Lossless aggregation: a scheme for transmitting multiple stored VBR video streams over a shared communications channel without loss of image quality

Abstract

This paper introduces a new concept called lossless aggregation for the transmission of video information. It is a scheme for the delivery of variable bit-rate (VBR) video streams from a video server to a group of users over a shared channel. No data are dropped at the source during the adaptation process that reshapes the VBR video traffic to conform to the channel bit-rate characteristics. The transmission schedules of individual video streams evolve in a dynamic way that depends on their relative traffic characteristics. Receiver buffer underflow and overflow are prevented. Therefore, the data delivery process does not cause any loss of image quality. We show that very significant receiver-buffer reduction can be achieved with aggregation compared with the independent transmission of individual video streams over separate channels. Several bandwidth allocation methods for aggregation are studied extensively. The frame equalization algorithm stands out in terms of its simplicity and optimality.