Real-time resource availability signaling in IP multimedia subsystem networks

IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) allows the use of unlicensed, non-dedicated and nondeterministic access networks for delivering IP multimedia services. Providing end-to-end Quality-of-Service (QoS) for resource demanding real-time services (e.g. real-time multimedia) over such networks is a challenging task due to varying resource availability of the network and the end-devicei during a single sessionii. A common solution to this problem is adapting service quality and type according to availability of system resources, which requires end-to-end monitoring and signaling of resource availability during a single session. This paper presents an extension of the IMS architecture for real-time resource availability monitoring and signaling. The novelty of the proposed extension is twofold. It takes into account uncontrolled access networks with no resource reservation on the one hand, and end devices on the other. Two system architecture components are introduced for monitoring and signaling of the real-time resource availability in both networks (e.g. bandwidth, buffer space), and end-devices (e.g. battery, CPU, memory, storage), namely a Resource Manager (RM) and a Resource Availability Server (RAS). Our solution does not require any modifications of the IMS architecture and can be implemented as a plug-in

Multimedia delivery in the future internet

The term “Networked Media” implies that all kinds of media including text, image, 3D graphics, audio and video are produced, distributed, shared, managed and consumed on-line through various networks, like the Internet, Fiber, WiFi, WiMAX, GPRS, 3G and so on, in a convergent manner [1]. This white paper is the contribution of the Media Delivery Platform (MDP) cluster and aims to cover the Networked challenges of the Networked Media in the transition to the Future of the Internet. Internet has evolved and changed the way we work and live. End users of the Internet have been confronted with a bewildering range of media, services and applications and of technological innovations concerning media formats, wireless networks, terminal types and capabilities. And there is little evidence that the pace of this innovation is slowing. Today, over one billion of users access the Internet on regular basis, more than 100 million users have downloaded at least one (multi)media file and over 47 millions of them do so regularly, searching in more than 160 Exabytes1 of content. In the near future these numbers are expected to exponentially rise. It is expected that the Internet content will be increased by at least a factor of 6, rising to more than 990 Exabytes before 2012, fuelled mainly by the users themselves. Moreover, it is envisaged that in a near- to mid-term future, the Internet will provide the means to share and distribute (new) multimedia content and services with superior quality and striking flexibility, in a trusted and personalized way, improving citizens’ quality of life, working conditions, edutainment and safety. In this evolving environment, new transport protocols, new multimedia encoding schemes, cross-layer inthe network adaptation, machine-to-machine communication (including RFIDs), rich 3D content as well as community networks and the use of peer-to-peer (P2P) overlays are expected to generate new models of interaction and cooperation, and be able to support enhanced perceived quality-of-experience (PQoE) and innovative applications “on the move”, like virtual collaboration environments, personalised services/ media, virtual sport groups, on-line gaming, edutainment. In this context, the interaction with content combined with interactive/multimedia search capabilities across distributed repositories, opportunistic P2P networks and the dynamic adaptation to the characteristics of diverse mobile terminals are expected to contribute towards such a vision. Based on work that has taken place in a number of EC co-funded projects, in Framework Program 6 (FP6) and Framework Program 7 (FP7), a group of experts and technology visionaries have voluntarily contributed in this white paper aiming to describe the status, the state-of-the art, the challenges and the way ahead in the area of Content Aware media delivery platforms

Objective assessment of region of interest-aware adaptive multimedia streaming quality

Adaptive multimedia streaming relies on controlled adjustment of content bitrate and consequent video quality variation in order to meet the bandwidth constraints of the communication link used for content delivery to the end-user. The values of the easy to measure network-related Quality of Service metrics have no direct relationship with the way moving images are perceived by the human viewer. Consequently variations in the video stream bitrate are not clearly linked to similar variation in the user perceived quality. This is especially true if some human visual system-based adaptation techniques are employed. As research has shown, there are certain image regions in each frame of a video sequence on which the users are more interested than in the others. This paper presents the Region of Interest-based Adaptive Scheme (ROIAS) which adjusts differently the regions within each frame of the streamed multimedia content based on the user interest in them. ROIAS is presented and discussed in terms of the adjustment algorithms employed and their impact on the human perceived video quality. Comparisons with existing approaches, including a constant quality adaptation scheme across the whole frame area, are performed employing two objective metrics which estimate user perceived video quality

Investigation of an intelligent personalised service recommendation system in an IMS based cellular mobile network

