Format-independent media delivery, applied to RTP, MP4, and Ogg

The current multimedia landscape is characterized by a significant heterogeneity in terms of coding and delivery formats, usage environments, and user preferences. This paper introduces a transparent multimedia content adaptation and delivery approach, i.e., model-driven content adaptation and delivery. It is based on a model that takes into account the structural metadata, semantic metadata, and scalability information of media bitstreams. Further, a format-independent multimedia packaging method is proposed based on this model for media bitstreams and MPEG-B BSDL. Thus, multimedia packaging is obtained by encapsulating the selected and adapted structural metadata within a specific delivery format. This packaging process is implemented using XML transformation filters and MPEG-B BSDL. To illustrate this format-independent packaging technique, we apply it to three packaging formats: RTP, MP4, and Ogg

NinSuna: a fully integrated platform for format-independent multimedia content adaptation and delivery using Semantic Web technologies

The current multimedia landscape is characterized by a significant heterogeneity in terms of coding and delivery formats, usage environments, and user preferences. The main contribution of this paper is a discussion of the design and functioning of a fully integrated platform for multimedia adaptation and delivery, called NinSuna. This platform is able to efficiently deal with the aforementioned heterogeneity in the present-day multimedia ecosystem, thanks to the use of format-agnostic adaptation engines (i.e., engines independent of the underlying coding format) and format-agnostic packaging engines (i.e., engines independent of the underlying delivery format). Moreover, NinSuna also provides a seamless integration between metadata standards and adaptation processes. Both our format-independent adaptation and packaging techniques rely on a model for multimedia bitstreams, describing the structural, semantic, and scalability properties of these multimedia streams. News sequences were used as a test case for our platform, enabling the user to select news fragments matching his/her specific interests and usage environment characteristics

Implementation strategies for efficient media fragment retrieval

The current Web specifications such as HTML still treat video and audio resources as 'foreign' objects on the Web, especially lacking a transparent integration with current Web content. The Media Fragments URI specification is part of various efforts at W3C trying to make media a "first class citizen" on the Web. More specifically, with a Media Fragment URI, one can point to a media fragment by means of a URI, enabling people to identify, share, link, and consume media fragments in a standardized way. In this paper, we propose and evaluate a number of implementation strategies for Media Fragments. Additionally, we present two optimized implementation strategies: a Media Fragment Translation Service allowing to keep existing Web infrastructure such as Web servers and proxies and a fully integrated Media Fragments URI server that is independent of underlying media formats. Finally, we show how multiple bit rate media delivery can be deployed in a Media Fragments aware environment, using our Media Fragments URI server

Web Radio Blueprint

The Internet is one of the most significant technological developments in our lifetime, and its impact affects many established technologies and media. Radio is one of the established media revolutionized by the Internet because of the expanding multi-media capabilities, leading the way to a more focused medium when compared to traditional terrestrial radio broadcasting. Radio transmissions over the Internet (Web Radio) offers the opportunity to provide content focused to a “niche” audience, while providing an opportunity for broader operator participation than terrestrial radio. Web Radio is an Information Technology that offers a viable alternative to commercial radio, which has become increasingly consolidated since the Passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Commercial radio consolidation into ten major owners has resulted in less localism, diversity, and competition in radio. Web Radio can restore these elements to the radio industry, assuming policies implemented support the goals of localism, diversity, competition, and interaction. Web Radio is at a critical stage in its development as an Internet supported information technology. Web Radio content providers are facing several significant issues in the economic and regulatory components of their businesses. Web Radio represents a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs and producers to establish viable conduits for the content that they are able to create. It is critical that policies concerning the technical, legal, and operational issues be determined in a way that does not cripple the development of the industry. This thesis provides a blueprint for individuals or organizations that are new to the technology of Web Radio, or would like to review the current state of affairs in the technical and legal components of webcasting. This “Web Radio Blueprint” will assist individuals or organizations with the implementation of webcasting as a way to communicate their music or message to an interested listener. It provides a blueprint for an organization attempting to become an Internet Broadcaster, or add an Internet Broadcasting function to an e-commerce site, by presenting three key areas that should be considered in the organization\u27s plan. These areas include infrastructure technologies used in webcasting, legal obstacles imposed by the 1998 “Digital Millennium Copyright Act” and other rulings, and operational concerns that an e-commerce organization should address

