Introduction to Multimedia

networks

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 Outline
²  Media & Multimedia
²  Characteristics & Requirements
²  Applications

²  Networking principles
²  Multimedia Expectations

²  IP networks
²  Characteristics

²  Challenges

²  Wireless networks
²  Characteristics

²  Challenges

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 Definitions

²  Media: The form and technology used to communicate information [1]

²  A list of terms correlated with media
²  Multimedia:
diverse classes of media employed to represent information [2]
A better definition: The field concerned with the computer-controlled integration of text, graphics, drawings, still
and moving images (Video), animation, audio, and any other media where every type of information can be
represented, stored, transmitted and processed digitally [3]

²  Multimedia Traffic: The transmission of data representing diverse media over communication networks [2]
²  Multimedia App: An Application which uses a collection of multiple media sources e.g. text, graphics, images,
sound/audio, animation and/or video [3]

²  Multimedia System: a system capable of processing multimedia data and applications [3]

²  Multimedia Networking: the design of networks that can handle multiple media types with ease and deliver
scalable performance [2]

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 Multimedia Classifications
•F  ormatted text

Classification From a content perspective:

•P  lain text Text
² Text • Hypertext
²  Inherently digital
•P  honetic • Math
² Visuals transcripts • Tables
•M  usic
²  Analog or digital • Line Drawings
•V  oices
• Maps
²  Still or Moving (Animal) •F  ile

²  Extensions like BMP, JPG, GIF, TIF, PNG, … Sound •V  ideo
•T  ele-Conf Visual
• Images (Grayscale and
²  Extensions like AVI, MOV, … •S  peech Color)
(Natural & Synthetic) • Animation
² Audio • Simulation
• Virtual Reality
²  sound/speech converted into digital form
Fig. From [2]
using sampling and quantization
²  Analog or digital
²  Extensions like WAV, MP3, …
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 Multimedia Classifications (Cont.)

Classification From a networking perspective:

²  Real-Time (RT)

² Hard or soft bounds on the end-to-end packet delay/jitter

²  Non Real-Time (NRT)

² No strict delay constraints

²  Rigid constraints on error

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 Multimedia Classifications (Cont.)

²  Real-Time (RT)
²  Discrete media (DM): data is transmitted in discrete quantum as a file or message

²  MSN/Yahoo messengers

²  Continuous media (CM): data is transmitted continuously as a stream of messages with inter-
message dependency

²  delay tolerant: can tolerate higher amounts of delay without significant performance degradation
²  Streaming audio/video media

²  delay intolerant: can not tolerate higher amounts of delay

²  Video Conferencing

²  Non Real-Time (NRT)

²  Text, Data, and image.

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 Multimedia Classifications (Cont.)

Media
Types

Non-Real
Real Time
Time

Text, Data Images

Continuous

Discrete

Delay Delay
Intolerant Tolerant
Error Intolerant

Text chat, Remote

Weather Interactive Streaming
Instant Desktop
Updates Audio/Video Audio/Video
Messaging Applications

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 Summary of QoS Principals [4]

Let’s next look at the mechanisms for achieving this …

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 Multimedia Quality Requirements
Media error Protocols/
Example BW Usage real-time nature
Type requirements Standards

Loss/error No real-time
File transfer
intolerant (delay/jitter) constraints
FTP, HTTP,
Text Depends on size
SMTP
Some guarantees on
Instant messaging Error /loss tolerant
the experienced delay

Two-way communication Bounds on end-to-end

(Internet-Telephony) packet delay/jitter PCM, GSM,
Loose
Depends on dynamic CS-ACELP ,
Audio requirements on
range and/or spectrum ADPCM ,
One-way communication packet loss/error Weaker bounds on
MP3
(Internet webcast) delay/jitter

Static (image)
Graphics No real-time
Depends on GIF. PNG,
and Dynamic (animation, Error/loss tolerant (delay/jitter) constraints
compression mode JPEG
Animation flash)

