Implications of Implementing HDTV Over Digital Subscriber Line Networks

This thesis addresses the different challenges a telecommunications company would face when trying to implement an HDTV video service over a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connection. Each challenge is discussed in detail and a technology, protocol, or method is suggested to overcome that particular challenge. One of the biggest challenges is creating a network architecture that can provide enough bandwidth to support video over a network that was originally designed for voice traffic. The majority of the network connections to a customer premises in a telephony network consists of a copper pair. This type of connection is not optimal for high bandwidth services. This limitation can be overcome using Gigabit Ethernet (GE) over fiber in the core part of the network and VDSL2 in the access part of the network. For the purposes of this document, the core portion of the network is considered to be an area equal to several counties or approximately 50 miles in radius. The core network starts at the primary central office (CO) and spreads out to central offices in suburbs and small towns. The primary central office is a central point in the telecom operator\u27s network. Large trunks are propagated from the primary central office to smaller central offices making up the core network. The access portion of the network is considered to be an area within a suburb or small town from the central office to a subscriber\u27s home. Appendix A, located on page 60, contains a network diagram illustrating the scope of each of the different portions of the network. Considerations must also be given for the internal network to the residence such as category 5 (Cat5) cable or higher grade and network equipment that can provide up to 30 Megabits per second (Mbps) connections or throughput. The equipment in the telecommunications network also plays a part in meeting the challenge of 30 Mbps bandwidth. GE switches should be used with single mode fiber optic cable in the core part of the network. Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexers (DSLAM) with the capability to filter Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) messages should be used in the access part of the network to facilitate bandwidth utilization. Placement of this equipment and how the data is aggregated is another issue to consider when implementing HDTV service. Another major challenge facing the implementation of HDTV over DSL networks is controlling quality of service (QoS) throughout the network. Class of Service (CoS) and Differentiated Services (DiffServ) is a method of QoS that would enable video packets to have a higher priority and less delay than other data packets. The consumer could have data, video, and voice traffic all over the same DSL connection. Data, video and voice packets would need to have a different priority in order to maintain appropriate QoS levels for each service. The use of advanced technology in video encoding will be essential to the success of the video service. MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and Windows Media 9 are just a few of the video encoding technologies that could be used to reduce the necessary bandwidth for HDTV. The advancement of this technology is essential to allow telecommunications providers to offer HDTV. Another challenge for the telecom operator concerns the security of the network and service after implementation. Theft of service will be another area that the telecomm operator will be forced to resolve. The cable operators currently face this issue and lose millions of dollars in revenue. Authentication, IP filtering and MAC address blocking are a few possible solutions to this problem

An overview of new video techniques

Current video transmission and distribution systems at CERN use a variety of analogue techniques which are several decades old. It will soon be necessary to replace this obsolete equipment, and the opportunity therefore exists to rationalize the diverse systems now in place. New standards for digital transmission and distribution are now emerging. This paper gives an overview of these new standards and of the underlying technology common to many of them. The paper reviews Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB), the Motion Picture Experts Group specifications (MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, and MPEG7), videoconferencing standards (H.261 etc.), and packet video systems, together with predictions of the penetration of these standards into the consumer market. The digital transport mechanisms now available (IP, SDH, ATM) are also reviewed, and the implication of widespread adoption of these systems on video transmission and distribution is analysed

DSL-based triple-play services

This research examines the triple play service based on the ADSL technology. The voice over IP will be checked and combined with the internet data by two monitoring programs in order to examine the performance that this service offers and then will be compared with the usual method of internet connection.This research examines the triple play service based on the ADSL technology. The voice over IP will be checked and combined with the internet data by two monitoring programs in order to examine the performance that this service offers and then will be compared with the usual method of internet connection.

