Efficient multimedia data storage in cloud environment

With the rapid adoption of social media, people are more habituated to utilize the images and video for expressing themselves. Future communication will replace the conventional means of social interaction with the video or images. This, in turn, requires huge data storage and processing power. This paper reports a compression/decompression module for image and video sequences for the cloud computing environment. The reported mechanism acts as a submodule of IaaS layer of the cloud. The compression of the images is achieved using redundancy removal using block matching algorithm. The proposed module had been evaluated with three different video compression algorithms and variable macroblock size. The experimentations has been carried out on a cloud host environment by using VMWarework station platform. Apart from being simple in execution, the proposed module does not incur an additional monetary burden, hardware or manpower to achieve the desired compression of the image data. Experimental analysis has shown a considerable reduction in data storage requirement as well as the processing time.Web of Science39444243

Integrating perceptual, device and location characteristics for wireless multimedia transmission

In this paper,we describe an investigation exploring user experiences of accessing streamed multimedia content, when that content is tailored according to perceptual, device and location characteristics. To this end, we have created pre-defined transmission profiles and stream perceptually tailored multimedia content to three different locations, each characterised by different infotainment requirements. In the light of our results, we propose that multimedia transmission to mobile and wireless devices should be made based on pre-defined profiles, which contains a combination of static (perceptual, device type, CPU speed, and display specifications) and dynamic information (streamed content type location of the device/user, context of the device/user). The evaluation of such a system showed that the users and service providers can gain from such an approach considerably, as user perceptions of quality were not detrimentally affected by QoS degradations. Consequently, service providers can utilise this information to effectively manage local network traffic and bandwidth

Low velocity impact response of rc beam with artificial polyethylene aggregate as concrete block infill

In structural design, an ideal situation for saving materials would be to reduce the weight of the structure without having to compromise on its strength and serviceability. A new lightweight composite reinforced concrete section was developed with a novel use of a lightweight concrete block as infill utilizing Artificial Polyethylene Aggregate (APEA and MAPEA). The concrete near the neutral axis acts as a stress transfer medium between the compression and tension zones. Partial replacement of the concrete near the neutral axis could create a reduction in weight and savings in the use of materials. In this experimental work, APEA and MAPEA were utilized as replacement for normal aggregates (NA) at percentages of 0%, 3%, 6%, and 9%, 12%, and 100% in the concrete mix. In this study, the concrete block infill uses the 100% MAPEA as a replacement for coarse aggregate. A total of sixteen beams were prepared measuring 170 mm × 250 mm × 1000 mm, in which four specimens were used as control samples (NRC) and twelve specimens were the reinforced concrete beam incorporated with different size of concrete block infill (RCAI) consisting of 100% MAPEA. All beams were tested with 100 kg steel weight dropped vertically from a height of 0.6 m and 1.54 m, which was equivalent to 3.5 m/s and 5.5 m/s respectively. Based on the experimental results, the impact force, displacement and crack patterns were affected by the impact load. For RCAI specimens, the impact force was larger but smaller displacement value was observed, compared to the NRC specimens. Furthermore, the width of the cracks generated in the RCAI specimens near the mid-span was less than that on the NRC specimen. All experiment results were validated against FEM. The transient impact force histories, displacement and crack patterns obtained from FEM matched reasonably well with the experiment results. The error reported a range of 1% to 15%. The results showed that the proposed use of concrete block infill produced desirable results under the impact loads. The main advantages of the concrete block infill that utilized MAPEA from waste plastic bags due to the weight reduction about 6% in the concrete beams

Improvement of speed response in four-phase DC–DC converter switching using two shunt voltage-source

This study proposes a technique that is able to improve the speed response of a four-phase DC–DC converter switching. The basic concept of the proposed technique is the inclusion of two shunt-connected voltage sources in series to the converter system. Using a higher input voltage to drive the load, a higher current per microsecond output system will be obtained and reverts to its nominal input upon obtaining desired references. Thus, the transient response observed when using this proposed technique is found to be much faster when compared to the conventional converter. Moreover, this technique is easily implemented as it requires only an additional voltage source, power switch, and power diode. The integrated model of the two shunt voltage-source in a four-phase DC–DC converter was simulated in MATLAB/Simulink and validated against the experimental results of a laboratory prototype, 600 W four-phase DC–DC converter. The novelty of this proposed technique is its ability to provide faster operations for critical loads applications, lower output capacitor and lower operating frequency

Protocols and Methodologies for the Utilization of MPEG-7 in Multimedia Data Storage and Retrieval

This paper endeavors to provide a description of the MPEG-7 standards and their applicability to multimedia data storage and retrieval. The concept of multimedia feature extraction is explored as a foundation for the automated collection of data that may provide adequate descriptors for multimedia source material. A demonstration software tool, the IBM MPEG-7 Annotation Tool, is evaluated to determine the viability of automated video keyframe extraction

Quality of service in distributed multimedia systems

The Unix operating system made a vital contribution to information technology by introducing the notion of composing complicated applications out of simple ones by means of pipes and shell scripts. One day, this will also be possible with multimedia applications. Before this can happen, however, operating systems must support multimedia in as general a way as Unix now supports ordinary applications. Particularly, attention must be paid to allowing the operating-system service to degrade gracefully under heavy loads.\ud This paper presents the Quality-of-Service architecture of the Huygens project. This architecture provides the mechanisms that allow applications to adapt the level of their service to the resources the operating system can make available

Pervasive and standalone computing: The perceptual effects of variable multimedia quality.

The introduction of multimedia on pervasive and mobile communication devices raises a number of perceptual quality issues, however, limited work has been done examining the 3-way interaction between use of equipment, quality of perception and quality of service. Our work measures levels of informational transfer (objective) and user satisfaction (subjective)when users are presented with multimedia video clips at three different frame rates, using four different display devices, simulating variation in participant mobility. Our results will show that variation in frame-rate does not impact a user’s level of information assimilation, however, does impact a users’ perception of multimedia video ‘quality’. Additionally, increased visual immersion can be used to increase transfer of video information, but can negatively affect the users’ perception of ‘quality’. Finally, we illustrate the significant affect of clip-content on the transfer of video, audio and textual information, placing into doubt the use of purely objective quality definitions when considering multimedia presentations

Consumer Protection Policy for Conducting E-Commerce Transactions in Indonesia

A few decades ago, the internet was only known by a handful of people who did have an interest in the world of technology, especially computers. However, with the increasing years and the times, people's interest in the internet is growing rapidly, even the internet has become an inseparable part of their lives. Now the internet is not only entertainment and information; it has even been used as a medium of business and trade known as Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce). E-Commerce is buying and selling carried out via the internet, which can benefit consumers. Still, on the other hand, sometimes it is detrimental to consumers because they often do not get the protection that provides certainty in a dispute. In the E-commerce business transaction, which is a characteristic of business to business transactions where business actors conduct transactions with fellow entrepreneurs, business-to-consumer transactions are carried out by business actors with consumers themselves. The benefits of E-Commerce transactions for consumers, consumers can make transactions for 24 hours without leaving the house and do not require transportation for selling costs. Protection of E-Commerce consumers is regulated in Law Number 8 of 1999 concerning consumer protection for online transactions or E-commerce. In the Trade Law, the regulated E-commerce trading system stipulates that every person or business entity that trades goods or services must provide complete and correct data and information