Internet Protocol TV

Next Generation Set-Top Box Proof-of-Concept

Hugo KwokDavid Shen

Jimmy JeongAllen LaiGroup 10

Agenda

Background

Objective

System Overview

Challenges

Future Developments

Conclusion

Demo

Questions?

Background

Currently, the TV market is dominated by cable and satellite providers

IPTV is a new technology where users are able to view TV contents over the internet.

IPTV is already available in certain cities (e.g. TELUS, AT&T)

Background (continued)

Two segments Live broadcasts Stored broadcasts or Video On Demand (VOD)

Users stream contents after they are downloaded (e.g. to a hard drive)

Can be easily integrated into the household Internet connection

IPTV – Graphical Representation

Objective

Standardized set top box compatible for multiple service providers

Display internet media streams on a standard television set with-out using a PC

Proof-of-concept to commercialization

Proof of Concept

Stream real time Real Media file from a remote server on the Internet via RTSP

Convert Real Media file through decode/encode algorithms into MPEG4 format

Play resulting audio/video with Media Player (MPlayer) on a Linux development platform via an attached LCD screen on the development board

Equipment

TI DaVinci System-on-Chip Dual-core with ARM9 and C6000 DSP CPU

LCD screen output

Internet connection

Helix Server Simulates online media streaming from a local directory

System Flow Diagram

Reading from local Media/ Streaming

Media

In MPEG4 and MP2 format?

Conversion Bloxk

Decode BlockStore on Local

Memory?

Store on Local Media

N

N

Y

Y

Display

Play from local Storage?

Y

N

Why MPEG4?

The set-top box shall stream various media format and convert it into MPEG4 video and MP2 audio format for storage and display due to the following reasons Easy to manage High compression ratio Further software development focused on MPEG4

format media file

Why MPlayer?

Physical media CDs, DVDs, Video CDs

Container formats 3gp, AVI, ASF, FLV, Matroska, MOV (QuickTime), MP4, NUT, Ogg,

OGM, RealMedia

Video codecs Cinepak, DV, H.263, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, HuffYUV, Indeo, MJPEG,

MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 Part 2, RealVideo, Sorenson, Theora, WMV

Audio codecs AAC, AC3, ALAC, AMR, FLAC, MP3, RealAudio, Shorten, Speex,

Vorbis, WMA

MPlayer (continued)

Large selection of supported media formats

Open source software

Streaming/Media On Local Storage

Demux Decode Video/Audio Driver Display

MEncoder

Transcoder with MPlayer bundle

Converts wide range of multimedia files to a specific file format

Able to save a video and audio stream separately onto a memory location for post processing

Streaming Demux Decode EncodeSave on Memory

Location

MEncoder (continued)

In the proof of concept device, the real media video will be developed such that the set-top box can stream media content in RM format

Codec developed based on the source code of RV30 from the Helix Community

Transcoding – High Level

Audio Decoder

Audio Encoder

RAW

RealAudio

Demuxer

InternetRTSP

RealMedia

Audio Driver

(no mux)

Audio Decoder

MP2

Video Decoder

Video Encoder

Video Driver

Video Decoder

RAW

On Screen Display

RAW

RealVideo

MPEG

RAW

RAW Video Ready?

Fill buffer with encoded Video

Data

Encode RAW Video Data to

MPEG4 format

Buffer Full?

YBuffer Full Flag

Set?N

Set Buffer Full Flag

Buffer Level < Requirement?

Set Buffer Level Low Flag

N

Y

Y

N

Reduce Frame Rate Per Second

N Y

Go to Decode Block and delete data from buffer

Transcoding – Conversion Block

Problems Encountered

Setting up development platform and OS Researching and understanding the technical

backgrounds Understanding source code

Obtaining Real Media Source Code Not open source like other codecs (only binary files

available) Requires license from Helix Community Not successful in compiling

Problems Encountered

Cross-compiling RealPlayer source code for the ARM

Attempted to understand header files of codecs suggested by Dr. Bajic

Tried different binary files of real video codecs RealMedia codec in binary form for Palm, which ran on ARM

processor Extracted files were not compatible

Future Developments

Implement streaming of all other input media formats, convert and output to one universal format e.g. Windows Media, VLC, etc. MPEG 4

Migrating system from ARM CPU to C6000 Digital Signal Processing CPU for more efficient processing and algorithmic calculations

Developing a GUI

Integrate proof of concept and commercialize it in set top box

Budget

Equipment Estimated Cost

TI DaVinci System-on-Chip Development Board

Provided

Software: OpenSuse Linux, MPlayer/MEncoder, Eclipse IDE, Helix Server, Various Source Codes

Open sources

Total $0

Lessons Learned

Team Dynamics

Problem Solving

Project Planning

Time Management

Challenges in Integration

Acknowledgements

Dr. Farid Azhar for his support

Dr. Ivan Bajic for his advice

Dr. Lucky One for insights and providing us with lab access and equipment

Mr. Steve Whitmore for overseeing the project and advice guidance

Demonstration

Questions / Answers