Test bed design for interactive video conference services

In the last decade, telecommunication industry has been widely developed in area of the multimedia interactive services. Actually, there are still emerging new videoconference and instant messaging applications. For the provisioning of multimedia interactive services it is essential to provide a required level of customer satisfaction, given by the end-user quality. The video and audio compression improvement of the newest video coding standards H.264/AVC and AAC allows for providing video and audio streaming for low bit and frame rates while preserving the perceptual quality. This is especially suitable for interactive multimedia applications in 3G wireless networks. The aim of this thesis was to design the ”State of the Art” video conferencing environment supporting H.264/AVC and AAC codecs. Moreover, this environment provides opportunity to analyze end user quality at all layer of OSI model. As a result of this design, we have an open source application, that offers a good quality of image and sound at very low rates (90kbps, 9fps for video) at the same time that reduces the reception delay that now exists in commercial applications

Real-time video streaming using peer-to-peer for video distribution

The growth of the Internet has led to research and development of several new and useful applications including video streaming. Commercial experiments are underway to determine the feasibility of multimedia broadcasting using packet based data networks alongside traditional over-the-air broadcasting. Broadcasting companies are offering low cost or free versions of video content online to both guage and at the same time generate popularity. In addition to television broadcasting, video streaming is used in a number of application areas including video conferencing, telecommuting and long distance education. Large scale video streaming has not become as widespread or widely deployed as could be expected. The reason for this is the high bandwidth requirement (and thus high cost) associated with video data. Provision of a constant stream of video data on a medium to large scale typically consumes a significant amount of bandwidth. An effect of this is that encoding bit rates are lowered and consequently video quality is degraded resulting in even slower uptake rates for video streaming services. The aim of this dissertation is to investigate peer-to-peer streaming as a potential solution to this bandwidth problem. The proposed peer-to-peer based solution relies on end user co-operation for video data distribution. This approach is highly effective in reducing the outgoing bandwidth requirement for the video streaming server. End users redistribute received video chunks amongst their respective peers and in so doing increase the potential capacity of the entire network for supporting more clients. A secondary effect of such a system is that encoding capabilities (including higher encoding bit rates or encoding of additional sub-channels) can be enhanced. Peer-to-peer distribution enables any regular user to stream video to large streaming networks with many viewers. This research includes a detailed overview of the fields of video streaming and peer-to-peer networking. Techniques for optimal video preparation and data distribution were investigated. A variety of academic and commercial peer-to-peer based multimedia broadcasting systems were analysed as a means to further define and place the proposed implementation in context with respect to other peercasting implementations. A proof-of-concept of the proposed implementation was developed, mathematically analyzed and simulated in a typical deployment scenario. Analysis was carried out to predict simulation performance and as a form of design evaluation and verification. The analysis highlighted some critical areas which resulted in adaptations to the initial design as well as conditions under which performance can be guaranteed. A simulation of the proof-of-concept system was used to determine the extent of bandwidth savings for the video server. The aim of the simulations was to show that it is possible to encode and deliver video data in real time over a peer-to-peer network. The proposed system achieved expectations and showed significant bandwidth savings for a sustantially large video streaming audience. The implementation was able to encode video in real time and continually stream video packets on time to connected peers while continually supporting network growth by connecting additional peers (or stream viewers). The system performed well and showed good performance under typical real world restrictions on available bandwith capacity.Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2009.Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineeringunrestricte

Agente de contexto para dispositivos móveis

Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores. Telecomunicações. Universidade do Porto. Faculdade de Engenharia. 201

Capture module for IP Elphel 353 cameras. Evaluation of performance

This project's main objective is to evaluate the performance of the capture made by Elphel 353 camera. The assessment will serve as a starting point for the integration of these cameras in the new Smart room built in the Department of Signal Theory and Communications ,UPC (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya). First the most important properties of the camera and the tools provided by the camera are described, Next, we study how to use these tools to get images in two capture modes, online and offline. Once we know how to get images, we define the methods used for evaluation, finally the capture is evaluated and the results and conclusions are presented