cache of the service, provided that it is possible to estimate the popularity of content items and the user preferences.This work was supported by the PAID-05-12 program of the UniversitatPolitecnica de Valencia.Fraile Gil, F.; De Fez Lava, I.; Guerri Cebollada, JC. (2014). Evaluation of background push content download services to mobile devices over DVB networks. IEEE Transactions on Broadcasting. 60(1):1-15. https://doi.org/10.1109/TBC.2013.2289639S11560

Effect of the FDT transmission frequency for an optimum content delivery using the FLUTE protocol

File Delivery over Unidirectional Transport (FLUTE) is the standard protocol used in unidirectional environments to provide reliability in the transmission of multimedia files. The key element of this protocol is the use of the File Delivery Table (FDT), which is the in-band mechanism used by FLUTE to inform clients about the files (and their characteristics) transmitted within a FLUTE session. Clients need to receive the FDT in order to start downloading files. Thus, the delivery of FDT packets and the proper configuration of their parameters have a great impact on the Quality of Experience perceived by the users of FLUTE content download services. This paper presents a complete analysis about how the FDT transmission frequency affects the download time of files. Moreover, results show which are the optimum values that minimize this download time. An appropriate configuration of the FDT transmission frequency as well as the use of AL-FEC mechanisms provides an optimum content delivery using the FLUTE protocol.This work is supported in part by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of the Government of Spain under project COMINN (IPT-2012-0883-430000) and by the PAID-05-12 program of the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.De Fez Lava, I.; Fraile Gil, F.; Guerri Cebollada, JC. (2013). Effect of the FDT transmission frequency for an optimum content delivery using the FLUTE protocol. Computer Communications. 36(12):1298-1309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comcom.2013.04.008S12981309361

Evaluation of unidirectional background push content download services for the delivery of television programs

Este trabajo de tesis presenta los servicios de descarga de contenido en modo push como un mecanismo eficiente para el envío de contenido de televisión pre-producido sobre redes de difusión. Hoy en día, los operadores de red dedican una cantidad considerable de recursos de red a la entrega en vivo de contenido televisivo, tanto sobre redes de difusión como sobre conexiones unidireccionales. Esta oferta de servicios responde únicamente a requisitos comerciales: disponer de los contenidos televisivos en cualquier momento y lugar. Sin embargo, desde un punto de vista estrictamente académico, el envío en vivo es únicamente un requerimiento para el contenido en vivo, no para contenidos que ya han sido producidos con anterioridad a su emisión. Más aún, la difusión es solo eficiente cuando el contenido es suficientemente popular. Los servicios bajo estudio en esta tesis utilizan capacidad residual en redes de difusión para enviar contenido pre-producido para que se almacene en los equipos de usuario. La propuesta se justifica únicamente por su eficiencia. Por un lado, genera valor de recursos de red que no se aprovecharían de otra manera. Por otro lado, realiza la entrega de contenidos pre-producidos y populares de la manera más eficiente: sobre servicios de descarga de contenidos en difusión. Los resultados incluyen modelos para la popularidad y la duración de contenidos, valiosos para cualquier trabajo de investigación basados en la entrega de contenidos televisivos. Además, la tesis evalúa la capacidad residual disponible en redes de difusión, por medio de estudios empíricos. Después, estos resultados son utilizados en simulaciones que evalúan las prestaciones de los servicios propuestos en escenarios diferentes y para aplicaciones diferentes. La evaluación demuestra que este tipo de servicios son un recurso muy útil para la entrega de contenido televisivo.This thesis dissertation presents background push Content Download Services as an efficient mechanism to deliver pre-produced television content through existing broadcast networks. Nowadays, network operators dedicate a considerable amount of network resources to live streaming live, through both broadcast and unicast connections. This service offering responds solely to commercial requirements: Content must be available anytime and anywhere. However, from a strictly academic point of view, live streaming is only a requirement for live content and not for pre-produced content. Moreover, broadcasting is only efficient when the content is sufficiently popular. The services under study in this thesis use residual capacity in broadcast networks to push popular, pre-produced content to storage capacity in customer premises equipment. The proposal responds only to efficiency requirements. On one hand, it creates value from network resources otherwise unused. On the other hand, it delivers popular pre-produced content in the most efficient way: through broadcast download services. The results include models for the popularity and the duration of television content, valuable for any research work dealing with file-based delivery of television content. Later, the thesis evaluates the residual capacity available in broadcast networks through empirical studies. These results are used in simulations to evaluate the performance of background push content download services in different scenarios and for different applications. The evaluation proves that this kind of services can become a great asset for the delivery of television contentFraile Gil, F. (2013). Evaluation of unidirectional background push content download services for the delivery of television programs [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/31656TESI