Linux-Box: DVB and VoD streaming over local area networks

Aquest treball tracta sobre un projecte comú anomenat Linux-Box portat a terme per diferents persones al departament de Telecomunicacions (IET) de la Universitat de Pisa. Linux-Box és un sistema dotat amb targetes TDT (DVB-T) i de televisió per satèl·lit (DVB-S) que permet transmetre aquests senyals fins a un àmbit domèstic. Més endavant podria ser utilitzat en àmbits privats com les cases de clients o en institucions públiques com escoles, universitats, biblioteques i també seria possible en àmbits empresarials. El projecte està dividit en 4 apartats: 1. Ubuntu 6.06 LTS. Explica perquè s’utilitza Ubuntu en el projecte. A més també s’explica de forma breu que és Linux i les distribucions més utilitzades. 2. Multimedia Network Protocols: s’expliquen els diferents protocols desde la capa de xarxa fins la capa d’aplicació que s’utilitzen en el projecte Linux-Box. Aquests protocols són utilitzats tant en streaming, com en anunciació, unicast/multicast, encapsulat de vídeo i codecs. Els diversos temes tractats aquí es fan amb el propòsit de comparar i no només com a recerca teòrica. A la fi es veuen els programes utilitzats en el projecte per analitzar el tràfic de la xarxa. 3. Linux-Box: s’explica el funcionament i els objectius globals del projecte. Es dedica un sub-apartat a “VideoLan - VLC” part important a nivell de sofware. Més endavant es parla de les característiques de la Linux-Box de forma acurada: streaming de VoD i senyals de TV i s’analitzen els problemes coneguts i les seves solucions proposades. A la fi s’enumeren els llenguatges de programació utilitzats al projecte i en quina part s’utilitzen. Observarem que és una aplicació on diversos llenguatges de programació estan contínuament solapats. 4. Developed Part: es posa en pràctica la teoria estudiada a la resta del treball. Està dividida en 4 seccions: Desenvolupar una aplicació en codi C per convertir la llista de Canals (tant terrestre com de satèl·lit) en format XML. Una secció dedicada al streaming de Canals de TV a la pàgina web principal. Un anàlisis profund dels paquets creats per la Linux-Box i la seva activitat a la xarxa. Finalment s’analitzen els diferents scripts i les seves configuracions. Alguns són útils per a un futur desenvolupament i d’altres s’utilitzen en seccions prèvies. 5. Conclusions: conté les conclusions i línies futures. El projecte compta amb diverses opcions que encara poden ser implementades i estudiades. Aquí exposem les nostres interpretacions i possibles línies futures d’estudi

Linux-Box: DVB and VoD streaming over local area networks

Aquest treball tracta sobre un projecte comú anomenat Linux-Box portat a terme per diferents persones al departament de Telecomunicacions (IET) de la Universitat de Pisa. Linux-Box és un sistema dotat amb targetes TDT (DVB-T) i de televisió per satèl·lit (DVB-S) que permet transmetre aquests senyals fins a un àmbit domèstic. Més endavant podria ser utilitzat en àmbits privats com les cases de clients o en institucions públiques com escoles, universitats, biblioteques i també seria possible en àmbits empresarials. El projecte està dividit en 4 apartats: 1. Ubuntu 6.06 LTS. Explica perquè s’utilitza Ubuntu en el projecte. A més també s’explica de forma breu que és Linux i les distribucions més utilitzades. 2. Multimedia Network Protocols: s’expliquen els diferents protocols desde la capa de xarxa fins la capa d’aplicació que s’utilitzen en el projecte Linux-Box. Aquests protocols són utilitzats tant en streaming, com en anunciació, unicast/multicast, encapsulat de vídeo i codecs. Els diversos temes tractats aquí es fan amb el propòsit de comparar i no només com a recerca teòrica. A la fi es veuen els programes utilitzats en el projecte per analitzar el tràfic de la xarxa. 3. Linux-Box: s’explica el funcionament i els objectius globals del projecte. Es dedica un sub-apartat a “VideoLan - VLC” part important a nivell de sofware. Més endavant es parla de les característiques de la Linux-Box de forma acurada: streaming de VoD i senyals de TV i s’analitzen els problemes coneguts i les seves solucions proposades. A la fi s’enumeren els llenguatges de programació utilitzats al projecte i en quina part s’utilitzen. Observarem que és una aplicació on diversos llenguatges de programació estan contínuament solapats. 4. Developed Part: es posa en pràctica la teoria estudiada a la resta del treball. Està dividida en 4 seccions:  Desenvolupar una aplicació en codi C per convertir la llista de Canals (tant terrestre com de satèl·lit) en format XML.  Una secció dedicada al streaming de Canals de TV a la pàgina web principal.  Un anàlisis profund dels paquets creats per la Linux-Box i la seva activitat a la xarxa.  Finalment s’analitzen els diferents scripts i les seves configuracions. Alguns són útils per a un futur desenvolupament i d’altres s’utilitzen en seccions prèvies. 5. Conclusions: conté les conclusions i línies futures. El projecte compta amb diverses opcions que encara poden ser implementades i estudiades. Aquí exposem les nostres interpretacions i possibles línies futures d’estudi

