The Multimedia Multicasting Problem

Abstract

We present the problems associated with multicast communication for multimedia group applications, such as video-conferencing. In particular, when these applications have continuous media I/O components (e.g., audio and video) which must be communicated to a group of receivers, unique problems arise. Perhaps the most fundamental problem is whether feedback should be used in dynamic control; we argue against such reactive control mechanisms and in favor of more proactive mechanisms. We discuss a number of issues, including routing, resource reservation, error control, heterogeneity, and hierarchical coding