Success or failure of future information and communication services in general and mobile communications in particular is greatly dependent on the level of personalisations they can offer. While the provision of anytime, anywhere, anyhow services has been the focus of wireless telecommunications in recent years, personalisation however has gained more and more attention as the unique selling point of mobile devices. Smart phones should be intelligent enough to match user’s unique needs and preferences to provide a truly personalised service tailored for the individual user. In the first part of this thesis, the importance and role of personalisation in future mobile networks is studied. This is followed, by an agent based futuristic user scenario that addresses the provision of rich data services independent of location. Scenario analysis identifies the requirements and challenges to be solved for the realisation of a personalised service. An architecture based on IP Multimedia Subsystem is proposed for mobility and to provide service continuity whilst roaming between two different access standards. Another aspect of personalisation, which is user preference modelling, is investigated in the context of service selection in a multi 3rd party service provider environment. A model is proposed for the automatic acquisition of user preferences to assist in service selection decision-making. User preferences are modelled based on a two-level Bayesian Metanetwork. Personal agents incorporating the proposed model provide answers to preference related queries such as cost, QoS and service provider reputation. This allows users to have their preferences considered automatically

Route selection impacts on achieving enhanced IMS QoS

ArticleThe different planes in the IMS interact via specific reference points to deliver multimedia services to the user. QoS provisioning for IMS communications has been standardized for access networks only, with the assumption of an over provisioned IP core. Effective provisioning of multimedia services requires performance guarantee along the complete path of the sessions. End-to-end QoS in IP networks is affected by the route traversed by the user traffic. Moreover QoS guarantees in one ISP domain are not effective for transit traffic exiting the domain. QoS extensions to exterior gateway routing protocols have been proposed to transfer route QoS information beyond one autonomous system (domain). This paper explores options for mapping inter-domain QoS information learnt on the media plane into control plane session information for IMS QoS control. Through testbed evaluations we show the effect of routing on delays experienced in IMS communications.The different planes in the IMS interact via specific reference points to deliver multimedia services to the user. QoS provisioning for IMS communications has been standardized for access networks only, with the assumption of an over provisioned IP core. Effective provisioning of multimedia services requires performance guarantee along the complete path of the sessions. End-to-end QoS in IP networks is affected by the route traversed by the user traffic. Moreover QoS guarantees in one ISP domain are not effective for transit traffic exiting the domain. QoS extensions to exterior gateway routing protocols have been proposed to transfer route QoS information beyond one autonomous system (domain). This paper explores options for mapping inter-domain QoS information learnt on the media plane into control plane session information for IMS QoS control. Through testbed evaluations we show the effect of routing on delays experienced in IMS communications

A perceptual comparison of empirical and predictive region-of-interest video

When viewing multimedia presentations, a user only attends to a relatively small part of the video display at any one point in time. By shifting allocation of bandwidth from peripheral areas to those locations where a user’s gaze is more likely to rest, attentive displays can be produced. Attentive displays aim to reduce resource requirements while minimizing negative user perception—understood in this paper as not only a user’s ability to assimilate and understand information but also his/her subjective satisfaction with the video content. This paper introduces and discusses a perceptual comparison between two region-of-interest display (RoID) adaptation techniques. A RoID is an attentive display where bandwidth has been preallocated around measured or highly probable areas of user gaze. In this paper, video content was manipulated using two sources of data: empirical measured data (captured using eye-tracking technology) and predictive data (calculated from the physical characteristics of the video data). Results show that display adaptation causes significant variation in users’ understanding of specific multimedia content. Interestingly, RoID adaptation and the type of video being presented both affect user perception of video quality. Moreover, the use of frame rates less than 15 frames per second, for any video adaptation technique, caused a significant reduction in user perceived quality, suggesting that although users are aware of video quality reduction, it does impact level of information assimilation and understanding. Results also highlight that user level of enjoyment is significantly affected by the type of video yet is not as affected by the quality or type of video adaptation—an interesting implication in the field of entertainment

Multimedia streaming adaptation IMS-networks

Introduction Multimedia services such as video, gaming and music marked the close of the last century and have become inextricably linked with our lives in the current century. The success and popularity of these services was fuelled by the explosive expansion of the Internet and the furious penetration of broadband networks. In particular, the use of multimedia streaming services on portable devices has been popular whenever both the content and the perceived delivery quality have met the expectations of end users. This chapter of the book does not address content aspects of multimedia streaming services. Such matters are left to media gurus and other researchers. Rather, this chapter focuses on the delivery quality of multimedia streaming services. Particular attention is paid to quality adaptation techniques intended to improve end users' experience of such services. Our scope includes heterogeneous networks and devices. The solutions presented are applicable to the telecommunications industry

Multimedia session continuity in the IP multimedia subsystem : investigation and testbed implementation

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-94).The advent of Internet Protocol (IP) based rich multimedia services and applications has seen rapid growth and adoption in recent years, with an equally increasing user base. Voice over IP (VoIP) and IP Television (IPTV) are key examples of services that are blurring the lines between traditional stove-pipe approach network infrastructures. In these, each service required a different network technology to be provisioned, and could only be accessed through a specific end user equipment (UE) technology. The move towards an all-IP core network infrastructure and the proliferation of multi-capability multi-interface user devices has spurred a convergence trend characterized by access to services and applications through any network, any device and anywhere