Multimedia Networks: Fundamentals and Future Directions

Multimedia has become an integral part of computing and communications environment, and networks are carrying ever-increasing volume of multimedia information. The main characteristics of multimedia information are high-volume and bursty traffic, with low tolerance to delay and delay variance. The legacy networks (designed in 70s and 80s) are not able to meet these requirements. Enhancements to the older networking technologies have been developed to convert these into multimedia networks. Enhancements to LANs include Switched Ethernet, Isochronous Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, 100VGAnyLAN, FDDI-II, and Synchronous FDDI. WAN options for multimedia networking include digital leased lines and ISDN. The Internet has revolutionized business and personal communications, but falls short of being a genuine multimedia network. To make the Internet capable of carrying multimedia traffic, new protocols such as MBone, ST-II, RTP, and RSVP have been developed. Internet2 is a new initiative that is aimed at overcoming the problems of throughput, delay and jitter encountered on the original Internet. One technology that was developed with multimedia networking as one of its main applications, is the Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology. Upcoming Gigabit Ethernet technology will provide a path for upgrading current Ethernet networks into multimedia networks

Live Broadcasting of High Definition Audiovisual Content Using HDTV over Broadband IP Networks

The current paper focuses on validating an implementation of a state-of-the art audiovisual (AV) technologies setup for live broadcasting of cultural shows, via broadband Internet. The main objective of the work was to study, configure, and setup dedicated audio-video equipment for the processes of capturing, processing, and transmission of extended resolution and high fidelity AV content in order to increase realism and achieve maximum audience sensation. Internet2 and GEANT broadband telecommunication networks were selected as the most applicable technology to deliver such traffic workloads. Validation procedures were conducted in combination with metric-based quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE) evaluation experiments for the quantification and the perceptual interpretation of the quality achieved during content reproduction. The implemented system was successfully applied in real-world applications, such as the transmission of cultural events from Thessaloniki Concert Hall throughout Greece as well as the reproduction of Philadelphia Orchestra performances (USA) via Internet2 and GEANT backbones

Integrated Home Server

Since the advent of the microprocessor in the 1970s, the market for consumer electronics has exploded with new devices changing the way we live and do business. Today, mobile phones, cameras, PCs, iPads, mp3 players, network media players, security systems, automation and IT systems, all have common functionality and there is an increasing need for unification of access to all these devices around a common server based architecture to unlock the benefits of smart integration and to simplify access for the end user. IHS project is designed to provide to its business and home owners a unified network for all IT and electronic systems within a home or an office. This system integrates security, surveillance, access and attendance, home automation, audio and video players, File Server, Email Server, SMS Server (Texting), HTTP Proxy Server, DHCP Server, a caching DNS Server, Web Server and an internet gateway with an automatic virus scanner. In fact, it is a comprehensive system that completely governs a place wherever it is installed and provides integrated remotely accessible infrastructure for a Home or Business. Access to all home and business systems is available from any computer on the LAN, the internet and mobile phone. IHS is built around the Gateman Lifestyle Server which uses the robust Enterprise Linux Kernel CEntOS 5 and is written in Java. It can be accessed from Windows, MAC, Linux machines and i-phones as well as from any device that has a Java script enabled web browser. The device driver architecture allows additional electronic hardware to be incorporated making it relevant and extendable well into the future