Loose
Depends on the Bounds on end-to-end MPEG I, II,
requirements on
Video - spatial and temporal packet delay/jitter IV
packet loss/error
redundancy H.263
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 Requirements on network BW/ bitrate

Application Speed Requirement

Telephone 16 kbps
Audio-conferencing 32 kbps
CD-quality audio 128-192 kbps
Digit music (QoS) 64-640 kbps
H. 261 64 kbps-2 Mbps
H. 263 <64 kbps
DVI video 1.2-1.5 Mbps
MPEG-1 video 1.2-1.5 Mbps
MPEG-2 video 4-60 Mbps
HDTV (compressed) >20 Mbps
HDTV (uncompressed) >1 Gbps
MPEG-4 video-on-demand (QoS) 250-750 kbps
Video conferencing (QoS) 384 kbps-2 Mbps

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 Tolerance of latency and jitter

Avg Latency Avg Jitter

Application Tolerance Tolerance
(msec) (msec)
Low-end videoconf. (64 kbps) 300 130
Compressed voice (16 kbps) 30 130
MPEG NTSC video (1.5 Mbps) 5 7
MPEG audio (256 kbps) 7 9
HDTV video (20 Mbps) 0.8 1

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 Requirements on Delay & Loss

Packet Loss
5%

Voice /video
Conversational
messaging
Voice and video
Streaming
Audio/Video
100 (ms) 1(s) 10 (s) Fax 100 (s)
0% Delay (S)
Zero Messaging, Background
Transaction
Command/Control (eg: Use Net)
Loss (E-Commerce, Downloading
Interactive games
E-mail Access)

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Digital Media Lab - Sharif University of Technology

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 Performance Targets for Audio/Video Apps
Typical Key Performance Parameters and Target Values
Degree of Data
Medium Application One-Way
Symmetry Rate Delay-Variation Information Loss
Delay
(Kb/s)
< 150 msec
Conversatio Preferred < 3% Packet Loss
Audio Two-Way 4-64 < 1 msec
nal Voice <400 msec Ratio (PLR)
limit
< 1 sec for
Voice Primarily playback
Audio 4-32 < 1 msec < 3% PLR
Messaging One-Way <2 sec for
record
High
Quality Primarily
Audio 16-128 < 10 sec < 1 msec < 1% PLR
Streaming One-Way
Audio
< 150 msec
Video Preferred
Video Two-Way 16-384 < 1% PLR
Phone <400 msec
limit

Video One-Way One-Way 16-384 < 10 sec < 1% PLR

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 Performance Targets for Data Apps
Typical Key Performance Parameters and Target Values
Degree of amount
Medium Application Delay- Information
Symmetry of Data One-Way Delay
Variation Loss
(KB)
Preferred <
Web-
Primarily 2sec/ page
Data browsing – ~ 10 N. A. 0
One-Way Acceptable <
HTML
4sec/page
Transaction
Services – Preferred <
High Priority 2sec
Data Two-Way < 10 N. A. 0
e.g. e- Acceptable <
Commerce, 4sec
ATM
Command/
Data Two-Way ~1 < 250 msec N. A. 0
Control
Interactive
Data Two-Way <1 < 200 msec N. A. 0
Games
Two-Way
Data Telnet (Asymmetric <1 < 200 msec N. A. 0
)
Preferred <
E-mail
Primarily 2sec
Data (server < 10 N. A. 0
One-Way Acceptable <
access)
4sec
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Digital Media Lab - Sharif University of Technology

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 How does Multimedia Networking Differ?

²  Data Formatting
²  the only universal data standard is ASCII …

²  Data Volume
²  many times there are several fat chunks …

²  Data Delivery Demands

²  synchronization & real-time requirements …

²  Interactive Data Exchange

²  user sensitive to response time …

²  Complex Communication Scenarios

²  additional meta-communication needed …

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 Classes of Multimedia Apps on the Network

²  Streaming stored media

²  Stored on server

²  Examples: pre-recorded songs, famous lectures, video-on-demand

²  Streaming live media

²  “Captured” from live camera, radio, T.V.