An Adaptive Mechanism for Optimal Content Download in Wireless Networks

This paper presents an adaptive mechanism for improving the content download in wireless environments. The solution is based on the use of the file delivery over unidirectional transport (FLUTE) protocol in multicast networks, which reduce considerably the bandwidth when there are many users interested in the same contents. Specifically, the system proposed reduces the average download time of clients within the coverage area, thus improving the Quality of Experience. To that extent, clients send periodically feedback messages to the server reporting the losses they are experiencing. With this information, the server decides which is the optimum application layer forward error correction (AL-FEC) code rate that minimizes the average download time, taking into account the channel bandwidth, and starts sending data with that code rate. The system proposed is evaluated in various scenarios, considering different distributions of losses in the coverage area. Results show that the adaptive solution proposed is very suitable in wireless networks with limited bandwidth.This work is supported in part by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of the Government of Spain under project COMINN (IPT-2012-0883-430000). The associate editor coordinating the review of this manuscript and approving it for publication was Prof. Wenwu Zhu.De Fez Lava, I.; Guerri Cebollada, JC. (2014). An Adaptive Mechanism for Optimal Content Download in Wireless Networks. IEEE Transactions on Multimedia. 16(4):1140-1155. https://doi.org/10.1109/TMM.2014.2307155S1140115516

Overview of evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (eMBMS)

MBMS was introduced as a service to optimize the dissemination of common interest multimedia content. Recently, it evolved to eMBMS based on LTE-centered flexibilities. However, launch of eMBMS over LTE may support new services e.g. pushed content for M2M services and delivery of premium content to the users enjoying secured QoS. This document primarily focusses on the rules, procedures and architecture supporting MBMS based data exchanges, which have not seen any major changes since Release 9

COST EFFICIENT PROVISIONING OF MASS MOBILE MULTIMEDIA SERVICES IN HYBRID CELLULAR AND BROADCASTING SYSTEMS

Uno de los retos a los que se enfrenta la industria de las comunicaciones móviles e inalámbricas es proporcionar servicios multimedia masivos a bajo coste, haciéndolos asequibles para los usuarios y rentables a los operadores. El servicio más representativo es el de TV móvil, el cual se espera que sea una aplicación clave en las futuras redes móviles. Actualmente las redes celulares no pueden soportar un consumo a gran escala de este tipo de servicios, y las nuevas redes de radiodifusión móvil son muy costosas de desplegar debido a la gran inversión en infraestructura de red necesaria para proporcionar niveles aceptables de cobertura. Esta tesis doctoral aborda el problema de la provisión eficiente de servicios multimedia masivos a dispositivos móviles y portables utilizando la infraestructura de radiodifusión y celular existente. La tesis contempla las tecnologías comerciales de última generación para la radiodifusión móvil (DVB-H) y para las redes celulares (redes 3G+ con HSDPA y MBMS), aunque se centra principalmente en DVB-H. El principal paradigma propuesto para proporcionar servicios multimedia masivos a bajo coste es evitar el despliegue de una red DVB-H con alta capacidad y cobertura desde el inicio. En su lugar se propone realizar un despliegue progresivo de la infraestructura DVB-H siguiendo la demanda de los usuarios. Bajo este contexto, la red celular es fundamental para evitar sobre-dimensionar la red DVB-H en capacidad y también en áreas con una baja densidad de usuarios hasta que el despliegue de un transmisor o un repetidor DVB-H sea necesario. Como principal solución tecnológica la tesis propone realizar una codificación multi-burst en DVB-H utilizando códigos Raptor. El objetivo es explotar la diversidad temporal del canal móvil para aumentar la robustez de la señal y, por tanto, el nivel de cobertura, a costa de incrementar la latencia de la red.Gómez Barquero, D. (2009). COST EFFICIENT PROVISIONING OF MASS MOBILE MULTIMEDIA SERVICES IN HYBRID CELLULAR AND BROADCASTING SYSTEMS [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/6881Palanci

MediaSync: Handbook on Multimedia Synchronization

This book provides an approachable overview of the most recent advances in the fascinating field of media synchronization (mediasync), gathering contributions from the most representative and influential experts. Understanding the challenges of this field in the current multi-sensory, multi-device, and multi-protocol world is not an easy task. The book revisits the foundations of mediasync, including theoretical frameworks and models, highlights ongoing research efforts, like hybrid broadband broadcast (HBB) delivery and users' perception modeling (i.e., Quality of Experience or QoE), and paves the way for the future (e.g., towards the deployment of multi-sensory and ultra-realistic experiences). Although many advances around mediasync have been devised and deployed, this area of research is getting renewed attention to overcome remaining challenges in the next-generation (heterogeneous and ubiquitous) media ecosystem. Given the significant advances in this research area, its current relevance and the multiple disciplines it involves, the availability of a reference book on mediasync becomes necessary. This book fills the gap in this context. In particular, it addresses key aspects and reviews the most relevant contributions within the mediasync research space, from different perspectives. Mediasync: Handbook on Multimedia Synchronization is the perfect companion for scholars and practitioners that want to acquire strong knowledge about this research area, and also approach the challenges behind ensuring the best mediated experiences, by providing the adequate synchronization between the media elements that constitute these experiences

