Gerard Fernando

Network Support for Dynamically Scaled Multimedia Data Streams

As multi-media applications such as video-on-demand and video conferencing become more common, the classes of systems and networks participating in these applications are becoming more diverse. Where several endpoints need to access the same video stream simultaneously, multicast protocols are often employed to reduce the duplication of network traffic across common links. Previous literature has discussed the concept that hierarchical media encodings can be used to achieve some form of stream scalability within a multicast network. This paper discuss the networking issues associated with encoding hierarchical streams and mapping them to a multimedia transport service interface.

MPEG-J: Java application engine in MPEG-4

MPEG-4 Systems version 1 defines the presentation engine for the MPEG-4 terminal. MPEG-J is the Java based application engine defined in the version 2 of the MPEG-4 standard. This facilitates programmatic control as opposed to the parametric control provided by the presentation engine. MPEG-J refers to the collection of Java APIs defined by the Systems subgroup of MPEG. These APIs are used to access and control the underlying MPEG-4 terminal. The MPEG-J framework also defines the delivery mechanism and the lifecycle of applications. These applications can be local or remote (MPEGlet). They use the MPEG-J APIs to control the MPEG-4 terminal. MPEG-J can be used to include behavior based on time-varying terminal conditions in the content.

HDTV on Computer Workstations

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the HDTV on computer workstations. The fundamental requirement for HDTV implementation on workstations from an interoperability viewpoint is a digital HDTV system. Without a digital system any form of interoperability at the bit-stream is impossible. Interoperability can then be achieved by strict compliance with international standards on digital video, and audio compression. In this case the relevant compression standards are based on the ISO/MPEG-2 specifications. The key feature of computer workstations is the reliance on layered general purpose networks for the distribution of data. It is found that from a computer workstation perspective a digital HDTV system by itself is not sufficient. It is essential for HDTV data to be in a suitable form for distribution in a layered general purpose data network. Compliance with international standards based on the ISO/MPEG-2 specifications is also important. The video and audio decoder is critical parts of an HDTV system. Standardization at this layer would allow video, and audio data coded, and transmitted in HDTV format to be used by multiple consuming devices ranging from televisions to computers.