Implementing a QoS-Aware MPEG-4 video system for embedded computing

Issue title: Real-Time and Embedded Computing Systems

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Kee-Yin Ng, Joseph | Kin-Cheung Hui, Calvin

Affiliations: Department of Computer Science, Hong Kong Baptist University, China. E-mail: {jng,kchui}@comp.hkbu.edu.hk

Abstract: Until recently, watching on-demand video on a mobile device becomes a reality. With the advance in hand-held device and wireless network, the real-time interaction and the on-time delivery of multimedia data are becoming highly possible. It provides services for users to retrieving multimedia contents from hand-held devices over the Internet at anytime and anywhere. A variety of multimedia systems and Internet applications have been emerging, fulfilling the ever increasing demand on the Internet streaming applications. With the new features provided by the MPEG-4 standard, i.e. the object-based media with arbitrary-shaped and object-based QoS coding, we have designed and implemented our MPEG-4 video system. With object-based encoding in MPEG-4, it enables the system to discard the less important objects within the video stream when the network is congested. Our video system proposes a new transmission scheme for the system to transmit MPEG-4 video over an open network with a tight control on the quality of service. Based on the nature of the video objects and their frames, transmission priorities among video objects are assigned. The transmission scheme then regulates the flow of the video data and their frames so that important data are delivered on time to the video client regardless the delay fluctuation of the open network.

Keywords: quality of service, QoS-Aware, QoS control, MPEG-4 video system, video streaming

Journal: Journal of Embedded Computing, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 85-100, 2005