Plataformas broadcast/multicast para redes móveis (mobile TV)

Mestrado em Engenharia de Computadores e TelemáticaO MBMS (Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Services), uma evolução das redes UMTS, é um sistema que permite o envio de conteúdo via broadcast e multicast através redes móveis, como por exemplo a video-conferência, partilha de ficheiros e o streaming de áudio e vídeo (Mobile TV). Este envio de informação é do tipo ponto-multiponto, ou seja, existe apenas uma fonte que envia a informação para múltiplos receptores, ao invés do que acontece com as ligacões ponto-a-ponto. Consequentemente, o uso dos recursos da rede é optimizado. Com o MBMS surge uma nova entidade denominada por BM-SC (Broadcast Multicast Service Center) que funciona como uma interface entre os fornecedores de conteúdo e o resto da rede móvel. Esta entidade contém informação relacionada com os serviços disponibilizados pelo operador, os subscritores dos mesmos e desempenha funcionalidades como a autenticação, autorização, facturação, entre outras. O BM-SC está directamente ligado ao GGSN (Gateway GPRS Support Node) através das interfaces Gi (dados) e Gmb (sinalização). A sinalização entre estes dois nós é feita a partir da troca de mensagens AAA (autenticação, autorização e accounting) baseadas no protocolo Diameter. Assim, numa primeira fase, e para além da arquitectura MBMS, esta dissertação aborda o principal objectivo deste trabalho, ou seja, todo o procedimento realizado tendo em vista a implementação da sinalização entre o BM-SC e o GGSN através de uma implementação do protocolo Diameter já existente. Este procedimento engloba inicialmente o estudo do protocolo Diameter, através de uma análise à sua arquitectura e à constituição das mensagens que o mesmo disponibiliza. Após a identificação de todos os procedimentos de sinalização entre o GGSN e o BM-SC, são abordados os passos que conduziram à implementação da interface Gmb através de uma aplicação em linguagem Java baseada numa máquina de estados. Assim, resulta daí uma aplicação onde eventos como o envio ou recepção de mensagens Diameter implicam acções específicas como o processamento da autorização de um utilizador para determinado serviço MBMS. Numa segunda fase, esta dissertação contempla a evolução que hoje em dia se tem vindo a verificar no MBMS através da integração com outras tecnologias. A necessidade desta evolução prende-se com a crescente competição que existe entre o MBMS e outras tecnologias similares, como é o caso do DVB-H, DMB e do MediaFLO, e fundamentalmente pela necessidade de obter uma visão do MBMS para além do 3G, assegurando assim uma maior longevidade da tecnologia. Uma dessas integrações, o IMS-MBMS proposto pelo projecto C-MOBILE e ao qual eu estive ligado, obtém nesta dissertação um maior destaque. Deste modo são abordadas as motivações que estiveram por trás da convergência do IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) com o MBMS, a arquitectura que surge desta convergência e a nova sinalização entre as entidades que resulta da distribuição das funcionalidades do BM-SC pela arquitectura integrada. ABSTRACT: MBMS (Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Services), an enhancement of the UTMS networks, is a system capable of sending both broadcast and multicast content in mobile networks, such as video-conference, file sharing and audio/video streaming (Mobile TV). This data transmission is point-tomultipoint, i.e., there is only one source sending information to multiple receivers, contrary to point-to-point connections. Therefore, the use of network resources is optimized. Along with MBMS comes a new entity called BM-SC (Broadcast Multicast Service Center) that represents an interface between the content providers and the mobile network. This entity contains all the information related to the available services, its subscribers and functionalities such as authentication, authorization, billing, among others. The BM-SC is directly connected to GGSN (Gateway GPRS Support Node) through Gi (data) and Gmb (signalling) interfaces. The signaling process between these two nodes is done through the exchange of AAA (authentication, authorization and accounting) messages based on the Diameter protocol. Therefore, in a first phase, besides the MBMS architecture, this document focuses in the main objective of this work, i.e., the whole process taken to implement the signaling between the BM-SC and the SGSN using an already existing Diameter protocol implementation. This process initially involves the study of the Diameter Protocol, through the analysis of both its architecture and messages. After the identification of all signalling procedures that occur between the GGSN and the BM-SC, the steps that lead to the Gmb interface implementation through a Java application based on a state machine are addressed. Thus, it results an application where events like the sending or reception of Diameter messages involve specific actions like a user authorization procedure for a particular MBMS service. In a second phase, this document describes the evolution that is happening nowadays in MBMS through the integration of other technologies. The need to evolve is due to the growing competition between MBMS and other similar technologies such as DVB-H, DMB and MediaFLO, but mainly because of the need to get a MBMS vision beyond 3G, thus ensuring greater longevity of the technology. One of these integrations, the IMS-MBMS proposal by the C-MOBILE project (on which I was involved), obtains a particular focus on this document. Thus, the motivations behind the IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) and the MBMS convergence, the resulting architecture and the new signaling process between the entities after the redistribution of the BM-SC functionalities among the integrated architecture are dealt with