²  1-way communication, maybe multicast

²  Examples: concerts, radio broadcasts, lectures

²  Real-time interactive media

²  2-way communication

²  Examples: Internet phone, video conference

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 Multimedia Transmission Modes

²  Asynchronous
²  No temporal restriction in data delivery

²  Synchronous
²  Maximal end-to-end delivery delay

²  Isochronous
²  Maximal and minimal end-to-end delivery delay

²  Pseudo-Synchronous
²  Simulated or weakly bound end-to-end delivery delay

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 MM Communication Aspects

²  Type: Distribution
²  Audio/Video Broadcast, Web, Archives

²  Typical Aspects
²  Asynchronous or pseudo synchronous transmission

²  Client/Server Model, one to many (concurrent)

²  Unidirectional, low interactivity

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 MM Communication Aspects (Cont.)

²  Type: Exchange
²  Audio/Video Conferencing, Telelearning, Collaboration Tools

²  Typical Aspects
²  Synchronous or isochronous transmission

²  Peer-to-peer, one to one (or multipoint)

²  Bidirectional, high interactivity

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 MM Communication Aspects (Cont.)

²  Type: Production
²  Multimedia authoring, recording, (Email)

²  Typical Aspects
²  Synchronous or pseudo synchronous transmission

²  Client/Server Model, one to many (competitive)

²  Unidirectional, high interactivity

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 MM Communication Aspects (Cont.)

²  Type: Synchronization
²  Data synchronization, (synchronized) multi-archive retrieval, software distribution

²  Typical Aspects
²  Any mode of transmission

²  Client/Server Model, one to one or many

²  Uni or bidirectional, low interactivity

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 Multimedia over Network

²  Multimedia Expectations from a Communication Network

²  traffic requirements
² limits on real-time parameters (delay, jitter), bandwidth and reliability

² Solutions: enhancements to the basic Internet Architecture

²  functional requirements

² support for multimedia services such as multicasting, security, mobility and

session management

² Solutions: introducing newer protocols over the TCP/IP networking stack

² Without these mechanisms, multimedia applications can operate with high

performance by incorporating the necessary functions into the application itself

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 Traffic Requirements over Network

²  Traffic requirements
²  Real-time Characteristics (Limits on Delay and Jitter)

²  End-to-end delay: time taken by the packet to travel from the source to the destination

²  Jitter: variability in the inter-packet delay at the receiver

²  Need for Higher Bandwidth

²  Compression techniques are not enough

²  Some times compression is not possible/allowable

²  Error Requirements

²  When a packet is lost or damaged, error occurs

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 Functional Requirements over Network

²  Functional requirements
²  Multicasting Support
²  single source of communication with multiple simultaneous receivers
²  Need for distributed multimedia applications (multi-party audio/video conferencing)
²  Session Management
²  Media Description
²  Session information Distribution
²  Session Announcement
²  Announcement to participants about future sessions
²  Session Identification
²  Identification of separate/ integrated medias
²  Session Control
²  Multimedia Synchronization
²  Playback Controlling
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 Functional Requirements over Network (Cont.)

²  Security

²  Integrity (data cannot be changed in mid-flight)

²  Authenticity (Data comes from the right source)

²  Encryption (Data cannot be deciphered by any third party)

²  Copyrights
²  watermarking
²  Mobility Support
²  Wireless Networks

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 Networking Principles

²  Traditionally voice, video, and textual data have been handled by different
communication networks
²  Voice over telephone networks
²  Video over cable TV networks
²  Textual data over computer networks

²  Reasons for the separation: fundamental differences in the characteristics of

voice and video from textual data
²  Voice and video: real-time, requires bounded delay, tolerant to brief loss of information
²  Textual data: Tolerant to delay but cannot tolerate any transmission error or loss

