QUTE’98 Workshop

Heidelberg, 14-15 October 1998

MPEG-4 Approach to QoS

Reinhard Baier, GMD FOKUS, DT

Guido Franceschini, CSELT, IT

QUTE’98 Workshop

Heidelberg, 14-15 October 1998

What’s MPEG-4?

• ISO/IEC 14496 - Information Technology - Generic Coding of Audio-Visual Object

• 14496-1: Systems

• 14496-2: Visual

• 14496-3: Audio

• 14496-4: Conformance

• 14496-5: Reference Software

• 14496-6: DMIF

QUTE’98 Workshop

Heidelberg, 14-15 October 1998

2D background2D background

3D furniture3D furniture

voicevoice

video objectvideo object

AV presentationAV presentation

MPEG-4 - A scene

QUTE’98 Workshop

Heidelberg, 14-15 October 1998

scene

person audiovisualpresentation

2D background furniture

globe deskvoice video

MPEG-4 - A scene description

QUTE’98 Workshop

Heidelberg, 14-15 October 1998

What’s DMIF?

• Delivery Multimedia Information Framework

• DMIF is part 6 of MPEG-4

• DMIF specifies the Delivery Layer of MPEG-4

QUTE’98 Workshop

Heidelberg, 14-15 October 1998

Why DMIF?

• too many delivery technologies, each with its own peculiarities

• no consolidated solution for real time multimedia streaming at certain QoS

• different APIs for different environments (Local Files, Broadcast sources, Interactive servers through a variety of transports)

• difficulties for network operators in defining meaningful billing policies (e.g. the “flat” Internet)

QUTE’98 Workshop

Heidelberg, 14-15 October 1998

DMIF goals

• Favour the development of multimedia application with QoS requirements

• Hide the delivery technology details to the DMIF User

• Make optimal usage of network resources, given application QoS constraints

• Allow Network Operators to monitor resources being consumed in a single session, to allow meaningful billing policies

• Ensure interoperability between end-systems

QUTE’98 Workshop

Heidelberg, 14-15 October 1998

The DMIF approach

D M I FThe multimedia content delivery integration framework

Cable,Satellite,

etc.

The Broadcast Technology

Internet, ATM,

etc.

The InteractiveNetwork Technology

CD,DVD,etc.

The Disk Technology

QUTE’98 Workshop

Heidelberg, 14-15 October 1998

The generic MPEG-4 architecture

Delivery Layer

ESI

DAI

Systems Layer

Compression Layermedia related

delivery related

QUTE’98 Workshop

Heidelberg, 14-15 October 1998

DMIF communication architecture (1)

Local

App

DAI

Broadcastsource

LocalStorage

Network

RemoteApp

DAI

QUTE’98 Workshop

Heidelberg, 14-15 October 1998

Local

App

DAI

DMIF communication architecture (2)

DM

IF F

ilter

Local DMIFfor Broadcast

Remote DMIF

(emulated)

Remote App.(emulated)

Broadcastsource

QUTE’98 Workshop

Heidelberg, 14-15 October 1998

Local

App

DAI

DMIF communication architecture (3)

DM

IF F

ilter

Local DMIFfor Local

Files

Remote DMIF

(emulated)

Remote App.(emulated)

LocalStorage

QUTE’98 Workshop

Heidelberg, 14-15 October 1998

Local

App

DAI

DMIF communication architecture (4)

DM

IF F

ilte

r

Local DMIFfor Remote

srv

DNI

Sigmap Network

Sigmap

Remote DMIF(Real)

RemoteApp

DNI DAI

Local DMIFfor Broadcast

Remote DMIF(emulated)

Remote App.(emulated)

Broadcastsource

Local DMIFfor Local Files

Remote DMIF (emulated)

Remote App.(emulated)

LocalStorage

QUTE’98 Workshop

Heidelberg, 14-15 October 1998

DMIF URLs• Still under debate

• Requirements are:

– to represent the location of a Service– to localize the Service on a variety of

delivery technologies, including local files, MPEG-2 broadcast, IP and ATM networks

– to represent any kind of address– to identify the control protocol to be used

(including Intelligent Networks ?)

QUTE’98 Workshop

Heidelberg, 14-15 October 1998

QoS in DMIF

• QoS “media” metrics: used by the application when requesting a channel

• QoS “transport” metrics: a generic network centric translation of the above

• QoS “network” (specific) metrics: the final set of metrics used in the native network signaling

QUTE’98 Workshop

Heidelberg, 14-15 October 1998

Advantages for Developers

• they may write the application just once; then, by simply plugging in more DMIF instances and by feeding the application with different URLs, the application would run on other delivery technologies.

• they can begin to invest in commercial multimedia applications with the assurance that their investment will not be made obsolete by new delivery technologies.

QUTE’98 Workshop

Heidelberg, 14-15 October 1998

Advantages for Network Operators

• the model allows for meaningful and flexible billing policies in presence of QoS

• it also enables the effective exploitation of Intelligent Networks, by plugging in an appropriate and proprietary DMIF instance

QUTE’98 Workshop

Heidelberg, 14-15 October 1998

Conclusion

• The DMIF model would benefit many players of the multimedia industry, and provides solutions for yet unsolved issues like:

– meaningful billing policies– permanence of multimedia application in

the presence of new delivery technologies– QoS management.