²  Two fundamental mechanisms: circuit switching and packet switching

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 Circuit Switching

²  Characteristics:
²  Dedicated physical path from source to destination for the entire call duration
²  Fixed and dedicated bandwidth allocation
²  No data processing at intermediate nodes

²  Advantages:
²  Information delivery guaranteed to be sequenced
²  No overhead at intermediate nodes
²  Fixed end-to-end delay

²  Disadvantages:
²  Burst data may cause severe underutilization of network resources
²  Call setup requires round-trip latency
²  Short sessions are not cost effective
²  Unicast by nature
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 Packet Switching

²  Characteristics:
²  Dynamic allocation of bandwidth

²  Store-and-forward switching

²  Advantages:
²  Extremely flexible: supports both unicast and multicast transmission

²  Suitable for bursty traffic: permits network resources to be multiplexed among several
channels

²  Disadvantages:
²  Variable end-to-end delay due to queuing at switches

²  Information delivery may not be sequenced or reliable

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 IP Networks

²  IP network, especially Internet, is becoming a very attractive channel for

multimedia communications
²  Dedicated networks and ATM are not widely available
²  There are many applications for Internet multimedia:
² Internet telephone, Internet TV, video conferencing, network games, remote
colaboration, ….

²  IP is a best-effort communications technology, hard to provide QoS over IP by

current routing methods
²  Abundant bandwidth improves QoS, but unlikely to be available everywhere over
complex networks

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 Challenges of Transporting MM over IP Networks

²  IP uses packet switching

²  Suitable for unexpected burst of data without establishing an explicit connection.
²  Bandwidth is shared statistically, so data can be sent at any time.

²  IP is not reliable nor delay-bounded

²  Best effort
²  Internet cannot provide delay/jitter bounds.
²  Network failures can cause temporary packet loss.
²  Time critical applications cannot operate well due to large e-mail attachments and
web surfing
²  There is no delivery guarantee

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 Challenges of Transporting MM over IP Networks (Cont.)

²  TCP/IP networks such as the Internet provide two types of services to

applications
²  “connection-oriented” service – Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

²  TCP is bundled with reliability, congestion control, and flow control

²  no guarantees on delay and jitter

²  “connectionless” service - User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

²  short playout delay (2-5 seconds) to compensate for network delay/jitter

²  No reliability

²  No congestion & flow control services

²  So, which one is proper for multimedia applications?

²  Today’s Internet multimedia applications use application-level techniques to mitigate (as best
as possible) effects of delay and loss
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 Proposed Service Models for the IP networks

²  We discuss about these mechanisms during this term

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Wireless Networks

²  In wireless networks, multimedia transmission inherits all the

characteristics and constrains of the propagation in the free space.

²  Two main differences between wired and wireless networks

²  Packet Loss

²  Mobility

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 Challenges of Transporting MM on Wireless Networks

²  Link Failures

²  Packet Loss
²  Due to low Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), the multi-path signal fading and the
interference from neighboring transmissions

²  Network Capacity
²  Maximum data rate varies from 11Mbps to 54Mbps for 802.11b and 802.11g

²  Network Latency
²  Hop-by-hop transmission

²  Single radio channel nature of networks

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Challenges of Transporting MM on Wireless Networks (Cont.)

²  Hand off
²  It imposes delay, loss

²  Admission Control
²  The mobile device cannot recognize if sufficient QoS resources are available at a
new AP till after the handoff

²  Network Routing
²  QoS routing protocols are needed!

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References

1.  http://www.webopedia.com
2.  Shashank Khanvilkar, Faisal Bashir, Dan Schonfeld, and Ashfaq Khokhar,
“Multimedia Networks and Communication”, University of Illinois,
Chicago, 2004.

3.  Dave Marshall, “Introduction to Multimedia”, Cardiff School of Computer

Science, Cardiff University , 2001.

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